Harris Creek Baptist Church

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. 1) Satan can only do what God allows 2) Satan allows us to trust God 3) What is our right response in an attack? 

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 word because hot is a word. Cold is what is left when you remove heat.-When you begin to focus on what you don’t have you begin to step on satan’s playground.-Discontentment blinds you from blessings.-“Is God really good?” is the question behind all questions, along with “Can I trust Him?”-Satan is on earth.-Satan is not currently in hell. He is on earth. Someday he will face eternal judgment there, but right now he is on earth.-Satan is not everywhere on earth. He is not omnipresent. He has likely never been anywhere near you.-Make no mistake, you can go to church and still worship satan. Anything you do that is not in faith toward God can be worshipful toward him.-Disney and Marvel and Harry Potter are printing money off the reality of the biblical narrative that we live in: a battle between good and evil.-Can angels still sin? They have thousands and thousands of years of knowledge and wisdom and revelation that following God is the way to go.-Satan is a liar.-Satan’s main lie is “God is not good and you cannot trust Him.”-Satan calls what is evil good and what is good evil.-Satan and demons can’t read our minds, but they’ve studied humans for thousands of years and know how to trick and deceive us.-A common strategy satan uses in 2022 is that you should find “your truth”. There are not multiple versions of truth. There is the Truth, and His name is Jesus.-The Gospel is the greatest Truth you will ever encounter, and once you know and believe the Gospel, the next is that God’s Word is true and can be trusted.-We are all part of a supernatural narrative where God is rescuing people from satan through His Son, Jesus.

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 just that because they’ve stood the test of time.-What if you approached your life group with a long distance, marathon mentality?-You will encounter conflict and difficulty along the way. If you don’t acknowledge and embrace this reality, you won’t make it in a life group.-When you encounter difficulty, share, practice hospitality, and be present with one another.-A commitment to community is a fight for unity.-We are prone to division and if we don’t proactively fight against it it will take us out.-If you want to change your life group, draw a circle around yourself and fix everything inside the circle.-As christians, we don’t judge obedience by the outcome. We strive to be faithful no matter the results.-Our greatest disappointments come from unspoken or unmet expectations. Share and discuss your expectations with one another.-We don’t want you to check a bunch of boxes as it relates to being in a life group; we want you to follow Jesus and become more like Him, and one of the best ways we know how to do that is to encourage you to do life with other people in a life group.MENTIONED OR RECOMMENDED RESOURCES-Suggested Scripture study: Romans 12:9-18; Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 22:37-39; John 13:35; Hebrews 10:24-25; 1 Peter 5:8-Sermon: Biblical-Sermon series: Conflicted

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. reporting decisions after the fact (“Hey guys, FYI, last week I did _____.”)-You can get well-intentioned yet horrific advice. If advice doesn’t align with Scripture, it’s bad advice.-In general, the more you want something the less you should trust yourself. -All Scripture prepares us.-If you think your knowledge of Scripture is for you, you have missed the point. The goal it to take what you learn and build up other people around you.-You will be a better disciple of Jesus if the people around you are reading their Bibles.-It will take time and effort to learn the Bible better, and that is OK. Start where you are today, and commit to growing 24-hours at a time.-When people in your group give counsel ask them to back it up with Scripture.-If you want to grow in your consistency of reading the Bible, you need three things: a time, a place, and a plan.MENTIONED OR RECOMMENDED RESOURCES-Suggested Scripture study: 2 Timothy 3:14-17; Proverbs 11:14-Sermon: Authentic Community-Resource: Bible Reading Plan (www.biblereadingplan.org)

Have you ever collected or owned something that you thought was valuable, only to later realize it was inauthentic and fake? As we start our new series, Life Together, Scott Kedersha teaches our first building block of community: authentic.KEY TAKEAWAYS-The bigger we become as a church, the smaller we must become so that everyone can be known and cared for. We do this through life groups.-To be authentic means to be real, genuine. To be who you say you are.-John repeats the idea that “Jesus is the light” all throughout his teaching. Without Jesus, we won’t see things on this earth clearly. He is the light we need to see things as they really are.-Authenticity starts by addressing our sin.-God hates when we minimize our sin.-Authenticity is necessary for fellowship.-These three words & questions are a great way to build authenticity in your life group: 1) Input - How are you feeding your soul? 2) Output - How are you feeding others? 3) Confession - How have you fed your flesh?-Going to life group and not confessing your sin and not being authentic is a terrible hobby and use of time.-Authenticity is necessary for forgiveness.-Is there a part of your life that you don’t want other people to see? Bring it into the light!-How to confess: Confess early. Confess at the thought level. Confess at the temptation level before it even becomes sin.-How to confess: Confess often. Confess everything you don’t want others to know.-How to confess: Confess in detail. Share 100%, not 98%.-The 30-seconds after someone confesses are extremely important. Your response to their confession will dictate whether they share more or they hide. Thank them, listen to them, ask them questions, pray for them.-What are you keeping from others? What are you hiding? What are you afraid to share?-The goal is not to be the most authentic person in the room. The goal is to become more like Jesus.RECOMMENDED RESOURCES-Scripture to study: 1 John 1:5-10; John 8:12, 9:5, 12:46; Proverbs 29:25; Romans 8:1; James 5:16; Proverbs 28:13-Sermon: Authentic (sermon series: Fresh Start)

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, what would they say?-“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” -C.S. Lewis-Walking in the will of God is living for another world.-As you walk with God, your wants and desires will align with His.-Parenting is teaching kids what to do with their wants as well as teaching them what to want. Christianity is no different.-If you take sin it will take you.RECOMMENDED RESOURCES-Scripture to study: 1 John 2:15-17; Matthew 6:24; James 4:4; Philippians 3:18-20; Genesis 3:6; James 1:14-15; Psalm 37:4; Romans 12:2-Sermon: Anger from Unforgiveness

1) God's anger toward you was satisfied 2) Forgiven people are forgiving people 3) Your forgiveness demonstrates God's forgiveness 

Have you ever talked about someone who wasn’t present? Have you ever found out people talked about you when you weren’t present? As we continue our series, 7 Deadly Sins of Suburbia, Nate Hilgenkamp teaches about gossip by teaching through the book of Proverbs.KEY TAKEAWAYS-Gossip is sharing unhelpful or unnecessary information about someone who isn’t present.-Gossip is in the same list of sins as murder and hating God.-Gossip is enjoyable.-TMZ made $126 million in 2021…they’ve literally made an industry out of gossip.-Neuroscience has shown that the reward center of our brain lights up in response to gossip in a similar way as it does to romantic interest or eating chocolate.-We enjoy gossip because it makes us feel better than others.-Gossip also makes us feel important because someone trusts us to tell us something.-When someone gossips to you, they are really saying, “I’m OK talking about people behind their back.”-We enjoy gossip because it’s easy. It’s a lot harder to ask intentional questions of others or share specific struggles in your own life.-Gossip is divisive.-As adults it’s easy to see gossip in middle and high schoolers, but the reality is, it’s rampant and divisive in adults too.-It’s been said that gossip is the devil’s telephone.-God hates gossip because He loves you.-Before being crucified, Jesus prayed specifically for us, today, that we would be perfectly unified with other Christians the way He and the Father are perfectly unified.-Gossip can be put out.-The only way a fire can continue is by adding fuel. The same is true of gossip. Are you adding fuel or putting it out?-Even if you don’t share gossip, you have a part to play when you listen or permit it to happen.-We talk to people not about people.-On Harris Creek staff, we practice the “24-hour rule.” If someone says something to you about someone else, you give that person 24-hours to go tell the person they gossiped about, and if they don’t, you go with them to talk to the person together.-These phrases are almost never going to have helpful things behind them: “Don’t tell them I told you, but;” “This doesn’t leave this room;” & “Just between you and me.”-Venting is simply calling gossip by a different name.-If something doesn’t honor God or encourage others, just don’t say it.-If you are afraid your phone might record what you are saying about someone, don’t say it in the first place.-God hears every word you speak. Your words matter.MENTIONED OR RECOMMENDED RESOURCES-Proverbs 18:8, 16:28, 26:20; Romans 1:29-30; Genesis 3:4-5; John 17:20-23; Ephesians 4:29; Matthew 12:36-37-Sermon: Comparison

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 throughout the Scriptures.-There are typically two different buckets of comparison: materialistic (“I want what they have”) and moralistic (“I’m better than they are”).-When you pray, who is the focus of your prayer? You or God?-Comparison crushes relationships.-When your life is a competition, it makes everyone else your competitor and you isolate yourself, both of which kill your relationships.-Comparison is killed by humility.-How do you become humble? Compare yourself to God.-When you compare yourself to a righteous, holy, & perfect God, there is no other option than to be humble before Him.-Your job isn’t to compare to other people or Christians. Your job is to pick up your cross and follow Jesus every day.-If you are too busy focusing on someone else’s life you won’t be able to live your own life. MENTIONED OR RECOMMENDED RESOURCES -Suggested Scripture study: Luke 18:9-14; Exodus 20:17; Genesis 4; Luke 9:46; Isaiah 6:5; Hebrews 10:14-18; John 21:17-25-Sermon: Apathy

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 go through life doing only what you feel like, you will only grow dysfunctional. You will not grow as a disciple of Christ by only following your feelings.-You could get to heaven and live a completely spiritually impotent life while on earth.-So many Christians are not living the Christian life. They are not a threat to the enemy, and they are simply drifting toward death.-The Bible teaches the exact opposite of apathy and comfort. It teaches to embrace hardships and challenges and discipline.-Apathy: A resistance to spiritual growth.-No Christian is exempt from living out the call of 2 Timothy 2:2: The things you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful people who will teach others also.-We fight apathy by growing as a healthy disciple.-Disciples make other disciples, and all Christians are disciples. A “disciple making disciple” is redundant.-May we never be a people that is more American than we are Christian.-You don’t go to the gym to be entertained, you go to workout (to change). Similarly, you don’t go to church to be entertained, you go to be changed. To become more like Jesus.-We fight apathy with a steady diet of God’s Word.-At some point, Christians must outgrow a diet of only devotionals. They must learn to read and study the Bible on their own.-If reading your Bible is hard, that doesn’t make it wrong or bad. Going to the gym is also hard…you go to grow, and you only grow when it’s hard.-If you take pictures of a tree one year apart, you won’t see much of a difference. If you take pictures of a tree 20-years apart, there will be a huge difference. Mostly, in a way you can’t even see: deep, strong roots that are the foundation and strength of the tree and it’s growth.-There has never been a person of faith—let alone great faith—who doesn’t pray.-We fight apathy by exercising our faith.-As you exercise your faith, sin will become more and more repulsive to you. You won’t stop sinning on this side of death, but it will become less attractive.-We don’t work for our salvation, we work from our salvation.-If you drift toward apathy, one of two things will be true: you will die and go to hell (you were never a Christian to begin with), or, you will get to the end of your life and realize you completely wasted if.MENTIONED OR RECOMMENDED RESOURCES-Suggested Scripture study: Hebrews 5:11-6:8; 1 Timothy 4:7-8; 2 Timothy 2:2-Sermon: Entitlement