http://bible.com/events/48733053

Burning Questions: Would a Loving God Really Send Someone to Hell?

What we believe about ETERNITY impacts how we live TODAY.1 Peter 3:15NIV

15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

Why this question specifically?-There are a growing number of influential leaders who have famously argued against even the existence of Hell.-The growth of universalism – which argues that everyone goes to Heaven – states that because God is love, Hell is only make believe. It is used to scare us into being good, but no one will actually end up there.-We love the idea of grace and extravagant love, and have trouble reconciling a God who would allow anyone to suffer eternally.

There are over 162 references in the New Testament alone which warns of hell. Over 70 of these references were uttered by Jesus himself
It’s difficult to ignore:-Matthew 10:28: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”-Matthew 23:33: “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?”-Matthew 25:41: “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’ “-Luke 13:28: “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.”-Luke 16:23: “In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.”

Luke 16:19-31NIV

19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ 25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ 27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ 29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ 30 “ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”Add your private notes…• • •-The point of this parable of Jesus is to pay close attention to your ETERNAL status and not necessarily your EARTHLY status.

Why would a loving God SEND someone to hell?-Biblically, Hell is a choice. It’s YOUR choice and mine.-A choice that people are allowed to make.-God doesn’t WANT anyone to perish (John 3:16), but He grants people the freedom to reject him.-Biblically, Hell is a choice – a choice to reject Heaven.

Two of the scariest lies in our world right now:
LIE #1: We are all good people-Romans 3:9-12 – “there is no one righteousness”-Romans 3:23 “all have sinned and fallen short of His glory”
LIE #2 God would never punish me-He is a God of truth & grace. He is a God of love AND a God of justice.-Revelation 20 – “each person was judged according to what they had done.”

There’s an equally important question we MUST answer today.
The important question as regards to the reality of Hell is: What are we doing about it? Add your private notes…• • •What we believe about ETERNITY impacts how we live TODAY.

http://bible.com/events/48728157

The Gospel of Generosity

“It can’t be all about me and all about Him at the same time.”John 13:34-35NIV

34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”Add your private notes…• • •-The Gospel calls us to a radical form of love, a love that forces us to get our eyes and focus and attention off of ourselves.Add your private notes…• • •The fundamental problem we have is this:It can’t be all about me and all about you at the same time.
or maybe worded this way:It can’t be all about me and all about HIM at the same time.

1 John 3:11NIV

11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.

1 John 3:14-18NIV

14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

At the end of his life, the apostle John is reflecting back on it all, and making conclusions about all he has witnessed in and through the life of Jesus.-Who is my brother or sister? Anyone who has a need. This means that since Jesus laid down his life for us, we are compelled to lay down our lives for anyone who has a need.-What John would say to you and to me? “If seeing a need causes you to freeze up, to close up, or to shrink back, then you don’t really get it! If you experienced Jesus as I did, if you saw what I saw, then there would never be a moment when seeing a need causes you to do that.”

WHAT NOW?

· There is more to the Church than just showing up on Sunday morning.

· Without Jesus, we are the living dead.

· We are God’s handiwork. We have a purpose.

· Our Church, all three campuses must be in Unity to make a difference in our communities.

Christians are to LIVE DIFFERENT. We are to live different so that we will be contagious to others.

We must LIVE IN the world but we must LIVE DIFFERENT. It is a decisive and continual action.

If we look the same as the world, we’re doing something wrong.

If we have anything in us that keeps us from being truly different; let us ask the Lord to reveal that even this morning. A prayer to pray for God to reveal His will to you is found in Psalm 139:23-24,

“Dear God search me O God, and know my heart; test me, and know my thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Lord I desire to continue on the path of everlasting life. Please God speak to me. Help me Lord to live differently than those in the world. You are my God and I trust You with my life. In Jesus Name, Amen.”

The letter of Ephesians is a letter of encouragement to the church. Paul is writing to call them out of their old ways. The Christian answer to this condition is “reconciliation with God”.

Once we repent of our sin and ask Jesus to come live in our heart, we MUST turn in the opposite direction of sin. There is no neutral ground.

How are you representing Jesus? It is either “Good” or “Bad” there is no in-between.

The Evangelist, Billy Graham said “We should have a redemptive relationship with society, as Jesus did.” We are to be in the world, but not of it.

What are you putting into your mind everyday? As we listen to God, we will continue to change all the time to be more like Jesus.

Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world.” STOP. Quit giving in. LIVE DIFFERENT.

Be transformed by the renewal of your mind by putting good things in your mind. When you stop, you must fill the void with the right things.

· Jeremiah 15:16: When your words came, I ate them;

They were my joy and my heart’s delight,

For I bear your name,

Lord God Almighty.

· Psalm 119:9 – With your whole heart search for God. Stay in God’s word. Store up God’s word in your heart so we do not sin against God. This gives us a renewed mind.

Many believers are living in 2 worlds. Trying to honor God and also trying to live and please your friends. It will not work.

Have you ever had the desire to change and not been able to?

Galatians 5:16 “…Walk by the Sprit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

Daily choices matter. Day after day we must be consistent in choosing to Live Differently than those in the world.

Becoming a Christian requires turning from your sin to God. We call this repentance. But repentance is not a one-time event. It defines the lifestyle of a believer. God changes us radically at the moment of salvation by imparting a new life to us, but this is followed by a lifetime of changing into the image of Jesus Christ.

When we turn from sin and turn to God, we are forgiven in Christ’s eyes. He grants a full pardon just like the sin never happened. We are regenerated, ‘made new in Christ’, with a heart that is capable of faith, love and obedience.

When we ask Jesus to live in our heart, we are immediately adopted into the Family of God. Jesus forgives and He instantly gives you a pure heart. Forgiveness, regeneration, and adoption happen simultaneously in the experience of a new believer in Christ.

The Lord wants you, me, and every person who call their self a Christian to encourage each other to LIVE DIFFERENT than the world.

I must die to self and live for Christ.

Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Focus on you. Get to the place where you can walk with the Lord. Die to the old self and allow Christ to have full control of your life. Ask God to help you die to the old self.

http://bible.com/events/48725380

The Measure of Generosity

What is the measure of generosity? So what is the measure of generosity?
Before Jesus came to earth, most people thought they knew how to accurately measure generosity.
But Jesus showed us the new standard. He changed the measurement.
Your method of measurement matters.

Luke 6:27-36NIV

27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. If someone has to love you for you to love them, if you have to like someone in order to love them, if someone has to agree with you in order for you to love them, you are using the wrong standard of measurement.-The principle of the day was one of reciprocity. This principle says one must give in equal measure to what one has received. This was the measurement. But now Jesus introduces a radical new standard.-The call of the disciple is to a greater love, a distinct love, a love that is unique in the world. This is THE new measure of love. A new definition. A new standard. The new standard of generosity!

Our standard is: “What is fair?” God’s standard is: “What is merciful?” (Luke 6:36)Add your private notes…• • •We don’t get to be the ones who decide who deserves to be loved.

Luke 6:37-38NIV

37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Jesus is saying ‘Be careful of the standard you use with others. That’s the standard I will use with you’.“ For the measure you use, it will be measured to you”

What now? Part 4
What now? Part 4 We’re united

What Now? We’re united

‭‭John‬ ‭17:20-23‬‬
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:1-3‬‬
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Be completely humble
Be completely gentle
Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Be patient, bearing with on another in love.
“Patience is the calm acceptance that things can happen in a different order than the one you have in your mind.” David G. Allen
“Bearing with one another means fully accepting them in their uniqueness, including their weakness, and faults, and allowing them worth and space” Andrew T. Lincoln.

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:3‬‬
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

So what now? We’re united

‭‭James‬ ‭3:16‬‬
For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

“There is enough of the flesh in every one of us to wreck any local church and any other work of God” -William MacDonald