Month: September 2023

The second week of August, we welcomed Gigi from Life Choices Family Resource Center of Montrose to come speak with us about their work and ministry. Terry followed her report with a message based on Proverbs 24:11-12. To listen to the LCFRC report and Terry’s message, simply click play on the audio player below.

Our Responsibility

James 4:17

Proverbs 24:11-12 — Read these verses in the light of abortion & the war against humanity that the devil is leading.

Ask yourself: what am I doing to help those who are contemplating abortion?

Our responsibility is to stand for what is right, to be the salt & light in this world.

To start off August, Alan was ill, so we were blessed to have Terry step in to speak. He spoke about how to walk in the will of God, based on Proverbs 3. To listen to this message, simply click play on the audio player below. I’ve also included some notes and links to some of the verses Terry references. 😊

Walk in the Will of the Lord

God’s desire is for none of us to perish, but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9); unfortunately, our sin causes us to wander. But once we hear His call and mix it with faith, once we accept and believe, we no longer have to make bad choices and wrong decisions, if we yield completely to Him.

1. God has a specific plan & purpose for our lives – it’s a safe place to be (a place of blessing) when we are walking in the will of the Lord.
2. The Christian life is to grow in the grace/knowledge/understanding/love relationship of God.
3. Unfortunately, too many people today accept His salvation, but don’t want to be in submission to Him and His will.
4. God wants to use us, but we can’t be used by Him unless we yield our will to His will.

How do I walk in the will of the Lord?

Proverbs 3:5-12

• Seven Points from Proverbs 3
  1. trust in the Lord (v. 5)
  2. with ALL your heart (v. 5)
  3. do not lean on your own understanding (v. 5)
  4. in ALL your ways, acknowledge Him/seek Him first (v. 6)
  5. be not wise in your own eyes (v. 7)
  6. fear (respect) the Lord (v. 7)
  7. turn away from evil (v. 7)
• Do these things and your path will be straight, you will find healing & refreshment (v. 8)
• Honor the Lord (v. 9) & you will be blessed (v. 10) – v. 9 comes before v. 10 for a reason!
  • God can accomplish His will through us only when we yield to Him.
• God corrects us because He loves us and wants what is best for us (v. 11-12).

In his continuing series, Alan taught about “The Heart and Loving God” in relation to living out the Great Commandment. To listen to this message, simply click play on the audio player below. I’ve also included Alan’s outline with links to Scripture he references. Be blessed!

Living the Great Commandment (Part 2)

Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Matthew 22:36-40; Hebrews 12:14-17

The Heart and Loving God

Proverbs 23:7, Matthew 12:34, Matthew 5:8, 1 Peter 1:22
I.  What do the scriptures mean by the Heart?  The seat of action, emotions, will, thoughts, courage, strength, affections, discernment, and being.

Two conditions of the heart: 1) Made new or 2) in its natural state — it’s a dangerous thing to follow your heart if it’s not in relation to God.

II.  The Heart in relation to God.

1.   God tries or tests.  1 Chronicles 29:17
2.   God knows.  Psalm 44.21
3.   God searches.  1 Chronicles 28:9
4.   God influences.  1 Samuel 10:26
5.   God creates a new.  Psalm 51:10
6.   God opens.   Acts 16:14-15
7.   God enlightens.  2 Corinthians 4:6
8.   God strengthens.  Psalm 27:14
9.   God establishes.  Psalm 112:8
10. God understands.  Psalm 139:2

III. The Heart that doesn’t know God and been created new:

1. It’s desperately wicked. Jeremiah 17:9

    What does it mean to be desperately wicked?

    A rather long descriptive list: hateful to God; full of evil/evil imaginations; full of vain thoughts; fully set to do evil (Ecclesiastes 8:11); desperately wicked; far from God; not prepared to seek God; a treasury of evil (Matthew 12:33-37); a heart that is darkened, prone to error/depart from God, unbelieving, blind, of little worth, deceitful, deceived, divided (1 Peter 3:8-12), hard, haughty, influence by the devil, carnal, covetous, foolish, forward, idolatrous; a heart of madness (Ecclesiastes 9:3), mischief, pride, rebellion, elated by its own prosperity.

IV.  The Heart that’s made new:

• 1.  Seeks God.  2 Chronicles 19:3
• 2.  Upright with God.  Psalm 97:11
• 3.  Clean.  Hebrews 10:22
• 4.  Pure.  Matthew 5:6
• 5.  Tender.  1 Samuel 24:5
• 6.  Sincere.   Hebrews 10:22
• 7.  Broken and contrite.  Psalm 34:18
• 8.  Obedient.  1 Peter 1:13-16
• 9.  Filled (being filled) with scripture.  Psalm 40:8
• 10.Awed by God.  Psalm 119:161
• 11. Meditative.  Psalm 4:4
• 12. Devoted.  Psalm 119:10
• 13. A treasure house of good stuff. Matthew 12:35
• and more…

V.  How God guards our hearts. Philippians 4:4-9

Key words:  rejoice, gentleness, prayer, petition, thanksgiving, gratitude, peace, guard, true, worthy of respect, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, praiseworthy. DO these things.

This is a call for a heart checkup. What are your prevailing thoughts, emotions, & words?

Alan has been taking us through a series on Living the Great Commandment. To listen to part one of this series, simply click play on the audio player below. I’ve also included Alan’s outline with links to the Scriptures listed. Enjoy!

Living the Great Commandment

Deuteronomy 6:4-5; 30:1-11, Mark 12:29-30, Luke 11:42, John 5:42-43, Matthew 10:37, John 8:42, Matthew 22:36-40, Matthew 24:12, John 13:34-35.

Why This Study?

1. A general lack of love and an overabundance of arrogant, narrow-minded, judgmental hatred.  Matthew 24:12
2. The whole of scripture hangs on the commandment.
3. A disconnect between belief and action is a common thing.
4. A climate of us-them way of thinking that smacks of self-righteousness.
5. A compartmentalized view of Christian living that doesn’t involve the whole of one’s person.
   
   The Command Itself
   Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Matthew 22:36-40
   
   What does it mean to love God?
   1. To love God one has to know God and not reject His son.  John 5:42-44, John 14:7-9, Deuteronomy 30:6
   
   
   2. Loving God is a matter of heart affection more than moral behavior.  Mark 7:1-23, Matthew 12:39
   
   3. Serving God is grounded in loving God but serving God is not a substitute for loving God.  Matthew 6:24.
   
   4. Keeping God’s commands is made possible by love.   John 14:15
   
   5. Our level of love is in direct proportion to our understanding of God’s forgiveness.  If you think it’s all “those others” that should be asking for God’s forgiveness you don’t know love.
   
   6. Love involves the whole of our being.  More on this later.
   
   7. Love is seen in what we call the Golden Rule, which is “do unto others as you would be have them do into you.”  The Golden Rule is basically the same as “love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31
   
   
   Contact:  Dr. Alan Brock
   albrock.ab@gmail.com

Hi all! It’s been a while since I’ve posted messages, and I apologize for not getting them on the site in a timely manner. So, I will try to get caught up as quickly as I can. I’m going to start by posting a few of Terry’s messages. To listen to these messages, simply click play on any of the audio players below. I wasn’t able to be there to take notes for some of these, so I’ve just included links to the main verses Terry is teaching about. Praying they bless you!

June 25, 2023: The Godly & the Ungodly – a teaching on Psalm 1

July 23, 2023: The Importance of Every Day – a teaching on Luke 19:11-27

July 30, 2023: The Least Among Us – a teaching from Jeremiah 38