Sunday – December 7, 2014 1st John 5 verses 1 to 5 “How Are Your Vital Signs?”

Sunday – December 7, 2014 – Read the Word on Worship

1st John 5 verses 1 to 5 from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

Problems viewing?


Word On Worship – Sunday – December 7, 2014 Download / Print

1 John 5:1-4
“Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.”

We all know of people who claim to be Christians and yet their lives seem to bear little resemblance to one who obeys His commands. Jesus warned that there will be many who call Him “Lord” who even have done miracles in His name, but at the judgment He will say, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23). In light of these things, we all need to be clear about whether we truly have been born again or not.

Every parent knows the great joy of seeing a new life come into this world. Some parents must go through the pain and sorrow of having a stillborn baby. The difference consists in that one quality, which even modern medicine cannot impart—life. In the spiritual realm, as in the physical, new life means everything. If a person is truly born of God, there will be signs of life. If those signs are missing, there is cause for great alarm.

The very first test given to a newborn in the delivery room is called the Apgar score. The test was designed to quickly evaluate a newborn’s physical condition after delivery and to determine any immediate need for extra medical or emergency care. It measures things like muscle tone, heart rate, reflexes, skin color, and breathing rate. The vital signs of birth are essential. The vital signs of spiritual birth are just as essential.

A true child of God will have a spiritual Apgar score. We could probably come up with more, but John gives us three vital signs of the new birth: faith in Jesus Christ, love for others, and obedience to God’s commandments. If you claim to be born again, you may want to check your spiritual Apgar score. If the vital signs of new life in Christ are not there, you need to get down on your knees and plead with God to cause you “to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).

Sunday – July 28, 2013 “The Reversal of the Reversal”

July 28, 2013 – Read the Word on Worship

The Reversal of the Reversal from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

The world is continually looking for a sign or demonstration that meets their worldly criteria but that is the opposite of faith. Their attitude is show us and then we will believe but they will never see enough for them to believe. Faith is trusting to the point of death, not seeing enough to believe. The centurion stands in stark contrast to those who shouted to Jesus for a sign to prove He was the Son of God. God demonstrated power over Rome, the religious leaders, the fickle crowds and the demonic hosts by the humiliation of the cross and reverses the reversal which occurred when man was forced the Garden of Eden.
Join us this week as we examine the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ from Mark 15 verses 22 to 47 in Pastor Kikkert’s sermon, “The Reversal of the Reversal”


Word On Worship – July 28, 2013 Download / Print

Mark 15:37-39
“And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. 38 And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

In his excellent book The Six Pillars of Biblical Power, John Rankin wrote about the reversal of the reversal. In God’s infinite power, He gave glorious gifts such as life, the created world and the ability to love. Yet when His creation soiled themselves by their sin (the reversal) to take what was not theirs, God’s love gave even more to redeem and restore His creation (the reversal of the reversal). I can think of no better picture of this than the centurion at the foot of the cross. Christ’s faithful obedience to His Father, even in death — not wondrous works of power or majesty — converted the executioner.

In a single moment, the centurion’s world view that governed his life changed. He had sworn allegiance to Caesar and was the physical representation of Roman power in Israel. To the Romans, power was the defining characteristic of deity and the title “Son of God” could only belong to Caesar, the embodiment of Rome’s power and majesty. This centurion never saw any of the prior miracles of Jesus or heard any of His teachings. Yet in Christ’s death, this soldier saw who Jesus Christ was and what it meant to be the Son of God. Divinity was no longer associated with the might of a leader to impose his will, but with humble obedience that transforms lives.

There was one thing the centurion saw in the crucifixion of our Lord that likely reversed his view of Jesus. As a soldier, he understood the necessity of absolute obedience. As another centurion told Jesus in Matthew 8, he understood what authority was and what that meant when orders were given. In the final hours of Jesus this centurion witnessed the Son of God carrying out His mission from the Father in absolute obedience. As bystanders ourselves, we need to reverse our false view of the true nature of divinity and power to see that at its core is obedience.

The world is continually looking for a sign or demonstration that meets worldly criteria. But that is the opposite of faith. The world’s attitude is show us and then we will believe – but they will never see enough for them to believe. Faith is trusting to the point of death, not seeing enough to believe. The centurion stands in stark contrast to those who shouted to Jesus for a sign to prove He was the Son of God. God demonstrated power over Rome, the religious leaders, the fickle crowds and the demonic hosts by the humiliation of the cross and reversed the reversal which occurred when man was forced out of the Garden of Eden.