Calvary Chapel Of Crook County - Main

In Philippians 2:1-4, the Apostle Paul begins a charge to be lovingly humble like Christ, in order to maintain unity in fellowship. Quite often, when Christian individuals begin to suffer, there is a tendency to withdraw from fellowship and isolate one's self. This is due to the fact that when we suffer it is easy to get our eyes off of Jesus, and onto ourselves. This leads to a mindset of thinking only about yourself; being selfish, self-consumed. Paul is bringing this to the attention of the Philippian believers, and of all believers reading his letter to that church.

If you were to complete this sentence, "For to me, to live is...", how would you finish it? For Paul, to live was Christ, and to die was gain. Christ was everything, and no amount of suffering compared to the joy of knowing Him. In the modern Church, we see many Christians who simply attend church to indulge themselves in a sort of "Consumer-Christianity", where they come with the attitude that it's all about them. This couldn't be further from what true Christianity teaches. There are many immature believers in our churches these days because many have ceased to preach and teach on how we are going to suffer if we are Christ's. They've replaced it with cheery, happy-go-lucky messages on being a champion, a winner, the most important thing since sliced bread. This is to the shame of Christianity. In Philippians 1:19-30, the Apostle Paul discusses his own sufferings a little further; never complaining about them. Contrary to what many teach today, Paul viewed hi

In Philippians 1:12-18, Paul is expressing his heart to the Philippians. As he is writing, he's chained to a Roman guard, under house arrest, but he doesn't see his suffering as defeat, but as what God has for him to further the gospel. Jesus told us that in this world we would have tribulation, but we are to be of good cheer because He has overcome the world. We will suffer in this world. It's not a question of IF, but WHEN. And the greater question is, how will you deal with your suffering?

In Deuteronomy 12-13, we see Moses reiterating the commands and rules of the Law. Chapter 12 deals with worshiping in the appropriate place and way. Israel was supposed to destroy the false places of worship when they took control of the promised land. There is truth to that for our lives as well. We must be purging any lingering effect of false worship from our lives. We are not to tolerate sin and sinfulness in our lives. Chapter 13 addresses the handling of false prophets. If someone came along with a sign, supposedly from God, and the sign came to pass, then they said that the sign means they are supposed to go after other gods, that man was to be put to death. If only such strict terms were established for false prophets and teachers in our day, they would be much less brazen about their claims.

The major theme of the book of Philippians is Joy. Joy, unlike happiness, is not based upon your circumstances. As Paul writes this letter he's imprisoned in Rome, and awaiting certain death, and yet he finds joy in the midst of it all. In our text, Paul shows his heart for the Philippians by praying for them in spite of his own personal sufferings.

In Ephesians 6:18-24, we take a look at Prayer; How we should view it, how we should do it.

In deuteronomy 7-9, Moses now warns Israel of the dangers and imminent threats in the future. If they were unaware of the surrounding dangers within this new culture they were moving into, they would end up destroying themselves. As we look at our text we see five things: Compromise with the Enemy, Fear of the enemy, Prosperity and self Satisfaction, Pride, and Deliberate disobedience. Even today, these are often the same things that our spiritual enemy, satan, uses to ensnare us.

In Ephesians 6:14-17, Pastor Ryan details the function of each piece of the Spiritual Armor that all believers have available to them, but are unaware of it's function and practicality in our day-to-day life. All believers must put on the Armor because the spiritual battle is both real, and all around us. We must know how to use our armor and our weapon, the Sword of the Spirit, if we are to be victorious.

In Deuteronomy 6, Moses has been taking time refreshing Israel's memory about what the Lord has done, is doing, and promises to do. At this point, all of those who came out of Egypt have died off to leave a new generation of Israelites who will inherit the promised land.

In Ephesians 6:10-13, Pastor Ryan takes a look at our Battle as believers. As we fight this battle it is important that we know the source of our strength, the source of our protection, and the source of our warfare.

In Deuteronomy 5, Moses goes over the ten commandments again with Israel, as a reminder. We often are in need of reminding, as believers in Christ. And although the law was given, not as a means of salvation, but as a schoolmaster, training us in righteousness and leading us to Christ, we still benefit greatly by remembering the commandments and holding them up to show us how we appear in the light that they shed.

In Ephesians 6:5-9, Paul addresses both Christian slaves (employees) and Christian masters (employers). As we look at our text we see two things: Duties for Employees and Duties for Employers.

As Pastor Ryan introduces the book of deuteronomy, we find that God often has to let our fleshly sin nature die off through trials and suffering, in order to bring new life about and lead us out of those desert years and into the land of Promise.

In Ephesians 6:1-4, Pastor Ryan addresses the parenting crisis that our world faces today. As we look at the scripture in this study, we see two things: Duties for Children, and Duties for Parents.

In Ephesians 5:22-33, Paul turns his attention to Marriage. As people who are followers of Jesus Christ, we should understand all of the Spiritual blessings that are ours, and understand who we are in Christ. This should be true not only of each person's life, but especially in our marriages.

In Ephesians 5:1-21, Paul takes things a step further by telling us we are to be imitators of God, as dear children. That is how we are to walk. A Christian, by definition, is a follower of Jesus. We are supposed to walk by FOLLOWING Jesus, not by blazing our own trail. It's much easier to get somewhere when we follow someone, rather than to try and figure it out on our own. In our text we will see three things about how we are to walk: In Love, in Holiness, and in Wisdom.

In Ephesians 4:17-32, Paul reveals what we were; who we are; and how we respond. In our walk it is easy to get so hung up on who we were that we may fail to keep moving on to who we should become, because we fail to respond appropriately. As we study our text

In Ephesians 4:7-16, Paul gives us insight into how we can endeavor toward unity, by using the diversity of gifts that God has given to us. It is important to recognize that though we are unified, we are still diverse. God doesn't want uniformity, where everyone looks the same and acts the same, but unity, where different people come together in the love that is in Christ.

In Ephesians 4:1-6, Paul moves from theology, to practicality. As we study our text we see that we are called to respond to God in several areas. Our character, our relationship with the church, our relationship with others, should all be lived in a response to what Jesus has done for us.

In Ephesians 3:14-21, the Apostle Paul finishes up the first section of Ephesians, that speaks of the believers Spiritual Wealth. Our wealth comes from what Jesus has done for us. If we are unaware of the spiritual wealth at our disposal, we will miss out on investing that wealth back into the kingdom of God. It is not a wealth that is intended to be horded, or spent selfishly on ourselves, but it is a wealth that calls us to a response of worship to the Lord by serving with it.