Scott Goodwill
The Life of a Disciple: Progressively Sanctified
by Scott Goodwill (Nov 14 2010)
Series: Fresh Vision: The Kind of Life God Wants Us to Live
God does not intend for the life of a disciple to stand still. A disciples life is meant to be one that is progressively moving away from sin and toward Christlikeness or holiness. That movement is what the Bible calls "sanctification."
The Life of a Disciple: Driven by Love, Following No Matter What
by Scott Goodwill (Oct 24 2010)
Series: Fresh Vision: The Kind of Life God Wants Us to Live
Through the use of three questions, Jesus draws out of Peter a confirmation of Peter's love for his Savior. It is that love for his Master that is to drive Peter to serve Him. Jesus also gives Peter a glimpse into his future and it will not end well. Peter's love for his Master will move him to follow Jesus regardless of what the future has in store. One final instruction is given Peter; He is to follow his Master regardless of who else is following and what their end will be.
The Life of a Disciple: Counting the Cost
by Scott Goodwill (Oct 17 2010)
Series: Fresh Vision: The Kind of Life God Wants Us to Live
Jesus is directing His words to the multitude to lead them to the place where they realize that it is not enough to remain loosely attached to Him. It is not enough to remain part of the multitude but they needed to know that being a disciple involved a commitment that would cost them something; their former life.
The Life of a Disciple: A Cross-Bearing Life
by Scott Goodwill (Oct 10 2010)
Series: Fresh Vision: The Kind of Life God Wants Us to Live
Jesus identified for His followers the kind of life He wanted His disciples to live. Those who followed Him were not His disciples unless they took up their cross. What does that mean?
The Life of a Disciple: Continuance in His Word
by Scott Goodwill (Oct 3 2010)
Series: Fresh Vision: The Kind of Life God Wants Us to Live
We need to think of our lives in terms of being a disciple and doing what a disciple does. Being a disciple is more than church membership or attendance. Being a disciple is not an occasional endeavor or a recreational activity. Jesus Himself identifies the characteristics He expects in the life of His disciples.
The Life of a Disciple
by Scott Goodwill (Sep 26 2010)
Series: Fresh Vision: The Kind of Life God Wants Us to Live
The church is given the task of making disciples, Matthew 28:19. There is a need for a fresh vision of what a "disciple" is and what a disciple does, and a need to avoid the common contemporary tendency to group the church into "Christians" and "Disciples" (Christians who are zealous for Christ). We need to think of our lives in terms of "being a disciple." And we need to think of living our lives in terms of "what a disciple does."
A "New" Life
by Scott Goodwill (Sep 19 2010)
Series: Fresh Vision: The Kind of Life God Wants Us to Live
God wants me to live my new life as a Christian in a "new" way, not my old life made better, or my old life with a hope of heaven. God does not want me to live my old life some of the time and my new life at other times. I don't just add Christ to my old life, but in regeneration Christ gives me a "new" life which is meant to be lived in a new way.
Sup With Him
by Scott Goodwill (Sep 12 2010)
Series: Fresh Vision: The Kind of Life God Wants Us to Live
The Christian's life is intended to be lived in close, unhurried fellowship with Christ. Sadly, we can put Christ on the outside of our life leaving Him knocking at our door. If we will hear Him and open the door, He will come in and "sup with us."
Awake
by Scott Goodwill (Sep 5 2010)
Series: Fresh Vision: The Kind of Life God Wants Us to Live
Christ wants us to live our lives, awake. We can easily fall into live our spiritual lives mechanically and without energy, mindlessly and half-heartedly. If I am living that way, Christ wants me to "watch", becoming alert and aware... awake. The church at Sardis was told to wake up.
First Love
by Scott Goodwill (Aug 29 2010)
Series: Fresh Vision: The Kind of Life God Wants Us to Live
Christ wants us to live our lives with "first love." In the Book of Revelation Christ writes to seven churches. The church at Ephesus while busy in good works and doctrinally sound was told by Christ that they had left their first love, but it can be recovered.
A Fresh Vision of the Kind of Life God Wants Us to Live
by Scott Goodwill (Aug 22 2010)
Series: Fresh Vision: The Kind of Life God Wants Us to Live
We urgently need a fresh vision of the kind of life God wants us, as Christians, to live. Dr. Les Ollila once stated that "the average Christian is so subnormal that the normal Christian appears abnormal." It is possible for us to grow content, satisfied, and comfortable with our spiritual lives, but is this what God wants? This message introduces a new series where we will examine the Scriptures to get a "fresh vision" of how God intends for us to live.
The Faithfulness of God
by Scott Goodwill (Apr 25 2010)
Series: A Fresh Vision of God
Because God is faithful I can trust Him to do what He says He will do. I can have the confidence, assurance, and certainty that not one word of God's promises and prophecies will fail.
Thy Word is Truth
by Scott Goodwill (Apr 18 2010)
Series: A Fresh Vision of God
Because our God is the "true" God, everything He says is true. The Bible is the Word of God. Therefore we have the very clear statement of Jesus: "Thy word is truth", and we have the confidence that the Bible is God's truth.
Softening Our Hearts
by Scott Goodwill (Apr 18 2010)
We need to be vigilant to keep our hearts from becoming hard and to soften our hearts when we begin to see hardness happening. Our text reminds us that disciples can have hard hearts and that the hard heart both grieves our Lord and draws His rebuke.
The True God
by Scott Goodwill (Apr 11 2010)
In a world filled with the artificial and imitations, and in a world filled with false things, we have a God who is "true." Truth is knowable and it is found in God Himself.
Grieving God
by Scott Goodwill (Apr 11 2010)
There are things that grieve God, so I need to alter my behavior, thoughts, and attitude to stop grieving Him. A Christian should live his life continually considering whether or not he is grieving the Spirit that dwells within him.
The Resurrected Body of Jesus
by Scott Goodwill (Apr 4 2010)
This Sunday School lesson is another installment of "Doctrines Surrounding Easter." The lesson encompasses a look at the resurrected "body" of Jesus and its implications for Christians.
Opened Eyes and Burning Hearts
by Scott Goodwill (Apr 4 2010)
After His resurrection, Jesus deliberately leads the faith of the disciples to rest in an understanding of and belief in His written Word, the same resting place of our belief today.
Boldly Declaring an Offensive Gospel
by Scott Goodwill (Mar 28 2010)
We live in a time that has witnessed subtle yet fundamental changes to the gospel. The contemporary church has altered the gospel to make it less offensive and supposedly more attractive to the lost. But if the gospel is altered it is stripped of its power to save. Our task today is not to make the message more palatable, but to boldly declare the gospel that we have been given. We can identify five aspects of the gospel message which are offensive to the lost world in which we live and work.
The Suffering of Christ
by Scott Goodwill (Mar 28 2010)
The suffering of Christ, as revealed in the Gospels, is both intense and compelling. If we will meditate on its magnitude and purpose, His sufferings will move us.
A Jealous God
by Scott Goodwill (Mar 21 2010)
Series: A Fresh Vision of God
It is not a vain thought to think that the God that indwells me is a jealous God with such a love for me, that He does not want to share my affections, allegiance, and attention with someone or something else.
Times of Refreshing
by Scott Goodwill (Mar 21 2010)
God has designed the church to be a place of genuine spiritual refreshment. Times of refreshing come as we gather together in the Word and prayer, obediently applying the the truth of God and ministering to one another.
Lessons for the Church
by Scott Goodwill (Mar 14 2010)
Series: Spiritual Gifts and the Church
This is the final message of a series challenging us to a "fresh vision" of the church. The series examined 1 Corinthians 12-14. This particular message looks back at that study and challenges our church in five ways.
Living in the Grace of God
by Scott Goodwill (Mar 14 2010)
Series: A Fresh Vision of God
We are saved by grace alone and once saved, we stand in that grace. The grace of God does not end with salvation, He is still gracious. God, through His grace, sustains me and enables me to live the way He wants me to live.
The Graciousness of God
by Scott Goodwill (Mar 7 2010)
Series: A Fresh Vision of God
Grace is God's undeserved, unearned, unmerited, and unrecompensed favor toward sinful man. This grace operates in the sphere of salvation and the believer's life.
Lessons for the Church from 1 Corinthians 14
by Scott Goodwill (Mar 7 2010)
Series: Spiritual Gifts and the Church
With the biblical foundation we now have regarding the church and Spiritual gifts, we can look at what God tells the church to do with two gifts in particular, tongues and prophesy. There are three lessons or principles we can learn and apply to the church in our day.
The Gift of Tongues, Acts 2
by Scott Goodwill (Feb 28 2010)
Series: Spiritual Gifts and the Church
The tongues given in Acts 2 were known syntactical languages spoken by Jews who attended the feast of Pentecost. They were spoken miraculously and therefore those languages were not able to be duplicated by human means. The tongues were spoken instantaneously without copying sounds they had heard before or had attempted to learn. The gift of tongues in 1 Corinthians 12-14 is the same as the tongues spoken at Pentecost for the language of both passages is the same and there is no indication that something different is happening. There is no reason to believe there is a difference in the tongues of the two passages unless you are trying to defend an experience by reading an experience into the text of Scripture.
Encouraging Yourself in the Lord Your God
by Scott Goodwill (Feb 28 2010)
Series: A Fresh Vision of God
In a time when he was greatly distressed, David encouraged himself in the Lord. Knowing who God is, what He has done, and what He promises to do, will equip us to do the same.
The Spiritual Gift of Tongues
by Scott Goodwill (Feb 21 2010)
Series: Spiritual Gifts and the Church
1 Corinthians 14 reveals the biblical nature, the biblical purpose, and the biblical practice of the gift of tongues.
The Longsuffering of God
by Scott Goodwill (Feb 21 2010)
Series: A Fresh Vision of God
Once we understand what God's longsuffering is and why it is needed, our thoughts should be often drawn to this aspects of God's character. God's longsuffering should result in a thankfulness and praise toward him, but also an altered life toward others.
A Merciful God
by Scott Goodwill (Feb 14 2010)
Series: A Fresh Vision of God
God is merciful and acts mercifully. Knowing, understanding, and remembering this characteristic of God, will should cause us to erupt in praise and thanksgiving, it should alter our approach to God and condition our treatment of others.
Knowing God vs. Just Knowing About Him
by Scott Goodwill (Feb 7 2010)
Series: A Fresh Vision of God
It is crucial that we know the difference between knowing facts about God and knowing Him. We can fool ourselves that it is enough to know about God. We can become very skilled at gathering information but never truly believing the information we have accumulated.
Success & Prosperity
by Scott Goodwill (Jul 26 2009)
The world's view of success and prosperity is vastly different from God's. We need to shape our perspective on success and prosperity so that we seek God's desired outcome and know how to achieve it in a biblical way.
Joy in Believing
by Scott Goodwill (Jul 19 2009)
Series: The Joy of a Christian's Life
There is a joy which far surpasses any joy this world could ever offer. It is not fleeting, and is even present in the midst of hardship. This joy is our strength, it sustains me. This joy steadies me from the pressures and wildly fluctuating world around me. This joy enables me to endure as I run the race before me. This joy is mine, only in believing.
The Joy Set Before Us
by Scott Goodwill (Jul 12 2009)
Series: The Joy of a Christian's Life
God sets a joy before us, a joy found only in Him. This joy is within our grasp, we can have it. We no longer need to live for the fleeting, unsatisfying, unfulfilling pleasures and joys of this world. This joy is not dependent on a musical style or someone making you feel good about yourself. It is genuine, God-given joy.
Count It All Joy
by Scott Goodwill (Jul 5 2009)
Series: The Joy of a Christian's Life
We will all face trials. When a Christian is faced with a trial, he is instructed to bring to his thoughts the truth about who God is, what He has promised, and what He says He will do with that trial. When a Christian deliberately leads this knowledge before his mind and thinks on it, he will find his attitude turned to joy.
Let Your Moderation Be Known
by Scott Goodwill (Jun 28 2009)
Series: The Joy of a Christian's Life
We are commanded to express our joy in the Lord regardless of our circumstances and in every circumstance of life. I am also told to let my moderation be known. A Christian is to be "even-keeled", not swinging wildly between exhuberance and discouragement. Even when things change all around me, a Christian can have a sense of "evenness" about him, because his joy is not found in the changing circumstances but in God Himself.
As Sorrowful, Yet Always Rejoicing
by Scott Goodwill (Jun 14 2009)
Series: The Joy of a Christian's Life
The Apostle Paul, and others in the New Testament testify of a joy in the midst of situations and circumstances that are not usually thought of as "joyful."
The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength
by Scott Goodwill (Jun 7 2009)
Series: The Joy of a Christian's Life
In the midst of mourning and grief, Nehemiah instructed God's people to stop weeping and begin rejoicing in the Lord because "it is your strength." Our joy in the Lord will overcome and overwhelm any sorrow and brokenness in our life.
The Joy of Abiding in Christ
by Scott Goodwill (May 31 2009)
Series: The Joy of a Christian's Life
The Christian's life is not meant to be barren or joyless. The Christians duty is to abide in Christ and a fruit of that abiding is joy.
The Joy of a Christian's Life
by Scott Goodwill (May 3 2009)
Series: The Joy of a Christian's Life
The Christian's life is meant to be a joyful life. Do you have that joy? Is a large portion of your Christian life lived in a joyless condition? What will bring me that joy?
The Resurrection, Thomas, and the Skeptical Mind
by Scott Goodwill (Apr 12 2009)
Thomas, being sceptical of Jesus' resurrection, is invited by Jesus to do what Thomas himself said would be necessary before He believed. There are many today who, like Thomas, are sceptical of the witnesses to the resurrected body of Christ. Can they be convinced without seeing for themselves?