Lisa Godard (Lisa)

Sermon Outline “Until He Comes: Be Faithful Stewards” - I Peter 1:1-11 Steward: “sty ward” - warden, guardian, manager, fiscal agent, superintendent, etc (Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary). Christians are called to be stewards of God’s grace, truth & work. *{Romans 12:1, Galatians 2:20} 2012 Theme: Until He Comes - looking for Jesus to come again & seeking to live according to that perspective. Faithful Steward: 1)Thinks like his/her Master, Jesus - vs1. *{I Peter 3:18, Philippians 2:5} 2)Not driven by human passions, but God’s will - vs2. 3)Not given over to sin - vs3. 4)Not deterred by unbelieving (or even believing) friends - vs4 - May be maligned. - Should be concerned for their spiritual welfare - vs5. - Gospel preached to those who are dead - before they died - vs6. 5)Is mindful of the time - “end of all things is at hand” - vs7. 6)Is self-controlled & sober-minded (sober, not sour) - vs7. Prayers not hindered by unconfessed sin nor selfish pursuits, but are “on point.” 7)Loves brothers & sisters in Christ - “above all” - vs8. “Love covers a multitude of sins.” 8)Is hospitable - opening & offering life to others - vs9. “Without grumbling!” 9)Is gifted by God & uses gift(s) to serve - vs10. We are to be instruments/channels of God’s grace. 10)Is totally dependent on God & represents God - vs11. *{“choregeo” (from which we get word choreography) - “to be a chorus leader, furnish the chorus at one’s own expense” (Strong’s).} 11)Seeks God’s glory always - vs11. Being a faithful steward is a calling beyond our reach. It is only as the indwelling Holy Spirit works in and through us that we can be faithful stewards. Give yourself away to God; yield to the Holy Spirit’s control. Until He comes, be about His business and be faithful stewards of His grace.

"This the power of the cross. Christ became sin for us. Took the blame, bore the wrath, we stand forgiven at the cross." Sermon Outline “Until He Comes: Be Assured or Be Warned” - I Peter 3:18-22 The death & resurrection of Christ is the centerpiece of Christianity. They mean everything to the Church. We celebrate Christ’s triumph today & will celebrate until He comes again. His triumph is our assurance. But it is also warning to the unbeliever - warning of sure judgment. I Peter 3:18 - the Gospel beautifully expressed. “made alive by the Spirit” is a better translation. Jesus was put forth as the propitiation for our sin - “He took the blame, bore the wrath.” But He also was “made alive by the Spirit” - the Holy Spirit. If anyone does not embrace that truth by faith, he/she has no other provision for salvation or reconciliation w/God & no other hope for eternal life. The death/resurrection of Christ is the hinge/linchpin upon which our salvation swings, but it is also the hinge upon which condemnation/judgment swings! Example of Noah & those of his day: The same Holy Spirit who raised Christ from the dead - the Spirit of Christ, preached thru Noah to the people of his day, calling them to repentance & submission to God. The Spirit’s message thru Noah was both a promise of deliverance & a warning of judgment. If they had listened & repented/submitted to God, they would not only been saved from the flood, but the death of Christ on the cross would have paid for their sins, & His resurrection would have meant their justification before God, just as is true for Noah. However, for them, the death/resurrection of Christ means nothing but condemnation. It’s the very same for us! If we embrace Christ by faith, and thus submit to Him as Lord, we can be assured of a clear conscience before God, His resurrection power flowing in & through us. Be assured as you celebrate this Resurrection Sunday. If not, be warned! The wondrous message of salvation becomes a message of judgment. Do you believe? Are you His? What saves us is an appeal to God, by faith in Christ, for a good conscience, thru the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has done it for us. He is Lord of all. But the same Lord who accomplished our salvation is the Lord who will judge. Are you assured or warned? I pray that if you are warned, you will come to Christ by faith & be assured of life in Him, the risen, conquering Savior & King!

Sermon Outline “Until He Comes: Practice in Church!” - I Peter 3:8-17 It must confuse those who aren’t Christians when they see churches splitting, or people in churches not getting along, or one church not affiliating with another. 2012’s theme: Until He Comes - looking for Jesus to come again & living according to that perspective. In I Peter we who have come to Christ and belong to God are challenged to practice “honorable conduct” before unbelievers. I Peter 3:8-17 - Part of the honorable conduct must be how we relate to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. Practice in Church - not only while in the church building, but within the church family and with all brothers and sisters in Christ. John 13:34-35 - Our love for one another is a witness to the world! How do we properly relate to one another in Christ? - Unity of mind (Jesus’ mind, shown in the Word of God). - Sympathy - bearing the joy or sorrow of others. - Brotherly love - “I have to love him/her, but I don’t have to like him/her” - NO! - Tender heart - compassion. - Humble mind - putting others before yourself. - Blessing instead of retaliation - not just for Jesus or others, but for your own sake. How do we bless others? Forgive, act in love, pray for God’s blessing, etc. - Psalm 34:12-16 delineates the blessings that come from turning from evil to do good - life is more enjoyable and good, God keeps His eyes on us (to see our need & bless us) and hears our prayers. Blessings from God are better than the evil we might “enjoy.” - Vs.13-17 - How to handle it when our good is returned with evil (from believers or unbelievers). In the real world, this will sometimes happen. Know that God will bless you in the midst of the suffering (and balance the scales!). He will take care of His own. “The presence or possibility of suffering should not make us shrink back from doing good.” (David Gudzik) Sanctify (set apart, hallow) Christ in your heart - He is your Lord. Seek Him first. Be ready to make a defense, not of self, but of your faith. Others will ask the reason for the hope within you (how you’re handling the difficulty so well). Correct answer(s) - Jesus Christ is my Lord and example, the grace of God, etc. Your good conduct in the face of mistreatment will, in time, prove others wrong. Wait on the Lord! “No one wants to suffer, but better to suffer for doing good than for evil.” (Gudzik) Next week: the example and victory of Christ. Until He comes, let us remember whose we are and practice living like who we are in Christ! Practice with your church family!

Title: I am what I am Scripture: 2Co 3:18 (ESV) And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. However you and I strive all the time to be something that we are not. We strive to be a better Christian Or we strive to do better works for God Or we strive to bring glory to God These things are all striving in vain. For the only work good enough for this Holy God - Is the work done by this Holy God - His name is Jesus Christ - His work alone is the only work o good enough for almighty God The sin nature knows my flesh can not please God - So striving to make my flesh please God - Is futile and worthless. Rom 7:18 (ESV) For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. Rom 8:8 (ESV) Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Paul tells us that our flesh cannot please God Paul concludes in Rom Ch. 7 - That his flesh serves the law of sin. - His flesh cannot please God. Rom 8:3 (ESV) For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, And the best lies that our sin nature and satan have. - Is that we need to strive to fight our sin - And that we need to strive to be the Christians that we are supposed to be. Sin will always get in your and my face - Sin will always pick a fight with us - Sin wants us to retaliate against it. - But what does being dead to Sin really mean? This is why Paul says: Rom 6:11 (ESV) So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. We strive to fight the sin - Because the sin enticed us to fight it. - It picked the fight o And we get in the ring - We fight until there is no energy left - And the sin will win the fight - Make no mistake o Sin will always win o When we choose to fight it. Telling someone to let it go - Is really a foolish thing to say. We were never recreated to fight the sin in our lives. - We were made dead to it. - And made alive to God Striving to know Jesus more - is not striving to not sin Striving to know Jesus more - Is not doing good and right things Striving to know Jesus more - In not striving to bring God Glory Striving to know Jesus more - Means – Striving to know Jesus more When someone says - be the Christian you were meant to be - It’s like saying to the moon shine brighter than what you are shining now. It’s foolishness. Because the moon can only be what the moon is We can only be what we are. The burden of change is not on me. - The burden of change in not on you. - Our only true burden is to strive to know Christ more. The electricity cannot change It will be what it is. Because that is all that it is. But if that electricity passes through a transformer - It is changed - Into what the transformer wants it to be. 2Co 3:18 (ESV) And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Sermon Outline “Until He Comes: Practice at Home!” - I Peter 3:1-7 Children’s educational game: “One of these is not the same” At 1st glance, it seems that I Peter 3:1-7 doesn’t fit with the context. 2012’s theme: Until He Comes - looking for Jesus to come again & living according to that perspective. Peter has reminded us whose and who we are. He calls us to “honorable conduct” before unbelievers. What does the marriage relationship have to do with looking for Jesus to come again? What does it have to do with our witness? For too many of us, it’s as if we’re thinking, “One of these is not the same; marriage/family are personal matters which have nothing to do with my faith/relationship with God or interaction with unbelievers. ” AU CONTRAIRE! Paul makes it clear in Ephesians 5:32 that marriage is a picture of the relationship between Christ and the Church. So, a healthy, godly marriage points to Jesus. That’s why Paul and Peter included the marriage relationship in their teaching about living out the Christian life. It’s very important that husbands and wives remember whose they are and who they are in Christ when it comes to marriage. It’s vitally important that each see the spouse as brother or sister in Christ (if they are indeed in Christ). It’s of utmost importance that each spouse live as husband or wife in obedience to Christ as Lord! I Peter 3:1-7 I)Wives, be submissive. - Respectful and pure conduct - a witness to unbelieving husbands (& an example to believing husbands). - Internal beauty more than external - a gentle and quiet spirit - precious in God’s sight. - Holy women (like Sarah) adorn themselves with inner beauty, which includes submission. - Do not fear - look to God first! Rest in Him! II)Husbands, live with your wife in an understanding way. - Honor your wife - treat her as the precious vessel she is! - See your wife as the fellow heir she is. - Prayer is hindered by neglect or mistreatment of your wife, or by your not taking the spiritual lead! Healthy marriages lead to healthy families which lead to healthy churches. Your marriage matters! Until He comes, let us remember whose we are and practice living like who we are in Christ! Practice at home!

Sermon Outline “Until He Comes: Practice!” - I Peter 2:13-25 “Practice makes perfect” - too many of us have stopped practicing! 2012’s theme: Until He Comes - looking for Jesus to come again & living according to that perspective. How should we live in light of Christ’s soon return? Peter has reminded us whose and who we are: those who have come to Christ, the foundation of our lives and the cornerstone of the Church. - “Living stones,” which Jesus is using to build His Church, a “spiritual house.” - Priests to God and together a “holy priesthood.” - A Chosen Race, Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation, a People for God’s Own Possession & Sojourners & Exiles in this world. I Peter 2:11-12 - “Abstain from the passions of the flesh…keep your conduct…honorable…” I Peter 2:13-25 - some of what that looks like. I)Submit to governmental authority - vs13-15. President Obama is your/my president! Pray for him! II)Live as free people who are servants (doulos) of God - vs16. III)Honor everyone - vs17. IV)Submit to and respect your employer and/or boss - vs18-20. Servant: “oiketes” - domesticate, servant; not “doulos” - slave (vs16). V)Follow Christ’s example - vs21-25. He suffered unjustly, but He did not sin. He did not revile in return, nor seek revenge, but trusted Himself to His Father, the righteous Judge. He bore our sins on the cross, “that we might die to sin & live to righteousness.” We are healed by His wounds - be thankful! VI)Don’t stray any longer, but return to and follow “the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” Until He comes, let us remember whose we are and practice living like who we are in Christ! Practice, practice, practice!

Sermon Outline “Until He Comes: Know Whose & Who You Are!” (Pt2) - I Peter 2:4-12 Self-esteem: “a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of her or his own worth,” good or bad The claim that good self-esteem is the cure for society’s ills is still prevalent. But is it true? Phil Cooke (The Change Revolution): The only problem with teaching self-esteem [is] it doesn’t work.” Professor Jean Twenge - Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled – and More Miserable than Ever Before. “Obsession with self- esteem has fuelled the rise of depression in the US, is encouraging narcissism, and undermining the skills of young people.” The Bible does not teach self-esteem, but self-denial - Mt 16:24-25 Do you know whose/who you are? 2012’s theme: Until He Comes - looking for Jesus to come again & living according to that perspective. God is here with us now & Jesus is coming again! We are enabled by God the Holy Spirit to so live for God’s glory as He teaches us whose we are & who we are in Christ & helps us live that out. I Peter 2:4-12 We are those who have come to Christ, the foundation of our lives and the cornerstone of the Church. We are “living stones,” which Jesus is using to build His Church, a “spiritual house.” We are in Christ priests to God and together a “holy priesthood.” We are I)A Chosen Race - “genos” - “kindred, offspring, family, stock, tribe, nation - the aggregate of many individuals of the same nature” (Strg’s). Romans 8:29 II)A Royal Priesthood - Holy/set apart priesthood, but also royalty! III)A Holy Nation - a nation of people set apart by God for Himself - Phil. 3:20 - Our loyalty belongs 1st to God. IV)A People for God’s Own Possession - Simply put, we belong to God. We are somebodies because we belong to Somebody greater than ourselves, somebody w/a claim on our lives, somebody who has redeemed us for Himself & in so doing has attributed worth to us. God has given us purpose: “That you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” V)Sojourners & Exiles - Sojourners - foreigners living in a place w/out the right of citizenship Exiles - those residing in the land of others. “This world is not our home” We so want to belong, but Peter is saying, “live as if you don’t belong here; live like you belong to Jesus May they see Jesus in us & give glory to God. Until He comes, let us remember whose we are and live like who we are in Christ!

Sermon Outline “Until He Comes: Know Whose & Who You Are!” - I Peter 2:4-12 Identity theft, identity crisis, show your ID - You have to have an ID for it to be stolen, in crisis, or shown. Do you know who you are? 2012’s theme: Until He Comes - looking for Jesus to come again & living according to that perspective. God is here with us now & Jesus is coming again! Until He comes, we need to know/understand whose we are & who we are, specifically who we are in Christ. Peter addresses that topic in I Peter 2:4-12 I)We are those who have come to Christ. J. I. Packer: “Call on the coming Judge to be your present Savior.” (Knowing God, Chapter 14, Page 147) Why come to Jesus? That He might be the foundation of your life. II)He is the Cornerstone, rejected by men, but precious & chosen by God. John 1:11, I Peter 2:6-7b There is no other foundation, no other cornerstone for the Church. I Peter 2:8, Matthew 21:44 III)All who are in Christ are like “living stones,” which Jesus is using to build His Church, a “spiritual house.” Individually we are “the temple of the Holy Spirit” (I Corinthians 6:19), but not the Church. Individually we are to build upon the foundation of Christ - Matthew 7:24-27, I Corinthians 3:11-15 What are you building? What will last? Together we are the Church. God is building us together. Together we are being built by God into a spiritual house, aligning us with Jesus, the Cornerstone. It’s God’s work, but we cooperate by aligning with Christ (“Be holy, for I am holy”). IV)All who are in Christ are together “a holy priesthood.” Jesus is our High Priest; we need no other mediator! Priest - Represents God before men, men before God (pray, witness); - Serves God by worship & work. - Spiritual sacrifices - Romans 12:1, Hebrews 13:15-16 Whose are we? We belong to God, bought by the blood of Jesus. Who are we? We are living stones in the hands of God. We are priests, together a holy priesthood. Until He comes, let us remember whose we are and live like who we are in Christ!