November 24, 2019 10:30 am Service
NOTES FROM A SERMON PRESENTED BY DR. GREG SLOOP AT THE KANNAPOLIS CHURCH OF GOD. FOR VIDEO OF SERVICES, GO TO THE CHURCH WEBSITE, HTTP://WWW.KCOG.ORG, AND CLICK ON THE LIVESTREAM LINK TO VIEW LIVE OR FOR A REPLAY OF THE SERVICES. YOU MAY ALSO WATCH LIVE OR A REPLAY ON the DR. Greg SLOOP FACEBOOK PAGE. FOR AUDIO OF THE SERVICES, GO To THE WEBSITE, kcog.org, AND CLICK ON THE MEDIA PAGE.
February 26, 2023
A Prayer of Thanks for What Jesus Has Done
Jesus
Romans 5:6–8 (NKJV) 6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Salvation
Revelation 12:10–11 (NKJV) 10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
Healing
Luke 5:17–24 (NKJV) 17 Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them. 18 Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. 19 And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.
Deliverance
1 Samuel 17:37 (NKJV) 37 Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”
Mark 5:8–13 (NKJV) 8 For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” 9 Then He asked him, “What is your name?”
And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” 10 Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.
11 Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. 12 So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.” 13 And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.
A Giving Response
Mark 12:41–44 (NKJV) 41 Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. 42 Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. 43 So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”
The Widow’s Mite
It is a fairly rare coin, and quite simply one of the least attractive coins I have ever held in my hand. It is bronze, a dirty dark brown, and misshapen. The stamps that formed these coins seem to be made by hand, and are off-center and not meticulous at all. It is not a beautiful coin.
Yet, somehow, Jesus saw the gift of two of these little coins as much when the widow put them in the treasury. Others were dropping silver coins, or perhaps pieces of gold into the treasury, maybe even bequeathing large sums of money to the temple for the cause of beautification or repair or restoration. Yet Jesus chose to make note of this little widow lady’s gifts of two ugly, misshapen, low-value coins. What does this tell us today?
Whatever you have to give God today is more about the sacrifice than it is the monetary value. If you are wealthy enough to give a lot of money into the church treasury, then God bless you for that. However, the money given by a poor individual is just as noteworthy to God as the gift of the rich! What does this mean? God is looking for sacrifice in worship and sacrifice in service more than giving just because you have more than you need. And this does not just apply to money. It applies to everything in life that we can offer to God.
With a heart of Thanksgiving, what are you willing to give to God today?
Your Time?
Your Talents?
Your Love and Devotion?
Your Gifts?
Your Life?
Today is the day to give to God, especially in response to His wonderful gifts.
Today, in thankfulness, it would be so appropriate to offer our all back to God for all He has given to us!
Devoted To You 