Coming to the Still Waters

     I preached a stand alone sermon on John 21 and called it the Peter's Restoration this Sunday.  I am taking passages that would come after the end of the gospel of Matthew through the ascension of Jesus to Pentecost.  We are looking at them to give encouragement and instruction to flex our spiritual muscles to share the gospel with those that God has put around us already.  This Sunday was a type to look at the character of Peter and compare that to many who are like him.  They tried God; were touched by God; spoke for God; but now are back doing what they were doing before.  Peter went back fishing and took some of his buddies along.  We have friends and family that fall into that model.  Jesus comes to Peter and challenges him on his love for Him and also gives him instruction on what He wants him to do.  Peter gets a personal prophecy from Jesus about his life and his death.  Peter would grow old.  Peter would be used by God to tend and shepherd the little lambs and sheep. 

First - an opportunity to Skype with a church member in Nigeria, Africa at an orphanage - put it on the big screen and have the children sing to us - unbelievable what is possible today... Second - an opportunity to share in a very different way the power of the gospel with the congregation and have them get excited about taking that first step spiritually with people God has put around them... Third - to be thankful that God has everything under control in my life and I need to wait for it to unfold so I am assured of giving Him all the glory for it. Here are the videos shown this morning.  God help our church to be used in the process of all of this and see more be redeemed into His fold. Link to part 3 Link to part 4 God bless your week as I am filled up by Him this Lord's Day. Adam

     I started on Sunday, January 8th, 2012 and complete the book of Matthew on Sunday, March 16th, 2014.  I had thought about that day and that sermon a lot because I knew it was ending or coming to the climax with the Great Commission.  We could not just read that passage without putting into place a plan to act upon it.  I really like the idea that we had graduated with Jesus and we were being commissioned by Him on that morning.  Jesus is with us and will help us to start handing out those cards about our Resurrection Sunday (Easter) service in a few weeks.      So...where do I go from here?  I thought maybe God was waiting for me to complete this book and then open the door where He wants Stephanie and I to go but that hasn't happened yet.  It is so hard waiting and searching and trying hard not to plan but still doing some planning just in case.  I know the weeks leading up to Easter will be filled with sermons on transformed lives in the Bible and God's plan to use the

I am approaching my last sermon in Matthew with great anticipation.  It really isn’t the end of the book but really the climax of the message.  Jesus told His disciples from the onset that they would be fishers of men.  Jesus then picked them, spend time with them (3 years), taught them, trained them, taught them some more, lead them, and now He is going to commission them as “fishers of men” just like He said from the beginning. It is a challenge to me and it will also be a challenge to the church to take on this commission as the disciples did.  Those of us who are available and worshiping who Jesus is and submitting to the authority of Him need to see the need or better yet command to obey this final instruction from our Lord to “go and make disciples...”  We have probably all have been guilty of the sin of omission in this area of our lives.  “As we were going...” not making disciples and baptizing them and teaching them to the level of fully devoted followers of Christ.  If we are

     I am nearing the end of this series of sermons on the book of Matthew - 2 years and 2 1/2 months worth.  Next Sunday will be the last and I have a plan for the Sundays leading up to Resurrection Sunday but I need to take some time in prayer for the next book after that.      This Sunday was the passage that Matthew records about the cover up plan.  He is the only Gospel writer that gives us this information.  He skips over many of the eye witness accounts of Mark, Luke, and John to give us the lie that was going around the neighborhood of Jerusalem.      I think it was given to let us compare the two sides of this event of the resurrection.  You either believe the 500+ people who were eye witnesses of the risen Lord at different times and different settings and some living at the time of the recording for that 40 days that Jesus was here after the resurrection or I believe the account of the guards who say the disciples came in and stole the body of Jesus while they were sleep