Help Wanted

Preacher's Notes needs your help!

I had high hopes that I would be able to come up with some great discussion questions from each weeks sermon here at the Oxford Church but unfortunately time is not allowing it. So I need your help!

You can email me your questions from Sunday's sermon and I will post them here on this blog and as a family we can dig deeper into God's word and the message from his servants in Oxford.

You can send your discussion questions to pastorheath@oaccmaine.org and be sure to include your name, the sermon title or at least the date, and the speakers name and I will include it in that week's Preacher's Notes.

Thanks in advance for your help,
Pastor Heath

Get On With Life - Pastor Frank Jewett

Introduction
"When you announce the good news that the risen Jesus is Lord, that very word is the word of God, a carrier or agent of God's Spirit, a means by which, as Isaiah had predicted, new life from God's dimension comes to bring new creation within ours. (Is 40:8; 55:10-13)"

Discussion Questions

Read John 11:17-44

1. Jesus used the word "believe" six times in this passage, what point do you think he was trying to get across?

2. After getting the message that his friend Lazarus was sick, Jesus waited until after he had died to go to Bethany, why did he wait?

3. Lazarus had a considerable problem, he was dead! Jesus raised him for God's glory, is there a problem or circumstance in your life right now that Jesus could be working through to bring God glory?

4. Jesus said in verse 25: "I am the resurrection and the life" what is the difference between the two?

5. How has the resurrection life been made evident in your life this week? What are some areas that can be improved to let that light shine more brightly?

6. Pastor Frank gave us the illustration of believers being like wood stoves, we have a fire inside of us but unless we let some air into our firebox the flames will die out. What are some things that choke out your fire?

7. Name at least two areas or your life that need some air let in so that fire will grow.

Think About It

Every one of us is on a journey, some are just further along the road than others but none of us has finished the trek. We have all been offered the gift of life through Jesus Christ, that is how we began the journey but we don't often embrace the true life he has given us because our focus is still on the grave cloths that are wrapped around us just like were wrapped around Lazarus when he was raised. Lazarus needed the help of his family and friends to help him remove that "dead stuff" so he could start living again. Our brothers and sisters in Christ will help us with our "dead stuff" if we would let them.

What Will You Do?

Having a few brothers or sisters in Christ that can help carry each other in good times and bad is key to a successful Christian life, if you have someone like that talk to them this week about your "dead stuff" and pray for each other, if you don't have anyone like that pray and ask God to bring that brother or sister to you.

Changing Your Mind

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
1 Corinthians 15:20-22

Something's Up - Pastor Frank Jewett

Introduction

John 20:1-18

1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!”
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

10 Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11 but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don't know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 “Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Easter means different things to different people but this passage tells why Christians celebrate on this special day, we celebrate Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead!

Discussion Questions
Read Ephesians 1:18-20

1. What is the hope that believers are promised?

2. Describe some ways that the Lord has delivered on this promise.

3. What are the "glorious riches" that are described in this passage? How are they available to the believer?

4. What does it mean to you that the same power that God used to raise Jesus from the dead is available for you? In what ways have you seen this power at work in your life?

5. Pastor Frank encouraged us to learn to live with the new life that we have been given, a life with resurrection power, describe a life that is lived with resurrection power.

Think About It
Could your life be described as a life lived full of resurrection power? What needs to change in order to let that power out? "JESUS IS ALIVE!" is the good news of the Gospel, the message that the world needs to hear, how is that message lived out in your life?

What Will You Do?
We have a message to share and a message to live, "Jesus is alive!" Ask the Lord to use your life to share that message this week.

Change Your Mind

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. Ephesians 1:18-19

Palms and Passion - Pastor Heath Keniston

Introduction
This week Pastor Heath read the Liturgy of the Palms and the Passion. The word "liturgy" literally means "the work of the people."
The Liturgy of the Palms is comprised of Psalm 118:1,2,19-29,which is the prophecy of Messiah's triumphal entry into Jerusalem and Matthew 21:1-18, the actual account of Jesus' triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem.
The Liturgy of the Passion includes Isaiah 50:4-9, which is a prophecy of the suffering servant, Psalm 31:9-16, another prophecy concerning the suffering of Messiah, and Matthew 26:14-75, 27:1-66, the actual account of Jesus Christ's passion ministry and crucifixion.

Discussion Questions
1. How is the prophecy found in Psalm 118:1,2,19-29 fulfilled in the account of the triumphal entry in Matthew 21:1-18?

2. What is the significance of the prophecy of Jesus Christ's entry into the city of Jerusalem?

3. Isaiah 50:4-9 and Psalm 31:9-16 give us a glimpse at the mind of Christ during his passion ministry, in both passages Messiah reiterates his trust in God the Father "the Sovereign Lord" regardless of the difficulty he faced. How does your trust in God the Father compare? How can your trust in Him be improved?

4. Read the account of Jesus Christ's passion ministry found in Matthew 26:14-75, 27:1-66, and reflect on Christ's love for you and sacrifice on your behalf.

Think About It
In Philippians 2:5-11 Paul challenges us to have the same attitude as Jesus, the attitude of a servant. How can you improve your service to others and to the Lord?

What Will You Do?
Ask the Lord to show you an area that you can get involved in serving others, listen carefully and then do it!

Changing Your Mind
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.

Take Another Look - Pastor Frank Jewett

Introduction

John 9:1-12, 35-39
In this passage Jesus met a man blind from birth and after making mud and smearing it on his eyes sent him to the pool of Siloam to wash and he was healed. Christ used a difficult circumstance in this man's life for his purposes and to display the work of God through him.

Discussion Questions

1 Samuel 16:7 "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

1. Who sinned that caused the man's blindness, the man, his parents, or someone else?

2. From man's perspective the blind man had a hopeless condition, how did Jesus show the work of God in this man's life?

3. Read Genesis 50:18-20 and consider the blind man's situation from a heavenly perspective. Who caused the man to be born blind?

4. Pastor Frank challenged us to put aside the "victim mentality" and embrace God's work in our lives, How has God used difficult circumstances in your life to bring glory to himself?

5. Physical healing makes a tremendous testimony as does spiritual and emotional healing, have you experienced God's healing, either physically or spiritually or emotional? How can God use that story to bring glory to himself?

Think About it
Jesus used stories and parables to teach people, we can use stories of his work in our lives to tell people about him. Consider your own story and how you might be able to share it with other people.

What Will You Do?
The blind man's testimony was simple "I was blind but now I see!" Try simplifying your testimony of Christ's work in your life to a simple theme like this to make it easy to share with people who don't know Jesus!

Welcome to Preacher's Notes!

Hey everyone, welcome to Preacher's Notes, your source for discussion questions and devotional thoughts based on sermons preached at Oxford Advent Christian Church weekend services.

Our hope at Preacher's Notes is to keep you connected to God's Word and His message shared weekly at OACC. Have you ever asked your kids on the ride home from Church what they learned this week and been answered with silence? Have you ever been asked what the sermon was about and been embarrassed by your response? Well at Preacher's Notes we are here to help, providing thought provoking discussion questions and specific ideas for real life application all based on Sunday's sermon! Delivered to your home or office on the web!
Each weekly post will include the speakers name, sermon title and scripture passage along with several discussion questions and challenges that you can print off for use in your small group or even for family or personal devotions! You can also post comments on each post and share your thoughts with other people on each topic.
We hope that this will be a valuable resource for your spiritual growth, the growth of your small group and the growth of God's Kingdom!