CALENDAR    CONTACT US    HOME    SERMONS

SERMON DATE AND TITLE: 20120101: "Leaving the Past"

Want a download or CD copy?  Read this.

The sermon outline is below, when available.

LEAVING THE PAST

INTRODUCTION

Woody Guthrie was a musical troubadour who traveled through the country and captured the folk music of common people. His most famous song was,

"This Land is Your Land"

THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND 

words and music by Woody Guthrie

Chorus:

This land is your land, this land is my land

From California, to the New York Island

From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters

This land was made for you and me

As I was walking a ribbon of highway

I saw above me an endless skyway

I saw below me a golden valley

This land was made for you and me

Chorus

I've roamed and rambled 

            and I followed my footsteps 

To the sparkling sands of 

            her diamond deserts; 

And all around me 

            a voice was sounding: 

This land was made for you and me.        

Chorus

©1956 (renewed 1984), 1958 (renewed 1986) and 1970 TRO-Ludlow Music, Inc. (BMI)

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS

This particular one, penned by the great Woody Guthrie in 1942 at the tender-but-just-wise enough age of 30, is an absolute gem of humor, earnestness, and pure humanity.

ALL NEW YEAR'S RULIN'S

1. Work more and better

2. Work by a schedule

3. Wash teeth if any

4. Shave

5. Take bath

6. Eat good — fruit — vegetables — milk

7. Drink very scant if any

8. Write a song a day

9. Wear clean clothes — look good

10. Shine Shoes

11. Change socks

12. Change bed cloths often

13. Read lots good books

14. Listen to radio a lot

15. Learn people better

16. Keep rancho clean

17. Dont get lonesome

18. Stay glad

19. Keep hoping machine running

20. Dream good

21. Bank all extra money

22. Save dough

23. Have company but dont waste time

24. Send Mary and kids money

25. Play and sing good

26. Dance better

27. Help win war — beat fascism

28. Love mama

29. Love papa

30. Love Pete

31. Love everybody

32. Make up your mind

33. Wake up and fight

Sheepfold Ministries, Pastor Phil Roland

January 1, 2012

LEAVING THE PAST

JOHN 13:1-15

"In order to face the New Year, we must allow for introspection and reflection on the year that has passed, release its tears of grief, and feelings of regret and/or remorse, and move into the future."                                                   Pastor Phil Roland

"Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."   Philippians 3:13-14

With an air of humility Jesus gave us FOUR commands before LEAVING:

I.   LOVE ONE ANOTHER - John 13:34,35

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

            A. Conflicts about Loving           

                        1. Insulate/Isolate the Heart

                                    a. Hardened Heart (Calloused)

                                    b. Self-Protected Heart / High Boundaries

                        2. Sad or Mad Syndrome

                        3. Cannot Forgive Injustice

            B. Release Your Heart to Love

                        1. Letting Go and Forgiveness are synonymous

                        2. Let go of Hatred, Bitterness, Fear, Grudges

                        3. God never closes a door w/o Opening Another - Rev. 3:7,8

                        "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, 'These things

                         says He who is holy, He who is true, "He who has the key of David,

                         He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens":

                         8 I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and

                         no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word,

                         and have not denied My name."

II.  TRUST IN CHRIST - John 14:1;27

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me.  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

            A. CEASE FROM WORRYING

                        1. You can Worry Yourself Sick

                        2. Promotes Anxiety, Panic Attacks and Physical Illness

                        3. Worry is like a Rocking Chair:

                        "It gives you something to do, but doesn't take you anywhere!"

LEAVING THE PAST, cont.

            B. SAY TO YOURSELF regularly, "Jesus is Lord, not me!"

                   1. Jesus' Lordship in your life is above your worry

                                    a. What are your worrying about, Money?"

                                    b. Jesus is above money - Matt. 6:24

                        "No one can serve two masters. 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 both God and                                          Money.”

                   2. Resign Immediately as Master of the Universe

                        a. Remind yourself as you slowly exhale,

                                    “God’s in control”

                                    b. Repeat as often as you feel out-of-control

            C. PUT YOUR WHOLE FAITH IN CHRIST

                        1. "Faith" Word Study - Greek = "PIS-TEU-O"

                                    a. Translates, "Faith, Belief, or Trust"

                                    b. No difference in Koine Greek between FBT

                        2. "Put Your Whole Weight on Christ"

                                    a. Wycliff Bible Translators founded in 1934

                                    b. Today more than 700 different translations

                                    c. William Townsend, missionary to Guatemala

                                    d. Cakchiquel Indians amazed God didn't speak to them

                                    e. Took Townsend 10 yrs. to transl. NT into Cakchiquel

                                    f. Stumped on the word, Trust

                                    g. They had a word for falling exhausted into hammock

                                    h. "Put your whole weight onto the hammock"

III. DWELL IN CHRIST - John 15:4

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."

            A. Allow Him to live where you live

                        1. Is His Mailbox at your residence?

                        2. Does He eat where you eat?

                        3. Does He sleep where you sleep?

            B. Live/Dwell in / with HIM as a Living Person

            C. Abide in His Love, Care, Teaching, Precepts

IV. WALK IN UNITY - John 17:20-23

            A. FIVE TIMES JESUS PRAYS "that they may be one as We are one"

                        1. Agree with Your Adversary Quickly - Matt. 5:25

                        "Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with

                         him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand

                         you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison."

                        2. Choose your battles carefully

                        3. Do not Major on the Minors

                        4. Ask yourself, "Does winning the battle honor Jesus?"

            B. Allow Jesus Christ to Become Companion, Friend and Lover

LEAVING THE PAST

John 13:1-15
1 Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
2 And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him,
3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God,
4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.
5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.
6 Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, "Lord, are You washing my feet?"
7 Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this."
8 Peter said to Him, "You shall never wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me."
9 Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!"
10 Jesus said to him, "He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you."
11 For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, "You are not all clean."
12 So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you?
13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.
14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.
15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.

John 17:20-23
20 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;
21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:
23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

20 Tips for a Positive New Year (Updated for 2012)

1. Stay Positive. You can listen to the cynics and doubters and believe that success is impossible or you can trust that with faith and an optimistic attitude all things are possible.

2. Take a morning walk of gratitude. I call it a "Thank You Walk." It will create a fertile mind ready for success.

3. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

4. Zoom Focus. Each day when you wake up in the morning ask: "What are the three most important things I need to do today that will help me create the success I desire?" Then tune out all the distractions and focus on these actions.

5. Think optimistically about where you are going, instead of being disappointed about where you are,

6. Remember that adversity is a detour to a better outcome, not a dead-end.  

7. Don't chase success. Instead decide to make a difference and success will find you.

8. Get more sleep. You can't replace sleep with a double latte.

9. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

10. Mentor someone and be mentored by someone.

11. Live with the 3 E's. Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy.

12. Remember there's no substitute for hard work.

13. Believe that everything happens for a reason and expect good things to come out of challenging experiences.

14. Implement the No Complaining Rule. Remember that complaining is like vomiting. Afterwards you feel better but everyone around you feels sick.

15. Read more books than you did in 2011. I happen to know of a few good ones. :)

16. Don't seek happiness. Instead decide to live with passion and purpose and happiness will find you.

17. Focus on "Get to" vs "Have to." Each day focus on what you get to do, not what you have to do. Life is a gift not an obligation.

18. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements:

            I am thankful for __________.

            Today I accomplished____________.

19. Smile and laugh more. They are natural anti-depressants.

20. Enjoy the ride. You only have one ride through this life, so make the most of it and enjoy it.