Harris Creek Baptist Church

SUMMARY Have you ever watched a replay of a sporting event where you already knew the outcome? When you know the outcome, it changes how you watch the game. As we finish our series, Unseen Battle, Nate Hilgenkamp teaches through Revelation 19, showing us who wins, who loses, and how we live in light of these truths. KEY TAKEAWAYS -Revelation was not written to confuse the church but to encourage the church. -What you believe about Jesus is of utmost importance; it will directly impact how you live. -Jesus is coming to claim His victory. -Everyone ends up at a feast, but they are two very different feasts. -Satan and his army will lose. -There is no uncontested middle ground in life. You are either living for the glory of God or for the glory of satan. -Jesus taught more about hell than heaven and described it in much greater detail. -The entirety of the Christian life is to prepare for Christ’s return. -Our job is to get ready for the feast. -Jesus wins and then hands us the victory. -This life matters, but

SUMMARY Have you ever been injured doing an activity because you didn’t prepare, train, or stretch? There is a spiritual war going on at all times, and if you aren’t ready, you will get hurt. As we continue our series, Unseen Battle, JP teaches us how to prepare for battle by teaching through Ephesians 6. KEY TAKEAWAYS -You have everything you need in Jesus to be victorious over the enemy. -You cannot fight a spiritual battle with worldly weapons. You must use spiritual weapons. -You can’t be strong, you must become strong, and you become strong by preparing. -In Ephesians chapters 1-3, there are no commands. It’s all about who Christ is and what He has done for you. -You have one enemy: satan. -We don’t think about the spiritual battle we are in nearly enough. We are too busy being and seeking to be comfortable. -Know the truth. -The spiritual battle that is being fought is over the territory of your mind. -If you know what’s true the enemy can’t deceive you. -Satan runs the same game plan today that he

SUMMARY When you are at a low moment, how does satan attack you? What about when you are at a high moment? When and how does he attack you most? As we continue our sermon series, Unseen Battle, JP teaches through the first couple chapters of Job, showing us how the enemy attacks us. KEY TAKEAWAYS -Satan can only do what God allows. -What you feed grows. What you starve dies. -Satan allows us to trust God. Said differently, God allows satan to give us opportunities to trust Him. -If all you had was rainbows and butterflies, you would have no faith. -Who are you going to worship: the god of this age, or the God of the heavens and the earth? -Anywhere there is destruction on earth, satan is behind it. We don’t always know how much or to what extent he is specifically involved, but all pain and suffering and destruction is ultimately tied to him. -You will never get in a bind believing that God can make good from anything. You will often get in a bind telling Him what good to bring. -Things we can learn fr

SUMMARY Do you believe in the devil? If not, why not? If so, how does your belief impact how you live every day? As we start a new series, Unseen Battles, JP teaches through Ezekiel 28, teaching us about the devil, how he works, and how we can resist him. KEY TAKEAWAYS -“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.” -C.S. Lewis -If you don’t know your enemy you will suffer loss in every battle. -Angels are created beings; they have not existed in eternity past like God. -Angels are stronger and smarter than humans are. One day, humans will sit and judge over them. -Satan is a fallen angel. -Did God create evil? No. God created the possibility of evil, but not evil. -God created satan as good, and good is a thing. The absence of good is evil. -Light is a thing. Darkness is not a thing. Darkness is the absence of light. Similarly, cold is only a

SUMMARY What are you committed to in life? Work, kids, material possessions, money, friendships, family? Are you overcommitted to any of them? As we finish our series, Life Together, Trent Horner teaches the third value of community, committed, by studying Romans 12:9-18. KEY TAKEAWAYS -The first two community core values are authentic and biblical. Go back and watch those sermons if you missed them. -If you are an informed sports fan but you don’t know God’s Word, that’s a problem. -A commitment to community is based on love. -In order to love others you must be a student of them and learn what’s important to them. -Do you know the the story of the people you are in life group with? Their fears, insecurities, past, goals, dreams? -Go make a memory and have fun with your life group. Be intentional about creating unique shared experiences. -A commitment to community is a test of endurance. -As christians, we are always on mission and at war. Always. -The closest and most meaningful relationships are often jus

SUMMARY Where do you find community: work, fitness, sports, kids activities, church…where is it for you? What characteristics mark that group of people? As we continue our series, Life Together, Jon Green teaches through 2 Timothy 3:14-17, teaching our second building block of community: biblical. KEY TAKEAWAYS -All Scripture is God-breathed. -Theology simply means “what you believe about God”. -Does everyone in your life group elevate Scripture in the same way? -Every time you read Scripture, ask God, “What do you want me to learn today?” -Observation: What do I see? -Interpretation: What does it mean? -Application: How does it work? What do I do? -All Scripture is useful. -Are you teaching each other using Scripture? -Rebuking: calling or pointing out sin based on Scripture. Correcting: giving a solution based on Scripture. -Training in righteousness can look like processing decisions based on Scripture (“Hey group, I’m thinking about _____, what do you guys think God and Scripture would have me do?”) vs.

SUMMARY What do you want right now? In this moment as you read this, if you could have anything in the world, what do you want? As we finish our sermon series, 7 Deadly Sins of Suburbia, JP teaches about indulgence by studying 1 John 2:15-17. KEY TAKEAWAYS -What do you turn to when you are stressed? -What you want shows who you love. -We love stuff and use people to get more stuff. This couldn’t be further from what the Bible teaches. -A biblical worldview teaches us to use stuff to love people. -You can either love the world or you can love God. You can not have or love both. -You will either be full from the things of God and able to resist the world, or, you will be full from the things of this world and will resist the things of God. -Wickedness comes from wanting worldly things. -Satan is the little g god of this world. His one desire is to drag you out of a right relationship with God, and he uses the things of this world. -What marks you? If those closest to you got asked about what’s important to you

SUMMARY Where in life are you prone to compare your life to others? What happens in your mind and heart when you compare to others? Is it helpful? Hurtful? As we continue our series, 7 Deadly Sins of Suburbia, Nate Hilgenkamp teaches us about the sin of comparison by studying Luke 18:9-14. KEY TAKEAWAYS -It’s been well said that comparison is the thief of all joy. -A parable is a story told in order to emphasize a single point of truth. -Comparison views life as a competition. -Some of you have an exhausting life because you are always comparing yourself to and competing with other people. -Where do you find your worth and value in life? Your salary? Social media likes and comments? How much playing time your kid gets? Your neighborhood? -If you really want to succeed and you can’t celebrate when other people succeed, you struggle with comparison. -The sin of comparison is not new or exclusive to Suburbia. It shows up as early as Genesis 4 when Cain kills Abel. There are many examples of comparison all t

SUMMARY Have you ever received a medical diagnosis saying you’d get worse if you don’t make changes? What about other areas of your life…things aren’t going well and they’ll only get worse if something doesn’t change? As we continue our series, 7 Deadly Sins of Suburbia, JP teaches us about apathy by studying Hebrews 5 & 6. KEY TAKEAWAYS -People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated. -D.A. Carson -The church will be at the height of its heresy when you call obedience legalism. -AW Tozer -If you g

SUMMARY Has there ever been a time in your life when you were frustrated or complained because something didn’t make sense to you? Because you didn’t get what you wanted? As we continue our series, 7 Deadly Sins of Suburbia, JP teaches us about the sin of entitlement by studying Luke 14:1-14. KEY TAKEAWAYS -What are things we feel entitled to? Comfort, health, time, food, money, safety, salvation, love…what is it for you? -Want to know a sure fire way to know what you feel entitled to? What do you complain about? Whatever you complain about, that’s what you are entitled about. -Don’t fall victim to a counterfeit version of Christianity and be OK with it. -Should Christians ever take the best seat? -Entitlement is focusing on what you deserve. -As Christians, we are to use whatever God has entrusted us with to serve others. -Discomfort kills entitlement. There is no comfortable solution to entitlement. -Entitlement is the air we breathe. It impacts everything about us. -For entitled people, it rarely feels li

SUMMARY Do you ever feel like your life is busy? What causes it to be that way? As we start a new series, The Seven Sins of Suburbia, JP addresses the sin of busyness by examining Mary and Martha in Luke 10. KEY TAKEAWAYS -Busyness is the enemy of encouragement. -What all could you put in the blank: Busyness is the enemy of ________. -Here’s a secret: you will always have a lot to do. There will always be more to do than you have time for. -How much do you like yourself and your life when you are busy? -Jesus had friends. Have you ever considered that? -Minister or ministry simply means to render aid to those in need. All Christian’s, regardless of where they work and get a paycheck, are called to ministry. -Busyness is the enemy of focus. -What is the work that only you can do? What are the things that only you can do? -Don’t let the many things distract you from the one thing. -You are the only one who is in charge of your relationship with Jesus. -Busyness breeds a victim mentality. You are either for me

SUMMARY Do you have anything that you’ve taken with you from year to year and life stage to life stage? What about from 2021 to 2022…what have you brought with you from one year to the next? As we kick of a new calendar year, Scott Kedersha teaches us how Christians change and grow, teaching through Ephesians 4:17-24. KEY TAKEAWAYS -Stop walking like a non-believer. -Where in your life are you living like a non-believer? Confess this to your life group and ask them to help you change. -Do you know about Jesus, or do you know Jesus? -Is your life marked by a trajectory that looks more and more like Jesus? -Put off the old. -Don’t just make small changes here and there. Completely forsake and repent from anything in your life that doesn’t look like Jesus. -What do you need to put off: pride, greed, lust, grumbling, gossip, selfishness, something else? -To be abundantly clear, putting off your old self isn’t about behavior management or modification. It’s not about earning God’s favor. It’s about responding to