Respond to Sunday, June 30, 2019
“The War on Sin Part 2” Joshua 7 | Pastor Rickey Primrose
Truth: The war on sin occurs in your heart. Sin starts in the heart. From there it produces sinful actions. Achan’s theft was produced by a covetous heart. Our heart is not sinful because we do sinful things; we do sinful things because our hearts our sinful.
Response: Uncover it. It’s easy to focus exclusively on stopping the sinful behaviors without ever probing into the issues of the heart that is producing that behavior. What are some ways to uncover the heart issues of sin? Ask God to help you discern the root of your persistent sin.
Truth: The war on sin requires you to take responsibility. Joshua’s immediate response was to take responsibility. He doesn’t minimize the sin, and he doesn’t blame somebody else. He gets up early the next morning and addresses the sin.
Response: Own it. Our first tendency whenever sin is uncovered is to resist owning the responsibility. We will minimize the sin or shift blame. Do you tend to blame God or others first, before examining your own life of sin? Pray that God will reveal sin in your life that you are not owning.
Truth: The war on sin is fought in community. Achan’s sin affects the entire community. The most dangerous place you can be in a war is by yourself. God never intended for us to fight the war on sin by ourselves. We cannot walk consistently in victory over sin if we are not living in Christian community.
Response: Confess it. We must pursue Christian relationships that go beyond the surface of Christian friendliness to a depth of authenticity where we are sharing our lives with one another, confessing our sins to one another, and being transparent with one another. Confess in prayer any sins that you have been hiding and ask the people of God in your community at church to help you grow in fighting sin.
Truth: The war on sin demands aggressive repentance. Israel’s response to their sin included urgent and aggressive action. They take aggressive action when they completely remove Achan’s household from the camp
Response: Destroy it. Do not negotiate with sin. If you don’t not destroy it, it will destroy you. We cannot stop with just confessing our sins. We must confess, but confession must be followed by repentance. What sin do you need to repent of? Repent. Ask God for forgiveness and strength to take action rather than just saying words of confession.
Prepare for Sunday, July 7, 2019
Pray for the Church
- Leaders in worship: Pastor Rickey Primrose, Brandon Ramey & the Worship Music Ministry.
- God will meet with us through His word and by His Spirit, lead us to worship Christ and grow in Christ-likeness.
- God will help us to be a church of zeal and hope, passionate about ministry and confident in His promises.
- God will make us more passionate about and obedient to His mission of leading people to trust and follow Christ.
Prepare for the Message
“Failure to Restoration” Joshua 8 | Pastor Rickey Primrose
We continue our series through the book of Joshua called, “Seizing the Promises of God”. This week we will be looking at Joshua chapter 8 with a sermon titled, “Failure to Restoration”. Read all of Joshua chapter 8 this week. This text is about the fall of Ai and the renewal of the covenant. What is the significance of pairing the story in chapter 7 with the story in chapter 8? Israel felt defeated at the end of chapter 7 due to the sin of Achan. Chapter 8 shows us that God can restore from the worst failures. What do you think is the purpose of the closing scene in chapter 8? Take time to reflect on the implications of chapter 7 and chapter 8 for your life. How do these passages lead you to praise God, repent of sin, and trust in his gracious promises?
Music for Sunday
Our God Saves
by Paul Baloche and Brenton Brown
Grateful