Freedom Church

January 6, 2019 - Sunshine Vinson

A Freedom Christmas

When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spir...

Waiting Here for You, Week Five

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan...

Waiting Here For You, Week Four

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everyt...

Waiting Here For You, Week Two

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. Luke 5:1-11 (NIV) CROWDS do not always translate to WORSHIPERS He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. Luke 5:1-11 (NIV) WORSHIP can feel DISRUPTIVE. When he h...

Waiting Here For You, Week Three

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (NIV) Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. Luke 8:40-56 (NIV) Are you expecting God to show up...

Waiting Here For You, Week One

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 (NIV) So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him Hebrews 9:28 (NIV) “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done...

Legacy, Week Four

The life you live today determines the legacy you leave tomorrow. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Galatians 6:7-9 (NIV) You reap what you sow… Later than you sow… More than you sow. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have the ...

Legacy, Week Three

The life you live today determines the legacy you leave tomorrow. December 2nd – Legacy Offering (Last Year…) December 9th – Legacy Team Launch Dinner Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Galatians 6:7-10 (NIV) You reap what you sow… Later than you sow… More than you sow. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at t...

Legacy, Week Two

The life you live today determines the legacy you leave tomorrow. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:7-9 (NIV) You reap what you sow… Later than you sow… More than you sow. For physical training is o...

Legacy, Week One

The life you live today determines the legacy you leave tomorrow. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:7-9 (NIV) You reap what you sow… Later than you sow… More than you sow. Now the serpent was more c...

Sharing Your Faith

1. Have a faith. 2. Have a burden. 3. Share it any way you can! 4. My job is to plant and water seed, God does the rest. 5. Use your weapons. 6. Make much about Jesus! 7. Play the long game.

You Asked For It, Week Four

Statistics from The American Institute for Stress: 77% of people say the regularly experience the physical symptoms of stress 44% of Americans feel more stressed than they did 5 years ago 1 in 5 Americans experience EXTREME stress 60% of all disease and illness is caused by stress. 3 out of 4 doctors visits are for stress related ailments. Stress increases the risk of heart attack by 25% and a stroke by 50%. 50 Common Signs and Symptoms of Stress: 1. Frequent headaches, jaw clenching or pain 2. ...

You Asked For It, Week Three

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NLT) From him the whole body, join...

You Asked For It, Week Two

“How to deal with difficult people” Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. 2 Timothy 2:23-24 (NLT) 2 Types of Difficult: Difficult because they are DANGEROUS. I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away...

You Asked For It, Week One

Forgiveness = to cease to feel resentment against an offender or to grant relief from payment of (RELIEF for you) Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Colossians 3:13 (NLT) Surround yourself with Yes people Completely isolate yourself and don’t let anyone in An offended friend is harder to win back than a fortified city. Arguments separate friends like a gate locked with bars. Proverbs 18:19 (NLT) ...

The Daniel Dilemma, Week Four

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Galatians 5:6 (NIV) You cannot antagonize and influence at the same time. A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:34-35 (NIV) 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothin...

The Daniel Dilemma, Week Two

We will either SET culture or REFLECT culture. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. John 17:15-16 (NIV) Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. Ephesians 5:11 (NIV) The name written on her forehead was a mystery: Babylon the great, the mother of prostitutes, and of the abominations of the earth. Revelation 17:5 (NIV) “Now then, listen, you lover...

The Daniel Dilemma, Week One

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god. Daniel 1:1-5 (NIV) Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal fami...

Sermon on the Mount, Week Nine

And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Matthew 7:23 (ESV) “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who...

Sermon on the Mount, Week Eight

Sermon on the Mount, Week Seven

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:7-11 (...

Sermon on the Mount, Week Six

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7:1-6 (NIV) “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? Matthew 7:1-6 (NIV) How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and th...

Sermon on the Mount, Week Five

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow...

Sermon on the Mount, Week Four

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” Matthew 6:1 (NIV) “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in...

Sermon on the Mount, Week Two

Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV) Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Deuteronomy 6:5-9 (NIV) Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your forehead...

Sermon on the Mount, Week One

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. Matthew 5:1-12 (NIV) You greatest message to the crowd will come through your personal message to those closest to you. He said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:1-12 (NIV) “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that ...

Divine Direction, Week Three

The decisions we make today determine the stories we tell tomorrow. But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles… my immediate response was not to consult any human being. I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and s...

Divine Direction, Week Two

The decisions we make today determine the stories we tell tomorrow. After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you—for I will be going through Macedonia. Perhaps I will stay with you for a while, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. For I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to ...

Divine Direction, Week One

The decisions we make today, determine the stories we tell tomorrow. Focus on “WHO” before “DO” Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do… 1 Peter 1:13-15 (NIV) Focus on “HIS WAYS” before “HIS WILL” Trust in the Lord with all your heart ...