Novation Church Weekly Sermons

“If it were an enemy insulting me, I could bear it. If it were my enemies attacking me, I could hide. But it is you, the one so close to me, my companion, my good friend, who does this. We used to share our secrets with one another, as we walked through the crowds together in God’s Temple.” Psalm 55:12-14 ERV What is betrayal? The act of exposing or delivering someone to an enemy through treachery or disloyalty. The act of revealing information in violation of confidence. The act of disappointing a person’s trust, hopes, or expectations. Who betrayed Jesus? Judas Iscariot “While Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve apostles came there. He had a big crowd of people with him, all carrying swords and clubs. They had been sent from the leading priests and the older leaders of the people. Judas planned to do something to show them which one was Jesus. He said, “The one I kiss will be Jesus. Arrest him.” So he went to Jesus and said, “Hello, Teacher!” Then Judas kis

“Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James, and his brother John, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Peter responded and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If You want, I will make three tabernacles here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” And raising their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.” Matthew 17:1-8 NASB “For we did not follow cleverly d

“From that time Jesus began to point out to His disciples that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem and to suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised up on the third day. And yet Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s purposes, but men’s.” Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory

Matthew 16:13-20 A word about geography “Now when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi…” Matthew 16:1 NASB A question about theology “…He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you yourselves say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:13-16 NASB  A statement about authority “And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of

The Samaritan Woman “Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” “Sir,” the woman sa

John 3:1-21 A Religious man “Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus at night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” John 3:1-2 NASB A Religious Problem “Jesus responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a person be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes,

“Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a Man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know…” Acts 2:22 NASB Signs (John 2:1-11, 4:46-54, 5:1-15, 6:5-14, 6:16-24, 9:1-7, 11:1-45) Signs authenticated Jesus as the Christ and revealed His divine authority. “This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.” John 2;11 NASB “So then, many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that by believing you may have life in His name.” John 20:30-31 NASB Wonders (Luke 9:12-17, Matthew 14:22-33) Wonders inspire awe and worship, highlighting the extraordinary nature of God’s actions. Mi

“This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me, but I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. “This is what I command you: Love one another.” John 15:12-17 CSB His small group “During those days he went out to the mountain to pray and spent all night in prayer to God. When daylight came, he summoned his disciples, and he chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Th

“Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry.” Luke 4:1-2 NASB  Peirazo (“Tempted”): To test, to tempt, to try, to examine Is there a difference between TEMPTATION and TESTING? Why was Jesus led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested and tempted by the devil? “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15 NASB Jesus passed every test that all of us have failed to pass starting from Adam and Eve, Israel, and all of humanity. The Trust test “And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’” Luke 4:3-4 NASB

John’s Baptism “Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “The voice of one calling out in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight!’” Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. At that time Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan;and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance; and do not assume that you can say to yourselves,

His dedication in the Temple “And when eight days were completed so that it was time for His circumcision, He was also named Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. And when the days for their purification according to the Law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord: “Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice according to what has been stated in the Law of the Lord: “A pair of turtledoves or two young doves.” Luke 2:21-24 NASB His escape from Herod “Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.” So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still nig

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 NASB  Christ is a title not a name “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:16 NASB Anointed One, the Messiah The Christ is God’s Son “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, to the extent that He has inherited a more excellent name than they.” Hebrews 1:1-4 NASB  “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to

“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matt 28:16-20 NIV COMMISSION: • a formal written warrant granting the power to perform various acts or duties • an authorization or command to act in a prescribed manner or to perform prescribed acts • authority to act for, on behalf of, or in place of another • a task or matter entrusted to one as an agent for another Jesus led with his actions, often before ever preaching to people: Fed them (Matthew 14:13-21) Healed them (Matt 9:1-8) Served them (John 2:1-11, John 13:1-17) Spent

“For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Your truth.” Psalm 26:3 NASB 95 Lovingkindness = “Checed” Favor, mercy, kindness, goodness “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds…“But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly thr

“In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock at night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. And so the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:8-11 NASB “And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.  And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the b

“For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice… Read More »Adore the King of Peace

“The poor and the helpless have fled to you and have been safe in times of trouble. You give them shelter from storms and shade from the burning heat…” Isaiah 25:4 GNT “It’s ok for the Christian to feel helpless, but never hopeless.” Charles Stanley Helpless: “Unable to help oneself; impossible to control one’s circumstances.”… Read More »Adore the King of Hope

“I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy.Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!” Psalm 116:1-2 NLT How does gratitude let God answer our prayers? “When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of… Read More »Gratitude and Prayer

“Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.… Read More »Gratitude and Worship

“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NASB “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen… And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek… Read More »Gratitude and Faith