Hebrews 4: 14-16 (NLT): So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Communion is the representation of the last meal Jesus shared with his disciples the night before he was crucified. It was the beginning of the establishment of the new covenant. The old covenant did not allow for us to receive all that God had intended for us, thus, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we were given full access to God and all He had in store for His children. Jesus was the final sacrifice that fulfilled the duties of the old covenant. God’s yearning to communicate with His creation was so strong that Jesus came to earth and lived a perfect life–thanks to the God in Him–where he healed and ministered to hundreds of people. Eventually, the religious leaders turned on him. He was handed over to the Romans, where he was crucified. There was much happening in the natural, but so much more was happening in the supernatural. There was a tremor through Heaven. As Jesus breathes his last and gives his spirit, he descends into the depths of the earth and pays the price. He defeats death; we no longer have to fear death. He defeats the devil. Then, he ascends up to his disciples for a short period of time before he returns to Heaven, where he presents his blood, the final sacrifice for humanity, and God accepts it. And every single human being from that point on has access to God.

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 Ps. Dean - 09/14/08 Communion Sunday: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

2 Kings 4:8-17 (NLT): One day Elisha went to the town of Shunem. A wealthy woman lived there, and she urged him to come to her home for a meal. After that, whenever he passed that way, he would stop there for something to eat. She said to her husband, “I am sure this man who stops in from time to time is a holy man of God. 10 Let’s build a small room for him on the roof and furnish it with a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp. Then he will have a place to stay whenever he comes by.”

One day Elisha returned to Shunem, and he went up to this upper room to rest. He said to his servant Gehazi, “Tell the woman from Shunem I want to speak to her.” When she appeared, Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tell her, ‘We appreciate the kind concern you have shown us. What can we do for you? Can we put in a good word for you to the king or to the commander of the army?’”

“No,” she replied, “my family takes good care of me.”

Later Elisha asked Gehazi, “What can we do for her?”

Gehazi replied, “She doesn’t have a son, and her husband is an old man.”

“Call her back again,” Elisha told him. When the woman returned, Elisha said to her as she stood in the doorway, “Next year at this time you will be holding a son in your arms!”

“No, my lord!” she cried. “O man of God, don’t deceive me and get my hopes up like that.” But sure enough, the woman soon became pregnant. And at that time the following year she had a son, just as Elisha had said.

The woman of God in this story is a generous woman who’s only concern was the well being of the Prophet of God. She offers him food. From then on, he would eat at her home whenever he was in town, and because of this, she made a room for him. We, as Christians, must make room for God in our lives so that He can move in our lives.

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 Ps. Dean - 09/07/08: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Colossians 2:16-18 (NLT): So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things.

Following man-made rules makes us feel good. We feel holy and pious when we do things and show off to the world. But Jesus came to break rules. He came to set us free from the law, and yet, we still bind ourselves with rules. That is not what God intended. God wants only freedom. He breaks the rules; back then and here now, He is still shattering every rule we place upon ourselves in hopes of faking piety.

Freedom is taught through the Word of God. The Bible challenges the man-made traditions that were instilled in the mind during childhood while growing up in one denomination or the other. It can be angering, but the challenge is the road to freedom. The Bible answers every question in life and addresses every issue that comes up. When you understand the Word, it becomes a foundation for freedom. Freedom let’s us move towards the things of the Kingdom and allows the Kingdom to have a major impact on our lives.

Jesus purchased our freedom with His blood. Salvation is submitting your life to Jesus, laying down your pride, and asking Jesus for help, and He does! In that moment, the spirit inside you–the part that God knew even before time as documented in Psalm 139–is reunited with God.
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 Ps. Dean - 08/24/08: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Get caught up in serving and helping people. For too long, the church has been preaching something and doing another. It is time to embed ourselves in the community, serve, and do things that give Jesus a good name.

Galatians 5:13-15: “For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.” (NLT)

I am talking about freedom this morning. I am not talking about political or religious freedom. I’m talking about the freedom that comes from who God is. Because, contrary to how you may have been raised or how you picture God–you perceive God through a grid forged by upbringing and the voices of authority in our lives. We take this baggage, this concept on, and it determines how we view God and life. It can be very tough to break out of these old thoughts of who God is. God is Freedom. The only real definition of “Freedom” is out of the Heart of God, Himself. He is the only free being in the universe.
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 Ps. Dean - Sunday, August 10th: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download