Opinions of Men

You are not the sum total of the opinions leveled against you. The righteousness of Christ trumps the opinions of men.

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Grace Will...

Grace will teach you how selfish you are, while it moves you to live for the glory of Another.

Grace will expose the depth of your rebellion, while it works in you a heart to obey.

Grace will reveal the extent of your weakness, while it gives you power beyond what you have ever known.

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Offensive Indeed!

True Gospel preaching will always be "foolishness" to every culture. Any attempt to remove the offense diminishes the power of the Gospel.

Paul Washer

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Things That Make You Go HMMMM

Sunday August 28, 2011

Welcome to Dakota Community Church

Grace, Freedom, Laughter

We are a Christ centred, cross focused community of believers united by the good news of salvation by grace through faith!

You are in for a blessing this Sunday morning as we take a break from the Incommunicable Attributes series to hear the good news from Pastor Chris.

Scripture for “Putting Up or Putting Down”

James 3:2; Proverbs 10:19; Ephesians 4:29; Colossians 4:6; Acts 13:15; Proverbs 11:25-26; Acts 13:15; Acts 13:42-48; Acts 13:15 

August 28, 2011 at Dakota

When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord. (Acts 13:12)

Believers are all ambassadors representing the Kingdom of heaven and its King - Jesus. As such none of us are free to go about voicing opinions or taking actions that are not in line with the will of the King. We are not our own, we were bought at a very high price!

So how are we doing on that front?

Are we representing the King well?

Are our words and actions in line with His will?

Are people believing and being amazed at what we are teaching about the Lord?

You are in for a blessing this Sunday morning as we take a break from the Incommunicable Attributes series to hear the good news from Pastor Chris.

Don’t miss what is sure to be a great service featuring this important message which Chris has entitled: “Putting Up or Putting Down?”

See you Sunday.

Why It Has To Be Jesus

Every human stands guilty of sin before a Holy God who rightfully claims all as His own. We all deserve eternal separation from Him - the just penalty for sin - also known as hell.

God, in his mercy willed to forgive sinful men, and being truly merciful, willed to forgive them righteously, that is, without in any way condoning their sin. Thus He purposed to direct against his own very Self in the person of his Son the full weight of that righteous wrath which they deserved.

Jesus stands alone as the solution to the problem that plagues humanity. He is the door - he does not show us the door, he does not demonstrate the correct behaviour which shall open the door - HE IS THE DOOR!

No one gets to the Father except THROUGH Him.

View From My Hammock

Preachers Love Mondays!

On Hope

"It is impossible for that man to despair who remembers that his Helper is omnipotent."

- Jeremy Taylor

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Life on the Line

You never know how much you really believe anything until it's truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you. 

- CS Lewis

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Sunday August 21, 2011

Welcome to Dakota Community Church

We are a Christ centred Church coming togeather to worship the One who has paid the ultimate price to redeem us for Himself.

In today’s sermon we will examine another one of the incommunicable attributes of God (Those He does not have in common with us).

Self-Sufficiency: God knows no lack

Today’s Texts:

Jeremiah 9:23-24; Psalm 95:1-7; Acts 17:24-25; Genesis 1:1; Job 38:1-7; Job 40:1-14; Job 42:1-6; Romans 11:34-36; Matthew 3:17; Exodus 3:2-6; Acts 9:3-9   

Today's Focus

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2

Remember it's not about you and how you are doing - it's about Him and how He did in your place!

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Worth the Read

Rod Rosenbladt answers how the law functions in sanctification? 

READ: http://t.co/x57ACP7

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Our Substitute

Jesus not only died a substitutionary death for us - absorbing the wrath of God on our behalf - He also lived a substitutionary life for us. His righteous life and it's reward are imputed to us. This means that we are not only saved by grace - we are also kept by grace. 

Go ahead and forget about yourself. It's ALL Him!

The more you keep your focus off of you and how you are progressing and the more you keep your focus on Jesus and His finished work on your behalf the better. 

Don't worry you are not going to drift into sinful living with your eyes fixed on Jesus. If you are really honest, all of your diligent efforts at law keeping have not produced a lot of life change anyway.

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3

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Forgive

When you forgive, that means you absorb the loss and the debt. You bear it yourself. All forgiveness, then, is costly. - Tim Keller

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August 21, 2011 at Dakota

“Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

This Sunday morning we will be continuing our latest series entitled: “God’s Incommunicable Attributes”.

Last Sunday we looked at God’s immutability, this week our subject is His self-sufficiency.

The human experience is one of total dependence.

We are born helpless, unable to feed, clothe or provide for even the most basic of our needs; without immediate and constant help from others we face imminent death.

As life goes on many of us manage to convince ourselves that we are becoming more and more independent - this is of course complete foolishness. We never stop being in need. We require community interaction and human support but; beyond that we need the provision of God, air to breath, organs that function, water, land and to much more to mention.

Our God is completely unlike us in this - living eternally without need of anything outside Himself - I hope to see you Sunday!

Exuding Grace

A sign you're growing in grace: Even your body language is gospel. People feel God's welcome in your presence. - Scotty W Smith

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Nothing is Confidential

Interesting thoughts on the digital revolution

First from Pastor Darryl Dash on the need to be aware of privacy issues:

http://www.dashhouse.com/blog/2011/8/15/nothing-is-confidential.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed

 

From Dr. Albert Mohler – After the Revolution

Welcome to the Brave New World of new media. Over the last two decades, we have experienced nothing less than a revolution in the ways that information is gathered, manipulated, published, and disseminated. And, as is the case with any development of this magnitude, Christians must give careful consideration to our responsibility in the context of this new digital age…

http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/after-revolution/

 

Why Do We Gather?

Acts 2:42

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

These are things Christians are to focus on when they meet togeather.

Ephesians 4:11-13

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

The gathering of the saints is not for those who are “far from God”. The saints gather to be prepared for service, to be built up, and to mature through knowledge of the Son of God. We are to be sensitive to the seeker but not the seeker that has gained prominence in these times. We are to be sensitive to the One who came to “seek and to save”.

Colossians 3:15-17

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Do these things sound “seeker sensitive”? Does this sound anything like what church services have become in the last 15-20 years?

Quote:

We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive. - C. S. Lewis

John 21:15-17

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"

      "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."

 Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"

      He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."

The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"

      Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."

   Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.

Was this a word for Peter only?

I think it is a word for all leaders in the church at all times, feed the sheep!

When the sheep gather the primary purpose is feeding of the sheep!

Sanctification

Sanctification is the long slow process of accepting our justification.

Over time - a long time - belief in the work of Christ, in it's totality, in it's completeness, in it's utter nonreliance upon our contributions; begins to sink in. 

It dawns on us little by little that "It is finished" actually meant - IT IS FINISHED!

The gospel really is good news - lay your burden down.

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Keeping It

God's favor is not earned - or kept - by human effort. His favor is ours because of Christ's effort on our behalf. #Dakotacc

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The Help

Really enjoyed this movie - go see it in the theatre - the story is fantastic and the visuals deserve the big the screen!

The Struggle

Our ongoing fight of faith is to resist the temptation to find our life in anything or anyone other than Christ. Our eternal value and identity are settled forever in Christ.

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Grace is Central

"The very center and core of the whole Bible is the doctrine of the grace of God" 

        - J Gresham Machen. 

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God Knows

"The difference between you and God is that God doesn't think He's you." Anne Lamott

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Sunday August 14, 2011

Welcome to Dakota Community Church

We have gathered to lift up, to exalt, and to make much of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Our desire is to know the one true God as He has revealed Himself in scripture. We do not want to merely know about Him, to continually gather facts without entering into relationship; however the facts He has revealed about Himself are important if we are going to avoid creating a god in our own image.

In today’s sermon we will examine one of the incommunicable attributes of God (Those He does not have in common with us).

Immutability: God does not change.

Today’s Texts:

Jeremiah 9:23-24; Leviticus 10:1-2; Hebrews 6:13-20; James 1:16-17; Deuteronomy 32:3-4; Exodus 3:14-15; Psalm 119:89-90; Jeremiah 31:3; Psalm 100:5; Romans 11:34-36; 1 Peter 5:5; 1 Samuel 15:10-35  

 

 

What is the Gospel

Tim Keller answering, "What is the Gospel?" - http://t.co/u9dHrm1

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The 100% Reality

 "You can do all the Pilates you want, but eventually you're going to die." - Matt Chandler

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Not of this World

We have a longing for something that we remember, but that we have never had. #home - Tim Keller

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Boasting

"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
   or the strong man boast of his strength
   or the rich man boast of his riches,
²⁴ but let him who boasts boast about this:
   that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
   justice and righteousness on earth,
   for in these I delight,"
            declares the LORD.

To know the LORD as He is, as He has revealed Himself; not as I wish Him to be, not as I really feel that He should be - AS HE IS

This is my desire - but not consistently enough - yet another revelation of my need of grace.

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Jude 1:24-25

To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— ²⁵ to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

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Jets logo militaristic? Absurd

http://m.en.canoe.ca/sports/hockey/18542466#.TkWA-2dhYho.mailto

A voice of reason

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Grow In Grace

A sign you're growing in grace: You err on the side of not taking things personally. You're not as hair-trigger fragile - Scotty W Smith

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Watch the Throne

Heb. 4:16 "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of GRACE, that we may receive mercy..." #WatchTheThrone

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August 14, 2011 at Dakota

I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.
I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. (Isaiah 46:9-11)

This Sunday morning we will begin a new series entitled: “God’s Incommunicable Attributes”.

Who is God and what is He like?

If we are made in His image does that mean that He is just like us?

Do we share any of His qualities?

In what ways is He different from us and how can any of these things be known?

Our goal as believers is to know God; not to merely gain information about Him, however we have all met people with some pretty strange ideas that they claim have come out of their experience of God. We want to know the one true God as He is, as He has revealed Himself, not as we imagine or presume Him to be.

This series is about the attributes of God that differ from our own. We will begin with immutability; unlike us, God does not change. Not ever, not even a little bit.

Hope to see you Sunday!

Sunday School Meeting Tonight

There is a fall planning & fellowship meeting tonight for everyone interested in children's ministry at Dakota Community Church.

Location: Pastor Dan and Kathy's backyard 

Time: 7:30pm

  



August 7, 2011 at Dakota

Welcome to Dakota Community Church

We have gathered to lift up, to exalt, to make much of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Enjoy the worship and fellowship around the Word of God as Tyson Keffer brings it today!

Today’s Key Text:

Exodus 3:1-10                    

 

The Hunger

Never content with what it has, the unconverted heart always craves more. But the more it acquires, the less fulfillment it has. -Lawson

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How Can It Be?

Can This Really Be Possible and True? http://t.co/I7Tg69O

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Established in Love

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.    Ephesians 3:17-19

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