Hello all! Praying that you all had a blessed Easter weekend. We at Colona Community Church sure did: God provided beautiful weather for our Sunrise Service, the people of the church provided an abundance of yummy food for our breakfast, and we finished up with a wonderful lesson from Pastor Alan at the regular Sunday Service.
Unfortunately, we’re still having occasional problems with the recording, so the complete message audio is unavailable. God willing, we’ll get the issues resolved soon. :) I do, however, have the closing prayer from Easter Sunday. I’ve also included Pastor Alan’s outline of his message with links to the verses he referenced. To listen to the prayer, simply click play on the audio player below.
The Much More Life: Christ Alive to Live in You Romans 5:1-17
I. The Starting Line: forgiven by the death of Christ in your place on the cross. “I’ve Been Saved”. The “theological” term is justified. Just as if you died. Romans 5:1-9, Romans 8:31-39
II. The Daily Life in Christ: the much more life. Romans 5:10, 17. Our forgiveness cleans the slate for his activity in us, through the Holy Spirit. “I’m being saved.” This is the much more life. It’s not about our doing for Him but his doing in us. The “theological” term is sanctification. 2 Corinthians 4:16, Philippians 2:1-11, Galatians 5:22-23. It’s not about us but Christ!
III. The Final Outcome. 1 Corinthians 15 is a chapter on the implications of the resurrection. “I will be saved.” In light of Easter, I urge you to read all of 1 Corinthians 15:13-28.
Summary: the major truth Paul drives home is that the life we are to live is a life grounded solely in the grace of God and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Contact info: Dr. Alan Brock, albrock.ab@gmail.com www.Summit40.com
Hello! Pastor Alan taught us about the Prophecy, the Praise, and the Promise of Palm Sunday by leading us through John 12:1-19. To listen to this message, simply click play on the audio player below. I’ve also included some notes and links to the Scriptures referenced. Below that, I’ve included Pastor’s notes from the previous week (which accidentally did not get recorded…oops!) when Pastor taught on The Miracle of Sight in John 9. Enjoy!
*A special note: despite the snow that is currently falling, we plan to have Easter Sunrise Service at the Boyles’ home at 7 am, followed by a potluck breakfast. Regular Sunday Service will, as always, be at 10:30 am at the church. The weather forecasters promise that it will warm up! :)
Palm Sunday: The Prophecy, the Praise, and the Promise
The donkey is a symbol of service – a pack animal that takes the burden of man.
Praise
Hosanna (John 12:13) – means “save us.” The people wanted a new David.
Mary anointed Him, not to be the king, but to die.
“Jesus and Alexander the Great” by Charles Ross Weede
Jesus and Alexander died at thirty-three; One died in Babylon; and one on Calvary. One gained all for self; and one Himself He gave; One conquered every throne; the other every grave. The one made himself god; The God made Himself less; The one lived but to blast; the other but to bless! When died the Greek, forever fell his throne of swords But Jesus died to live forever Lord of lords.
Jesus and Alexander died at thirty-three. The Greek made all men slaves; the Jew made all men free. One built a throne on blood; the other built on love, The one was born of earth; the other from above; One won all this earth, to lose all earth and heaven. The other gave up all, that all to Him be given. The Greek forever died; the Jew forever lives; He loses all who gets, and gets all things who gives.
Disbelief: a common reaction to the miracles of Jesus. Even today, some Christian teachers explain away the miracles. (John 9:6-12)
Interrogation: yet another encounter Jesus had with the Pharisees over healing on the Sabbath. (John 9:13-34)
Sabbath – a day of rest for the good of mankind. Jesus kept the heart of the Sabbath through compassionate healing (the good of that particular man).
The Pharisees weren’t interested in compassion or people, only in proving how obedient to God they could be by keeping and enforcing rules.
Three steps of interrogation:
John 9:13-17 – The first thing about legalists is that they are close-minded. They are invested in getting rid of the threat to their system.
John 9:18-23 – The second thing about legalists is that they use fear to control people’s actions. When the Pharisees don’t get what they want from the man, they go after his parents. All works-based religions are fear-based. It is a powerful way to keep people in line.
John 9:24-34 – The man is brought back in and proves he had guts. He knew the real Power from the phony, hate-filled hypocrisy.
vs. 25: “I was blind, but now I see.” Sound familiar? :)
Jesus is the “Son of Man” – the bridge between man & God
Jesus gives spiritual sight to those who know and admit that they are spiritually blind. If you think that everything is okay because you are being “good,” you remain blind.
“It is not our littleness that hinders Christ; but our bigness.
It is not our weakness that hinders Christ; it’s our strength.
It is not our darkness that hinders Christ; it is our supposed light that holds back His hand.”
Hello there! Pastor Alan returned last Sunday, but technical difficulties kept the message about John 8:1-12 from being recorded. Sorry! This Sunday, he finished up John 8, inviting us to know Jesus, know our enemy, and know ourselves. To listen to this message, simply click play on the audio player below. And be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the post, where you’ll find a special song written for Pastor Alan. :)
Questions to Answer:
How well do we know Jesus? Do we know about Him or do we KNOW Him?
How well do we know our common enemies and the Enemy? Evil does exist!
How well do we know who we are to be and what we are to do in Christ?
Do you know these things to be true about yourself?
Pastor Alan wanted to share this beautiful song, “I Can’t, You Can,” with the church. Here’s the description from Ashley:
I wrote this song as a tribute to my stepdad, Alan Brock, on his 60th birthday. “Pops” or “Popsy” as my youngest son affectionately calls him, has persevered in this life only by the strength of God. He is a kind and faithful man, and he loves my mom well. He feels called to teach the Word of God, currently serving as a preacher in a small country church in Colorado. He feels the most at home with flawed people who know they are not perfect. I guess that’s why the words of Major Ian Thomas, founder of the Torchbearers International, are so significant to him; “I can’t, You never said I could. But You can, and always said You would, and that’s all I need to know.” Pops knows we are all flawed, and it’s only by the grace and strength of Jesus that we can have the power to do anything that truly matters in this life.
Pops has run over 100 marathons, including a 100 mile Ultra-run, and gives all the credit and glory to God for each step. For him, it’s not about winning, but more about faithfulness to finish the race. Even if he comes in near the end, he is faithful to continue each step of the journey. Pops told me one of his favorite life verses from the Bible is Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Good afternoon! I apologize for holding on to these for so long and for putting all of them in one post, but I wanted to make sure to put up the remainder of Terry’s teachings on Ephesians 1. They are packed full of biblical truth, so take time to savor them.
Hello again! Terry continued his lessons on the spiritual blessings found in the Bible with part 2 of his series (this one is about conversion). To listen to this teaching, simply click play on the audio player below. I have also included a list of the verses referenced with links to those verses at Bible Gateway.
With Pastor Alan away, Terry Melton has been teaching us about spiritual blessings, inspired by Ephesians 1. To listen to the first message in this series (about salvation), simply click play on the audio player below. I’ve also included links to the verses referenced by Terry in his message.
Good afternoon! For the past few weeks, Pastor Alan has not been able to be at church, but our teacher, Terry Melton, has taken us through some beautiful promises of God. He began with the promise found in Psalm 46:1. To listen to his message from January 23, simply click play on the audio player below. I’ve also included links to some of the Scriptures Terry references in his message. Enjoy!
Good afternoon! This past Sunday, Pastor Alan taught about John 7 and the important questions found in that chapter. To listen to this message, simply click play on the audio player below. I’ve also included Pastor’s outline of the message and links to the verses he references.
Good afternoon! This past Sunday, Pastor Alan continued his series on the Gospel of John with a wonderful teaching on John 6:25-70. To listen to this message, simply click play on the audio player below. I’ve also included Pastor Alan’s outline and links to the verses.
Hello! Last Sunday, Pastor Alan taught about the most recorded miracle of Jesus: the feeding of the 5,000 (plus women and children) from John 6. To listen to this lesson, simply click play on the audio player below. I’ve also included Pastor’s outline and links to the verses. Enjoy!
Old Testament Background
Jesus is like Moses but greater than Moses — John 6:14
Do you operate from rational limitation or do you count on God’s provision? John 6:5-9
Do you unlock God’s provision by asking with grateful thanksgiving? John 6:11
Will you “gather up the fragments” so there will be less wasted? John 6:12-13
Will you step aside so Christ’s purposes might be done? John 6:14-15
WE AT COLONA COMMUNITY CHURCH ARE BOTH SADDENED AND JOYFUL TO NOTE THAT OUR DEAR, LONGTIME PASTOR, DEAN FREED, PASSED ON TO GLORY YESTERDAY. WE CAN ALMOST PICTURE HIM, NOW THAT HIS “ZIPPER BAG” OF QUESTIONS HAS BEEN OPENED AND HE IS SAFE IN THE ARMS OF THE JESUS HE LOVED. WE WILL MISS HIM, BUT WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING HIM AGAIN.
Colona Community Church 