Following God

The Lord Who Heals You

/ Don McGarvey / Leave a comment

Troy Mills Christian Church

Sunday, July 21, 2024

Exodus 15:25-26

Scripture Reading: Psalm 51:10-13 “Make a clean heart in me, O God. Give me a new spirit that will not be moved. Do not throw me away from where you are. And do not take your Holy Spirit away from me. Let the joy of your saving power return to me. And give me a willing spirit to obey you. Then I will teach wrong doers Your ways. And sinners will turn to You.” (New Life Version)

Exodus 15:25-26–

Statute–

Ordinance–

Three Reasons why it should be natural for God to heal.

#1–God is love.

John 3:16–

Romans 5:8–

1 John 4:16–

1 John 4:8–

#2–God’s gift to you.

Matthew 10:5–

Numbers 23:19–

#3–Healing is in the Word.

Psalm 103:1-3–

Isaiah 53:5–

Matthew 4:23–

Matthew 8:16-17–

Jame 5:14-16–

Willing & Able

/ Don McGarvey / Leave a comment

Troy Mills Christian Church

Sunday, July 14, 2024

Psalm 46:1

Scripture Reading: Psalm 145:1-3 “I will praise you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. I will bless you every day, and I will praise you forever. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! His great is beyond discovery!” (NLT)

Psalm 46:1–

#1–Refuge

#2–Strength

#3–Ever-present help

Three Pictures of Jesus–

#1–Luke 7:11-16

          God has come to help

#2–Matthew 8:1-3

          God is willing

#3–Mark 9:14-23

          Everything is possible

Ambassadors for Christ

/ Don McGarvey / Leave a comment

Troy Mills Christian Church

Sunday, July 7, 2024

Text: 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, 20

Scripture Reading: Psalm 34:9-10 “Fear the Lord, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need. Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.” (NLT)

Mark 12:29-31–“Love the Lord our God…. love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”

          Luke 10:30-37–Who’s my neighbor?

Ezekiel 33:7-8–We are responsible for our neighbors.

Could you be a “skutnik?”

Reconciliation with God–The message of Ambassadors for Christ.

The Titanic–

Proverbs 24:11 “Deliver those who are drawn toward death and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.”

Troy Mills Christian Church

/ Don McGarvey / Leave a comment

Sunday, June 23, 2024

The G.O.A.T. of All Commandments

Text: Mark 12:28-31

Scripture Reading: Psalm 121:5-8 “The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”

Shema–Deuteronomy 6:4-5

          The Lord is one–

          Love–

Mark 12:28-31–

Heart–Compassion

Soul–Wonder; Awe

          Judges 13:17-18–

Mind–Curiosity; Learning

Strength–Energy

Mark 10:45–

Nobody Likes Me (Guess I’ll Go Eat Worms)

/ Don McGarvey / Leave a comment

I promised on this weeks podcast that I would post the words to this “Nursery Rhyme” so, here you go!

It’s hard to believe this is a Nursery Rhyme. Most of us as parents would not want our kids to sing this or deal with the thought of being disliked to this extent.

The words of the poem were put to music and there is even a movie.

The poem was written in 1863 during the Civil War. There seems to be some evidence that the author was a disgruntled or frustrated cook for a group of soldiers who were constantly on the move. He had problems finding proper ingredients, getting things thoroughly cooked and served in such a manner that was pleasing to the soldiers. Anyway, his frustration certainly comes out in the following words:

Nobody like me, everybody hates me,

I think I’ll go eat worms!

Big fat juicy ones,

Eensie weensy squeensy ones,

See how they wiggle and squirm!

Down goes the first one, down goes that second one,

Oh, how they wiggle and squirm!

Up comes the first one, up comes the second one,

Oh, how they wiggle and squirm!

I bite off the heads, and suck out the juice,

And throw the skins away!

Nobody knows how fat I grow,

On worms three times a day!

Nobody likes me, everybody hates me,

I think I’ll go eat worms!

Big fat juicy ones,

Eensie weensy squeensy ones,

See how they wiggle and squirm!

The Love of the Father

/ Don McGarvey / Leave a comment

Troy Mills Christian Church

Sunday, June 16, 2024, Father’s Day

Text: 1 John 3:1

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 64:8; Psalm 68:5; Ephesians 4:6 “But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand. You are a Father to the fatherless, defender of widows. And You are one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.”

Text: 1 John 3:1

#1–God’s patience and kindness never runs out.

Psalm 103:17; Psalm 103:12

#2–God the Father is always approachable.

Psalm 121:3; Psalm 138:3; Hebrews 4:16

#3–God never makes us earn His love.

Romans 5:8

#4–You will never blow it enough to lose His love.

Romans 8:38-39; 2 Corinthians 5:8

#5–God has your very best in mind.

Romans 8:32; Matthew 7:11

#6–God loves you enough to discipline you.

Proverbs 3:11-12; Proverbs 13:24

#7–God’s timing is perfect.

Psalm 84:11

#8–God gives wisdom generously.

James 1:5

#9–God lets you make your own choices.

Romans 8:28

#10–God knows you intimately.

Psalm 139:1-3; Zephaniah 3:17

Questions from the John & Charles Wesley Holy Club

/ Don McGarvey / Leave a comment

These 22 questions were reference on the Take Ten with Pastor Don podcast on Wednesday, June 12. For more information on “Holy Club” you can click on the following link: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/holy-clubs-and-tuesday-meetings

1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?

2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?

3. Do I confidentially pass on to others what has been said to me in confidence?

4. Can I be trusted?

5. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work or habits?

6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?

7. Did the Bible live in me today?

8. Do I give the Bible time to speak to me every day?

9. Am I enjoying prayer?

10. When did I last speak to someone else of my faith?

11. Do I pray about the money I spend?

12. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?

13. Do I disobey God in anything?

14. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?

15. Am I defeated in any part of my life?

16. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy or distrustful?

17. How do I spend my spare time?

18. Am I proud?

19. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisees who despised the publican?

20. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I doing about it?

21. Do I grumble or complain constantly?

22. Is Christ real to me?

The Way of Cain

/ Don McGarvey / Leave a comment

Troy Mills Christian Church

Sunday, June 9, 2024

Jude 1:11; Genesis 4:1-8

Scripture Reading: 2 Thessalonians 3:3 “But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.” (NLT)

Genesis 4:1-8–The first sons–Cain & Abel.

Jude 1:11–Balaam & Korah.

The Way of Cain:

  • The Way of Cain refers to any individual who attempts to approach God on his or her own terms rather than relying upon God’s grace.

Ephesians 2:8-9

  • The Way of Cain is any religious system that appeals to our pride rather than our desperate condition before God.

Romans 3:23

  • The Way of Cain emphasizes humanity’s goodness rather than humanity’s sinfulness.

Ephesians 2:1-3 & Mark 7:21-23

  • The Way of Cain says there are many paths that can lead to God rather than one path.

John 14:6

  • The Way of Cain leads to eternal death than eternal life.

Romans 6:23 & Proverbs 14:12

  • The Way of Cain appeals to our sinful flesh and disregards God’s plan for our lives.

Jeremiah 29:11; Psalm 37:23-24

The Holy Spirit, My Helper Part 6

/ Don McGarvey / Leave a comment

Troy Mills Christian Church

Sunday, June 2, 2024

Acts 2:4; Genesis 11:1-9; John 16:8

Scripture Reading: Philippians 4:6-7 “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (NLT)

#1–One accord–Acts 2:1

“When we lay down our personal preferences, we are going to see God pour out His Spirit upon us and see many lives changed.”

#2–Wind--Acts 2:2

“Without the “breath of life” in our lives, we would remain dead in our sins.”

#3–Fire–Acts 2:3

“God starts the fire, it’s up to us to keep it burning.”

#4–Tongues–Acts 2:4

  • Genesis 11:1-9–a reversal of Babel.
  • Acts 1:8–an example of the power of the Holy Spirit.
  • Acts 2:5–the Gospel goes to the world.
  • Acts 2:41–three thousand saved when the Holy Spirit was given.

The Holy Spirit is a life-giving force that works from the inside out to give us life; to give us power; and to help us spread the Gospel as we are going.

#5–Conviction--John 16:8

  • John 16:8–Convicts sinners of sin.
  • John 16:10–Convicts us of righteousness.
  • John 16:11–Convicts us of judgment.

The Holy Spirit, our Helper, gives us conviction or convinces us that we are saved. That we are God’s child. That God loves us. That God is at work in our life and on our behalf. The Holy Spirit gives us a conviction that God will never fail; He will always be faithful; and that He has a perfect plan, designed just for our life.

The Holy Spirit, My Helper Part 5

/ Don McGarvey / Leave a comment

Troy Mills Christian Church

Sunday, May 26, 2024

Text: Acts 2:1-4

Scripture Reading: Romans 15:13 “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (NKJV)

#1–One accord–Acts 2:1

“When we lay down our personal preferences, we are going to see God pour out His Spirit upon us and see many lives changed.”

#2–Wind--Acts 2:2

“Without the “breath of life” in our lives, we would remain dead in our sins. We need the Holy Spirit to live.”

#3–Fire–Acts 2:3

  • Genesis 15:17–a burning torch.
  • Exodus 3:1-4–a burning bush.
  • Exodus 13:21-22–a pillar of fire.
  • Leviticus 9:23-24–altar of burnt sacrifice.
  • Leviticus 6:8-13–priests were to keep the fire burning.

#4–Tongues–Acts 2:4

  • Genesis 11:1-9–a reversal of Babel.
  • Acts 1:8–an example of the power of the Holy Spirit.
  • Acts 2:5–the Gospel goes to the world.
  • Acts 2:41–three thousand saved when the Holy Spirit was given.

The Holy Spirit is a life-giving force that works from the inside out in our lives. His purpose is to give us life; to give us power; and to help us spread the Gospel as we are going.