PRAYER: Session meeting tonight

Please pray for the Session as our Elders meeting this evening. http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/06/prayer-session-meeting-tonight.html

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Winning through Self-Denial - Pastor Tito Lyro - 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

AUDIO LINK -- If you find these lessons helpful, or if you have questions please write to us at contact@olympiabp.net or visit us at facebook.com/olympiabp. We would love to hear from you and learn how we can serve you.  http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/06/winning-through-self-denial-pastor-tito.html

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Winning through Self-Denial - 1 Cor. 9:19-23

Introduction  This passage before us today has been used to justify doing whatever one wants under the guise of Gospel proclamation. After all, Paul says that he became all things to all men! Some missiologists have said that this passage justifies your becoming a Muslim in order to reach Muslims. "Worship with them, behave like them, validate their god and their prophet as being of divine origin," they say.  Yet this passage is neither a justification for license nor idolatry. Paul adapts how he behaves and the form his message takes. But he never changes the content of his message. He doesn't want to add offense to the Gospel except for the offense of the cross. This is Paul's strategy to reach the nations! It is universal and it is to be used whether one is a missionary to Timbuktu or Tenino.  Paul wants to win the nations through self-denial (see 9:12). Here we find in practice what John the Baptist said before Paul, "He must increase, but I must decrease. (Jn. 3:30)"  I. The Context  A. Some Corinthian Christians were taking the glorious truth that we are free in Christ and that there is one God but one, and were using it to beat up weaker brothers and sisters, 8:4-6.  B. The Holy Spirit uses Paul's example to explain how Gospel love for the brethren governs how a follower of Jesus Christ lives, 8:13, 9:1-18.  C. The discussion of meats offered idols as a way to talk about Gospel love for the brethren will continue till 11:1.  II. The Motivation to Gladly Let Rights Go: The Gospel! 9:23  A. In order to love the brethren selflessly we need compassion for people, conviction that sin, heaven, and hell are real, and conviction that the Gospel is true.  B. The Gospel frees us to renounce our rights.  C. The Gospel frees us to serve others, 9:19.  III. Paul's Strategy for Transforming the Nations: Die to Self and Serve All! 9:22  A. When he was with Jews, he conducted himself so as to not add offense to the already offensive cross, 9:20.  B. When he was with Gentiles, he acted as a Gentile, 21.  C. When he was with the weak, he acted as the weak, 22a.  D. This is not a bait and switch scheme, let's fake it approach.  E. All these adaptations had a clear boundary, 21 (law of Christ).  F. This was Paul's strategy because it was Jesus's strategy – the washing of the disciples' feet.  Conclusion – Back to v. 23  Paul's whole life was about the Gospel because his whole life was about Jesus. He loved Jesus and he loved people. He understood what life and death without Christ meant. And the thought of people going to help gripped his soul. He understood that God was the only one who could show him the path of life; and that it was in God's presence that one finds fullness of joy. For Paul, the idea that eternal pleasures are at the right hand of God was a no brainer because that is where Jesus dwells.  Paul was no superhero. He was one of us. The Gospel of grace that transformed him is the same Gospel that transforms us and has the power to transform the nations. http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/06/winning-through-self-denial-1-cor-919-23.html

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Regaining Your Awe - Pastor Tito Lyro - Psalm 145

AUDIO LINK -- If you find these lessons helpful, or if you have questions please write to us at contact@olympiabp.net or visit us at facebook.com/olympiabp. We would love to hear from you and learn how we can serve you.  http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/06/regaining-your-awe-pastor-tito-lyro.html

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Regaining Your Awe - Ps. 145 (Based on Paul Tripp's Dangerous Call - chpt. 8)

Introduction What was going through your mind as we read Psalm 145?  Look at it again (read verses 3, 5-19).  Doesn't this Psalm speak of a great God?  The greatest God, indeed?  Are we awed by him? This psalm says that one generation will praise his name to the next.  That is to say one generation will pass on the excitement, love, and awe of God to the next generation.  But we can't pass what we don't have! This is a glorious God worthy of awe.  Yet, a look at my own life, and I look at the life of our church, and I see aweless living.  We are left with a duty to do the business of living in repetitive, day-after-day, joyless obligation.  Why is that?  It is because we have growing too familiar with God. We have read the Bible, we heard sermons, we read books. Yet, the God we read and hear about that excite us anymore because we have ceased to be amazed by his glory and grace. I.             What is the overriding worldview of this psalm? A.   It is that every human being has been hardwired by God to live in daily awe of him. B.   What does this functionally look like? C.   When awe of God is absent, it is quickly replaced by our awe of ourselves. D.  Awe of God puts our gifts and experience in their proper place. II.          This is very important because your life is always shaped by what is in functional control of your heart. A.   Esteem and respect of people around you. B.   Controlling the people and situations around you. C.   Fear of man instead of fear of God. D.  Envy over the awe-inspiring life of another than by an awe of the God who has called and gifted you. E.   Remember that life is one big glory war. III.       The practical fruit of the awe of God A.   What things does the awe of God produce in the heart of a Christian that are vital for an effective, God-honoring, and productive life? B.   At least 6 things 1.    Humility 2.    Tenderness 3.    Passion 4.    Confidence 5.    Discipline 6.    Rest Conclusion – Regaining Your Awe Run to Christ.  Then, and only then, we will be able to praise him to the next generation and declare his mighty acts. http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/06/regaining-your-awe-ps-145-based-on-paul.html

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Book of the Month - The Cross of Christ by John Stott

Thick books tend to scare people away.  They can also be dangerous, particularly if you tend to fall asleep while reading.  The Cross of Christ is a thick book that should not scare you away.  John Stott masterfully presents the scriptural teaching concerning the theology of the cross.  He interacts with different theories of the atonement and shows how the Bible teaches penal substitution: Christ died in our place.  Stott organizes the book in four categories: approaching the cross, the heart of the cross, the achievement of the cross, and living under the cross.  If you are serious about living a cross-centered life, this is one book you should delve into. http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/06/book-of-month-cross-of-christ-by-john.html

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How Deep the Father's Love for Us - Pastor Tito Lyro - 1 Corinthians 9

AUDIO LINK -- NOTE: Due to technical difficulties, part of the middle of the sermon is missing. If you find these lessons helpful, or if you have questions please write to us at contact@olympiabp.net or visit us at facebook.com/olympiabp. We would love to hear from you and learn how we can serve you.  http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/06/how-deep-fathers-love-for-us-pastor.html

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REMINDER: VBS Starts Next Monday, June 24th...

VBS begins this coming Monday, June 24.  Please be in prayer for our teachers, our students, and our parents--especially those from families who may have had little or no exposure to the gospel. http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/06/reminder-vbs-starts-next-monday-june.html

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VBS - David the Giant Slayer

Vacation Bible School is coming up on June 24-26.  This year, we want to pursue a different and more biblical take on the well-known story of David and Goliath (1 Sam. 17).  How do lessons on this story usually go?  "You should be like David," or "You need to face the giants in your life by the grace of God."  These lessons are true, but they are not the main point of the story. Throughout the Bible, we are instructed to look at David as one who points us to the Messiah (that's what a type is), and that is clear in the story of David and Goliath.  We shouldn't identify ourselves primarily with David.  Our primary identification should be with the cowardly crowd who wouldn't and couldn't face the enemy.  David is a beautiful picture of our Champion, the Lord Jesus Christ, who conquered his and our enemies on our behalf while we stood helpless and unable to contribute anything. David was an unlikely king and champion (1 Sam. 16:7) in the same vein that Jesus was an unlikely Savior and King (Isa. 53:2).  During the three mornings of VBS, we will try to show the beauty of Christ our Savior to the children through this rather gruesome story.  The school will run from 9:00-11:40 a.m.  Guests from outside of the church ages 4-11 are invited.  The children from the church 2-11 years old are more than encouraged to attend. Participate in this ministry by praying for the work of the Spirit of God through it and by inviting someone to come to it. http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/06/vbs-david-giant-slayer.html

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