Below are Pastor Ben's sermon notes from this past Sunday, in case they may be helpful for further study. Intro: (1) Jeremy’s question of “who am I?” (2) a question of what provides my sense of value, worth, meaning, purpose — Emma Thompson (3) attempts to answer this externally through achievement or internally through soul-searching (4) what about asking God?Disconnected from Christ (17-19)1. De...  Read More

Below are Pastor Ben's sermon notes from this past Sunday, in case they may be helpful for further study. Intro: (1) recap (2) read passage (3) “calling” — singular vs. corporate, recognition that all of life with God is a response to what he has initiated toward us (4) format of covering passageThe Foundation of Christian Unity (4-6)1. Spirit (4): (1) “one body” = church (cf. 1:23) — the Spirit c...  Read More

Below are Pastor Ben's sermon notes from this past Sunday, in case they may be helpful for further study. Intro: (1) overview of Ephesians — messy (2) recap of ch.1-3 (3) intro of themes in ch.4-5 — growingThemes1. Growing in unity (4:1-6): (1) read v.1-3 — “unity” in 2:13-14, Acts 2:42, John 17 (2) not the same as uniformity (3) only possible through connection to the unity of the Lord— Tozer’s p...  Read More

I just reached 1 Chronicles in my Bible reading plan. If Leviticus is a good place to get confused, then 1 Chronicles is a good place to get bored. The first nine chapters are all names! Literally, it’s just name after name after name after name. Why would the author of Chronicles do this? The answer comes from the context out of which it was written. In the Hebrew ordering of the Old Testament, C...  Read More

Below are Pastor Ben's sermon notes from this past Sunday, in case they may be helpful for further study. Intro: (1) background of past three years (2) cultural realities, foundation of God’s word, owner vs. steward (3) present church corporately responsible for forming future churchTheology1. OT: (1) Proverbs 22:6  importance of laying spiritual foundation through both love and correction (2) Ex...  Read More

Below are Pastor Ben's sermon notes from this past Sunday, in case they may be helpful for further study. Intro: (1) prayer service — Onwuchekwa book (2) prayer on Sunday mornings — call to worship, confession, pastoral prayer, end of sermon, giving pastoral goal of bringing prayer shape to our congregation (4) 5 reminders about prayerBreathing prayer (17-22): (1) prayer like breathing (2) the pr...  Read More