Sunday Morning Preview - December 2, 2012

Well another Church Year has flown by and we find ourselves once again approaching the first Sunday of Advent. Our thoughts turn toward Bethlehem and the coming of the long awaited Messiah; and of course here in 2012, Christmas is in the air. The children are excited, the malls are a zoo, and Christians everywhere struggle to find hope for the season and to keep Christ in the forefront.

This Sunday we will light the “hope” candle & I will share a message entitled; “Hope for the Season”.

Hope is hardwired into us; we cannot help ourselves – as the poet Alexander Pope says – “Hope springs eternal in the human breast”! All of our choices are fueled by the hope of a better future.

We begin or end relationships based on hope, we change careers or enter a new line of study - based on hope. Could it be that God is working against us in this endless endeavor? If so; why? Why would a loving God want to lead us to a point of hopelessness and despair?

Find out Sunday at 10:30.

Shoving Aside God's Grace

I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing! Galatians 2:21

Wanting to be justified by our own works through the law is so wrong that the apostle Paul calls this throwing away God's grace. It shows not only ingratitude—which is extremely bad in itself— but also contempt, because we should eagerly seek God's grace. Instead, we shove aside his grace, which we receive free of charge. This is a serious error. Consider Paul's argument: "If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" Paul confidently declares that either Christ's death was pointless, which is the highest blasphemy against God, or Christ's death was essential, and through the law we can have nothing but sin.

Some teachers categorize various kinds of righteousness using distinctions they have made up in their heads. If these teachers try to bring these ideas to theology, they should be kept far away from the Holy Scriptures. For these people say one kind is moral righteousness, another is righteousness of faith, and they describe others I don't even know about. Let civil government have its kind of righteousness, the philosophers have theirs, and each person have their own. But we must understand righteousness the way the Bible explains it. The apostle clearly says that there is no other righteousness than through faith in Jesus Christ. All other works, even those according to the holiest laws of God, do not offer righteousness. Not only that, but they are actually sins.

Our sins are so great and so far away from righteousness that it was necessary for the Son of God to die so that righteousness could be given to us. When discussing theology, don't call anything righteousness that is apart from faith in Christ.

From Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther, James C. Galvin. ©2005 by Zondervan. All rights reserved. No part may be reproduced without written permission from Zondervan, 5300 Patterson Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 49530. Sent from the Martin Luther's Faith Alone Devotional. For devotionals like this one for your iPhone, visit us at 43rdElement.com

Grace, Freedom, Laughter! 

Welcome - November 25, 2012

Welcome to Dakota Community Church

Grace, Freedom, Laughter

Good morning!

Today we are turning our attention toward the coming holiday season. Many people look forward to Christmas all year while others dread the season as a reminder of past pain or disappointment. As believers we need to be able to celebrate the birth of Christ, no matter what else; good or bad, the season may dredge up for us.

This morning’s message is about how the gospel reveals God’s plan for a Merry Christmas!

Enjoy the service and please follow along in the scriptures using the links below.

Scripture for today’s sermon:

Isaiah 9:6-7; Deuteronomy 28:64-65; 1 Peter 2:1-3; Ephesians 5:25; Luke 6:30; 1 Corinthians 6:12-13; Acts 17:24-28; Colossians 3:15-16; Colossians 3:23; Hebrews 10:23-25     

 

Sunday Morning Preview - Nov. 25, 2012

Please join me this Sunday morning at DCC as we kick off the Christmas season with what I am praying will be a life changing time in the Word of God that will lead to the best Christmas ever for many of us.

This time of year stirs a deep longing for something more, something just beyond our reach, something we once knew... or... did we? 

Did we really experience those dream like Christmases of childhood memory or are they merely nostalgic bits and pieces of television specials, and seasonal songs that our minds have assembled to give us hope and keep us sane?

Will 2012 be the year that you finally realize it? The family gathering, the decorations, the food, the gifts; will they all combine - this time - to satisfy that craving? 

How will you find ultimate satisfaction this Christmas?

The Only Path to Life

Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you."John 6:53

No matter what anyone says, this passage is clear. If Jesus had phrased this in the affirmative, "Whoever eats my flesh has life," then somebody could have challenged it by saying, "Those who don't eat it will also be saved." Some scoundrels also say, "Your teaching is correct, but ours is also correct. The Lord didn't mean to exclude other ways." They create many ways to receive eternal life, including praying to the saints, worshiping the Virgin Mary, or living in a monastery. But none of these ways can achieve eternal life. Christ excludes all other ways. They are all unacceptable.

Take a look at this from another angle. If I were to say, "Wittenberg beer quenches thirst. Annaberg beer also quenches thirst," then I don't exclude other beers. But it would be very different if I were to say, "If you don't drink Wittenberg beer, no other beer will quench your thirst." In the same way, Christ doesn't speak in the affirmative here. He excludes everything else when he says, "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." If we despise his flesh, nothing else will prove helpful. I may call on Saint Mary or Saint Peter, but they cannot help me. It's out of the question. In a word, all other ways are rejected.

Life, grace, and salvation come to us by faith alone and not by good works. They become ours by believing and by eating and drinking the body and blood of Christ.

From Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther, James C. Galvin. ©2005 by Zondervan. All rights reserved. No part may be reproduced without written permission from Zondervan, 5300 Patterson Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 49530. Sent from the Martin Luther's Faith Alone Devotional. For devotionals like this one for your iPhone, visit us at 43rdElement.com

Grace, Freedom, Laughter! 

Welcome to DCC - Nov. 18, 2012

Welcome to Dakota Community Church

Grace, Freedom, Laughter

Good morning!

Today we are completing our study of Prophets, prophesy and New Testament prophetic ministry.

Enjoy the service and please follow along in the scriptures using the links below.

Scripture for today’s sermon:

1 Corinthians 13:8-27; 1 John 4:1; 2 Peter 2:1-3;  1 Corinthians 14

 

Sunday Morning November 18th At Dakota

This Sunday morning we will wrap up our look at the ministry gift/office of “Prophet” and how it functions by seeking the answers to the following questions:

• I have been a Christian for a long time but have not seen any of these gifts functioning, wouldn’t this indicate that these things have passed away?
• Should prophesy bring hope and encouragement and confirm something that is already in your heart. What about the prophesy that doesn't bring hope and encouragement?
• Should every prophetic word be brought before the elders and if so why?
• When the Spirit speaks to us, is that always prophesy?  Is this just semantics?
• Is the Spirit of God equal to the Spirit of Prophesy (or not)? 
• Is there any chance I will be put on the spot and asked to prophesy or to be prophesied over?
• How is error to be recognized and properly addressed.
• My experience is that cults use the (false) prophetic to manipulate and control members; how is that safe guarded against?

I hope to see you all Sunday morning!

Welcome! Sunday Nov. 11, 2012

Welcome to Dakota Community Church

Grace, Freedom, Laughter

Good morning!

Today we are completing our study of Prophets, prophesy and New Testament prophetic ministry.

Enjoy the service and please follow along in the scriptures using the links below.

Scripture for today’s sermon:

1 Corinthians 13:8-27; Acts 15:28-32; Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 7; Deuteronomy 18:20-22; Jeremiah 23;29-32; Matthew 7:15; Matthew 24; 1 John 4:1; 2 Peter 2:1-3;  1 Corinthians 14

 

Sunday Morning Preview - Nov. 11, 2012

We will continue this Sunday morning with our walk through the book of Ephesians, seeking to better understand the ministry gift/office of “Prophet” and how it functions.

After last weeks panel discussion I have had a number of questions and comments that I think we should address in the congregational setting. Some of them include:

Is the idea of “making mistakes” in learning the prophetic really biblical?
If there are mistakes made should the whole process be called “prophetic” or is there some other way of describing it?
Is there any chance I will be put on the spot and asked to "prophesy" or to be "prophesied over"?
How is error to be recognized and properly addressed.
My experience is that cults use the (false) prophetic to manipulate and control members; how is that safe guarded against?

I hope to see you all Sunday morning!

Sunday November 4, 2012

Welcome to Dakota Community Church

Grace, Freedom, Laughter

Good morning!

Today we are continuing our study of the “5 fold ministry gifts” from Ephesians 4:11 with a look at Prophets and Prophetic Ministry.

I have asked a few of the folks from PCC to join us for an open forum Question and Answer time as part of today’s gathering.

Enjoy the service and please follow along in the scriptures using the links below.

Scripture for today’s sermon:

Acts 11:27-30; Acts 13:1-12; Acts 19:1-6; Acts 21:7-14; 1 Corinthians 14; 2 Timothy 4:1-6; Acts 21:8; ; Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 1 Cor. 12:27-31 

 

Prayer

Their prayer came up to his holy dwelling place, even unto heaven.

2 Chronicles 30:27

Prayer is the never-failing resort of the Christian in any case, in every plight. When you cannot use your sword you may take to the weapon of all-prayer. Your powder may be damp, your bow-string may be relaxed, but the weapon of all-prayer need never be out of order. Leviathan laughs at the javelin, but he trembles at prayer. Sword and spear need furbishing, but prayer never rusts, and when we think it most blunt it cuts the best. Prayer is an open door which none can shut. Devils may surround you on all sides, but the way upward is always open, and as long as that road is unobstructed, you will not fall into the enemy's hand. We can never be taken by blockade, escalade, mine, or storm, so long as heavenly succours can come down to us by Jacob's ladder to relieve us in the time of our necessities. Prayer is never out of season: in summer and in winter its merchandise is precious. Prayer gains audience with heaven in the dead of night, in the midst of business, in the heat of noonday, in the shades of evening. In every condition, whether of poverty, or sickness, or obscurity, or slander, or doubt, your covenant God will welcome your prayer and answer it from his holy place. Nor is prayer ever futile. True prayer is evermore true power. You may not always get what you ask, but you shall always have your real wants supplied. When God does not answer his children according to the letter, he does so according to the spirit. If thou askest for coarse meal, wilt thou be angered because he gives thee the finest flour? If thou seekest bodily health, shouldst thou complain if instead thereof he makes thy sickness turn to the healing of spiritual maladies? Is it not better to have the cross sanctified than removed? This evening, my soul, forget not to offer thy petition and request, for the Lord is ready to grant thee thy desires.

Sent from the Morning and Evening Devotional, by Charles Spurgeon. For devotionals like this one for your iPhone, visit us at 43rdElement.com

Grace, Freedom, Laughter! 

Sunday November 4, 2012 at DCC

This Sunday morning we will continue our walk through the book of Ephesians, seeking to better understand the ministry gift/office of “Prophet” and how it functions.

The plan is to look at the various passages in the New Testament that describe this gift in operation, to note how the people respond to it and to ask some hard questions about how all of this should look in a modern day congregation. 

Why is there so much controversy surrounding the issue of Prophets and the prophetic ministry in the church today?

Can we disagree on some of these things and still be unified as a body?

At what point does doctrinal error result in ship-wrecked faith?

What is to be done with false prophets and in the case of  incorrect/false prophesies?

Realizing that experience does not trump Bible - what is your experience?

Is there a prophet in the house and if so how is that decided and validated?