What Are You Seeking?

Message begins around 31:00

What Are You Seeking?
02/20/2021 - Dave Riddle 
Key Passage: Colossians 3:1-2

Keep Seeking Christ

• Colossians 3:1

  • zēteō (ζητέω): to seek by thinking, meditating, or reasoning. As a Hebraism: to worship God.

• Colossians 3:2

  • Stay focused, set your attention.

Don’t Seek After The Things of Earth

• Colossians 3:2

  • phroneō (φρονέω) To direct one's mind to a thing, to seek, to strive for

• What has your truest, deepest, most foundational affection?

• Philippians 3:17-19

  • Enemies of the cross focus on earthly things.

• Matthew 16 - Peter rebukes Jesus.

  • 16:23 “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns, but man’s.”

Pick up your cross and follow Jesus

• Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.

• Galatians 5:24 - Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh.

• Galatians 2:20 - I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live but Christ lives in me.

  • Bonhoeffer- “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die”

Jesus flips the tables of our lives

• Matthew 21, John 2, Mark 11, Luke 19

  • Symbolic of what he does in our lives.

Our Unchanging Identity

Unchanging Identity
Dave Riddle 8/29/2021

Key passage: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Hard truths of the Bible

• There are lots of things that make us say “I wish I didn’t know that… I wish that wasn’t in there”

  • 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

    • “You are not your own”

      • The world doesn’t revolve around me.

I’m now a steward

• 1 Peter 4:10

  • Steward: a person who manages another’s property or finances; one who administers anything as the agent of another.

  • We manage our lives, not in our own interest, but in the interest of the Father

I’m now a child

• 1 John 3:1

  • See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children—and we are!

I’m now a follower

• “Follow me”

  • Follow = akoloutheō - to be in the same way with. To be in the same road. To follow one who proceeds.

I’m now a disciple 

• Disciple = mathetes (Greek: μαθητής) - pupil/learner/student - a disciple. In the New Testament, a disciple is one who not only learns, but accepts and adverse to the instruction given to them, making it their personal everyday way of living .

  • Not just learning knowledge, but allowing that knowledge to change the way we live.

  • Matthew 16:24 - if anyone wants to come with me, he must deny himself and take up his cross.

I’m now a slave

• doulos (Greek: δοῦλος): a slave, bondman, man of servile condition

  • We are slaves to our sin

    • Romans 6:15

  • Romans 6:18

    • Set free from sin!

    • Now slaves to righteousness!

Hello My Name is... Wonderful Counselor

Hello my name is: Wonderful Counselor

Dave Riddle - 12/01/19

Key Passage: Isaiah 9:6

Counselor

• ya’ats (Hebrew: יָעַץ) - to advise, counsel, admonish, direct, resolve, decide, plan and/or purpose. To counsel together; to be advised.

  • Isaiah 9:6 - “counselor”

  • First usage: Exodus - Moses meets with his father-in-law to seek advice.

Wonderful

• pele’ (Hebrew: פֶּלֶא) - a miracle, a wonder; a wonderful thing or deed.

  • Isaiah 9:6 - “Wonderful”

  • Other than a single time in the book of Lamentations, it always appears in the context of God’s acts or words. 37 of the 84 occurrences of pele’ are found in the Psalms.

What kind of Wonderful Counselor?

Other-worldly

• John 12:49 - He came with divine wisdom from Heaven itself

• John 14:10 - He spoke with authority of God

Authoritative

• Mark 1:21-22 - He taught with an authority unlike anything the world had seen.

• Luke 4:32 - The people were amazed... slack-jawed

  • ekplēssō (Greek: ἐκπλήσσω) - to be struck with amazement, astonished, amazed

Piercing & Gentle

• Piercing

  • Matthew 16:23

  • Matthew 23:27

• Gentle

  • John 8:7-11

Inviting & Challenging

• Mark 1:17 - “come, follow me”

  • Not just a call, but a purpose.

    • “And I’ll show you how to fish for people”

• Mark 3:13-14

  • With Him, and Sent Out

Truth

• John 14:6 - “I am... the truth”

• John 1:14 - truth in the flesh

Life-giving

• John 14:6- The truth AND the life.

• John 4:4-14 - living water!

Infinite

• Luke 21:33 - His words will never pass away.

• 1 Peter 1:24-25 - the Good News remains forever.