Harvest Church RDU

Worship Jesus. Love the Church. Reach the World.

Sermon

Sept 10th 2017 in Corporate Worship

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As you prepare for our time together this Sunday, spend some time praying through John 15:1-11. Fruit and fruitfulness are major themes of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. It is significant that John the Baptist instructs the pharisees that he encounters in Matthew 3 to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” Often, as a Christian, I can become consumed with productivity. Am I doing enough? Am I pleasing to the Lord? However, fruit is only good if it is connected to a healthy vine or plant. As you prepare for Sunday morning, spend some time evaluating how much you abide in Christ. Are you abiding in Christ or is the fruit you are producing selfish, prideful and self-protecting? Between now and Sunday, walk through John 15, pray and renew your connection to Jesus. He’s ready to refresh you with the Holy Spirit.

This Sunday, Drew will expound upon John the Baptist’s role as forerunner of Christ and Jesus’ baptism by John. This text is full to the brim with themes of death, resurrection, fruitfulness, obedience and more. Gas up friends, because its going to be a trip worth taking!

Sermon Text: Matthew 3

Songs for Corporate Worship:

Holy Holy Holy (God With Us) – Matt Maher

My Victory – Crowder

Christ Is Risen – Matt Maher

Crying Holy – Aaron Keyes

Look What God Has Done – Ghost Ship

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Photo by Jassy Onyae on Unsplash

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Sept 3rd 2017 in Corporate Worship

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As you prepare for our time together this Sunday, spend some time praying through John 13:31-35. Following Jesus comes at great cost. We live in a part of the world where religious freedom is still expected. For Joseph and Mary, being obedient to God cost them their homes and their normal lives. What does following Jesus cost you? Are you ready and willing to follow him even if it costs you everything? May God teach you how to value the Kingdom of Christ above your safety.

This Sunday, Drew will expound upon Herod and his opposition to the Kingdom of God and the Messiah. The Kingdom will remain even amidst great political and personal opposition. Come ready to focus and learn about what it may cost follow Christ in a world that doesn’t understand the love of God.

Sermon Text: Matthew 2:13-23

Songs for Corporate Worship:

Song Of Moses – Aaron Keyes

All I Have Is Christ – Sovereign Grace

Come Behold The Wondrous Mystery – Matt Papa & Matt Boswell

Hope & Glory – Tim Hughes

O Church Arise – Tim Hughes

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Aug 27 2017 in Corporate Worship

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As you prepare for our time together this Sunday, spend some time praying through Psalm 138. Jesus is the King over the universe. He is the one who has raised his name up as a banner for us to follow. Yet, he looks after those who are downcast and lowly. Wherever you find yourself this week, pray that God would reveal his presence to you today, for He is the God of the outcast and alone.

This Sunday, Drew will continue our study through the Gospel according to Matthew. We will study the journey of the Magi and their interaction with King Herod. This text is all about how the Kingdom of God conflicts with the Kingdoms that we build. Come ready to focus and learn about the Kingdom of God.

Sermon Text: Matthew 2:1-12

Songs for Corporate Worship:

Be Thou My Vision – Citizens & Saints

A Mighty Fortress (King of Glory) – Matt Boswell

O Praise The Name – Hillsong

Our God Is Strong – 10,000 Fathers

For The Sake Of The World – Soul Survivor

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Aug 20 2017 in Corporate Worship

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As you prepare for our time together this Sunday, spend some time praying through Isaiah 29:13-19. Our lives and hearts often turn away from the Lord, though our lips continue to say the right things. May each of us be humbled and challenged to submit our lives to the Holy Spirit and the missionary work that He has given us.

This Sunday, Matthew will continue our study through the Gospel according to Matthew. We will study the incarnation of Christ and the angel’s appearance to Joseph. Though it is not yet Christmas, this text is important to us in every season of the year. Come prepared to celebrate the missionary work of Christ in coming for us in the incarnation.

Sermon Text: Matthew 1:1-17

Songs for Corporate Worship:

Forever Reign – Hillsong

His Mercy is More – Matt Papa & Matt Boswell

Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery – Matt Papa & Matt Boswell

Our God Is Strong – Dee Wilson & David Walker

The Best Is Yet To Come – Micah Massey

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Aug 13 2017 in Corporate Worship

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As you prepare for our time together this Sunday, spend some time praying through Psalm 96:10. “Say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.’” May God our lives and our words be a declaration to your Kingship over all the earth. You made the world, and only you can move it. You are the righteous judge who will one day return to set things right. Let our lips and our hands be tools for your glory, that many who are far from you might come to know you.

This Sunday, Drew will kick off our new series walking through the Gospel of Matthew. We are so very excited to learn more about Christ and his life through the lens of the apostle Matthew. What a blessing it is to join together to worship and to be reminded of the Gospel anew.

Sermon Text: Matthew 1:1-17

Songs for Corporate Worship:

Forever Reign – Hillsong

His Mercy is More – Matt Papa & Matt Boswell

Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery – Matt Papa & Matt Boswell

Our God Is Strong – Dee Wilson & David Walker

The Best Is Yet To Come – Micah Massey

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1 John Background Information

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We are so excited to embark on a verse-by-verse journey through 1 John, one of the 3 letters that were written by the apostle John. In order to help you dive in more deeply and get a feel for what all is going on underneath the surface of the book, we wanted to give you some background and introductory information on 1 John.

A Stained Glass Window depicting Polycarp from the Rectory at St. Stephens

Author

While the author of 1 John never explicitly labels himself as the apostle John, there are

several reasons we have great certainty that the apostle John did, indeed, write this letter. First, early Greek manuscript evidence and the testimony of the early church fathers (such as Polycarp and Papias) as early as A.D. 100 are virtually unanimous in its affirmation of the apostle John as author.

Another reason to believe that John, the apostle who wrote the Gospel of John, also wrote 1 John is the similarity they have in style and vocabulary. Both books begin with a very similar prologue in which Jesus Christ is hailed as the eternally existing Son of God, made manifest in the flesh. Also, both books feature a very distinctive mark of John’ writings, namely, his use of stark dichotomy to convey meaning; John often juxtaposes extremes such as light and dark, life and death, truth and lies in order to communicate both the gospel and what it means to follow Jesus.

Within this understanding, the Apostle John is the understood author of the Gospel of John, the 3 Epistles of John as well as The Revelation to John.

Date

As was mentioned before, by the year 100 A.D., a significant amount of early church fathers attributed this book to John the apostle. Given the amount of time it would have taken for such a testimony to develop, the book of 1 John was most likely written before 90 A.D. The church fathers report that John, in company with other believers, fled Jerusalem in 67 A.D. to escape Roman destruction. Most likely, John wrote this letter late in life after settling in Ephesus.

Ephesian Library in 2012

Genre

While 1 John lacks some of the style indicators that we see in many of the letters of the New Testament, there are also significant reasons to read this book as a letter. While John neither names himself nor his recipients, he repetitively states that he is writing to his recipients for specific reasons. It is clear that this letter was written by John to a group of believers that he had deep affection due to the fact that he calls them, “little children” in 1 John 2:28. He also calls them his “beloved” in 1 John 4:1. For these reasons, it would be helpful for us to read 1 John as a letter, not just to the original recipients but to ourselves as well.

Theme

1 John, in many ways, is a call of believers back to the basics of the faith. 1 John calls believers into a faith characterized by sound doctrine and a zeal for holiness and obedience.

To put the purpose of 1 John succinctly would be to say that John writes the letter so that his recipients and all believers would have full joy in fellowship with Christ and his body, the church (1:3-4) as well as rest in full assurance of eternal life in Christ in light of repentance and faith (5:13).

In light of this purpose, the book of 1 John can also be understood within 3 guiding tests:
1. Doctrinal Test: Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God?
2. Moral Test: Do you obey the commands of God?
3. Love Test: Do you love the people of God?

As your pastors, it is our prayer that as we study the person of Jesus your hearts would be set on fire by the great love shown to us in Him. We pray that, as you experience God’s love illuminated afresh, your hearts will also be fanned to flame in regards to obedience. Ultimately, the hope of 1 John is the hope of Christ, the God-man, who came in the flesh to live the life we couldn’t live and die the death we deserved to die in order to bring us into fellowship with himself for now and forever.

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