My wife Judi and I are grandparents to nine grandchildren ranging in ages form 1 to 15 years old. During the holidays we want to help teach these little ones to celebrate like Christians. So Thanksgiving day we herd our progeny onto the living room floor and explain to them that the very word thanksgiving has two parts-thanks and giving. We tell them that Christians are givers because God is a giver, and we are to express His character to the world. Then we handed out the following letter, complete with $50 stuffed inside.

Happy Thanks-Giving
Dear grandchild,
Mema & PaPa would like you to take this money and decide how to best use it. Our wish is that you would find a way that shows generosity and feelings to someone or something. It can be one gift or divided into many little gifts. Our prayer is that God will direct you in this endeavor. We would like you to keep track of how it is used and to share that with all of us on Christmas. Please keep this letter and record what you do on the bottom of this page and return it to us.Please sign your letter.
Love,
Mema & PaPa

Judy & I are excited at the prospect of saving these letters in a binder to be able to go back and read with the children as they grow older-seems a bit more meaningful than collecting ties or mugs.

Listen w/ the inline player below.

or click here to go to the Mars Hill Church media site.

Eyes to See
preached by Pastor Steve Tompkins | 07.05.09

In this sermon, Pastor Steve shares with us from a deeply personal place as he wrestles with the idea of what the Bible means when it speaks of having eyes to see & ears to hear. The scriptures have some hard words for us as we honestly look at what our hearts desire. When we desire our idols we become like them; blind, deaf and lifeless. When we desire Jesus, we become more like him.

Listen right here by clicking the play button above. You can also listen to the audio or download audio on our Mars Hill Media site by clicking here.

You can follow along with Pastor Steve’s sermon using the text’s below.

1 Peter 1:3-12
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 10Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

Job 42:5-6
5I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; 6therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

Isaiah 6:1-7
1In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” 6Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

2 Corinthians 5:21
21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Matthew 13:44
44“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

James 2:19
19You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

Matthew 6:24
24“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Deuteronomy 8:12-14
12lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Hosea 13:6
6When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.

Psalm 115:2-8
2Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” 3Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. 4Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. 5They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. 6They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. 7They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. 8Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.

2 Corinthians 4:4
The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

2 Corinthians 4:6
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 3:18
18And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Isaiah 6:9-10
9And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

Jeremiah 5:20-22
20Declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah: 21“Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not. 22Do you not fear me? declares the LORD. Do you not tremble before me?

Isaiah 29:13
13The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.

Malachi 1:10
10Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand.

John 9:39-41
39Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

Mark 4:10-12
10And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12so that “they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.”

Luke 8:8
As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Revelation 3:22
22He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ ”

Revelation 2:3-5
3You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

Revelation 3:17-20
17For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Being Jesus | 5.24.09
preached by Pastor Mark Bergin

In this sermon, Pastor Mark hangs the six witnesses of trial, temptation, submission, marriage, & humility covered in 1 Peter on a single hook, namely, the calling on us to face these trials as Jesus did. But before we ask “what would Jesus do?” we must first ask “what has Jesus DONE?” It is out of worshipful thankfulness for Christ’s saving work on our behalf that the church is called to incarnate Jesus to the world.

Listen right here by clicking the play button above. You can also listen to the audio or download audio on our Mars Hill Media site by clicking here.

To learn more about Pastor Mark Bergin’s new church plant in Chicago click here.

Our Purpose (Romans 15:30 paraphrased): I urge you brothers, by the Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in prayer to God the Father for the glory of the name of Jesus.

Early-Morning Prayer

Read Mark 1:35 – Do you think this verse is a solitary event that Mark records or a continual action that Jesus actually did on a daily basis?

Is being this disciplined in one’s prayer life a means to legalism or to joy? Explain.

Benefits to Early-Morning Prayer

1. It signals to our conscience that this is of first importance in the day.
2. Early-morning prayer strikes the first blow in the battle of the day, instead of waiting till we are besieged from all sides.
3. What we do daily and do early shapes the spirit of our minds and brings us into a disposition of humility and trust that will bear better fruit than anxiety or self-reliance.
4. Beginning the day with prayer opens the Word of God: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Psalm 119:18).
5. It is uncanny how Satan can use even good things to squeeze prayer out of our schedule if we miss the early- morning hour. If you say to yourself, “I will give some time to prayer later,” it generally does not happen.

Do agree or disagree with any of the benefits above?

William Law’s Words of Wisdom on Early-Morning Prayer

William Law (1686-1761), who is famous mainly for his classic A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, argues vigorously for “daily early prayer in the morning.” Law’s book at this website: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/law/serious_call.html

If our blessed Lord used to pray early before day; if He spent whole nights in prayer; if the devout Anna was day and night in the temple; if St. Paul and Silas at midnight sang praises unto God; if the primitive Christians, for several hundred years, besides their hours of prayers in the daytime, met publicly in the churches at midnight, to join in psalms and prayers; is it not certain that these practices showed the state of their heart? Are they not so many plain proofs of the whole turn of their minds?

Law also wrote, “sleep is . . . a dull, stupid state of existence” and that “prayer is the nearest approach to God, and the highest enjoyment of Him that we are capable of in this life.” What’s your thoughts in relation to this quote and early-morning prayer?

What benefits do you see from the following quote that rising early for prayer will benefit a believer:

If you were to rise early every morning as an instance of self-denial, as a method of renouncing indulgence, as a means of redeeming your time and fitting your spirit for prayer, you would find mighty advantages from it. This method, though it seems such a small circumstance of life, would in all probability be a means of great piety. It would keep it constantly in your head that softness and idleness were to be avoided, that self-denial was a part of Christianity. It would teach you to exercise power over yourself, and make you able by degrees to renounce other pleasures and tempers that war against the soul . . . .

But, above all, one certain benefit from this method you will be sure of having; it will best fit and prepare you for the reception of the Holy Spirit. When you thus begin the day in the spirit of religion, renouncing sleep, because you are to renounce softness and redeem your time; this disposition, as it puts your heart into a good state so it will procure the assistance of the Holy Spirit; what is so planted and watered will certainly have an increase from God. You will then speak from your heart, your soul will be awake, your prayers will refresh you like meat and drink, you will feel what you say, and begin to know what saints and holy men have meant by fervors of devotion.

Being Filled With the Holy Spirit
preached by Pastor Steve Tompkins | 5.10.09

What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Who is the Holy Spirit? What are errors we must avoid in regards to the Holy Spirit? Could we as Christians be grieving the Holy Spirit and be too asleep to know it? Is it possible that we might be so comfortable with our lives, that we have lost a hunger for more of Jesus? Pastor Steve walks us through God’s word to us regarding what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit, starting in 1Peter 4:14 and focusing mostly on Acts 1 & Acts 4 as the church is filled with the Holy Spirit.

Listen right here by clicking the play button above. You can also listen to the audio or download audio on our Mars Hill Media site by clicking here.

You can follow along with Pastor Steve’s sermon using the text’s below.

1 Peter 4:14
¹⁴If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

Ephesians 3:14-19
¹⁴For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith-that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 5:17-18
¹⁷Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,

Luke 24:49
⁴⁹And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Acts 1:4-5
⁴And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; ⁵for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Acts 1:14
¹⁴All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Acts 2:1-4
¹When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. ²And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. ⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 4:23-31
²³When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, ²⁵who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “ ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? ²⁶The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’- ²⁷for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, ²⁸to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. ²⁹And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, ³⁰while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” ³¹And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

1 Corinthians 12:13
¹³For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-Jews or Greeks, slaves or free-and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones sounded a warning in 1959:

But, then, there are others, who . . . seem to me to be equally guilty of quenching the Spirit, because they argue like this. They say, ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit is something which is non-experimental. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is that which happens to every man when he is born again, when he is regenerated. So we are all baptised with the Spirit, we have all received this baptism.’ Now, remember, they are talking about the thing which is described in the second chapter of Acts. And they say, ‘Yes, that was the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But we all get that now, and it is unconscious, we are not aware of it, it happens to us the moment we believe and we are regenerated. It is just that act of God which incorporates us into the Body of Christ. That’s the baptism of the Spirit. So it is no use your praying for some other baptism of the Spirit, or asking God to pour out his Spirit upon the Church, or to baptise the Church afresh with his Holy Spirit, a baptism of power. This is non-experimental, and as it has happened to all of us, we must not ask for it.’^[1]

John 3:34
³⁴For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.

Jonathan Edwards
Once as I rode out into the woods for my health in 1737, having alighted from my horse, in a retired place, as my manner commonly has been, to walk for divine contemplation and prayer, I had a view, that for me was extraordinary, of the glory of the Son of God as mediator between God and man, and His wonderful, great full, pure, sweet grace and love, and meek and gentle condescension. This grace, that appeared so calm and sweet, appeared also great above the heavens. The person of Christ appeared ineffably excellent, with an excellency great enough to swallow up all thought and conception, which continued as near as I can judge about an hour, which kept me, the greater part of the time, in a flood of tears and weeping aloud. I felt an ardency of soul to be, what I know not otherwise to express, emptied and annihilated, to lie in the dust and to be filled with Christ alone, to love Him with a holy and a pure love. To trust in Him, to look upon Him, to serve, and to follow Him, and to be perfectly sanctified and made pure with a divine and heavenly purity. I have several other times had views very much of the same nature, and which have had the same effect.^[1]

Abuses to avoid

1.    Mystical Authority

2.    Paganism

3.    Religion

4.    Fear

5.    Passivity (unbelief)

6.    Focusing on the Holy Spirit alone

7.    Creating two classes of Christians

8.    Sinning against the Holy Spirit

a.    Resisting the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51)

b.    Quenching the Holy Spirit (1 Thess 5:19)

c.    Grieving the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30)

d.    Outraging the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 10:29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?)

e.    Blaspheming the Holy Spirit (Matt 12:31-32)

Acts 4:23-31
²³When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, ²⁵who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “ ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? ²⁶The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’- ²⁷for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, ²⁸to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. ²⁹And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, ³⁰while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” ³¹And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

Dr. Isaac Watts wrote in the Preface to A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God by Jonathon Edwards (Edwards’ account of the conversion of many hundreds of souls beginning in Northhamption, New Hampshire):

Certainly it becomes us, who profess the religion of Christ, to take notice of such astonishing exercises of his power and mercy, and give him the glory which is due, when he begins to accomplish any of his promises concerning the latter days: and it gives us further encouragement to pray, and wait, and hope for the like display of his power in the midst of us. The hand of God is not shortened that it cannot save, but we have reason to fear that our iniquities, our coldness in religion, and the general carnality of our spirits, have raised a wall of separation between God and us: and . . . seem to have provoked the Spirit of Christ to absent himself much from our nation. “Return, O Lord, and visit thy churches, and revive thine own work in the midst of us.”^[2]

In this sermon Pastor Steve passionately and personally identifies with Peter in Luke chapter 5 as he says to Jesus “Depart from me, I am a sinful man, oh Lord”.  We find that this statement betrays a deeply religious heart and that Jesus rejects Peter’s religious posturing by calling him to catch men instead of fish.  Peter is so moved by Jesus’ grace and His willingness to associate with Peter despite his sin, that he leaves everything to follow him.

This is the crux of the message…That Jesus calls sinners, cleanses sinners, and commissions sinners.  The religious and self-righteous miss the call and reject the true righteousness of God in Jesus.  As we find in the next two verses after Peter’s calling, all that is required of the leper is faith in the context of a humble recognition of need as he says to Jesus “If you will, you can make me clean.”  It is Jesus’ response to the man that Pastor Steve so desperately wants us to hear and prays for all of us to experience… Jesus says to him “I will. Be clean.”

Listen right here by clicking the play button above. You can also listen to the audio or download audio on our Mars Hill Media site by clicking here.

You can follow along with Pastor Steve’s sermon using the text’s below.

Luke 5:1-11
¹On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, ²and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. ³Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. ⁴And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” ⁵And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” ⁶And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. ⁷They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” ⁹For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, ¹⁰and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” ¹¹And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Luke 15:1-2
¹Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. ²And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

Luke 5:12-13
¹²While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” ¹³And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him.

John 3:16
¹⁶“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8
⁸but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 8:3
³For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,

2 Corinthians 5:21
²¹For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

“Theme” song of the Welsh Revival of 1904

Here is love vast as the ocean
Loving kindness as the flood
When the Prince of life, our ransom
Shed for us His precious blood
Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing His praise?
He can never be forgotten
Throughout Heaven’s eternal days

On the Mount of Crucifixion
Fountains opened deep and wide
Through the floodgates of God’s mercy
Flowed a vast and gracious tide
Grace and love, like mighty rivers
Poured incessant from above
And Heaven’s peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love

Matthew 13:44-45
⁴⁴“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. ⁴⁵“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,

Luke 9:1-2
¹And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, ²and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.

Luke 10:1-2
¹After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. ²And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

Luke 10:9
⁹Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

Luke 10:17-20
¹⁷The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” ¹⁸And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. ²⁰Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Matthew 28:18-20
¹⁸And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Being the Church in Prayer & Mission
preached by Pastor Steve Tompkins | 1.4.09

The focus of this sermon is on Paul’s two main commands in this passage, namely that we are to “continue steadfastly in prayer,” and to “walk in wisdom toward outsiders.” As the Apostle Paul speaks to the Colossians (and to us) his concern is for the advance of the gospel, and his theme is the strategic role of our prayer lives. Few realize that when Paul speaks about prayer in his letters he typically uses very strong language; language reflecting contest, battle, struggle, and perseverance. If this indeed is the context of our prayers it explains why Paul says we are to remain watchful. To be alert means we are to have our eyes open toward the invisible spiritual realm around us, seeing our enemy Satan and his demons, and our Lord and King Jesus. This brings essential life-changing perspective to the frustrating circumstances of our lives, and shapes how we pray and what we pray for.

When Paul penned these words he was in prison in Rome, and instead of praying for release he prayed for open doors of opportunity for the gospel, and boldness to walk through them when God opens those doors. If Paul needed to pray like this, how much more do we? We are called to pray bold prayers of humble faith, embracing amazing opportunities to bring glory to Jesus as we conduct ourselves wisely toward non-Christians seeing Jesus change lives through the power of the gospel. And just as Paul prayed and walked out his own words in community, so we too will find great joy and fruitfulness as we live this out in Jesus-centered community.

Listen right here by clicking the play button above. You can also listen to the audio or download audio on our Mars Hill Media site by clicking here.

You can follow along with Pastor Steve’s sermon using the text’s below.

Colossians 4:2-6
²Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. ³At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison- ⁴that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. ⁵Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. ⁶Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

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Colossians 1:15-20
¹⁵He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

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Colossians 4:2-6
²Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. ³At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison- ⁴that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. ⁵Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. ⁶Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

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Colossians 4:12
¹²Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers . . .

Romans 15:30
³⁰I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf . . .

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1 Peter 5:8-9
⁸Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹Resist him, firm in your faith . . .

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Ephesians 6:10-18
¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹²For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints . . .

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Colossians 4:2-6
²Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. ³At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison- ⁴that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. ⁵Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. ⁶Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

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Matthew 6:9-13
⁹Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. ¹⁰Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹Give us this day our daily bread, ¹²and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ¹³And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

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Ephesians 6:19-20
^. . . . and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

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Acts 4:29-31
²⁹And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, ³⁰while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” ³¹And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

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Colossians 4:2-6
²Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. ³At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison- ⁴that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. ⁵Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. ⁶Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

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Ephesians 5:14-16
“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” ¹⁵Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

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Colossians 4:2-6
²Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. ³At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison- ⁴that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. ⁵Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. ⁶Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

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Acts 1:14
¹⁴All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Acts 2:42-47
⁴²And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. . . . And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

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Redeemed by Jesus Our Passover Lamb
preached by Pastor Mike Wilkerson | 12.28.08

In a fallen world, we inevitably find ourselves overwhelmed by suffering or entangled in some habitual sin, or both. The Bible captures such experiences by speaking of them as forms of slavery. God is a Redeemer who liberates us from our bondage and frees us to worship him.  The Exodus is the Bible’s central story of redemption, and the Passover is the central scene of that story. We will see how Jesus is our Passover Lamb and mighty redeemer.

Listen right here by clicking the play button above. You can also listen to the audio or download audio on our Mars Hill Media site by clicking here .

You can follow along with Pastor Mike’s sermon using the text’s below.

Exodus 2:23-25

God Hears Israel’s Groaning

23  During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel-and God knew.

Exodus 11:4-7

4 So Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, 5 and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. 6  There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. 7 But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.

Exodus 12:3-7

3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.

7 ”Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.

Exodus 12:12-13

12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. 13  The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

1 Corinthians 5:6-8

6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Exodus 12:28

28 Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

Exodus 12:29-31

The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn

29  At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. 31 Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said.

Dead, Buried, and Raised in Jesus
preached by Pastor Steve Tompkins | 11.02.08

In this sermon Pastor Steve walks us through the Bible in order to uncover the deeply practical spiritual truths that are revealed to us through baptism. He looks at our sin, our past slavery, and our new found freedom in Jesus as we find our identities in Him and as He brings the presence of God to us in a life giving way that gives glory to the King.

Listen right here by clicking the play button above. You can also listen to the audio or download audio on our Mars Hill Media site by clicking here .

Below I’ve included all of the Scripture references from Pastor Steve’s sermon. You may use them to follow along while you listen to the sermon and/ or they make for an excellent personal study in the Scriptures.

James 4:14
14yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

Psalm 103:15-16
15As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; 16for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.

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1 John 2:28
28And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.

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Genesis 1:28
28And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

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Genesis 3:4-5
4But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

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We are all sinners

Romans 3:10-12
10as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

Ecclesiastes 7:20
20Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.

Romans 3:23
23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Isaiah 53:6
6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

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Bad News: Slaves to sin

John 8:34
34Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.

Romans 6:20-21
20For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.

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Good News: Set free in Jesus

John 8:36 Jesus said:
36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Luke 4:18b-19 Jesus said:
18“He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Acts 10:38 Apostle Peter said:
38God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil.

John 14:6
6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

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1 Peter 2:22-25
22He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

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Romans 6:3-11
3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

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Galatians 3:26-27
26for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

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John 15:4-5
4Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Philippians 4:13
13I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Romans 15:18
18For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed,

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John 14:23
23Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

1 John 3:24
24Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

Acts 2:38
38And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

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Matthew 28:19-20
19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Acts 10:48
48And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.