2026 Wk 6
Altered LIFE • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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IN OUR CONNECTION MOMENT TODAY...
Let’s step back into our discussion last week...about how to help ourselves share the hope of Jesus with people in our daily lives.
We started with three simple actions:
Listen First.
Share Your Story
Bring People to Worship
WHAT ARE WE HEARING AS WE ARE LISTENING?
Not getting past the loss of a loved one, loss is tough to overcome — thanks to friends and a church like us.
Lack of money for bills
Lack friendships/ relationships
Negative esp. in Nigeria, but here too.
Recovery of our friend Tim
Ppl need encouringment
Ppl don’t care, lawlessness
HERE IS A SCRIPTURE THAT SHOULD GUIDE OUR RESPONSES IN SHARING HOPE
8 No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.
Do What’s Right/Justice
Love Mercy/Kindness
Walk in Humility with God
LET’S ASK ARE WE...
Are we creating space for listening and a place for you and others to release expressions of grieving or mourning or expressions of joy?
Are we speaking gently but honestly about human dignity?
Are we refusing rhetoric (persuasive words) that strips people of their humanity?
Are we listening without the need to use labels?
Are we caring for those who are anxious without inflaming their fear?
Are we preparing wisely and lawfully without becoming alarmists.
As we return to a time of worship
let’s ponder Ps.19 7-10
7 The instructions of the Lord are perfect,
reviving the soul.
The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The commandments of the Lord are right,
bringing joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are clear,
giving insight for living.
9 Reverence for the Lord is pure,
lasting forever.
The laws of the Lord are true;
each one is fair.
10 They are more desirable than gold,
even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
even honey dripping from the comb.
The Bible, according to David, is:
perfect, sure, right,
pure, clean, enduring, true, and righteous.
It is sufficient for reviving the soul, giving wisdom, and bringing joy.
We should value it more than we do gold or chocolate—that is, honey, which was the chocolate of the ancient world.
Berding, Kenneth. 2013. Bible Revival: Recommitting Ourselves to One Book. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
WORSHIP SET 2
Worship today with a renewed sense to honor God and His Word!
Give Him the honor that is due to Him
THIS SLIDE says…
“I need to worship because without it I lose a sense of wonder and gratitude implied through life with blinders on.“ By John Ortberg
Let’s draw together to worship Him and His Promises this morning!
OBEDIENT GENEROSITY
17 Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.
If we can trust Him with our eternal life, surely we can trust Him in our Giving.
UPDATE
Warming Center Thank You
Super Bowl 60
MidWeek
Men’s Breakfast
SERMON
THE ALTERED LIFE: Valuing God’s Word
How can we increase our love for God’s Word?
Could it be that our increase would be connected to our degree of Love and dependency on God?
LET’S LOOK AT IT THIS WAY:
Let’s say you have a dear friend who has helped you in difficult times.
What will you NOT do for them?
What will you do if someone is sneaking around their property?
What will you do when you miss their birthday?
What will you do if they said something and someone miss represents what they said?
COME ON NOW— you would take up for them and defend their property and have their back when someone tries to slander them...Right?
In Matthew 1:21 we hear of a child who will save his people from their sins and what’s his name?
“You shall call His name Jesus.”
And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus,* for he will save his people from their sins.”
Save them from sin — that’s a promise I want to hold on to.
When we truly love someone, everything connected to them becomes precious.
That’s why believers treasure everything about Jesus—His words, His actions, His ways, and even His names.
Nothing connected to Him feels ordinary.
Every place He walked, every word He spoke, every truth He revealed is priceless to those who love Him. (Dallas just got back from Isreal!)
All of Christ’s titles are beautiful:
Savior, King, Shepherd, Friend, Lamb of God, Emmanuel.
Each one tells us something wonderful about who He is.
But above them all, there is one name that stands out— JESUS!
The name *Jesus* carries unmatched sweetness.
It stirs heaven with praise and fills the hearts of believers with joy.
It’s the name woven through our prayers and songs, the center of our worship, and the source of our hope.
Short enough to whisper, yet deep enough to hold eternity,
the name of Jesus gathers all our praise into a single word.
No name is more precious.
No name is more loved.
Jesus.
Amen!
Would you call out to him today?
What are your needs, your desires, your area of despair?
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
If you could get past your Self Sufficiency you will find that God is Sufficient in ALL THINGS.
4 We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. 5 It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. 6 He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.
I DRAW YOU TO CHRIST — the Author and Finisher of our Faith.
13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
LET’S CALL ON God today then we can Call on Him whatever comes our way this week
PRAY...
====== COUNTINUE IF TIME PERMITS=====
Have you found yourself sensing that it’s time to pause and think more deeply about our moment in history that we are living in…
Pondering—NOT A KNEE JERK REACTIONS.
Could we talk openly today about what is transpiring in our nation?
good, bad, or indifferent?
WHAT ARE THE TOPICS?
Anything goes…younger generation think elders ways are not important. Each generation should help the next
180 in character,
ppl can’t take constructive criticism
Government and politics mistrust
Lack of obedience
Soft morality, no backbone
Let’s prayerfully process these topics with a couple of questions.
QUESTION 1...
What biblical standards of practice are informing your words, your positions and your actions?
Annette ppl don’t believe Gods Word
Revelation overcome by the
We see the value of coming together
Church ppl judged me…
QUESTION 2...
How are you encouraging hope in a way that casts out fear and anger within your circle of influence?
It could be worse
Being a better listener
Easy to enc others than myself
“Soft answer turns away wrath”
In sharing hope that is rooted in Christ, it cannot be passive optimism, but activated obedience that needs to look more like these four thoughts:
• Choosing truth when silence feels safer
• Pursuing righteousness before relevance
• Allowing personal obedience to shape public witness
• Guiding hearts without surrendering conviction
12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.
A prayer in response to the events in Minneapolis and immigration enforcement activity
God, we come to You as shepherds who feel the weight of this moment. You see the fear in families, the tension in our cities, the uncertainty in our churches. Nothing unfolding in Minneapolis or across our nation is hidden from You.
For those living with anxiety about their future, draw near and steady their hearts. For children who do not understand what is happening around them, be their peace.
For those tasked with enforcing the law, grant wisdom, restraint and integrity. Where there has been harshness, correct it. Where there is confusion, bring clarity. Where there is fear, pour out Your perfect love.
Guard Your Church from silence, born of fear and from speech, born of anger.
Make us courageous and compassionate at the same time.
Teach us to reflect Your justice without losing Your mercy, and to speak truth without losing tenderness.
Lord Jesus, form in us Your heart for the vulnerable and Your wisdom in complicated times.
Let our churches be places of refuge.
We entrust this moment to You.
In Jesus Name, Amen.
UPDATE
UPDATE
Super Bowl 60, Feb 8, 530pm
Doors open at 5pm
MidWeek 630p
Men’s Breakfast Saturday 8am at New Day
========
M&E Charles Spurgeon
M&E 2-3-2026: We stand in debt
So, brothers and sisters, we have no obligation to live the way our corrupt nature wants us to live.
13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
As God’s creation, every one of us owes him complete obedience—our bodies, our souls, our strength, everything. But we have all broken his commands. Because of that, we stand in debt to his justice, owing a payment so great we could never repay it.
For the Christian, though, something remarkable can be said: we no longer owe anything to God’s justice. Christ has paid the full debt for his people. And because that debt is paid, our obligation shifts—not to fear, but to love.
I am deeply indebted to God’s grace and forgiveness, but I am not indebted to his justice, because God will never demand payment for a debt that has already been settled. When Christ said, “It is finished,” he meant exactly that: everything his people owed was permanently erased. Divine justice has been fully satisfied. The account is closed. The charges were nailed to the cross. The receipt has been issued. We no longer owe anything to justice.
Yet because we owe nothing in that sense, we now owe God even more in another. Christian, stop and think about this. How much do you owe to God’s sovereign choice? How much to his selfless love, that he gave his own Son to die for you? How much to his forgiving grace, that after countless failures he still loves you without measure?
Think about what you owe to his power—how he brought you from spiritual death to life, how he sustains that life, how he keeps you from falling, and how, despite endless opposition, you are still able to keep going. Think about what you owe to his unchanging nature. You have changed again and again, but he has never changed once.
You are completely indebted to every attribute of God. You owe him yourself and everything you have. So give yourself to him fully, as a living sacrifice—this is not excessive; it is simply the only reasonable response.
M&E 2-4-26: He will never stop- His Grace is enough
Then the Lord said to me, “Go and love your wife again, even though she* commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the Lord still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them.*”
Believer, look back over your life and remember how the Lord your God has led you through your wilderness.
Think about how He has provided for you day after day—how He has fed you, clothed you, and patiently endured your stubbornness.
Remember how He put up with your complaints and your longing for the comforts you once knew.
Remember how He brought water from the rock when you were dry and gave you daily bread from heaven.
Think of how His grace has been enough in every hardship, how His sacrifice has covered every sin, and how His guidance has comforted you when you were afraid. As you reflect on the Lord’s love in the past, let your faith also look ahead.
Christ’s covenant and His sacrifice are not only for what has been—they promise what is still to come.
The One who has loved you and forgiven you will never stop doing so.
He is the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
So when you walk through the shadow of death, you don’t need to be afraid—He is with you.
When you step into death itself, you need not fear, because nothing can separate you from His love.
And when you enter eternity and its mysteries, you don’t need to tremble, for nothing—life or death, present or future, power or force—can separate us from the love of God found in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Doesn’t remembering this renew your love? Doesn’t it draw your heart closer to Jesus?
As you soar through the endless expanse of His love, doesn’t your soul feel warmed and stirred to delight in the Lord?
When we meditate on the love of the Lord, our hearts burn within us, and we long to love Him more.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.
11 Do not banish me from your presence,
and don’t take your Holy Spirit* from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you.
13 Then I will teach your ways to rebels,
and they will return to you.
14 Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves;
then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.
15 Unseal my lips, O Lord,
that my mouth may praise you.
M&E 2-5-26 Morning Thought
…We often forget that while the Trinity consists of distinct persons, there is no division in honor among them. Too often, we credit our salvation—or at least its depth of love—more to Jesus than to the Father. This is a serious misunderstanding.
Yes, Jesus came—but it was the Father who sent him. Yes, Jesus spoke with astonishing wisdom—but it was the Father who filled his words with grace so that he could be a faithful minister of the New Covenant.
…The Ancient of Days is your Father and your friend.
Have you ever paused to consider the depth of love in the heart of God the Father, who prepared his Son for this great mission of mercy? If not, let this be your reflection today: the Father sent him. Think about that. Consider how Jesus carried out the will of the Father. In the wounds of the dying Savior, see the love of the great “I AM.” Let every thought of Jesus also lead your mind to the eternal, blessed God, for it was the Lord’s will to crush him and allow him to suffer.
ME 2-5-26 PM
At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike.
What an incredible gift it is to have close, personal communion with God our Father. It’s something the world can’t see or understand—a joy so personal that even our closest friends can’t step into it with us. If we want to hear the quiet voice of God’s love, our hearts must be cleared and tuned to recognize it. May our hearts be ready this very evening, so that when God speaks, we—like Jesus—are immediately prepared to respond.
ME 2-6-26 AM
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.*
From the very moment we first learned how to pray, we have offered countless prayers. Our earliest prayers were all about ourselves—we asked God to have mercy on us and forgive our sins. And He did. Yet even after our sins were wiped away, we kept coming back with more needs.
We prayed for growth and holiness, for grace to guide us and hold us back when needed. We longed for renewed confidence in our faith, for God’s promises to feel real and comforting, for rescue during temptation, strength to do what is right, and help in times of hardship. Over and over, we have had to come to God like beggars, depending on Him for everything our souls require.
And let God’s children testify to this truth: we have never found what our souls need anywhere else. Every bit of spiritual nourishment we have received has come from heaven. Every drop of life-giving refreshment has flowed from Christ alone. Our souls have never been self-sufficient; they have always lived on God’s daily generosity.
That is why our prayers have been so many and so varied—our needs were endless, and God’s provision has been greater still. With so many prayers answered, how can we not say, “I love the Lord, because He hears my cry”? He has listened in times of trouble, strengthened us when we were weak, and helped us even when our faith wavered.
Remember this, and let your heart overflow with gratitude. Praise the Lord, and never forget all the good He has done.
M&E 2-6-26 PM : Intercession
Remember this: praying for others is incredibly powerful. Look at Scripture—it's full of examples of what God has done through it. If you’re a believer, you’re holding a powerful tool. Use it well. Use it often. Use it with real faith, and you will genuinely help others.
When you have God’s attention, speak to Him on behalf of those who are hurting. When you’re welcomed close to Him and He invites you to ask, don’t pray only for yourself—pray for the many who desperately need His help.
If you claim to have faith but never pray for others, that faith is tiny. It may be just enough to save you, but it has no depth. If your faith were deeper, you would carry the needs of others with joy, bring them before God, and return with blessings for them—blessings they might never have received if you hadn’t prayed.
M&E 2-7-26 : Final Journey Home Down a Dark River Called Death (Vianne)
“Get up and move on.” —Micah 2:10
The day is coming—just as it does for everyone—when the call will reach us: “It’s time. Leave the home you’ve lived in, the city where you worked, the people you’ve known and loved. Get up and take your final journey.”
Believer, spend time thinking about heaven. It strengthens your steps and lightens the road. This tear-filled valley is only a passageway to something far better. This broken world is just the threshold to a world overflowing with joy.
M&E 2-8-26 : PM (Super BOWL Sunday)
So ask yourself honestly: is sin losing its grip on you? If a person’s life shows no change, it reveals an unchanged heart. And an unchanged heart has not yet been saved. If Jesus has not made you new—if He has not given you a hatred for sin and a love for holiness—then His saving work has not yet taken root in you.
Grace that leaves a person the same is not real grace. Jesus doesn’t save people in their sins; He saves them from them. Scripture is clear: without holiness, no one will see the Lord. Anyone who claims Christ’s name must turn away from sin.
If we are not being saved from sin, how can we claim to belong to Him?
Lord, save me completely. Rescue me from all evil, and help me live in a way that honors my Savior.
