Sermons

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Is It All About Me? – Keith Bain

Click to listen or see the excerpt from Is It All About Me?

Today we are going to continue our series in Acts.  That we are calling Church on Fire.  When Kyle called me a couple of months ago, he said hey I’m going to be taking a study break.  Here’s a couple of scriptures you might want to think about. So he gave me a choice.  The ones that I picked are actually from two different chapters in Acts.  Act 12 and Acts 14.  And they are similar stories but different responses.  Ok.  Its not something that we have preached on a lot.  But it is really really interesting stories.  I’ve enjoyed studying and preparing for that.  And really the goal for that, is to answer the question “Is It All About Me?”.

Church on Fire

Now the answer to that question seems pretty obvious doesn’t it?  Now if you are an enfant or a man the answer to that question is probably regularly yeah yeah it is all about me.  Uh I know just personally in my life I’m challenged on a pretty regular basis with trying to make it all about me.  Selfishness, pride, arrogance, and wanting to have power.  I’ll admit those are all things I have struggled with in the past.  Unfortunately I think we all do.  Pretty common human traits.  We take pride in a lot of different things.  Our education, our wealth, our possessions, our standing in the community, our standing in the church, our jobs.  And the list goes on and on and on.  And when you are driven by those characteristics – pride, selfishness, search for power – you act in some awful ways.  You do some awful things.  Here are some thing’s that I have done.  Manipulate people.  Manipulate situations.

More From Church on Fire

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Kyle Dingus discusses the topic Broken Reputation.

Excerpt from Broken Reputation

High School Kyle

Ok.  So you have heard about College Kyle. Right?  I’ve talked about College Kyle a couple weeks.  And you know?  Not the best.  Not the wisest young man.  Now we are going further back.  We’re going to Highschool Kyle.

Whenever I was a senior in high school, there was this sort of charity fundraiser.  That was a competition for Senior guys.  And it took about 10 or 12 guys together.  They would compete to win the crown of Mr. Liberty.  Liberty is the high school I went to.  So that’s why it is called that.  In this competition there are all sorts of whatever things.  Like doing a dance choreography thing with a bunch of awkward clunky senior guys but they also had a talent portion.  That was a pretty fun site to see.  But they also had a talent portion of this competition.  I was really looking forward to this talent competition.  Many of you may not know this, but I used to be a rapper.  I’m not talking Christmas wrapping paper.  I’m talking involving music rapper.  I wrote like 100 plus songs.  There was one point in my life, I was the number 19 best rapper in Kansas City.  Don’t clap for that.  We all know how fierce the competition is in Kansas City for rapping.

Broken Reputation

At this point, I was like oh this is going to be when my career launches.  This is the first time I would have performed in front of somebody.  For a live scene.  Around the peak of my prominence, around 19, I was like this was going to be it.  People are going to see my gift.  They are going to start downloading all my stuff.  This is going to be my launching point for all this success.  I write this song.  Its super witty.  Its funny and directed to the judges.  Talking about why they should pick me to win basically.  I have them memorized so, so well.  So I come out onto the stage.  I have full confidence.  Everything’s great.  Up to the mic.   I remember the first two lines and totally blank on everything else.  This was like a four minute song.  I’m hit with this panic moment just right after saying the first two lines.  I can either tell the person to stop the song and start over.  Or…I just freestyle and make it up as I go.  I went with that one.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Today we are going to be in Acts 8.  If you want to turn you bibles over there.  We are continuing a series called Church on Fire.  Which we are looking at how spirit powered people of God took the good news of Jesus and spread it to the world.  And today we are talking about something really important that doesn’t get a ton of air time.  But before we go there, let me take you back to college Kyle.

College Kyle

This isn’t freshman version Kyle but Senior version.  So I had matured some at least.  But at this point, I am following two dates with this really beautiful amazing woman.  she happens to be right there.  It was awesome.  Things were going great.  Out of nowhere I get hit with a partial friendzone.  So she says I’m just not ready to date right now.  that’s friendzone Kyle but she said I’m not totally closing the door basically.  I have two paths in front of me, I can move forward its over, she friend zoned me.  Or I can be like you’re telling me there’s a chance.  I definitely went with that one.

Relay for Life Fundraiser

So, one of the things Harding partners with is a charity called Relay for Life which all about cancer research.  And there’s a big late night party at Harding that goes into the late AM where they try to raise a lot of money.  Which is a great and noble thing.  Right?  When I presented with a chance to serve, I was like no.  I really don’t want to stay up late into the cold darkness and do something like this.  Which shows you something about my heart at the time.  I did hear that Abby needed help with her booth.  She was going to be gone for a few hours.  I was like I will do it.   I’ll be there right now.  So I’m sitting at her booth and people are thinking me.  Thank you for volunteering your time to do this in the late hours.  Abby’s friends would come by and take not. And recognize me.  That ended up being the night that helped move her more toward liking me.

Thank you Jesus.

Very clearly in this situation I had a pretty, mixed motive.  I was not solely there for cancer research.  That was a bonus.  That was awesome that that was happening.  Really I was there to try to win over the heart of this one.  Praise God that that worked.  But I really did not have a pure motive.   I think we often times do that.  We choose to do something to on lookers that they are doing this great and noble and righteous thing.  Really we have a mixed motive that is selfish in the background.  So maybe that may be yeah I’d love to go to all these school or youth events because there’s pretty girls there.  Or maybe a powerful person so you can cash that in as a favor at some point.

Listen above for the entire podcast.  More on Church on Fire series.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Shout Out for Camp

It is so great to be here with you all this morning.  I have to do a quick shout out to all the blue shirts. So everybody who went to camp, or spoke at camp or helped out with camp.  Can you all just stand up for a second?  You don’t have to have your blue shirt on.  I just have to give a shout out.  These kids and all through out the audience.  They are amazing.  And they just had a week at camp.  They loved well.  And they served well and the encouraged well.  And they worshiped well.  So for you parents out there, way to go.  You are raising really great humans.  And for you as a church, get excited.  There is an mighty army rising up that loves Jesus.

I have to shout out to the adults too.  We may not have gotten all of our beauty rest.  And we may have yelled until we lost our voices during lip sync.   We also got to make really strong connections with these kids.  Reflect with them.  Be inspired by them.  Thank you to all the adults too.

What is Radical Hospitality

So this morning, I’m going to talk to you about something that is really convicting and exciting and scary for me.  And that is radical hospitality.  I’m not getting to talk to you about it because I’ve really nailed the practice of daily radical hospitality.  In fact, studying for this has convinced me that I’m really just starting to understand what it means.  What I can say without a doubt, is that I believe this Acts II radical hospitality that we are going to talk about has the power to change the world.  I am excited to get to share with you a little bit.  So Acts II this is going to be our main verse.

We are sticking with the Acts, Church on Fire theme.  So Act II verses 32 – 34.  All of God’s believers were one in heart and mind.  No one claimed that any of their possessions were their own.  But they shared everything.  With great power the apostles testified to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.  God’s grace was so incredibly powerful within them that no persons were needy among them.  This is mind blowing stuff.  They shared everything.  They had no one had any need among them.  Sometimes it would be a lot easier to skip over verse like this. The great accountability it calls us into.   It might be easier to say this is just  something the early church experienced but this is the church we model ourselves after.  This is the church we say we are trying to emulate.  This is the church that Jesus established and sealed with the ultimate act of hospitality…

For more on Radical Hospitality please listen to the podcast above.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Excerpt from Come What May  –

Christ is our firm foundation.  Isn’t it? There is no other foundation.  At least no other foundation that satisfies us, right? Good morning family.  It is so great to be with y’all today.  As Gary said, the mass of people, from that section a lot from that section as well.  As they are at camp.  I was able to out there a little bit on Thursday.  It is a special place.  Those kids are exactly where they need to be.  And um.. so just keep praying that God moves in their hearts.  He already has been.  It has just been really beautiful being out there with them.

I want to welcome all of our visitors.  Anybody who is joining us today for the first time or first few times.  Thank you for being here.  If you have any questions about 4th Avenue, you want to get to know more about this church.  I would love to answer any questions you have about this church.  We would love to answer any questions you have about this church.  We’d love to love your family.

Band Wagon Fans

As many of you know, I am a really big Kansas City Chiefs fan.  As you know, we happen to be the best team in the NFL.  And also as you know, we have the best quarterback in the NFL.  If you would have told me six years ago that I’d be able to say those words, I would have laughed.  There is no way on Earth that the mediocre, terrible Kansas City Chiefs would ever be that way.  We live in a world today where there are bandwagon Kansas City Chiefs fans.   That is just a shocker to me.  One of the most interesting phenomena in all of sports are band wagon fans.  In case you don’t know what that is, the band wagon effect- it can be defined as the tendency people have to adopt certain behaviors, styles, attitude, because other people are doing it.

Want to hear more similar to Come What May? Listen to more Church on Fire.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS