Chepachet Union Church

As we conclude our study of the Gospel with John 21:15-25, we see “The God Who Restores,” and two ways Jesus encourages us to live as his followers. First, How Jesus Restores Us in Our Failures, and Second, How Jesus Reassures Us for Our Future

As we look at Part 1 of John 21, verses 1-14, we see lessons on “Life with Our Resurrected Lord,” First, Life Looking for Jesus, and Second, Life Living with Jesus.

By looking at John 15-16, we see how Jesus prepares his disciples for the future by talking about, “The World, Trouble, and Victory in Jesus," with two principles, First, that We Must Expect to Find Trouble in This World with Jesus, and, Second, that We Must Look to Find Victory in this World through Jesus.

What does it mean to “Receive the Holy Spirit?” In John 14-16 Jesus introduces us to the ministry of the third person of the trinity, and calls his disciples to, 1) Receive the Person of the Holy Spirit, 2) Receive the Presence of the Holy Spirit, and, 3) Receive the Power of the Holy Spirit.

As we look at the famous story of “doubting Thomas” in John 20:19-31, we explore two facets of the relationship between "Doubt and Faith." First, this passage encourages us to reflect on How We Experience Doubt, and, second, this passage shows us How Jesus Responds to Our Doubt.

Like a letter promising a rich inheritance, the story of Easter each year promises to bring life-changing wealth into our lives if we respond to its message. As we review the Easter story in John 20:1-21 we discuss what "Living in Light of the Resurrection," looks like.

As we look at Jesus's Crucifixion and Burial in John 19:16-42, we will unpack the meaning of his final words, "It Is Finished," in two ways: First, see how “It Is Finished” means that Jesus Has Fulfilled All the Promises of God to Us in Scripture. Second, we see how “It Is Finished” means that Jesus Has Fulfilled All We Need to Find Salvation.

As we prepare our hearts to remember Good Friday and Easter, like Pilgrim's walking the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem, we are going to walk through the first part of Jesus's Journey to the Cross in John 18:1-19:16. We will walk through three scenes: 1) Jesus's Arrest in Gethsemane (18:1-11), 2) Jesus's Trial before the High Priest and Denial by Peter (18:12-27), and 3) Jesus's Trial before Pontius Pilate (18:28-19:16).

in John 17 we look at “The Lord’s Parting Prayer,” and see the lessons contained in the three parts of this prayer: First, we look at How Jesus Prays for Himself in verses 1-5. Second, we look at How Jesus Prays for His Disciples in verses 6-19. Last, we look at How Jesus Prays for Those Who Will Believe in Him in verses 20-26.

In John 15, Jesus is teaches us about how to live “The Fruitful Christian Life,” by giving us three important principles. First, Our Great Need for Fruitfulness. Second, Our Only Path to Fruitfulness. And, Third, Our Great Joys in Fruitfulness.

In John 14 we see, “How Jesus Is Our True Way Home,” as Jesus calls us to two actions to find the direction and comfort in life and death. First, we are called to find our true home by faith in Jesus. And, second, we are called to find our true home by following Jesus.

In the story of John 13 and Jesus washing the feet of his disciples, we are called to meditate on, “The Cleansing Love of Jesus," in two ways. First, How Jesus Calls Us to Receive His Cleansing Love. And, Second, How Jesus Calls Us to Share His Cleansing Love.

The scenes in John 12 teach us the value of “Seeing and Savoring the Worth of Jesus," in two ways. First, They Call Us to See the Glory of His All-Surpassing Worth. Second, They Call Us to See the Glory of His Humble Salvation.

As we focus on the story of Lazarus in John 11, we see “How Jesus Is Our Resurrection and Our Life,” and how Jesus transforms how we look at loss in three ways. First, Jesus Gives Us a New Way to Think About Loss. Second, Jesus Gives Us a New Way to Grieve in Loss. And, Third, Jesus Gives Us a New Way to Hope in Loss

Since we could not meet in person to continue our sermon series, as an extension to our study of Jesus as "The Good Shepherd" in John 10, we will take an extended devotional walk through Psalm 23.

In John 10 we see, “How Jesus Is Our Good Shepherd,” as the passage calls us to do three things: First, To Know Our Good Shepherd, Second, To Follow Our Good Shepherd, and, Third, To Belong to Our Good Shepherd.

As we look at John 9, we see “How Jesus Brings Sight to Our Blindness,” in two specific ways: First, Jesus Brings Light to Why We Suffer. Second, Jesus Brings Light to Why We Do or Don’t See God.

As we begin our second entry into the book of John, we will focus our study of John 8 on “How Jesus Is the Light of the World,” and consider two questions: First, How Do We Understand Jesus’s Claim (To Be the Light of the World)? And, Second, How Do We Respond to Jesus’s Claim?

As we consider the one thing God wants for most this Christmas, we realize that Christmas is about God giving the most precious gift of his love and that the gift he most wants in return is our love and our hearts.

At the core of the very first Christmas is “God’s Great Christmas Gift Exchange,” where God is offering something incredibly precious to us, and God is asking us to give him something in return.

We see how the Ten Commandments and all of God’s law is meant to point us to “Finding True Freedom in the Coming of Christ.” To help prepare our hearts for Christmas, we look at three uses of the law and how they bring us to Jesus. First, The Law Is Meant to Teach Us God’s Standards. Second, The Law Is Meant to Bring Us to God’s Savior. And Third, The Law Is Meant to Transform Us from Slaves to Sons.

We discuss the meaning of the 9th commandment, which is “Finding True Freedom through Living by Truth,” through two simple points. First, How Jesus Brings Us Truth. And, Second, How We Bring Truth to Others.

As we explore the 7th commandment, we will learn how about “Finding True Freedom Through Pure and Faithful Love," by looking at four key points: First, God’s Good Purpose for Sex. Second, The Great Power of Sex. Third, The Grave Peril of Sexual Sin. And, Fourth, God’s Gracious Provision for Sexual Sinners.

As we explore the 10th commandment, “You shall not covet,” we are going to see God’s plan for finding Freedom From Want, and that is “Finding True Freedom Through Thanksgiving.” Scripture is going to present us with two paths, First, The Peril of a Coveting Heart. Second, The Peace of a Contented Heart.

The sixth commandment teaches us about “Finding True Freedom Through Valuing Life and Seeing All Life as Sacred,” We look at three key ideas. First, The Point of the Commandment (The What). Second, The Principle Behind the Commandment (The Why). And, Third, The Practical Keeping of the Commandment (The How).

The fifth commandment teaches us the foundation for loving our neighbor, “Finding True Freedom Through Honoring Authority.” As we unpack this commandment together, it gives us three calls to action. First, It is a call to honor authority. Second, It is a call to be honorable in our authority. Third, It is a call to find hope in God’s authority.

The heart of the 8th commandment is “Finding True Freedom from Want and Greed in God,” and, we are going to look at this commandment from two different angles. First, we will examine The True Definition of Stealing. Second, we will apply The Christian Answer to Stealing to our hearts.

The big Idea of the 3rd Commandment is “Finding True Freedom Through Living a God-Honoring Life.” As we unpack it, we will look at two parts: 1st) The Heart of the Command: Giving God the Honor Due His Name, and, 2nd) The How of the Command: Ways We Can Honor God’s Name.

As we look at Exodus 20:8-11 we will discuss “Finding True Freedom Through Regular Rest in God,” answering three questions about the fourth commandment: First, What It Means to Remember the Sabbath. Second, Why We Need to Remember the Sabbath. And, Third, How Can We Remember the Sabbath

We will look at Exodus 20:4-6 and Acts 17:16-31 and discuss “Finding True Freedom by Seeing & Worshiping God Rightly,” and, as we unpack the 2nd commandment, we will understand it better by looking at it in three parts: First, THE RULE: To Not Make or Worship Images of God, Second, THE REASON: For Our Good and God’s Right Worship, And, Third, THE RIGHT WAY: To See and Worship God is through Jesus.

As we look at the first commandment in Exodus 20:1-3, we will talk about “Finding True Freedom By Putting God First," and see two things God wants to teach us. 1st) God Wants Us to Understand the Universal Danger of Living Enslaved to False Gods, and, 2nd) God Wants Us to Find True Freedom By Actively Putting God First.

As we examine, “Fear, Love, And Finding True Freedom,” the two texts (Exodus 19:16-23 and Deuteronomy 6:1-5) remind us of two key truths about our obedience. First, God Gives Us Holy Fear to Serve as the Foundation for Our Obedience. And, Second, God Wants Holy Fear to Lead Us to Holy Love and a Heart for Obedience.

As we start our new series examining the ten commandments, “Finding True Freedom Under God’s Rule,” we discuss the role of the ten commandments and see that Living Under God’s Good Rules is 1) The Path to True Freedom and Blessing, and 2) The Path to Truly Knowing Ourselves and God.

As we wrap up our series on what it means to be a church, Colossians 3:1-17 reminds us of, “Our Call to Live as Christ’s Church,” calling us to two actions for the days ahead. First, Paul call us to 1) Make Our Main Mission Finding Our True Life in Christ (in verses 1-4), and, Second, Paul calls us to 2) Live Our Main Mission by Putting off Sin and Putting on Christ (in verses 5-17).

As we look at Matthew 18:10-22 and talk about what it means to be the church we will see “How Jesus Wants His Church to Redeem Conflict,” because here Jesus gives us two important principles for handling conflict. First, Jesus Shows Us God’s Priorities for Conflict in the Church, and, Second, Jesus Shows Us God’s Process for Conflict in the Church.

As we study 1 Timothy 3:1-15 we see “God’s Standards for the Church and Its Leaders,” which we can apply in two ways. First, Let’s Apply the Structure of Biblical Leadership to Our Church. And, Second, Let’s Apply the Standards of Biblical Leadership to Our Church.

In 1 John 1:5-2:6 we see how, “The Church Is To Be a People Who Heal by Confessing Their Sins,” with two marks of healthy Christian living. First, Following Jesus Means Opening the Door to Healing By Continually Confessing Our Sins. And, Second, Following Jesus Means Find Healing from Sin by Continually Turning to the Blood of Jesus.

In 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, Paul explains how, “The Church Communes with Christ (and each other) through the Lord’s Supper,” and calls us to do two things before we eat together. 1st) Examine How We Think About the Lord’s Supper. 2nd) Examine How We Eat the Lord’s Supper.

In Romans 6:3-11, we see how “The Church Is To Follow Jesus through Baptism,” through the two pictures it gives us of the Christian life. First, In Baptism, We Follow Jesus by Dying to Sin, and, second, In Baptism, We Follow Jesus by Living for God.

1 Corinthians 13 reminds us that, at it’s heart, “The Church Is (to be) a People Who Serve in Christ’s Love.” More than God wants our service in his name, God wants our hearts. And this text shows us three realities. First, The Pointlessness of a Faith Without Love (in verses 1-3). Second, The Picture of a Faith Marked by Love (in verses 4-7). And, Third, The Path to a Faith Filled with Love (in verses 8-13).

As we consider Romans 12:3-8, we will be discussing how “The Church Is to Be a People Gifted to Serve Christ Together.” And we will break this into two parts: First, we will look at How God Gives Us Spiritual Gifts, and, Second, we will look at How God Wants Us to Use Our Spiritual Gifts.

In Matthew 28:16-20, we will see how, “The Church’s Main Mission Is Making Followers of Jesus,” and we will apply this by first, Understanding Our Mission, and, second, Living Our Mission.

In Galatians 1:1-12, we see“The Church’s Main Message Is the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” and the two contrasting ways to live and relate to God. First, The Eternal Dangers of Seeking Salvation By Our Works. And, Second, The Eternal Joys of Seeking Salvation By God’s Grace.

In Psalm 37:1-9 scripture shows us, "The One Thing We Need to Be Truly Happy," and it teaches us, First, Two Ways to Lose Our Happiness, and, Second, The One Way to Find True Happiness.

This Father's Day, we look at Hebrews 10:19-25 and examine how, “The Church Is a People Who Gather for Jesus,” by asking and answering two questions: First, Why We Gather as a Church: We Gather Because of Jesus. Second, How We Gather as a Church: We Gather Intentionally.

As we look at Acts 2:37-47, we are going to see four “Signs of Growing Spiritual Life,” First, A Growing Devotion, Second, A Growing Awe, Third, A Growing Generosity, and, Fourth, A Growing Joy.

As we look at Acts 2:32-47 and the birthday of the church, we are going to see “The Church’s Signs of Life," and perform a spiritual APGAR test on ourselves, looking at our 1) Spiritual Appearance, 2) Spiritual Pulse, 3) Spiritual Grimace, and 4) Spiritual Activity and Respiratory Response.

Acts 2:11-28 shows us how “The Church Is to Be a People Fueled by the Joy of God,” by unpacking three truths: First, Jesus Died to Bring Us Joy. Second, Jesus Rose to Bring Us Joy. Third, Jesus Reigns to Bring Us Joy.

As we look at Acts 2:1-21, we will see how “The Church Is to Be a People Filled with and Empowered by God’s Holy Spirit.” To help us understand this, we are going to ask three questions. First, What Is This Power? Second, How Do We Get This Power? Third, How Does This Power Change Us?

As we examine Acts 1:1-11, we will see two ways that “The Church’s Purpose Is to Continue the Work of Jesus." First, The Church Is to Extend the Presence of Jesus. Second, The Church Is to Extend the Rule of Jesus.