01/28/2024 Church service

周日礼拜

视频

LIFE 生活

John 10:7-10: Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
約 翰 福 音 10:7-10: 耶稣又说∶“我实话告诉你们，我就是羊圈的门。 在我之前来的人都是小偷、强盗，而且羊群也不听他们的。 我就是这扇门，从我这扇门进来的人将得救。他既能进又能出，他将会找到牧场。 小偷来只会偷、会杀、会破坏。我来是为了让他们获得生命—那是富足和美好的生命。 (page 1738)

John 12:24 – “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
約 翰 福 音 12:24: 我实话告诉你们，如果一颗麦粒没有落在地里死去，它依然是一粒种子，但是，一旦它死了，它就会结出许多麦粒 (page 1744)

Eph 5:14: Thus God speaks through the scriptures: “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”
以弗所书 5:14: 因为光能使一切显明出来。因此有人说：“沉睡的人啊，醒来吧！从死人中起来吧，基督要光照你了！”(page 1899)
Gal 2:20 – My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
加拉太书 2:20: 我已经与基督一同被钉在十字架上，现在活着的不再是我，而是基督活在我里面。我现在是靠信上帝的儿子而活着，祂爱我，为我舍命。(page 1887)

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视频脚本 Script

Near-Life Experiences
John 10:1-10

Turbulence on a plane ride home…
My thoughts were not so much about past mistakes, but about what contributions I had still hoped to make in my life. All of the life I had postponed until “someday soon.”
The times I had held back on taking new actions because of fear or self-limitations.
The fear of breaking free from my own comfort zone.

Everybody needs a “do-over” at some point.
Look around – you’ll see a lot of do-overs that never happened.

The new beginning must start with an end. “closure”
The end is only the beginning, because it releases the new into existence.

Last week: Decluttering our hearts.
Cleaning out the closet of your life. Surrendering the past.
Surrendering should not be viewed as a loss – it should be a liberation.

"Personal growth is a process where we begin to lose the limitations of who we were in recognition of who we can become."

Jesus said in John 12:24 – “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

? What do you need to die to in order to come back to life – to a new beginning?

Prayer of St Francis: “It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”

Eph 5:14: “Awake, thou that sleepest…”
Only by waking from our sleep can we recognize we have been asleep.

? Are we living our lives or just trying to stay safe until we leave this earthly body?
How long can a person just go through the motions without ever truly living?

A spy was captured and sentenced to death by a general in the opposing army.
Before carrying out the sentence the general gave the spy a strange choice. He told him he could have his choice of a firing squad or a big black door. After much deliberation the spy chose the firing squad and within a few moments he was dead.
The general turned to his aide and said, “They always prefer the known way to the unknown.”
The aide then asked the general, “What’s behind the black door?”

“Freedom!,” replied the general.
Behind the black door is a passageway that leads outside, but only a few have been brave enough to see what was behind it!

Fear is the big, black door that keeps us trapped inside our comfort zones!
In order to be free from what imprisons us, we must be brave enough to open the door!

We must be brave enough to let go of what we have in order to receive what God wants to give us – which is a truly abundant life.

In the human body, scar tissue can inhibit healthy functioning.
It is the same way with our emotions. Trauma – hurts - disappointments
We can often allow scar tissue to form on our soul that inhibits us from receiving fresh light from the Son.

We are all unique individuals – with unique and vital purposes for being here.

 Your purpose is not a job – your purpose is a life-long journey that should be filled with joy and a passion for daily living.

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation."

We can no longer tolerate going through the motions in our lives, having a near-life experience.
Today is a day to wake-up and live.

“The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” Good Things

Your new life begins on the other side of your comfort zone. (dog sitting on a nail)

Your comfort zone may not be so “comfortable” – but it is what you are used to.
…What you’re “familiar” with
Notice the word “familiar” ends with the letters “liar”

…because we are responding and resonating with what is comfortable – what may be familiar to us – but not what is necessarily true or best for us.

This is why we often gravitate back to the same people and make the same kinds of mistakes.
Prov 26:11 – “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.”

We have to abandon our comfort zones – we must forsake the familiar – if we are to grow.
We may feel comfortable with people and situations just because of our previous programming.
This is a symptom of a near-life experience.

The comfort zone may seem “comfortable” – like a well-worn pair of sneakers – but those old shoes won’t serve you well if you are planning on training to run a 5k…
…or even a nice walk around the park.

Jung : “First you must realize you are asleep, then you wake,
Then you die so you can be born
You cannot be born until you die and you cannot die until you wake.”

unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

“Awake thou that sleepest…” it’s time to wake up and live again.

Serenity Prayer: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change,
to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know that one is me.”

People will do all kinds of odd things in order to stay comfortable. (hoarding)

Many people find ways to stop addictive behaviors but never escape the shame of their past actions. They’re still addicts and abusers in their self-images.

Sometimes it’s destructive actions we take – sometimes it’s in-action
Avoidance – Resistance – Denial – all are ways to keep us trapped in our pasts.
“Paralysis by Analysis”
We remain stuck. Inertia.
We still identify with a past that we haven’t fully died to yet. (ponder)

The shame of the past can be healed by a present-day confession and release.

Liberation is God’s plan for us.

“The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”

The thief wants to keep you in chains to your past so you cannot live in today.

“Confess your faults that you may be healed.” (intention)
Can you just confess your faults – your old mistakes – and then die to them?

Gal 2:20 – “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, (key)
who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Your sin – your shame – were nailed to the cross.
> You can’t take them back off of that cross – no matter how hard you may try.
(what are you still holding on to?)

Substitutionary Atonement: “The guiltless given for the guilty”

4 Words (Jesus Paid It All)

Heb 12:2 - We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete. He endured the shame of being nailed to a cross, because he knew that later on he would be glad he did.

? Are you redeemed by Christ and His sacrifice? “I’ve been redeemed”
“A double-minded person is unstable in all their ways”

The choices and actions we make that are still based on our past mistakes (sins) are the equivalent to driving your car using your rearview mirror

There is a reason your windshield is much larger
It indicates the direction we should be moving. Forward.

Prayer:
Hold out your hands.
Hold your past hurts and failures in your hands. Feel them.

“Lord, I give you my past hurts. My past failures.
My past sins. My past mistreatment.

I know that you bore all of this on the cross for me, so that I wouldn’t have to. You knew I couldn’t handle this in my own power – so you allowed Your strength to overcome my weaknesses.
Take this all away from me now.
Give me the grace to let it go.

In Jesus’ name.”

Look into your hands and realize that there is nothing there.

Hillside United Methodist Church
3739 US 80
Phenix City  AL  36870
United States
Pastor: Mike J Koger

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