Fear Not!

Fear Not!

Dave Riddle - 12/3/2023

Key Passage: Genesis 15:1

The Origin of Unhealthy Fear

- Genesis 3:10

- Sin > Shame > Fear > Hiding

Healthy Fear

- Icy roads, dangerous situations, etc

- Reverential awe for God

- Proverbs 9:10

- When this healthy fear is missing the result is not good.

- Romans 3:10-18

- Psalm 36:1

- Matthew 10:28

- Hebrews 10:31

Fear Not / Do Not Be Afraid

- First instance of this common phrase

- Genesis 15

- “I am your shield”

- Your protection. Your security

- God doesn’t want to leave us in a place of fear, shame, sin, and hiding.

- He wants to have a relationship of hope, joy, peace, and love with us.

- James 2:21-23

- Abraham: friend of God

- John 3:16-17

God’s Love Conquers Fear

- 1 John 4:10

- He loved us first. Not because we loved Him.

- 1 John 4:18

- There is no fear in love

- Perfect love drives out fear

- 2 Timothy 1:7

- God did not give us a spirit of fearfulness

- Revelation 2:10

- The last instance of “fear not”

- From Genesis to Revelation

There is nothing that can separate you from the love of God.

God Hates Lying Tongues

The Hated Six - God Hates Lying Tongues

Dave Riddle - 8/6/2023

Key Passage: Proverbs 6:16-19

A Lying Tongue

seqer: an untruth, by implication, a sham (often adverbial)

John 8:44 - …the father of lies…

• God hates lies because he is truth and the enemy is all about deceit.

• 2 Corinthians 11:3, 14

A Lying Witness

kezab: falsehood; literally (untruth) or figuratively (idol)

Exodus 20:16 - …do not give false testimony…

John 14:6 - I am the way, the truth, and the life.

The Sobering Reward For Lies

• Judgement

• Psalm 5:6

• Proverbs 19:8

• Revelation 21:8

• Revelation 22:15

Why do we lie?

• Because we’re afraid

• To gain advantage

• To hurt others

• Financial gain

• Habit

• To avoid embarrassment

• To hide

• To avoid punishment

• To protect yourself or others

How do you lie?

• We speak untruths

• We believe the lies of the enemy and begin to tell them to ourselves and others.

• We lie about who we are and what we believe 

• 1 John 2:9

• 1 John 4:20a

The solution for our lies: Repent

• This is good news!

• There is hope for us if we receive the truth of the gospel.

• John 8:31-32

• The truth will set you free.

The Impact of Love

The Impact of Love - 12/12/2021

Key Passage: 1 John 4

Love is at the center of God’s being

Demonstrating love is what God does.

Love is how & why we are God’s very own!

The Impact of Hope

The Impact of Hope

12/5/2021 - Dave Riddle 

Psalm 42:11 - why are you overcome with despair? Hope in God!

• We are the people of Hope.

  • Surrounded by despair, but not living in despair.

How is it that we can be legitimately hopeful?

God is.

• He exists

• Jeremiah 10

  • The worthlessness of idols compared to a true God. (10:10)

    • Jeremiah 10:16

God is here.

• Matthew 1:23 - God is with us.

• Hebrews 1:3a - Jesus is God in the flesh

  • Philippians 2:5-7

God is love.

• 1 John 4:8-9 - God is love.

• John 3:16-17 - How much God loves us.

• Titus 3:4-7 - what it means for us.

God is Salvation.

• Roman 8:38-39 - there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God.

• Hebrews 1:3 - God the Savior

God is King.

• 1 Thessalonians 4:13 - don’t live as those who have no hope

  • Ephesians 2:12 - We were… without Christ, without God, without hope. No longer!

• 1 Timothy 6:13-15 - Celebrating his first coming while awaiting his second coming!

  • God will make all things new!

• Hebrews 10:23 - hold tightly, without wavering, to the hope we affirm…

How can we embrace hope today?

Receive this truth in faith

• 1 Peter 5:7

Reflect on how God is providing hope in your life

• Psalm 9:1

Encourage another Jesus-follower you’ve seen exhibiting hope.

• 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Share hope with someone in your missional context.

• 1 Peter 3:15

Hope - God in Our Midst

Hope - God In Our Midst

Christmas 2020 - 12/6/2020 - Dave Riddle

We Can Have Hope!

• Psalm 42:11 - Hope in the Lord!

• Psalm 62:5 - He is my only hope.

Why?

He is

• Jeremiah 10:10a - YHWH is the true and living God!

• Jeremiah 10:16 - Not just a passive idol, but the creator of everything!

He is here

• Matthew 1:23 - Immanuel (God with us)

• Here, and involved

  • Hebrews 1:3

  • Philippians 2:5-7

  • Colossians 1:15

  • 1 Peter 5:7

He is love

• 1 John 4:8 - God is love

• John 3:16 - God loved the world in this way...

• Titus 3:4-7 - love, grace, mercy, salvation

He is Savior

• Jesus / Yeshua / Joshua - The Lord Saves

• Romans 8:38-39 - there is nothing that can separate you from the salvation that Jesus has provided to you

• Hebrews 1:3

He is King!

• 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 - this life is not the end!

  • 1 Timothy 6:12-15

Look Up

Look Up

This is a season of reset

Helping people follow Jesus together

• Help people become like Jesus 

  • Luke 6:40

• Walking as He walked

  • 1 John 2:6

Our Up Relationship is Prime

• Mark 12:30

Worship 

• Romans 12:1

• The heart of worship is loving God with our entire being.

• Latreia (Greek: λατρεία) - worship or service. To kiss (in the same way a dog licks its master). To revere, to adore.

• John 4:24 - worship

  • Proskyneo (Greek: προσκυνέω) - to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence

• Revelation 19:4

Our Worship is a Response 

• 1 John 4:19 - we love because he first loved us.

Our Worship Must be Real

• Mark 7:6 - Honoring God with our hearts, not just our lips. 

• 1 Samuel 15:22 - obedience not sacrifice

You are Loved 

• 1 John 3:1 - You are His child!

The Life You Live

• John 14:15 - love results in obedience

• 1 John 5:3a - keep His commands

• Acts 13:22 - a person aligned with God’s heart.

Lean In

Lean In

Dave Riddle - 7/19/20

koinōnia (Greek: κοινωνία) - fellowship, association, community, intimacy, joint participation (the share which one has in anything), communion. 

Living in koinōnia = Love 

An Order or Command to Love Others

• Mark 12:31 - love others as much as you love yourself.

• John 13:34 - love others the way Jesus loves us.

• 1 John 3:23 - love others as He commanded us.

Response 

• 1 John 4:11, 19 - our love is a response to the love Jesus has shown to us.

Integral

• Necessary for yielding completeness

• 1 John 4:12 - our faith becomes more complete as we walk in love.

Maturity and Progression

• 1 Peter 1:22-23

  • A sincere love. Not merely pretending to love others.

  • Earnestly, fervently, constantly loving one another.

• 1 Corinthians 13 - love is foundational. Without it, our actions are meaningless.

Confirmation

• John 13:35 - This is how all people will know that we are truly followers of Christ.

Intimacy 

• A relationship that goes deeper than “we go to the same church”.

• Requires vulnerability.

  • Might require taking some risks.

Investment

• Helping people follow Jesus together.

Connected and Contributing to One Another

• Not living in an individual reality, but a “One Another” reality.

  • Love one another

  • Live in harmony with one another

  • Forgive one another 

  • Honor one another

  • ...And many many more 

    • Over 100 occurrences in scripture.

    • Only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit

How is God calling you to take the next step towards koinōnia?

• 1 Peter 1:22-23

Up (Our Father)

A Family on Mission - Up (Our Father)

Dave Riddle - 06/16/19

Key Passage: Acts 13:22

The most important thing

• Mark 12:28-30

Captured by the concept of worship

• Romans 12:1

A rhythmic response to God’s self-revelation

• 1 John 4:19 - “we love because He first loved us...”

A matter of our hearts

• Mark 7:6

—-—-—-

David

• 1 Samuel 16:7

  • “...the Lord looks at the heart”

• Acts 12:22

  • “...a man after my own heart”

  • We are called to align our hearts with God’s heart.

Allow God to be first

• Philippians 3:7-14

• Make God the object and pursuit of your life.

Rely on God’s power

• 1 Samuel 17

• Romans 8:11 - the same power that raised Jesus from the dead now lives in you!

Rest in His authority

Live in full transparency

• Psalm 139 - you have searched me and know me.

Two Outcomes

1. We are loved

   • The creator of the universe loves you!

   • 1 John 3:1 - his love is so great that we are called His children!

2. Called to live in obedience!

   • John 14:15 - if we love God we will desire to keep His commands.