Ccr Sermons

Trusted & Trustworthy Pt. 5 – A Steward Let’s God Use their Gifts By Louie Marsh, 2-11-2024     1) I can’t be a good steward and IGNORE my gifts.   “10As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: (1 Peter 4:10 ESV)   ·       This doesn’t mean I use all of them all the TIME.   “15But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; 17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.” (Galatians 1:15–17, ESV)   ·       But when I’m called, I GO!   “8And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” 9And he said, “Go, and say to this people: (Isaiah 6:8–9a, ESV)   2) A Good Steward REJECTS…   ·       PERSONAL exaltation.   “17Elijah was a m

Trusted & Trustworthy Part 4: A Steward is Mission Focused By Louie Marsh, 2-4-2024 Last slide – My Mission   1) Jesus was MISSION FOCUSED.   26If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. 27“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.” (John 12:26–27, ESV)   “34Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” (John 4:34, ESV)   “38For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” (John 6:38, ESV)   2) What is my Mission from GOD?   “19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”” (Matthew 28:19–20, ESV)   Two Major Directions   ·       Outward – “Make D

Trusted & Trustworthy A Steward is Influential By Louie Marsh, 1-28-2024   Last slide – most influential person of all time.   1) God wants me to be a good INFLUENCE on others.   “13“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 14“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13–16, ESV)   Who Am I? by Dietrich Bonhoeffer   Who am I? They often tell me I stepped from my cell’s confinement Calmly, cheerfully, firmly, Like a squire from his country-house. Who am I? They often tell me I used to speak to my warders Freely and friendly and clearly, As though it were mine to comma

Trusted & Trustworthy – Biblical Stewardship Part 2: A Steward is Faithful By Louie Marsh, 1-21-2024     1) Stewards MUST be faithful.   “1This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:1–2, ESV)   Required = sought for. This is what we’re looking for when we want a Steward, someone faithful. If they aren’t faithful then they aren’t right for the job.   2) Being Faithful Means….   ·       I put Christ over CULTURE.   “1For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by

Trusted & Trustworthy – A Biblical View of Stewardship Part One: A Steward is a Servant By Louie Marsh, 1-14-2024       1) When I come to Christ I become a SERVANT.   “1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,” (Romans 1:1, ESV)   This is a radical shift in how I understand and live my life   “14For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” (2 Corinthians 5:14–15, ESV)   I become a servant and a steward:   “1This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. (1 Corinthians 4:1 ESV)   2) This makes decisions SIMPLE.   “1Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:1–2, ESV)   o   If

The Messiah’s Mission Pt. 5: To Give Me Life By Louie Marsh, 1-7-2024   1) Jesus Came to Give Me LIFE.   “24Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24, ESV)   ·       Two words for life in the New Testament   o   Bios -  βίος   - BIOLOGICAL life.   “17But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (1 John 3:17, ESV)   o   Zoe -  ζωή - SPIRITUAL life.   ·       The Christian faith is LIVING like Jesus lived.   14  but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14 (ESV)   ·       I only come alive spiritually when I put my faith IN JESUS.   51  I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.

The Messiah’s Mission Part 3: Communicate the Gospel By Louie Marsh, 12-31-2023   1) Jesus Came…To Preach:   1st PRINCIPLE – followers of Jesus are COMMUNICATORS.   38  And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” Mark 1:38 (ESV)   16  For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 1 Corinthians 9:16 (ESV)   “29Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29, ESV)   THIS MEANS…   ·       I need to be AUDIO VISUAL   16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16 (ESV)   ·       I need to communicate the RIGHT MESSAGE.   1  The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God…14  Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, Mark

The Messiah’s Mission Part 3: To Fulfill the Law By Louie Marsh, 12-24-2023   Slides – happy when I work on Christmas   1) Jesus came to fulfill the Law   17  “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18  For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Matthew 5:17-18 (ESV)   1st PRINCIPLE – I relate to God in an entirely new way.   Because the Law if fulfilled….   ·       I no long have to try & EARN God’s approval.   9  who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 2 Timothy 1:9 (ESV)   ·       If I don’t have to earn God’s approval then I don’t have to earn anyone else’s!   7  Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. Romans 15:7 (NIV)   ·       Everything in

The Messiah’s Mission Part 2: Loving the Truth By Louie Marsh, 12-17-2023   Introduction: Last slide – to solve human equation   9  The true light, which gives light to everyone , was coming into the world. 10  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11  He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. John 1:9-11 (ESV)   1) I came….to Divide.   1st: PRINCIPLE – Truth always DIVIDES   34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.    37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and w

The Messiah’s Mission Part 1: To Do God’s Will By Louie Marsh, 12-10-2023     To Do God’s Will   38  For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. John 6:38 (ESV)   THE PRINCIPLE – Following Jesus is all about doing GOD’S WILL   “2so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.” (1 Peter 4:2, ESV)   1) Which means my EGO must die!   28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” John 7:28-29 (ESV)   5  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6  who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7  but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obed

Wise Up! Part Seven: The Foolishness of God by Louie Marsh, 12-3-2023   Foolishness – Strange Super Powers – SHOW PICS ON CUE   Today we want to talk about a kind of foolishness everyone needs to have in their life - the foolishness of God!! 1) Christianity appears to be  FOOLISH.   “18For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18, ESV)   “14The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14, ESV) 2)  God DESIGNED it that way.   “27But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:27–29, ESV) ·       So I’ll trust Hi

Wise Up! Part 6: Wise In the End by Louie Marsh, 11-26-2023   1) If I’m wise I’ll consider My  DEATH   “12So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12, ESV)   I know that right now I’ve lost some of you - we run and hide from death - it’s not a fun topic - yet we must face and deal with it sooner or later.   There are good reasons for doing so - it pays off not only in the next life but in this one too!   2) Doing so give me the PROPER PERSEPCTIVE on life.   “5For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5, ESV)   The body ages in 7 year cycles - if you are 30 or over - your carcass is decaying at an ever increasing rate!!  Oil of Schmolay, Oriental Pearl Dream, etc. won’t stop it - neither will the Psychic Hot Line!!   Of course everyone knows this - but most people avoid thinking about it and so end up wasting their life.   3) Wisdom’s Proper Perspective   On Myself

Wise Up! #5 Part 5: “Acting Wise in Relationships” by Louie Marsh, 11-19-2023   Intro.  Last slide getting bored   “18And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (James 3:18, ESV)   ·       Wisdom is a ­­­­­LIFESTYLE   “13Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.” (James 3:13, ESV)   ·       Lack of wisdom causes CONFLICT   “14But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.” (James 3:14–16, ESV)   Relating Wisely To Others   1.     If I’m Wise I Won’t Compromise  MY INTEGRITY   “17But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” (James 3:17, ESV)   “9Whoever walks in integrity

Wise Up! Part Four: Wisdom in Action by Louie Marsh, 11-12-2023   Intro. Continuing our series on Wisdom. Need for wisdom shown this week by couple who were drinking and driving with some dynamite in car. Thought it would be funny to light it and throw it, drank more - if became funnier. Finally they lit and threw it - just one problem - they had forgotten to roll down the car window! They are expected to recover.   1) Get the FACTS   “14But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed at them. 15Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. 16They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. 17Now therefore know this and consider what you should do, for harm is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is such a worthless man that one cannot spea

Wise Up! Part 3: One S.H.A.R.P. Woman by Louie Marsh, 11-5-2023   Intro. Biblical Wisdom is a moral rather than an intellectual quality. To be "foolish" is to be godless; wisdom is man's approach to life, arising out his life in the covenant bestowed by God... wisdom is the teaching of a personal God who is holy and just and who expects those who know him to exhibit his character in the many practical affairs of life.   Pictures – last one text about wise woman.   Biblical wisdom shown in a little know story about a wise woman in a difficult situation.   S - SEIZE the Initiative   “16Then a wise woman called from the city, “Listen! Listen! Tell Joab, ‘Come here, that I may speak to you.’ ”” (2 Samuel 20:16, ESV)   “7a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;” (Ecclesiastes 3:7, ESV)   1)    2 extremes to avoid - speaking too soon - brashly shooting your mouth off 2)    being to passive never saying anything!   H - HAVE  a Respectful Attitude   “17And he came near he

Wise Up! #2 Being Wise & Happy by Louie Marsh, 10-29-2023   Intro.  Mr T last one.   1)    What Wisdom Will Do For me.   “13Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, 14for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. 15She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. 16Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. 17Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. 18She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.” (Proverbs 3:13–18, ESV) ·       Wisdom Makes me HAPPY.   “13Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding,” (Proverbs 3:13, ESV)   Word blessed is the closest word to happy in the Bible - it means being blessed or happy because God is working in your life. Lloyd John Ogilvie suggested “Congratulations.” ·       Wisdom Makes me  PROFITABLE .   “14for the gain from her is better th

Wise Up! #1 God Calls Me to Be Wise By Louie Marsh, 10-22-2023   Introduction: 10 Things It Took Me 50 Years to Learn   10) The main accomplishment of almost all organized protests is to annoy people who are not in them.  9) The one thing that unites all humans beings regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that deep down inside we ALL believe we are above average drivers.  8) There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age 11.  7) You will never find anybody who can give you a clear compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.  6) When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that person is crazy!  5) No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously.  4) When God decides to deliver a message to mankind He WILL NOT use as His messenger a person on cable TV with a bad ha

Revealed the Miracles of Jesus Part Ten: Something Fishy Here By Louie Marsh, 10-15-2023     1) Jesus gives a STRANGE command.   “5Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.” (John 21:5–6, ESV)   “3Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they bega

Revealed: the Miracles of Jesus Part 9: The Resurrection of Lazarus By Louie Marsh, 10-8-2023   Possible Evidence of Life After Death:   The EEG scans of more than 500 patients who had suffered cardiac arrest were studied. Sadly, most of them were unable to be revived. But 53 patients were returned to life and consciousness. Of those, nearly a dozen reported memories of a “sense” of awareness while they were dead and six reported an NDE (Near Death Experience). But if the person has expired and their brain functions have essentially ceased, how are they storing any memories, to say nothing of experiencing something? Are we looking at medical proof of an afterlife?   The few scientists who have addressed these questions previously have typically attributed these memories to random synaptic firings in the brain as it’s in the process of dying. But these results seem to suggest something more may be going on.   1) Jesus SHAPES the scene.   “5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6So, when he hear

Revealed the Miracles of Jesus Pt. 8 When Is a Tax Not a Tax? By Louie Marsh, 10-1-2023   Pictures & video from Turkey Trip   1) Jesus shows me to LOOK beneath the surface.   “24When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” 25He said, “Yes.”  (Matthew 17:24–25a, ESV)   In Moses’ time, each person over the age of 20 was to give a half-shekel offering (the equivalent of two Roman drachmas) for the support of the tabernacle (see Ex. 30:11–16). This practice was still being observed some 1,500 years later, in Jesus’ day, to maintain the temple.   2) The Temple Tax shows me my need…   ·       To be RANSOMED   “11The Lord said to Moses, 12“When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them.” (Exodus 30:11–12, ESV)   “43But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must