Following Jesus Son of God …

Hello Everyone,

Romans as a possibility …
Months ago as I looked to my preaching calendar for this year, I thought of The Letter to the Romans as a possibility. As we have now begun that study, God has dramatically confirmed that decision in my heart and mind. He has also confirmed it as I see the excitement in which you have received the study.

Not an easy decision …
But I didn’t make this decision easily. Much thought and much prayer. Part of my hesitation was the difficulty of some parts of Romans – election, foreknowledge, vessels prepared for destruction, etc. Honestly, it was a little intimidating.

Until …
Until I realized that God only calls me to be faithful to the task. Most of Romans – such as this Sunday’s study in Romans 1:16-17 – is very clear and amazingly powerful. As for the difficult texts, well, God took the pressure off when I realized that I don’t have to have all the answers. No one else does. In fact, I thought of how prideful I would be to think that I could tie together all the theological loose ends that godly men, dedicated scholars, have not been able to do for generations.

Explosions …
Getting to my point, I do not believe I have ever had a time as inspired and called as I am now in my preparation and eagerness for presentation as I have since taking this step of faith toward Romans. If you hear any explosions coming from the western prairies of Illinois, it may be me sitting before God learning these truths “all over again for the first time.”

Amazement …
God continually amazes me. I know part of this is because of my recent trial with the bike wreck, and I believe God is going to do deep things in my life because of that. But this began early on as I humbled myself before God and received this stewardship to preach through Romans. God is great and greatly to be praise.

So here are this week’s study sheets. Lord willing I will have the message MP3 posted no later than Tuesday next week.

Dave

Message Title: Not Ashamed of the Gospel!

Message Text: Romans 1:16-17

• PDF 3 Not Ashamed of the Gospel : Romans 1-16-17 : FFC : dave scott : 072714 : STUDY SHEET ONE
• PDF 3 Not Ashamed of the Gospel : Romans 1-16-17 : FFC : dave scott : 072714 : STUDY SHEET TWO

*A note on my numbering system for the study sheets. I plan to put all the study sheets and probably message notes also together in book form when I am finished. So everything will be number as such 1, 2, 3 … or PDF 1, PDF 2, PDF 3, etc.

Hello All,

God willing I will now be posting my messages on Romans on the blog in MP3 format every week. Here is the first. This is actually the second in the series but the first recorded.

Dave

Message Title: The Obedience of Faith: The Blessing of Believing & Obeying God!

Message Text: Romans 1:5-15 & Selected Passages

Sunday July 20 2014 The Obedience of Faith Romans 1-5-15

Hello to All,

Some of you know, and some of you do not. I have been “missing in action” for the last several weeks as I crashed my bicycle on June 8 and have since undergone two surgeries on my hip. Not a pleasant thing. In fact, possibly the most trying time of my life.

I am now (finally) in recovery mode. Lord willing I will begin walking again in September and will regain full use of my right leg. Currently I am on a “toe-touch” restriction. No weight on my right leg until about the second week of September. The doctor says that I will even be able to ride my super cool Trek Domane road bike again. That is, once I get it into the bike shop for minor repairs from the crash.

I have been gone from church since June 1. I attended last Sunday morning and will resume our Romans study this Sunday July 20. God is God is what I learn over and over. And … people are people.

The Letter to the Romans is amazing. You possibly are like me and already knew that, but I am learning it “for the first time all over again” as the expression goes. This week I will preach the message that I had scheduled for June 8 with God’s revisions. 🙂

Message Title: The Obedience of Faith: The Blessing of Believing & Obeying God!

Message Text: Romans 1:5-15 & Selected Passages

Here are our study sheets.

• PDF 2 The Blessing of Believing God : Romans 1-5-15 : FFC : dave scott : 060814 : STUDY SHEET ONE
• PDF 2 The Blessing of Believing God : Romans 1-5-15 : FFC : dave scott : 060814 : STUDY SHEET TWO

Praise be to our God who is high and holy and offers to share his righteousness with sinners through salvation in Jesus Christ!

Praise be to this same God who makes weaklings like me and you his ambassadors to share this amazing message of God’s love and righteousness!

Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of his excellent greatness!

Dave

Hello All,

Oops! Really busy last week and forgot to post the study sheets for our introduction to Romans. I received a very good response to the beginning of the study and believe the journey through Romans will be amazing. And, yes, I thought before I used the word amazing as I believe it to be so.

I have also posted some introductory study sheets listing all the occurrences of “faith” (40 times in 35 verses) and “righteousness” (32 times in 29 verses) per the English Standard Version of the Bible. These are excerpts from the verses. If you can read through even these snippets concerning faith and righteousness in Romans and not be stirred by the Spirit of God, then please check your pulse. 🙂

Message Title: Bringing about the Obedience of Faith

Message Text: Romans 1:1-7

• PDF 1 To Bring About the Obedience of Faith : Romans 1-1-7 : FFC : dave scott : 060114 : STUDY SHEET ONE
• PDF 1 To Bring About the Obedience of Faith : Romans 1-1-7 : FFC : dave scott : 060114 : STUDY SHEET TWO
• PDF faith verses illustrate
• PDF righteousness verses illustrate

Hello Everyone,

When am I the best patriot? When do I truly have my country’s best interests at heart? When I have first things first and am seeking first God’s righteousness. And when I am living a life of honor in every respect before God and man.

Message Title: Serving with Honor!

Message Text: 1 Timothy 6:11-16, Deuteronomy 20:1-9

• PDF Serving with Honor Deuteronomy 20-1-9 FFC dave scott Memorial Day 052514 HANDOUT ONE AM
• PDF Serving with Honor Deuteronomy 20-1-9 FFC dave scott Memorial Day 052514 HANDOUT TWO AM

Oops! Well, if anyone was “watching,” I forgot to post last week’s handouts.

Message Title: Do We Believe What God Says in 1 Corinthians?

Message Text: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

• PDF Do we believe what God says in 1 Corinthians 13 FFC dave scott 051814 HANDOUT ONE AM
• PDF Do we believe what God says in 1 Corinthians 13 FFC dave scott 051814 HANDOUT TWO AM

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO YOU!

Here are the handouts for Sunday.

Mothers, you want to feed your children good, wholesome food so they will be healthy, right?

Same thing with God’s word. Healthy (sound) doctrine means spiritually healthy children. This week we are going to look at maybe the best comfort food there is: contentment.

Basically, God says, “Live the life you have with honor in every respect and trust him to care for you.” This is sound doctrine. A good, healthy spiritual diet.

What happens when materialism chokes our perspective and “things” become too enticing? We have “a different doctrine” Paul says.

This different (unhealthy) doctrine creates a craving for controversy and quarrels about words, which produces:

• envy
• slander
• dissension
• evil suspicions
• and constant friction

Yuk! Not very tasty for the children of God. What we need is a good dose of godliness and we’re going to the kitchen to see what’s cooking.

Message Title: Contentment: The Best Comfort Food!

Message Text: 1 Timothy 6:1-10

• PDF Contentment- The Best Comfort Food : Mothers Day : FFC : dave scott : 1 Timothy 6-1-10 : 051114 AM HANDOUT ONE
• PDF Contentment- The Best Comfort Food : Mothers Day : FFC : dave scott : 1 Timothy 6-1-10 : 051114 AM HANDOUT TWO

Hello All,

My, oh, my, what a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

The Apostle Paul tells us this in 2 Corinthians 10:5 …

• (2 Corinthians 10:5 ESV) We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

Have you ever noticed how eager we are to examine and judge the thoughts, religions and philosophies of other people? Likely yes.

But have you ever noticed how reluctant we are to examine our own thoughts? Likely no. And why would we, I mean, we have all the answers, right? We are Christians and go to Bible-toting churches, we know we are right.

 “Hmm … Examine my thoughts? Novel idea.”

As Lee Corso would say on an ESPN broadcast, “Not so fast, my friend!”

Unless and until we are willing to bring our thoughts to obedience before Christ, how can we even think about insisting that other people do this? But we do. We believe what we believe and don’t tell me differently.

So then are we sharing our stuff and calling it God’s stuff, or are we actually sharing the truth of God?

“Know thyself. Really?”

Message Title: Ministry God’s Way – Truth Past This Room!

Message Text: 2 Corinthians 10:1-13

• PDF Truth past this room : FFC : dave scott : 2 Corinthians 10-1-13 : 042714 AM HANDOUT ONE REV 042514
• PDF Truth past this room : FFC : dave scott : 2 Corinthians 10-1-13 : 042714 AM HANDOUT TWO REV 042514

Hello to You,

Had to take my sweatshirt off earlier. Getting a little warm. Oh yeah! Do a little grass cutting next week maybe. That’s what I’m talking about.

Anyway … on to “spiritual” things. 🙂

This week is what many regard as Palm Sunday. The event in the following text takes place several days before the crucifixion of Christ. They are celebrating what they believe to be their Savior and their salvation. The problem is that it seems many of the same people are just days later joining the masses and calling for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

• (Matthew 21:9 ESV) And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
•  As to “Hosanna to the Son of David,” it should be noted that “Hosanna” means “save now,” or “save, pray.” The attitude of the people toward God was perhaps about as follows: “We beseech thee, O Lord, save now, grant victory and prosperity at this time, since because of thy goodness the appropriate moment has arrived (MacArthur Study Bible).

Jesus knows this, thus his lament.

• (Matthew 23:37–39 ESV) 37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 38 See, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”

From the garden of Eden to this present day the same dynamic cycles through every generation of humans. God offers life as he intended and designed, but many people choose their own plan. And, not only do we choose our own plan, but we call it God’s plan.

In this week’s text, we will look at such a group. They chose their plan of salvation, and then they discover too late that they have missed the most important thing about salvation, that being – God saves only his way, only one way, only one plan, only one Savior.

There is only one plan that ends in life – God’s!

The tragic irony is that they did use the Bible to build their spiritual houses. They heard the words but didn’t do the words. When they read and studied, apparently they didn’t hear God speaking because they sifted and sorted until they found something to fit their plans. And if they couldn’t do it on their own, they found “teachers” to validate their choice.

But the person who hears God when he reads and studies doesn’t sift and sort. He obeys.

• Sift and sort: Build on sand.
• Hear and obey: Build on Rock.

Message Title:  “Lord, Lord, save me … My way!”

Message Text: Matthew 7:13-29

• PDF Lord, Lord, save me – my way : FFC : dave scott : Matthew 7-13-29 : 041314 HANDOUT ONE
• PDF Lord, Lord, save me – my way : FFC : dave scott : Matthew 7-13-29 : 041314 HANDOUT TWO

Dave

The Narrow Gate: http://thenarrowgate.info/index.html