Cross Bridge Church - A Church of the Nazarene
Summer Series: Dr. Larry Dennis June 23th, 2024
Our mission is helping people move from where they are to where God wants them to be.
Locations & Times
Cross Bridge Church
651 Barnes Blvd, Rockledge, FL 32955, USA
Sunday 9:00 AM
Sunday 11:00 AM
SERMON NOTES
What’s Missing?
“...that we may supply what is lacking in your faith!”
1 Thessalonians 3:10
The Apostle Paul loved the Church in Thessalonica. It was his ‘baby’, he planted and nurtured it. He left his infant Church prematurely because he was forced to. He had not yet returned to Thessalonica at the time he wrote 1 Thessalonians because Satan was “standing in his way.”
But, brothers and sisters...out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way.
1 Thessalonians 2:17-18
Paul’s love for the Thessalonians continued to increase as he sincerely longed to disciple and be with them.
(Continue following in 1 Thessalonians - Chapters 1 - 4)
Paul’s Heartfelt Longing to Visit the Church
1:2 - We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers.
1:5 - Our Gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep convention.
Timothy’s Welcomed Report in Thessalonians
3:6-7 - Good news about your Faith and Love - Your faith encourages us.
3:8 - We ‘really’ live because we are standing firm.
3: 9 - Giving Thanks for the Church - How can we thank God enough? We have great joy in the presence of God because of you.
An Unexpected Surprise!
3:10 - Pray night and day for you...Pray ‘most earnestly’ That we may see you again and ________________________________what is ________________________________in your faith.
3:13 - May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.
We cannot do this by __________________________________
___________________________________under our own power
4:1 - Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.
hat does it mean to be sanctified? It is to be ______________________ for a special purpose.
It is God's will that you should be sanctified. 1 Thessalonians 4:3
To make holy or sacred
The state or process of being set apart
"Made holy", as a vessel, full of the Holy Spirit of God
Two Categories of Sin - Committed and ___________________________
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Left on our own, we will always choose the wrong way. In Christ,
We are given the opportunity to be restored.
We can live the life we were originally created to live.
John Wesley (1703-1791) on Inherited Sin
The great end (plan) of religion is to renew our hearts in the image of God, to repair that total loss of righteousness and true holiness which we sustained by the sin of our first parent (Adam).
A Purified Heart is the Only Answer for Inherited Sin ‘For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you His Holy Spirit.’ 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8
God’s Plan is to __________________________ our Heart.
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:25-26
Complete and total __________________________ of our heart to God, opens the door to a new world, a new way of life.
Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind and with all of your strength. And the second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment.’ Mark 12:30
The ‘new heart’ gives you a new _________________________ for life.
A ‘New Heart’ is actually the _______________________ living inside.
Holy Spirit = new sensory responses, cravings, and habits.
What’s Missing?
“...that we may supply what is lacking in your faith!”
1 Thessalonians 3:10
The Apostle Paul loved the Church in Thessalonica. It was his ‘baby’, he planted and nurtured it. He left his infant Church prematurely because he was forced to. He had not yet returned to Thessalonica at the time he wrote 1 Thessalonians because Satan was “standing in his way.”
But, brothers and sisters...out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way.
1 Thessalonians 2:17-18
Paul’s love for the Thessalonians continued to increase as he sincerely longed to disciple and be with them.
(Continue following in 1 Thessalonians - Chapters 1 - 4)
Paul’s Heartfelt Longing to Visit the Church
1:2 - We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers.
1:5 - Our Gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep convention.
Timothy’s Welcomed Report in Thessalonians
3:6-7 - Good news about your Faith and Love - Your faith encourages us.
3:8 - We ‘really’ live because we are standing firm.
3: 9 - Giving Thanks for the Church - How can we thank God enough? We have great joy in the presence of God because of you.
An Unexpected Surprise!
3:10 - Pray night and day for you...Pray ‘most earnestly’ That we may see you again and ________________________________what is ________________________________in your faith.
3:13 - May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.
We cannot do this by __________________________________
___________________________________under our own power
4:1 - Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.
hat does it mean to be sanctified? It is to be ______________________ for a special purpose.
It is God's will that you should be sanctified. 1 Thessalonians 4:3
To make holy or sacred
The state or process of being set apart
"Made holy", as a vessel, full of the Holy Spirit of God
Two Categories of Sin - Committed and ___________________________
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Left on our own, we will always choose the wrong way. In Christ,
We are given the opportunity to be restored.
We can live the life we were originally created to live.
John Wesley (1703-1791) on Inherited Sin
The great end (plan) of religion is to renew our hearts in the image of God, to repair that total loss of righteousness and true holiness which we sustained by the sin of our first parent (Adam).
A Purified Heart is the Only Answer for Inherited Sin ‘For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you His Holy Spirit.’ 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8
God’s Plan is to __________________________ our Heart.
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:25-26
Complete and total __________________________ of our heart to God, opens the door to a new world, a new way of life.
Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind and with all of your strength. And the second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment.’ Mark 12:30
The ‘new heart’ gives you a new _________________________ for life.
A ‘New Heart’ is actually the _______________________ living inside.
Holy Spirit = new sensory responses, cravings, and habits.
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Spiritual growth happens when we receive new knowledge and then apply it to our lives. This always happens best in the context of community. Take time this week and engage in these additional scriptures and questions on your own. Then, discuss them with your Small Group.“As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend” Proverbs 27:17
GETTING STARTED
GOING DEEPER
WHERE SCRIPTURE MEETS LIFE
Spiritual growth happens when we receive new knowledge and then apply it to our lives. This always happens best in the context of community. Take time this week and engage in these additional scriptures and questions on your own. Then, discuss them with your Small Group.“As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend” Proverbs 27:17
GETTING STARTED
GOING DEEPER
WHERE SCRIPTURE MEETS LIFE
Giving
At Cross Bridge, we are joyful and generous in our giving, because we see it as an act of worship, and a way for us to bring back to God's work a portion of what He has entrusted us to manage. The link below will direct you to our giving page.
https://crossbridgechurch.churchcenter.com/giving
