Troy Mills Christian Church

Sunday, August 28, 2022

Bible Reading: Isaiah 25:1 “O Lord, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them.” (NLT)

Text: Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

• Solomon only made one mistake…. with many consequences.

Five Key Verses:

#1–Ecclesiastes 1:2— “vanity of vanities” (life is meaningless)

#2–Ecclesiastes 1:18—wisdom compounds our grief because meaning and purpose are not found in wisdom

#3–Ecclesiastes 2:11—our work compounds our frustration because meaning and purpose will not be found in our work

#4–Ecclesiastes 12:1—Honoring God is not for children only

#5–Ecclesiastes 12:13—Just as Solomon only made one mistake, there is only one thing we need to do to know meaning and purpose in life.

• It’s never too late
• Do it today, don’t put it off

John 10:10 “The thief’s [Satan] purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My [Jesus] purpose is to give them [you] a rich and satisfying life.” (NLT)

Troy Mills Christian Church

Sunday, August 21, 2022

Bible Reading: Lamentations 3:22-23 “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.” (NLT)

Text: Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

Ecclesiastes 7:14a

Romans 8:28; Numbers 23:19; Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8; Jeremiah 29:11;

John 10:10

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8—The seasons of life bring “good times” and “tough times.” God is never the author of tough times. Sometimes we are the cause; sometimes Satan is the cause; sometimes the evil in others is the cause, but God is never the cause of tough times.

Ecclesiastes 7:8-10

#1—The end of a thing is better than its beginning

• We are all “in process”
• We are not today, what we will be tomorrow

Romans 8:28; Romans 8:31

#2—The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit

• When pride takes over
• Resist looking back

“The ‘good old days’ are a combination of a bad memory and a good imagination.”

Warren Wiersbe   

          2 Corinthians 5:17— “old things have passed away; all things have become new.”

          Isaiah 43:18-19— “Do not remember (hang on to) the former things, nor consider the

          things of old…. I will do a new thing…….”

Troy Mills Christian Church

Sunday, August 14, 2022

Bible Reading: 1 Chronicles 29:11 “Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head overall.” (NIV)

Text: Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

Note: In our text, we read that fearing God and keeping His commandments is “man’s all.” The idea is to “honor God” and “obey His laws.” This is all that every person must do. Everything else necessary for our life will be there as we make honoring God our focus (Matthew 6:33).

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Verse 3— “A time to kill and a time to heal.”

          28 “life events” that most of us will experience. Some, we have no control over, some

          we have control over. But apart from “honoring God” none will produce meaning and

          purpose.

Verse 8— “A time to love and a time to hate.”

          Romans 12:9

          1 John 4:20

Ecclesiastes 4—Our Work

          Verse 6—Our desires outside of “honoring God” will not bring fulfillment

          Verse 8—Solomon learned that one day you can be on “top of the world” only to find

          Yourself on the “outside” looking in the next

          Verses 13, 16—We are encouraged, in our youth, to learn from Solomon’s mistake

Paul’s comments about work—

          Colossian 3:23

Troy Mills Christian Church

Sunday, August 7, 2022

Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 32:3-4 “I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright, and just is he.” (NIV)

Text: Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

Strengths of Solomon:

• Third king of Israel, David’s chosen heir
• The wisest man who ever lived (1 Kings 4:30-31)
• Writer of Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, many of the Proverbs, and a couple of Psalms
• Built God’s temple in Jerusalem
• Diplomat, trader, collector, patron of the arts

Weaknesses of Solomon:

• Sealed many foreign agreements by marrying pagan women
• Allowed his wives to affect his loyalty to God
• Excessively taxed his people and drafted them into labor and military force

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

Verse 2—Vanity of vanities

• Meaningless; hollow; futile; vapor; breath

Verse 3— “under the sun”

• Our work is not intended to bring meaning and purpose
• Our wealth is not intended to bring meaning and purpose
• Our trophies are not intended to bring meaning and purpose
• Relationships are not intended to bring meaning and purpose

Verses 5-7—Busyness does not bring meaning and purpose

• Mere activity in and of itself produces nothing of ultimate value

Verses 8-11—Nothing new under the sun

• What is not “new” is that anything aside from a relationship with God will not produce meaning or purpose in our life.

Troy Mills Christian Church

Sunday, July 31, 2022

Bible Reading: Psalm 91:1-4 “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings.  His faithful promises are your armor and protection.” (NLT)

Text: Jeremiah 32:17 “’Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.”

Review of Good News #1—God has a plan for your life

          Jeremiah 1:4-8; Psalm 139:16; John 10:10

Good News #2—God has the answer

Jeremiah 33:3

Good News #3—God is ready to give you a new heart

Jeremiah 31:31—Promise of the New Covenant

          A Heart Problem—Jeremiah 17:9

          Ezekiel 11:19; 18:31—God will take our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh

Good News #4—Nothing is too hard for God

Jeremiah 32:17—Nothing is too hard for God

Troy Mills Christian Church

Sunday, July 24, 2022

Bible Reading: Romans 15:13 “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” (NLT)

Text: Jeremiah 32:26-27

Back Story of Jeremiah

#1–Pending Judgment–Leviticus 26:34-35

#2—God raises up a prophet–Jeremiah 1:4-8

          Judgement & Good News

#3—God has a plan for our lives

          Jeremiah 29:11

          Psalm 139:16

          Ephesians 2:10

#4—God will help us when we don’t know what to do

          Jeremiah 33:3

#5—A New Covenant, a New Heart

          Jeremiah 31:31-33

          Our hearts are wicked and deceitful—Jeremiah 17:9

          Jeremiah 3:17; Jeremiah 4:14; Jeremiah 5:23

Only God can change a heart

Ezekiel 36:26 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

Troy Mills Christian Church

Sunday, July 10, 2022

Bible Reading: Psalm 145:1-3 “I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever. I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.” (NLT)

Text: James 5:17-18

Highlights of Elijah’s ministry

#1—1 Kings 17:1—God told Elijah to confront the wicked King Ahab

#2—1 Kings 17:17-24—Elijah prays for a widow’s son to come back to life…and he does

#3—1 Kings 18:20-40—Elijah confronts 450 prophets/priests of Baal on Mount Carmel

#4—1 Kings 19:11-18—Elijah goes into hiding from the threat of the wicked Queen Jezebel

#5—1 Kings 21:17-29—Elijah once again confronts the wicked King Ahab. Ahab repented

#6—2 Kings 2—Elijah confronts the new king, Ahaziah, the son of Ahab. He too is wicked

“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours”

• Elijah runs from Jezreel to Beersheba, 100 miles
• Elijah prays to die
• God confronts Elijah

Two reasons Elijah’s prayers were answered:

          Elijah was a righteous man……not perfect but righteous

          Elijah prayed, and prayed, and prayed…. earnestly

Troy Mills Christian Church

Sunday, June 26, 2022

Bible Reading: Romans 8:38-39 “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. ³⁹ No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NLT)

Text: 2 Corinthians 5:17-20

#1–A picture of what happens when we come to Christ as our Savior

          Revelation 3:20

          Romans 10:14

#2—The Samaritan Woman at the Well

          John 4:1-38

          John 4:28-39—She left her waterpot

          John 4:39—Her story

          John 4:42—The result of her telling her story

#3—Your Story & Your Place of Influence

          John 3:16

          2 Peter 3:9

          1 Peter 3:15

          Romans 10:14

#4—Other influential stories in Scripture

          Esther—Esther 4:13-17; 7 & 8

          The Demoniac of Gadara—Mark 5:1-20; 8:1-10

          Four lepers and a Syrian Treasure—2 Kings 7:1-16

Troy Mills Christian Church

Sunday, June 19, 2022

Bible Reading: Psalm 34:4-5, 8 “I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” (NLT)

Text: 2 Peter 3:9

#1–Definition of the word repentance: to change the way we think about God

Mark 12:29-30—“…..love the Lord your God…….”

#2–The Kingdom of God in the New Testament

          Matthew 3:1-3—John the Baptist

          Matthew 4:17—Jesus

#3—Repentance & Relationship

          Genesis 3:8—Sin disrupted the relationship with God

          Genesis 3:23-24—Sin separated man from God

#4—The Curtain torn in two

Matthew 27:51

#5—Our direct access to God

          Psalm 139:4-9

          Psalm 103:2-5

          2 Corinthians 5:17-19