Thursday, February 26, 2009

Last night, we started our Lent series. Several pastors of the Illinois District of the AFLC are participating in a "round robin." Each week, one of us brings the next part of the series. The series is titled "Not I, But Christ".

In the first message, we heard that, as Christians, we've died with Christ. Our old life, our life of sin, has come to an end. If we truly believe in Jesus, we cannot continue to live in sin; we cannot continue to live for the old nature. We must instead embrace death and receive the new life that God has provided for us. This message can be heard or downloaded at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryChristandHisDeath

Monday, February 23, 2009

We all know that we're sinners. But we're usually unwilling to open up about the specific sins we've committed or those we're struggling with. We try to hide our sin, making ourselves seem to be better than we really are. However, God knows all things. There's no hiding our sin from him. Because of this, we must acknowledge our sin, we must confess it and repent of it, that we can receive his grace. This message can be heard or downloaded at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryNoHidingIt

Our children's message for the day can be heard at http://www.archive.org/details/MarkFagerstromFeb22childrensmessage

Monday, February 16, 2009

Many people today think that, as long as they don't hurt anyone else, their sin is no big deal. But it is a big deal. According to Scripture, every sinful act is committed against none other than the Lord himself. This message can be heard or downloaded at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryAgainstYouOnly

Monday, February 09, 2009

On Saturday, Grace hosted the Mid-Winter Bible Conference of the Illinois District of the AFLC. The theme was "Building a Strong Foundation for Our Youth." The passage used for this discussion was Deuteronomy 6:4-9.

I brought the first message, talking about loving the Lord with our whole heart. If we're to raise our young people in faith, we need to be faithful ourselves. This message can be heard and downloaded at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryBibleConf1

The second message was brought by Pastor Chuck Sampson of Newark Lutheran Church in Newark, IL. He talked about the importance of having God's Word in our heart. You can find this message at http://www.archive.org/details/ChuckSampsonBibleConf2

To start off the afternoon, we heard a book review given by Pastor Peter Ward of Faith Lutheran Church in Ottawa, IL. He reviewed the book "The Last Christian Generation" by Josh McDowell. Unfortunately, I didn't locate the recording for this presentation. If I find it, I'll post it.

The third and fourth sessions were lead by Pastor Steve Pappillon of Fox River Lutheran Church in Sheridan, IL. He talked about how important it is for parents to share the Word with their children, and how we can talk of God with them at all times. We did have a minor audio glitch in the third presentation, so keep listening if things get quiet for a minute. They can be heard at http://www.archive.org/details/StevePappillonBibleConf3 and at http://www.archive.org/details/StevePappillonBibleConf4
Yesterday, on Feb. 8th, we talked about a trap the church has fallen into today. So often, we think that if we can't help people financially, if we don't have the money, to meet their needs, there's nothing we can do for them. However, the reality is that there's a much greater gift we have to give. Touching people with the power of Jesus is much greater than any worldly goods we can give. This message can be heard or downloaded at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryTheGreatestGift

Monday, February 02, 2009

The church today has lost its sense of purpose; the people seem oblivious to their calling. We see in Scripture that God has called us to make disciples of all nations. But most of us aren't even willing to be disciples, let alone make disciples. The church must regain its sense of purpose; it must receive the call God has placed upon it. And then, like Jesus, we must let nothing keep us from fulfilling it. This message can be heard or downloaded at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryACertaintyofPurpose