Study Guide

-for Casey Ingold’s Sermon, May 13th, 2012, Covenant Baptist Church

The Only Right Motive

Ephesians 2:1-9

Today Casey asked us to examine our motive for why we do what we do as Christians. There are a host of reasons that people may have for trying to follow Jesus. It’s so easy to fall into the trap that says, “If I do this for God, He will love me more, or He will bless me in some way.” After all, that’s the way the world operates: we don’t get something for nothing. We must earn or deserve our good standing with others.

But God’s economy works differently. Our salvation was His idea, not ours. He is the One who initiated the relationship, not us. It is God who took care of our greatest need before we understood that we had the need. God did this simply because He loved us. Romans 5:8 says,

But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

God’s love is not some sappy emotional feeling. His love was demonstrated to us when He sent His only Son, Jesus, to suffer and die for us. Jesus took on the sins of all mankind and paid the penalty for that sin. For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. [1 Peter 3:18] He who is perfectly holy and righteous, died as a payment for the sins of those who were hopelessly lost in sin and unrighteousness. He did it to bring us to Himself, to have a relationship with us. He did it because He loved us.

In Titus 3:3-7, Paul explained this same truth to His disciple Titus:

For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. [This is a description of our natural, sinful state; our condition before God saved us.] But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Here we clearly see that it was God who found us in a lost, broken condition, enslaved to sin. Because of His love for us, He saved us. He showed mercy to us. He regenerated and renewed us by the Holy Spirit poured out to us through Jesus our Savior. We are now justified [made righteous in the eyes of God] by God’s grace [God’s unmerited favor]. The result is eternal life in fellowship with God.

Also see John 3:16, 1 Peter 1:3, Romans 6:17-18, Romans 8:1; 32.

So we see that God loves us more than we can imagine. This is the God who is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness to those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. [Psalm 103:8, 10-13]

There is nothing we can do to make God love us more than he does. In Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus prays that we who are followers of Christ would be one, just as He and the Father are one, I in them and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the world may know that Thou didst send Me, and didst love them, even as thou didst love Me. [John 17:22-23] God loves us in the same way He loves Jesus His Son! It doesn’t get any better than that.

So, in light of this great love that God has for us, and the gift of eternal life He has given us through Christ, what more do we need to motivate us to follow Him? As Casey pointed out, any motivation other than the amazing love of God is not worthy to be considered as a reason to follow Him. So it is important that we make sure, first that we have received Him as Lord and Savior [John 1:12], and secondly that we are living in the love of God, not trying to earn His favor by our works.

Spend some time meditating on the love of God. Read through a gospel [Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John] and notice every time Jesus shows love for people by His words and by His actions. Put yourself in the place of those who are the recipients of His love. Know that He loves you just as He loved them. Also notice that Jesus’ love is given freely without condition to people who are undeserving sinners like we are.

If you are a Christ follower, spend some time considering where you might be today if He had not saved you. Don’t let it get morbid, but thank Him for saving you from a life of slavery to sin and for the gift of eternal life with Him.

Examine your motivations as Casey suggested. Do you really believe God loves you unconditionally? If not, read the verses above again and apply them to your life. Do you think you have to perform a certain way to maintain God’s love. Remember His love is everlasting. [Jeremiah 31:3]

Read and meditate on Ephesians 3:14-21. This is Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian Church that they would come to understand God’s love more deeply and profoundly.

This summer we have several exciting events planned for family nights.  Life groups will be taking ownership of one evening for the summer.

 This will consist of planning the event, securing anything needed for the event, food prep, and clean up.
Family nights are a great place for the CBC family to get together and get to know each other better.

 All family night events will start at 6PM

Tentative Family Night Schedule

Study Guide

-for Casey Ingold’s Sermon, May 6th, 2012, Covenant Baptist Church

The Vital Signs of a Healthy Church

Acts 2:41-47

Today Casey identified three vital signs from God’s word that indicate the health of a church. These include unity and oneness, transformation and spiritual growth, and numerical growth. All of these characteristics were evident in the early church described in Acts 2:41-47. The challenge is to examine our own church to see how we are doing in regard to the standard set in scripture.

In Casey’s analogy of looking for vital signs in the human body, he followed Paul’s analogy of the church being a body in 1 Corinthians 12:12-26. This passage has much to say about the importance of each individual in the church and is the key to maintaining unity within the church body. As Paul states:

For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. [1 Corinthians 12:12-14]

Paul is saying that we have all partaken of one Spirit – the Holy Spirit. Our race or standing in society has not bearing on whether or not we are part of the body. We are many, but we are all part of the body of Christ.

Paul then takes the analogy further, showing how each member of the body has an important function. There is interdependence within the church body, just as there is in the human body.

If the foot says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body. [1 Corinthians 12:15-20]

It’s important to note that it is God who places each member in the body. He does it as He desires. One major source of disunity in churches is jealousy and envy among members. Sometimes people become dissatisfied with their position in the church because they think they are not doing anything as important as the more visible members are. Or, those in what they perceive as “higher” positions begin to try to diminish the importance of other members. Paul addresses this as well:

And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you;” or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, whereas our more presentable members have no need of it.  But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. [1 Corinthians 12:21-26]

In this almost comical description of the human body, Paul shows how ridiculous it would be for one part of the human body to claim it didn’t need the other “lesser” parts. Paul makes the case that all the members are essential, and that we should be so in tune with each other that if one member suffers, the body suffers as well.

After showing that in the same way, each one in the body of Christ is gifted to function as part of the body, he moves to the “more excellent way,” which is found in 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter. He shows how agape love is the key to unity within the church.

If the church is unified as Paul is describing, then there can be real transformation and spiritual growth within the body. If there is disunity, spiritual growth is stunted. Along with this, numerical growth is almost impossible because those without Christ are not likely to be attracted to a disunified, quarreling church.  The church in Acts was attractive to unbelievers because they could see the love that was manifested in the body. They had everything in common and were of one mind. And they were openly praising God.

Unity in the Church

To have unity within the church requires several character qualities among its members. Read the verses below and meditate how these character qualities contribute to unity. Also, examine yourself in light of what each passage teaches. Are you contributing to the unity of Covenant Baptist Church?

• Philippians 2:1-11

• Galatians 6:2-5

• Ephesians 4:1-13

Here’s a little bit about the camp this year.

The camp dates are June 27-29.

Campers will have completed 4-6 grades.

The cost will be $25 for the entire event.

Each day will revolve around a schedule that includes chapel time, games, music, crafts and a story time. The camp uses counselors who have been through specific training, background checks and have pastoral references for God’s Mountain Camp. We are also sending adult sponsors from Covenant. The kids will bunk with the trained counselors. The adult to child ratio is 1:3 during the day and around 1:4 at night. All camp staff and Covenant sponsors will have background checks. We are excited to try something new. Please feel free to contact Betsey Litscher if you have further questions regarding this new camp trip. We are all excited to see what God does at His Mountain Camp this year!

Study Guide

-for Casey Ingold’s Sermon, April 29th, 2012, Covenant Baptist Church

Wrestling with the Resurrection Part III

How Does Death Define How You View Life?

1 Peter 1:3

In this third sermon in this series on the resurrection, Casey spoke of the issue that we all would like to avoid thinking about: death. Death is a cruel intruder that affects everyone who lives. Everyone dies. There are no exceptions. As Casey pointed out, the way we view death will determine to a large extent how we live our lives.

As those who have been born again, we should have a completely different view of death than that of the world. For us, death is only a passage into eternal life. In fact, as Christians we are already living our eternal life right now. It won’t end at death.

Paul makes this clear in Romans 8:16-25.

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.

We are looking forward to an inheritance that we will receive from God. We will be glorified with Jesus if we suffer with Him.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

As we think about living for eternity with God, our sufferings can be seen in perspective. When we enter into the presence of God, with our glorified bodies and our sin removed forever, our time on earth will seem like a distant memory. It will be completely overshadowed by the glory and majesty of being with Jesus forever.

For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption or our body.

We instinctively know that there is something not right with the universe. Just as we ourselves have been corrupted by sin, the whole world has been affected by sin. We groan within, waiting for our moment to see God and be with Him forever.

For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

We are all hoping for what we don’t see physically right now. But Paul’s last sentence describes how we should all be living now in light of the resurrection of Jesus. We hope for what we don’t see now, and we wait for it with perseverance.

As we walk with God, we can begin to anticipate our leaving this world and going to be with Christ. Look at the verses below and meditate on what they mean in regard to physical death.

Romans 8:32

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

John 14:1-6; 23

John 16:16-22

John 17:24-26

We know we will spend eternity with God because He desires that we be with Him. His love for us is so great that He will never forsake us, even in death. This belief and understanding should impact our lives today. As John says in 1 John 3:2-3:

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

When we see Him, we will be like Him. It will no longer be a hope that is not seen. We will be in His presence forever. This should have a purifying effect in our lives. Why would we want anything the world can offer if our ultimate destiny is to be with Christ for all eternity. Let us walk worthy, preparing for that moment when we enter His presence.

Study Guide

-for Casey Ingold’s Sermon, April 22nd, 2012, Covenant Baptist Church

Wrestling with the Resurrection Part II

2 Corinthians 5:15

Today, Casey continued to challenge us to look at how we are living in light of the resurrection of Jesus. As Christians, we believe that the resurrection of Jesus is the pivotal event in history. It changed everything. But when it comes to our own personal walk with Jesus, do we really live as if the resurrection took place? How should the resurrection affect our daily, moment-by-moment lives? This is the question Casey is asking and it is a question we all need to ask ourselves.

Paul made it very clear how he viewed the resurrection and how it changed his life. In Galatians 2:20 he states: I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Paul identifies with Christ’s crucifixion. His old life has been done away with, crucified with Jesus. In fact, he says that he no longer lives – his old self – but now Christ lives in him. And now he lives his earthly life (life in the flesh) by faith in the Son of God.

He no longer put confidence in his flesh (his good works or is position in society). In Philippians 2:4-11, he makes the case that even though he might have some reason to value things of the flesh, he does no longer:

Although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more; circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.

Here Paul gives us his earthly resume. It is very impressive. If one were going to try to save themselves by keeping the law, Paul has come as close to being able to do it as anyone. But notice what Paul says as he continues:

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so the I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

In this powerful passage, Paul makes it clear that knowing Christ and being in relationship with him was the most important thing in his life. He says he has “suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish.” The Greek word for rubbish is manure. That’s how he felt about his great pedigree and all his accomplishments.

The Greek word for “count” in verse 7 is in the perfect tense and it means a past-completed action with a present continuous result. In verse 8 the word “count” is in the present tense and it means a continuous action. So Paul counted once for all that everything he had was a loss for the sake of Christ. But he also continued to count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ. So it was something he had to continue to do daily. As Jesus said, If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. [Matthew 16:24]

Paul said, I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. [1 Corinthians 15:31]

So while we may come to a place in our lives where we say with Paul, “I count everything a loss for the sake of Christ,” we still have to die daily to our flesh. This is where we can easily fall down. Meditate before God on the questions below:

• How does the resurrection of Jesus impact what I value in my life?

• Am I living consistently as one who believes that Christ died for me and was raised from the dead?

• How do I feel about death? Do I fear it, or do I see it as gain? Can I say with Paul, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”[Philippians 1:21]?

• What are some specific ways I need to change my life to live consistently with what I believe? What are my vulnerable areas? How can I protect myself from falling in these areas?

• Meditate on Philippians 2:4-11 above and put the things you value in the place of what Paul was doing to justify himself by the law. Are there things you are holding on to? Are there things that come before your relationship and obedience to Jesus?

Study Guide

-for Casey Ingold’s Sermon, April 15th, 2012, Covenant Baptist Church

Wrestling with the Reality of the Resurrection

John 11:14, 21-22, 25-26

Today Casey challenged us to examine ourselves regarding our belief in the resurrection. In today’s post-modern world, the idea of the existence of the supernatural is difficult for many. Modern rationalism says, “My mind is supreme. Reason is king. If my mind can’t conceive of it, then it can’t exist.” But if one looks at human history, this is a relatively new idea. Many brilliant scholars of the past (and the present) have no problem accepting the supernatural. When it comes to the resurrection, it has been called “the most established fact of history.”

But what should our lives be like if we really believe and put our full trust in the fact that Jesus conquered death. Death is our greatest enemy and Christ has rendered it impotent. How then should we live?

In 1 Corinthians 15:50-58, Paul tells us what life should be like for those who are trusting fully in the resurrection of Jesus.

Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

Paul admits that the flesh and blood, the physical world cannot inherit the spiritual realm. He goes on to say:

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

God is going to change us instantly into something else.

For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.

We will be transformed from the perishable and mortal to the imperishable and the immortal. And what will be the result?

But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

Here Paul quotes Isaiah 25:8 where the prophet declares: He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken. Clearly death has been completely removed for all eternity. Man will no longer live with the reality of death hanging over him. All his tears will be gone.

Paul goes on: The sting of death is sin, and the power if sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. When we are transformed into the immortal, there will be no more sin. The Law of God will be written on our hearts. Paul concludes this chapter this way:

Therefore, my beloved brethren, (because Jesus conquered death through the resurrection) be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

• The word steadfast means unchangeable, not erratic and scatter-brained, or easily discouraged.

• Immovable means not to be moved from its place; firmly persistent.

• Abounding means to excel more than, exceed.

This should be the natural result of putting complete trust in the resurrection of Christ. We should be steadfast in our faith, not changing with the times and not easily discouraged. If Jesus rose from the dead and conquered death, why would we be discouraged?

We should be immovable in our commitment to the gospel. We know that Jesus rose from the dead and that we are going to be transformed into His likeness someday. We should focus like a laser on that truth and it should affect everything we do.

We should be continually excelling in our work for the Lord. Only what we do for Him, according to His will, has eternal value.

And we know that whatever we do for Him will produce the results that He desires. We are never wasting our time when we are doing the work of the Lord. It is the most valuable and meaningful use of our time.

Lord, help us to grow in our faith, and to know as Paul did, that the sting of death has been removed. Death is no longer to be feared. And help us live our lives now with full assurance that we have eternal life (1 John 5:13), and that we will live with You forever.

Study Guide

-for Casey Ingold’s Sermon, April 8th, 2012, Covenant Baptist Church

The Danger of the Resurrection

1 Peter 1:3

As Casey pointed out in his Easter message, it is essential that each of us face the reality of the resurrection of Jesus. This is the pivotal event in history. The Christian faith rests on the fact of the empty tomb. Paul makes this abundantly clear in 1 Corinthians 15:12- 20a:

Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some

among you say that there is not resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised; For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. But now Christ has been raised from the dead.

Paul tells us that if Christ isn’t raised from the dead then all of Christianity crashes to the ground. But he finishes by declaring the Christ has been raised from the dead. Paul devoted his life to proclaiming the resurrection, and he died a martyr’s death because of his rock solid stand on the fact of the resurrection.

Time and space

Christianity is not based on philosophy or mythical teachings from unknown sources. Christianity is based on history; events that occurred in time and space. The life of Jesus including His death and resurrection happened at a real time and in a real place. John stresses this at the beginning of his first letter:

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life – and the life was manifested and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us – what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. [1 John 1:1-3]

Notice that John goes out of his way to explain that this Word of Life, Jesus, was something he experienced with all of his senses. He was a real person. In John’s Gospel he makes it clear that this real person really died and really rose from the dead.

In Peter’s sermon in Acts 2, the apostle appeals to facts that his listeners knew very well were true:

Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know – this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. [Acts 2:22-24]

Many people witnessed Jesus’ resurrection first hand. Paul says,

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures (or according to Old Testament prophesy), and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas (Peter), then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep (died); then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. [1 Corinthians 15:3-8]

Again, we see Paul, like Peter, appealing to actual events that were witnessed by as many as five hundred people. As Lee Strobel has said, “I went to a psychologist friend and said if 500 people claimed to see Jesus after he died, it was just a hallucination. He said hallucinations are an individual event. If 500 people have the same hallucination, that’s a bigger miracle than the resurrection.”

The Choice

God wants us to make choices based on reasonable facts. He has provided in His Word, everything we need to know concerning life and godliness. The empty tomb has stood the test of centuries of scrutiny from thousands of skeptics. Everyone must decide what to do with Jesus. To make no decision is to decide to reject the resurrection and reject the new life Jesus came to give us. Lee Strobel makes this statement regarding the rationality of the Christian faith:

In short, I didn’t become a Christian because God promised I would have an even happier life than I had as an atheist. He never promised any such thing. Indeed, following him would inevitably bring divine demotions in the eyes of the world. Rather, I became a Christian because the evidence was so compelling that Jesus really is the one-and-only Son of God who proved his divinity by rising from the dead. That meant following him was the most rational and logical step I could possibly take.

Life Groups meet on several evenings throughout the week. Life Groups are a place where you can be yourself and learn to follow Jesus with the help of fellow believers. The Christian life means living in fellowship with other believers. We all need people surrounding us who are striving to grow closer to Jesus. We need people who will be there when things get tough.

If you are ready to take your faith to the next level, I would encourage you to check out Life Groups and find out what you have been missing! If you need help finding a Life Group please call or email me. I would love to sit down with you and help you find a group where you can belong. I can be reached at nate.wood@cbctopeka.com or (785) 249-8283.