SERMON NOTES

1 CORINTHIANS 2:1-2 (NLT)
(1) When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. (2) For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. 

THE DAY OF ATONEMENT

• Atonement means ‘to cover’ but biblically, its definition is a little more robust. It means to cover but it also points to reuniting, forgiving, and even paying a ransom.
• Mark 10:45 (NLT)
• Leviticus 16:7-10, 15, 20 (NLT)
• In ancient Israel, blood equaled life.
• This is all a foreshadow of the cross and the foretaste of what Jesus was going to do on the cross.
• The day of atonement was meant to be a picture of the future work of the cross.

THE DAY OF ATONEMENT POINTED TO JESUS

• Hebrews 10:1-5, 19-22 (NLT)
• Jesus is the fulfillment of the old; Jesus accomplished what no animal sacrifice could do.
• We needed something stronger than the old ways and through Christ, it has been paid in full.

ARE YOU LIVING LIKE AN OLD TESTAMENT BELIEVER?

• You can boldly enter heaven’s most holy place because of the blood of Christ. 
• He’s already forgiven you, and He’s already created a way for you to be set free.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

1. If sin is like ‘coffee & creamer’ how have you seen sin impact your life or the community around you? 
2. Are there areas of your life where you are living like an Old Testament?  Where do you need to experience freedom in Christ?
3. Read Hebrews 10:1-5 & 19-22 and discuss what your life can become as you trust in Jesus (the mercy, boldness, guilt/shame-free life you are promised).

SERMON AUDIO

SERMON NOTES

1 Corinthians 2:1
When I first came to you, dear brothers & sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. (2) For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified.

The Foolishness of The Cross

1 Corinthians 1:18
The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction!  But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God… 22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven.  And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. 24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

1. When you share your faith, how do you talk about the cross & what Christ has done in your life?
2. How does the story of Christ Crucified impact you experientially (emotionally, spiritually, even physically)?
3. How does understanding the cross impact your experience of communion?

SERMON AUDIO

SERMON NOTES

PSALM 42 (NIV)
(1) As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. (2) My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? (3) My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” (4) These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng. (5) Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. (6) My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. (7) Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. (8) By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life. (9) I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” (10) My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?” (11) Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

1. YOU ARE NOT ALONE
2. GET CURIOUS
3. 1. • “I sometimes think that the whole art of the Christian life is the art of asking questions.” ― D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
4. RELOCATE HOPE
5. • “The first and most basic thing we can and must do is to keep God before our minds… This is the fundamental secret of caring for our souls. Our part in this practicing the presence of God is to direct and redirect our minds constantly to Him. In the early time of our ‘practicing’ we may well be challenged by our burdensome habits of dwelling on things less than God. But these are habits – not the law of gravity – and can be broken… A new, grace-filled habit will replace the former ones as we take intentional steps toward keeping God before us. Soon our minds will return to God as the needle of a compass constantly returns to the north. If God is the great longing of our souls, He will become the pole star of our inward beings.”  ― Dallas Willard 
   • Psalm 16:8-9 (NIV)
   • Philippians 4:8 (NLT)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

1. What has made you feel most alone during times of deep sadness? How did you realize you weren't?
2. What are some barriers (internal or external) that keep people from getting curious or seeking help when they're struggling with depression?
3. What's one practical step you could take this week to "relocate hope" for your own mental health or support someone you love who's struggling with depression?

SERMON AUDIO

SERMON NOTES

MATTHEW 9:10-13 (NLT)
(10) Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (11) But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?” (12) When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” (13) Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

JESUS CAME FOR THE SICK…

• As a church, we need to be a hospital.
• I am so thankful that Jesus came for the sick because addictions come in all shapes & sizes.

JESUS CAME FOR THE SICK, HE CAME TO SHOW MERCY…

• Matthew 9:13 (NLT)
• It’s pretty likely that some of us in this room have open or hidden addictions…and it’s just as likely that some of us in this room struggle with judgment against those who are addicted.
• He came for the sick and He came with mercy in His heart.
• Celebrate Recovery at the Vineyard
• The LoveFoco Show

JESUS CAME FOR THE SICK, HE CAME TO SHOW MERCY, AND HE CAME TO SET YOU FREE

• Luke 4:18-19 (NLT)
  (18) “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, (19) and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come. ”
• Jesus loves addicts, He desires to show you mercy, and He came to set you free.
• Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ you can experience freedom starting today.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

1.  How did addiction impact your childhood?
2. How does addiction impact you today?
3. How can you experience mercy (for yourself or for others) surrounding addiction?

SERMON AUDIO

SERMON NOTES:

ROMANS 10:11 (NIV)
As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

PSALM 31:1-2 (NIV)
(1) In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. (2) Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me.

DEFINING SHAME

• “Shame: an intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love, belonging, and connection.” -  Brene Brown
• TedTalk on Shame and Vulnerability
• Your Shame Voice: The little voice in your head that won’t go away.

SHAME IN SCRIPTURE

• Genesis 3:6b-13 (NLT)
• Shame makes you cover, hide, and blame.
• Shame always grows in isolation and it gets more powerful when we keep secrets.

BREAKING THE CYCLE OF SHAME

• If you struggle with hiding, you need to throw yourself into community.
• If you struggle with covering, practice the spiritual discipline of confession.
• If you struggle with blaming, you have to do the very courageous thing of taking ownership.

PSALM 34:4-5 (NIV)
(4) I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. (5) Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

1. How did you experience shame as a child and how might that impact you today?
2. Can you identify & share part of your ‘shame voice’ with others?
3. What is one way you can actively work against shame in your life today?

SERMON AUDIO:

SERMON NOTES:

• 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NLt)
• The God of peace wants to make you holy in every way…He wants to bless & heal your entire being.
• 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)
• God cares for you, and any anxiety you have doesn’t disqualify you from a rich & abundant life with God.

• Increase self-awareness
• You need to become aware of your own anxieties.
• Psalm 139
• For the Christian, self-awareness leads us to the cross.
• We don’t need to ‘let it go,’ we need to transfer it to the cross.

• Healing doesn’t happen alone.
• Emotionally Focused Intensive
• John 14:27 (NLT)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

1. How did anxiety impact your family growing up?
2. How does anxiety impact your daily life today?
3. How are you partnering with God to experience freedom from anxiety?

SERMON AUDIO: