http://www.zpc.org Hey, nobody's here all the time. If you missed a weekend service or Glenn's Wednesday bible study, check out this section for ways to catch up; don't miss out on our pastors' wonderful teaching. See you next week! en Hey, nobody's here all the time. If you missed a weekend service or Glenn's Wednesday bible study, check out this section for ways to catch up; don't miss out on our pastors' wonderful teaching. See you next week! Zionsville Presbyterian Church no Zionsville Presbyterian Church Sermons webmaster@zpc.org ℗ & © 2012 Zionsville Presbyterian Church 720 When we are renewed by the Spirit, we realize anew that each one of us has been given spiritual gifts. No one is left out. All of the gifts are important and need for the building of Christ’s kingdom. Gifts are for glorifying God and not self-aggrandizement. When, as the united Body of Christ, we faithfully use our gifts, we move from being consumers to contributors; from being spectators to becoming participants. http://www.zpc.org/sermon/the-gifts-of-the-spirit Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:30:16 GMT Renewed by the Spirit One little girl’s response to her mom’s offer to help when she was trying to tie her shoe says it all. What was the little one’s response? “Self do it.” Individualism, isolationism, egoism, “self do it” ism is alive and well. We each have a tendency to go it alone, take on the world, cope just fine thank you, and pull away from others. That was the downfall of Eden. The Spirit of God takes each individual and plants us squarely in a life that is communal, connectional, and together-oriented. This Sunday we will be invited to the connected life. http://www.zpc.org/sermon/the-life-of-community http://www.zpc.org/mediafiles/weekend-message-0122-12.mp3 Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:17:37 GMT Pat Smith Renewed by the Spirit After Peter’s marvelous sermon at Pentecost, those hundreds of pilgrims from around the world were deeply moved and asked the question, “What shall we do?” Their question is every preacher’s dream. Peter shares with them the good news of repentance, forgiveness, baptism, and the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. This good news was not only for his listeners that day, but for all of their offspring and even for us, today. http://www.zpc.org/sermon/what-shall-we-do http://www.zpc.org/mediafiles/weekend-message-011512.mp3 Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:49:58 GMT Jim Capps Renewed by the Spirit In his last post-resurrection appearance with the disciples, Jesus tells them that in just a few days the Holy Spirit will come upon them. The Holy Spirit will bring them power. Then they will be empowered to share the Good News of Jesus, beginning where they were and then moving out in concentric circles to the ends of the earth. We are empowered by the same Holy Spirit to share that same good news to the world in which we live. We have an advantage they didn’t have. We can look back on their experience and we have the New Testament as a guide. http://www.zpc.org/sermon/the-empowering-presence http://www.zpc.org/mediafiles/weekend-message-01-08-12.mp3 Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:18:12 GMT Jim Capps Renewed by the Spirit It is a new year, and God is always up to new things. Wherever we are in our season of life, there are parts of life that we need to process, need to learn from, need to leave behind. God is doing a new thing somewhere, somehow. Even 2,700 years ago, God used the prophet Isaiah to tell the people to forget the past and look to the future. Let’s explore where God wants us to move on from the past and look to the future, as individuals and as a church. http://www.zpc.org/sermon/time-for-the-new-thing http://www.zpc.org/mediafiles/weekend-message-010112.mp3 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 17:52:34 GMT Scott Shelton Stand-alone Message This first-person message will come from an old shepherd who recalls finally, on his twelfth birthday, going out to the hillside at night after waiting and dreaming about it for so long. More than he could have ever hoped for, he tells of his experience when the sky was filled with the angels heralding the birth of Jesus. He is doubly amazed to think that Israel’s long-awaited Messiah was born on his birthday and he was able to see and worship him. http://www.zpc.org/sermon/tale-of-a-shepherd-boy http://www.zpc.org/mediafiles/weekend-message-122511.mp3 Sun, 25 Dec 2011 21:54:11 GMT Jim Capps Wait Training Joseph is a wonderful example of obedient waiting. He waits for God when he is told that Mary is pregnant. Often we are impatient when God places us in a “holding pattern.” Those seasons of waiting can be among the most fertile we experience in life. Joseph must have experienced a great deal of joy in knowing that God was using him to carry out his plan for the world. http://www.zpc.org/sermon/obediently-waiting http://www.zpc.org/mediafiles/weekend-message-121811.mp3 Sun, 18 Dec 2011 18:17:18 GMT Jim Capps Wait Training As Matthew writes his gospel about Jesus from the viewpoint of a Jew, he begins with a family tree. As was true throughout the middle east, one’s ancestors were extremely important and to be highly honored. It is startling to see five women included in Jesus’ family tree. To go a step further, each of these women were scandalous. Even before his birth, God was demonstrating his grace and love in a marvelous way through these five unlikely women who have the lasting legacy of being in the line of Jesus. http://www.zpc.org/sermon/five-unlikely-women http://www.zpc.org/mediafiles/weekend-message-121111.mp3 Sun, 11 Dec 2011 14:49:59 GMT Jim Capps Wait Training The wonderful words of Isaiah foretell the birth of the Messiah who will bring light to darkness and victory after a season of defeat and gloom. In an amazing way, this is the birth announcement of a baby to be born 700 years later. In a world rampant with change and upheaval, we desperately need the One who is the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. This same Jesus, whose birthday we wait to celebrate, stills brings us hope today as we walk with him. http://www.zpc.org/sermon/waiting-for-a-birth http://www.zpc.org/mediafiles/weekend-message--12-04-11.mp3 Sun, 04 Dec 2011 13:53:17 GMT Jim Capps Wait Training Even though Isaiah knows that his beloved Judah and Jerusalem will be destroyed, he is waiting for a new day in the future. It’s a day beyond the return of the exiles and the rebuilding of the city. It’s a day of peace and harmony when there will be no more need for the weapons of war. In this season of Advent as we wait for the celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace, we continue to wait for a new day of peace and tranquility with eager anticipation. http://www.zpc.org/sermon/waiting-for-a-new-day http://www.zpc.org/mediafiles/weekend-message--112711.mp3 Sun, 27 Nov 2011 13:51:55 GMT Jim Capps Wait Training Search most any information engine and you’ll find someone who affirms that the two most important words in the English language are "thank you." Beyond being polite, these words truly make a difference because our use of them shows we have taken notice of what another person has done. This Sunday, we’ll explore what God has done for us and take time to give thanks to God for these incredible blessings. http://www.zpc.org/sermon/people-of-plenty http://www.zpc.org/mediafiles/weekend-messate-112011.mp3 Sun, 20 Nov 2011 21:18:11 GMT Pat Smith The Joy of the Harvest Paul writes to the Church of Corinth about extravagant generosity. We experience the most joy when and where we are most invested. We will be talking about the giving of ourselves and our financial resources to God out of joyful gratitude. When we make a commitment to give generously, we experience the joy of harvest. http://www.zpc.org/sermon/the-joy-of-giving http://www.zpc.org/mediafiles/weekend-message-111311.mp3 Sun, 13 Nov 2011 14:26:34 GMT Jim Capps The Joy of the Harvest Malachi, the “Messenger” speaks passionately on behalf of God about not robbing God. Even before Moses, Abraham brought a tithe or a tenth of his increase to the Lord. The Law of Moses prescribed the tithe for the people of God. From this tithe, the priests would care for the widows, orphans, residence aliens, and those caring for them. While no longer under the Law, more than ever, we should joyfully bring a tithe to the Lord. More than underwriting budgets, it should be an expression of grateful obedience. To do anything less, is to rob God. http://www.zpc.org/sermon/bringing-the-tithe http://www.zpc.org/mediafiles/weekend-message-110611.mp3 Sun, 06 Nov 2011 21:38:46 GMT Jim Capps The Joy of the Harvest From the very beginning, when God created us in his image, it was his purpose for us to be caretakers of the rest of creation. We were “to rule over all living creatures” and “subdue” the earth. In this message on the stewardship of all of life, we will look seriously at the responsibility we have been given and what it means to be faithful. http://www.zpc.org/sermon/the-joy-of-the-harvest-caretakers-of-creation http://www.zpc.org/mediafiles/weekend-message--103011.mp3 Sun, 30 Oct 2011 19:53:30 GMT Jim Capps The Joy of the Harvest This last message in the “Doing What Jesus Did” series deals a second time with Jesus’ ministry action of healing. Building on the week before when Jesus was willing to cross ethnic and political lines to bring healing to an unclean untouchable, this passage deals with those who are the “least,” the seemingly most insignificant in our society. Jesus gives us examples of the least: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the one needing clothing, the sick, and the prisoner. In a powerfully passionate way, Jesus states that when we neglect the “least,” we neglect him. When we care for the least, we care for him. If we are serious about “D.W.J.D.,” this is a minimum. http://www.zpc.org/sermon/caring-for-the-least http://www.zpc.org/mediafiles/weekend-message-102311.mp3 Sun, 23 Oct 2011 13:39:40 GMT Jim Capps D.W.J.D. (Doing what Jesus did) As we look at the third activity of Jesus ministry, healing, we see two very different situations. These two stirring vignettes give us glimpses of Jesus bringing wholeness to people who are considered outcasts by the religious institution and the culture of their day. The Leper risks everything by even drawing near to Jesus, which was strictly forbidden. Jesus does the unthinkable when he touches him and makes him whole. In the second glimpse, Jesus crosses over cultural lines and heals the servant of a centurion who is hated because he is a gentile as well as a Roman soldier. If we are doing what Jesus did, replicating his ministry today, we too must reach across all kinds of lines of religious and cultural propriety and be his instruments, bringing wholeness to our world. http://www.zpc.org/sermon/bringing-wholeness http://www.zpc.org/mediafiles/weekend-message-101611.mp3 Sun, 16 Oct 2011 20:10:24 GMT Jim Capps D.W.J.D. (Doing what Jesus did) From his youngest of years, Jesus learned and applied the words of the Old Testament, the word of God for his life. When he was 12 years old and went to the Passover in Jerusalem with his family, he was in the temple discussing the scriptures. At his temptation in the wilderness, Jesus turns back the Evil One with quotes from His Bible. If we are to be doing what Jesus did we, too, must read, know, and apply the Bible to our lives on a daily basis. http://www.zpc.org/sermon/reading-and-heeding-the-bible http://www.zpc.org/mediafiles/weekend-message-100911.mp3 Sun, 09 Oct 2011 20:09:03 GMT Jim Capps D.W.J.D. (Doing what Jesus did) As we continue to consider D.W.J.D., “Doing What Jesus Did,” it was Jesus’ custom to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath where he worshipped God with the community of faith who gathered there. Rather than being there to get what he could get, Jesus was there to give. He gave glory and praise to God and taught the people from the Bible with great authority. If Jesus, the Messiah and the Son of God, worshipped in this way, it is even more important for us to do what Jesus did. http://www.zpc.org/sermon/joyfully-worshipping-an-awesome-god http://www.zpc.org/mediafiles/weekend-message-100211.mp3 Sun, 02 Oct 2011 13:01:37 GMT Jim Capps D.W.J.D. (Doing what Jesus did) As a part of Jesus’ ministry of preaching, Jesus was passionate about declaring that the kingdom of heaven was near. In his two short stories in Matthew 13:44-46, Jesus shares that the kingdom is so important and precious that people are willing to joyfully give up everything to experience it. For Jesus, the kingdom of heaven begins when his followers enter into an ongoing relationship with God, allowing God to rule their lives. Even though we discover the kingdom in different ways, our relationship with God becomes more significant than any other relationship. Because it is that important we must urgently share it with others. http://www.zpc.org/sermon/urgently-sharing-the-kingdom http://www.zpc.org/mediafiles/weekend-message-092511.mp3 Sun, 25 Sep 2011 15:34:45 GMT Jim Capps D.W.J.D. (Doing what Jesus did) One of the most important actions in Jesus' ministry was forgiving people from their sins. He was the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." If we are to replicate Jesus' ministry, in the vertical dimension, we must confess our sins and receive God's soothing forgiveness. In the horizontal dimension, we must extend and accept forgiveness to those with whom our relationships have been broken. http://www.zpc.org/sermon/forgiving http://www.zpc.org/mediafiles/weekend-message-091811.mp3 Sun, 18 Sep 2011 12:51:24 GMT Jim Capps D.W.J.D. (Doing what Jesus did)