Sunday July 22 2018

Sermon :“Encouragement Part 1”
  Pastor Kim Wenzel

Hebrews 10:25 NLT
²⁵ And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

So What Is  Encouragement?
 Encourage one another daily, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness,” Hebrews 3:13 tells us,  "You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God". First Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact that you are doing.” Throughout the Bible we see instructions to encourage one another and verses that are meant to encourage us. Why is encouragement emphasized in the Bible? Primarily because encouragement is necessary to our walk of faith.
Encouragement makes it easier to live in a fallen world in a holy way. Encouragement makes it easier to love as Jesus loved. Encouragement gives hope. Encouragement helps us through times of discipline and testing. Encouragement nurtures patience and kindness. Encouragement makes it easier to sacrifice our own desires for the advancement of God’s kingdom. In short, encouragement makes it easier to live the Christian life.

Paul's Joy At The Church's Repentance

  2 Corinthians 7:5-10 NLT

⁵ When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside. ⁶ But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus. ⁷ His presence was a joy, but so was the news he brought of the encouragement he received from you. When he told us how much you long to see me, and how sorry you are for what happened, and how loyal you are to me, I was filled with joy!

⁸ I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. ⁹ Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. ¹⁰ For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.

Hebrews 3:12-14 NLT
¹² Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters.^[f] Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. ¹³ You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. ¹⁴ For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.
 
Footnotes
f. Hebrews 3:12 Greek brothers.

Today's Verse
 1 Corinthians 2:9-10
As it is written: "What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human
mind has conceived" the things God has prepared for those who love him these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.