Month: January 2025

Here are the most recent messages from Terry’s True Christianity series, going through the Sermon on the Mount. I’ve included notes and links for the first two of the messages, but I was not able to be there for the third and wanted to get it posted as soon as possible. Sorry for the inconvenience. ❤️

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True Christianity, pt. 7

• Intro
  • In this portion of Scripture, God is getting to the root of the commandments. In the OT, the commandments worked externally. Now, He is working on the core, the heart, the reason we break His commandments. “From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45)
  • 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 – We are in a spiritual war. Sin impairs us from walking with the Lord. Take control of your thoughts. Take inventory of what you are thinking about & ask God to shield you from what is against Him.
  • 11x in Matthew, Jesus warns us about hell.
• Living in Right Relationship (Matthew 5:23-25)
  • Jesus tells us that if we are not right with our neighbor, our family, our friends – anyone we’ve offended or who has offended us – we are not right with God.
    • if you aren’t right with God, it hinders your prayer life, your other relationships, your everything.
    • give the situation to God & leave it with Him
    • “Vengeance is Mine” (Hebrews 10:30-31)
    • don’t sweat the temporary things
      • Matthew 5:40
      • Luke 6:29
      • God will take care
  • It requires diligent effort every day to be right with God.
    • walk carefully (Ephesians 5:15-16)
  • Eternal things are the focus of the Christian life – you can walk the overcoming life though Jesus.
• The Seventh Commandment (Matthew 5:27)
• The New Seventh Commandment (Matthew 5:28)
  • Adultery is not just physical.
    • even thinking about it is sin in your heart
  • Hebrews 13:4
  • 1 Corinthians 6:13-20 – the body is for the Lord
    • we, as believers, are set apart for God, so we need to be good stewards of our bodies
    • v. 14-16: every time the physical joining occurs, the “two become one”
    • v. 18: Flee Immorality!
      • some sins are outside the body
      • the immoral man sins against his own body
    • v. 19: we belong to God
    • v. 20: You are bought, so glorify God!
  • There will always be consequences for adultery.
    • broken marriages, STDs, etc.
    • perversion
    • going further and further away from God
  • Transgressing against God through adultery is grounds for divorce.
• Be Careful (Matthew 5:29-30)
  • The eye is the door to the soul, so be careful what you are looking at.
  • Get away from temptation.
    • temptation is not sin (James 1)
    • crossing the line is sin
    • sin leads to death
    • death leads to hell
  • Take serious action to keep yourself from sin.
• How we live our lives should always bring glory to God – take inventory of your thought life, for that’s where it all begins. God will enable us to have victory over sin.

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True Christianity, pt. 8

• Intro: In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gets to the core of our sin, and it’s down deep in our hearts – that’s where we need to be changed.
• Marriage
  • Genesis 2:18
  • woman = “from man” (Genesis 2:20-23)
  • marriage covenant (Genesis 2:24)
    • Israel was God’s bride (Hosea 2)
    • now the Church is the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5)
    • when it is God-ordained and God is the head, it’s beautiful
    • two become one in Christ
  • Matthew 5:27-28: Adultery is terribly destructive.
    • If we sow to the Lord, blessing will follow.
    • But if we sow to ourselves, we reap only temporary pleasure followed by destruction.
    • The devil knows that how to destroy a nation is to destroy the family.
  • Matthew 5:29-30: Sexual sin will drive you into the fires of hell.
    • drastic measures must be taken to keep you in line with God & out of hell.
• Divorce (Matthew 5:31-32)
  • God sees marriage as a lifelong union.
    • the only reason for divorce is adultery
    • Matthew 19:2-9
      • divorce = adultery
    • they (divorce & adultery) are NOT unforgivable, praise God!
      • but there does need to be repentance
      • 1 Corinthians 7
        • Paul teaches about how to follow God no matter what your marital status is – no matter where you’re at, just follow God from there
    • marriage should not be entered into lightly
      • you are going to give an account before God
      • everything belongs to God; we are just stewards

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True Christianity, pt. 9

We had a few weeks of special messages around the holidays that I wanted to share with you. First is a short message from friend of Colona Community Church, Jim Juhl (the audio quality isn’t great, but it’s a lovely message). Also included is Terry’s message, entitled “The Great I Am,” from the Gospel of John.

Here’s Jim’s message:

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And Terry’s message:

The Great I Am

• Intro: We were created for relationship with God, but sin has gotten in between. There must be a second birth (John 3:3) to be saved from our sin. Jesus came to reconcile us to God.
• God calls Himself, “I Am” (Exodus 3:13-14); Jesus has seven “I Am” statements in the Gospel of John.
• “I Am the bread of life” (John 6:35)
  • Jesus had physically fed the 5,000 (John 6:1-14)
  • Now He is feeding them spiritually (v. 33-35)
• “I Am the light of the world” (John 8:12)
  • We can’t exist without light
  • Spiritually, we can’t thrive without His light chasing away the darkness
  • the Word is life & light (Psalm 119:105)
  • Light coming into the darkness makes people accountable for their sin.
    • John 3:19
    • 1 John 2:16
  • God is drawing people out of the darkness & into the light
  • the dwelling place of the believer is the Word of God
  • Matthew 6:33
• “I Am the gate/door” (John 10:9)
  • the door to eternal life
  • John 10:10 – the thief vs Jesus
• “I Am the good shepherd” (John 10:11; 12-15)
  • gives His life for the sheep
  • He is making intercession for us (Romans 8:34)
  • sheep have one obligation – keep your eye on the Shepherd
  • the Shepherd fends of the enemies of the sheep
    • sheep are easy marks
    • peace & joy come from knowing He’s looking out for us when we follow Him
  • the Shepherd sacrifices His life for the sheep
    • reversal of the Passover
• “I Am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25; 24-26)
  • v. 24: Martha knew the Scriptures
  • v. 25-26: Jesus gave new revelation to Martha
    • John 5:28-29 – everyone that dies will be resurrected
      • to eternal life or
      • to eternal damnation
• “I Am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6; 1-7)
  • v. 1-3: He is preparing a place for us in the Father’s house
  • v. 4-5: the disciples didn’t know what He was talking about – they couldn’t truly understand until they had the Holy Spirit
  • v. 6-7: Jesus is all we need
• “I Am the true vine” (John 15:1; 2-6)
  • If He’s the true vine, there must be a false vine.
  • Isaiah 5: Israel was the vineyard, but the fruit rotted
  • v. 2: we will be pruned for our own good
  • v. 4-5: live & dwell in the Vine & God will take care of us
    • no other way to please God than to trust & obey
  • He wants Christlikeness in our lives – can’t do that apart from Him
    • if we abide in Him, the Spirit will produce fruit in us (Galatians 5:22-23)
  • v. 6: branches not bearing fruit will be taken away and burned
• He is all we need!

Happy New Year! Here are the next few installments in Terry’s “True Christianity” series. Enjoy!

True Christianity, pt. 4

• Intro:
  • There’s a lot going on in today’s Christianity that is not of the Lord.
  • Jesus tells us exactly what it means to be a Christian.
  • Mountains
    • In the Old Testament, God took Moses up on Mt. Sinai to give him the Covenant of the Law.
    • In the New Testament, Jesus goes up a mountain near the Sea of Galilee to give us the new Covenant of Grace.
  • True Christianity is letting go (of things apart from God) and taking hold (of the things of God).
• Salt & Light (Matthew 5:13-14)
  • Jesus says, “You ARE the salt of the earth/a city on a hill.”
    • it’s not something you grow into
    • given at the moment of salvation
  • Ephesians 4
    • the Church is for equipping the saints
  • v. 13 – Salt
    • back in the day, salt was a treasure
      • “He’s worth his salt.”
    • flavors things
    • preserves food
      • delays decay
      • disinfects
      • this is the aspect of salt that God is referring to
    • the Church is His salt
      • to preserve, slow the decay of society
      • Colossians 1:16
        • everything was created BY and FOR God
    • destruction (in the Bible) often means “ruined for the intent and purpose for which it was created”
      • unrestrained evil will destroy everything
      • His salt is a restrainer
      • the Church is not being His salt as it should be
    • if the salt isn’t preserving, society begins to decay
      • the decaying intensifies and quickens with each passing day
    • When the Church corporately is not doing what God intended it to do, we need to be found faithful to the Lord individually.
      • Revelation 3 – Laodicean Church
        • looked great on the outside
        • lukewarm for the things of God
  • v. 14 – Light of the World
    • Come together to be encouraged to help you keep your wick trimmed and your oil filled, so your lamp won’t dim (Matthew 25).
    • we are in a constant battle
      • the enemy is trying to douse our light
      • put on the full armor of God to protect your light (Ephesians 6)
    • one of the first things God did in creation was to create light
      • separated light (things of God) from darkness (things of evil)
    • our light is to draw others unto God
      • up on a hill you can’t be hidden
    • John 1 – Light of the World
      • “I am the light” (John 8:12)
      • hope in the darkness
      • we don’t have light apart from God
        • God IN us is the light to shine on others
  • v. 15 – The Light
    • What do we do with light?
      • don’t hide it
      • set it out for all to see & be illuminated by
  • v. 16 – Individual Light
    • Let YOUR light shine before men
      • to glorify God (not ourselves)
    • Do what is important unto the Lord
      • allow Him to work through you
    • Light = Life
      • nothing grows in the darkness
      • darkness = death (spiritually)
  • Conclusion:
    • Salt causes people to be thirsty.
      • We are supposed to help people find a longing, a thirst for the things of God.
    • 2 Corinthians 12
      • the weaker I am, the more God can work through me
    • focus on eternal matters
      • so you won’t be ashamed when you come before the Lord
      • God is concerned that none should perish, but that all might come to repentance (2 Peter 3).
    • Don’t lose your flavor!
      • don’t be silent
      • don’t become spiritually dull (unyielded to the Spirit)

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True Christianity, pt. 5

• Intro: God works in our hearts to make us like Christ.
• The Life of a Believer (Matthew 5:16)
  • Bring glory to God
  • Accomplish His purposes
    • Be salt & light
    • Lift up Christ
    • He is glorified when we live for Him
    • Don’t shrink back in cowardice
    • Listen to God’s prompting & allow yourself to be used by Him
• The Bridge from the Old Testament to the New Testament (Matthew 5:17)
  • The diverse group of people listening to the Sermon on the Mount are under the Law.
    • Even Jesus, as a Jew, was born under the Law (Galatians 4:4)
    • The Law is God’s standard
      • none of us can keep the Law perfectly
      • Acts 15 – the Jerusalem Council
    • Jesus didn’t come to take away the Law, but to completely fulfill it (Romans 10:4)
      • Ezekiel 18:20
      • Religious leaders did a terrible job of leading/teaching the people
        • less about God’s Law
        • more about their own ideas
        • the Law is perfect (Psalm 19:7)
        • the Law cannot save (Romans 3:20)
          • it is to show us our sin & our need for a Savior
        • we must be saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8), because we can’t keep the Law perfectly
        • Old Testament = external religion
          • Isaiah 29:13
        • New Testament = internal relationship
    • He also took the judicial punishment for our breaking of the Law on Himself – though He never broke the Law
      • God’s Law – He kept perfectly
      • Roman law – even Pilate said Jesus did no wrong (Mark 15:14)
• Absolute Truth (Matthew 5:18)
  • Jesus says, “Truly,” over 30 times in the Book of Matthew.
  • Even the tiniest details (the “jots and tittles”) of the words of the Law were perfectly fulfilled in Him
  • the Commandments of God vs. the traditions of men
• Teachers Called Out (Matthew 5:19)
  • if you break the Law & teach others to do the same, woe unto you
  • if you keep & teach the Law correctly, you are doing God’s will
• Your Righteousness (Matthew 5:20)
  • knocked the legs out from under the religious system
    • the people strove to be as “holy” as the religious leaders
    • Jesus said you have to be even better than the religious leaders
      • He has a different standard of righteousness
      • can only enter the kingdom of heaven by believing Jesus is your Savior by grace through faith
      • John 3:16

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True Christianity, pt. 6

• Intro: God gave Moses the Law in the Old Testament; Jesus gives us “the rest of the story” in the New Testament.
• Jesus Rocks the People (Matthew 5:20)
  • the religious leaders of the time were put up on pedestals
    • appeared to be super righteous and holy
    • Jesus sees their dark hearts
  • the only way to make it into the Kingdom of God is by God imparting His righteousness & holiness unto us at salvation
    • 2 Corinthians 5:20-21
    • can’t “work” your way into heaven
  • John 8:31-32
• Murder Explained (Matthew 5:21-22)
  • the 6th commandment (Deuteronomy 5:17; all 10 Commandments in Deuteronomy 5:1-22)
  • murder is born of anger
    • the intent is just as big a sin as the act
    • righteous anger vs. ungodly anger
    • Ephesians 4:26
  • living with anger disturbs your relationship with the Lord
  • we need to deal with these things in our hearts
    • by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, we can release it
    • Hebrews 12:15
• How Do We Restore Relationship? (Matthew 5:23-24)
  • don’t bring that baggage to church
    • 1 Peter 3 – resolve things; don’t hold grudges
    • bad heart/attitude, bitterness, unconfessed sin will affect not only you, but also the whole body of Christ in fellowship
  • 2 Corinthians 5:17
    • need a new heart that is prepared when you enter the fellowship
    • Satan is always busy on Sunday mornings!
    • his goal is to shipwreck our communion with God & with each other
  • the Holy Spirit is forming Christ in us
    • Hebrews 12 – discipline is proof you are His child
    • when we dig in our heels, we grieve the Holy Spirit
      • He needs to finish the work in us that He began
      • We need to yield to Him, because we can’t do it on our own.
• Offenses (Matthew 5:25-26)
  • If I’m offended, I need to go to whoever offended me and work it out.
  • If I’ve offended someone, I need to go to that person and work it out.
  • humble yourself – put others first
    • it’s hard to admit you’re wrong, but that is the first step in reconciliation
  • it’s for our sake & for the sake of our relationship with God
  • holding onto the situation makes things worse
    • walk in the peace of God
  • invite God in to help us work out these situations