Thu, 19 Feb 2026 05:26:53 -0800EditMySiteThu, 12 Sep 2024 16:59:20 GMThttps://www.firstpresclarkston.org/preaching1122-blog/covenant-romans-41-5-13-17-genesis-151-12-17-18Sermon Notes (Genesis 15)

After God exiled Adam and Eve out of the garden paradise, he continued to pursue his beloved creation. No matter how much God pursued, humans continued to run the other way. It was out of his mercy, then, that God chose Abraham and his family to be the ones who would bear God’s image into the world. Yet, God chose Abram late in life. He and his wife struggle with infertility, and they live in a place that was not their home. Their future looked bleak. It’s no surprise that doubts and uncertainty lurk beneath Abram’s exterior of obedience. And yet, it’s out of this doubt and in the middle of a dark, murky night, that Abram comes to trust in God’s promises. And God shows Abraham what he means to do in his commitment to Abraham’s offspring.  

                                       Questions for Reflection

What do you know about Abram?
What is Abram’s response to God’s Word of comfort?  
What does Genesis 15:6 mean?
What do you make of Genesis 15:8-21?
What is God doing?    

raying the Passage What is the main point of this passage? Talk with the Lord about it. Praise/Thank the Lord for the attributes, actions, and promises found in these passages. Confess any sins in your life this passage reveals. Finish the following: “Lord, help me/us to…” 

Memory Verses     
​Genesis 15:1, 6
]]>Sun, 25 Aug 2024 18:51:01 GMThttps://www.firstpresclarkston.org/preaching1122-blog/how-lovely-is-your-dwelling-place-psalm-84-revelation-211-4Preaching@1122


August 25, 2024

Sermon Notes (Psalm 84)

Psalm 84 is a gem of a Psalm. Similar to Psalms 120-134, it is a Psalm on a journey, a Psalm that longs for our true home. It is a Psalm of desire, longing, and yearning. To pray Psalm 84 is to orient ourselves in the direction of our deepest desire. It reminds us that our deepest desires will be satisfied not by belief in some remote impersonal divine force, nor will they be satisfied by the pleasures of this life but only by a living God who encounters us personally. This God has done through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, making God’s people the new dwelling place of God.  

Questions for Reflection

• What emotions does Psalm 84 raise for you?
  
• What repeated words do you observe? 
  
• How could one day in God’s courts be better than any other?
  
• How would your life look different if you lived out of this Psalm?     
  

Praying the Passage

• What is the main point of this passage? Talk with the Lord about it.
  
• Praise/Thank the Lord for the attributes, actions, and promises found in these passages.
  
• Confess any sins in your life this passage reveals.
  
• Finish the following: “Lord, help me/us to…” 
  

Memory Verses
    Psalm 84:1-2

]]>Sun, 11 Aug 2024 17:58:59 GMThttps://www.firstpresclarkston.org/preaching1122-blog/august-11th-2024Sermon Notes (Mark 8:27-9:1)

This is a watershed moment in the Gospel of Mark. It is the first time that a human identifies Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. However, the disciples’ understanding of Messiah is completely wrong. They view the Messiah as figure to bring victory, power, and achievement. But Jesus’ redefines Messiah in terms of suffering, rejection, and crucifixion. Likewise, Jesus tells the disciples that following him will involve the same. Christology (Who is Jesus?) here meets discipleship (What does it mean to follow Jesus?). 

Questions for Reflection

• What is your response to this passage?
• How do you answer the question of Jesus, “Who do you say I am”? What difference does this make in your life? 
• What does it mean to “pick up your cross”?
• Why do you have to lose your life in order to find it?     

Praying the Passage

• What is the main point of this passage? Talk with the Lord about it.
• Praise/Thank the Lord for the attributes, actions, and promises found in these passages.
• Confess any sins in your life this passage reveals.
• Finish the following: “Lord, help me/us to…” ​

Memory Verses
    Mark 8:34

]]>Thu, 01 Aug 2024 16:19:38 GMThttps://www.firstpresclarkston.org/preaching1122-blog/of-dogs-and-crumbs-mark-724-30Sermon Notes (Mark 7:1-23)

Jesus continues to encounter situations that involve what determines who is in or out of the people of God.
In Mark 7:1-23, Jesus encountered unclean things, but what about unclean people? If anyone was “unclean”
​(unfit to be part of God’s people), it would be the Syrophoenician woman. She was, according to traditional Israelite tradition, a pagan outsider. But this does not stop her from approaching Jesus in her desperate need. This may not surprise us. But what does surprise us is Jesus’ response to her initial request. 

Questions for Reflection

• What is your response to this this passage?
  
• In what kind of tone do you think Jesus is speaking in 7:27? Is Jesus’ using “dog” as a kind of racial slur against the woman? Is it a term of endearment? Is Jesus quoting an accepted Jewish phrase? 
  
• What do you make of the woman’s response?
  
• Why do you think Jesus was so impressed with the woman? 
  
• Bonus: How does Ephesians 2 shed light on this passage?     
  

Praying the Passage

• What is the main point of this passage? Talk with the Lord about it.
  
• Praise/Thank the Lord for the attributes, actions, and promises found in these passages.
  
• Confess any sins in your life this passage reveals.
  
• Finish the following: “Lord, help me/us to…” 
  

Memory Verses
    Ephesians 2:19-20

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