He Gives Gifts

Marco De Leon - Preaching & Teaching Pastor
Sunday, December 22nd 2019

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

SERMON NOTES

He Intercedes

Nathanael Sommers - Missions Director
Sunday, December 15th 2019

Romans 8:26-27

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

SERMON NOTES

He Convicts

Marco De Leon - Preaching & Teaching Pastor
Sunday, December 8th 2019

John 16:7-11

7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

SERMON NOTES

He Regenerates

Marco De Leon - Preaching & Teaching Pastor
Sunday, December 1st 2019

John 3:1-7

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

SERMON NOTES

The book of Jonah is unique among the minor prophets. Instead of focusing on the prophecy, this book focuses on the prophet. It’s also a story that simply doesn’t sound real. A fish swallows one of God’s prophets, and he not only survives but lives to continue preaching and heralding God’s message of repentance to a people who hate God?

Over the next four weeks, we’re going to examine the book of Jonah and dive deeply into God’s revelation and how our hearts repeatedly rebel against Him; not because we do not understand his Word, but because we do!

God's Grace and A Heart Revealed

Marco De Leon - Preaching & Teaching Pastor
Sunday, November 24th 2019

Jonah 4:1-11

Jonah's Anger and the Lord's Compassion

4 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”

5 Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. 6 Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” 9 But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” 10 And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

SERMON NOTES

God Responds to Repentance

Marco De Leon - Preaching & Teaching Pastor
Sunday, November 17th 2019

Jonah 3:1-10

Jonah Goes to Nineveh

1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days' journey in breadth. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

The People of Nineveh Repent

6 The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, 8 but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” 10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

SERMON NOTES

A Personal Encounter with God

Marco De Leon - Preaching & Teaching Pastor
Sunday, November 10th 2019

Jonah 1:17-2:10

A Great Fish Swallows Jonah

17 And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah's Prayer

1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying,

“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,

and he answered me;

out of the belly of Sheol I cried,

and you heard my voice.

3 For you cast me into the deep,

into the heart of the seas,

and the flood surrounded me;

all your waves and your billows

passed over me.

4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away

from your sight;

yet I shall again look

upon your holy temple.’

5 The waters closed in over me to take my life;

the deep surrounded me;

weeds were wrapped about my head

6 at the roots of the mountains.

I went down to the land

whose bars closed upon me forever;

yet you brought up my life from the pit,

O Lord my God.

7 When my life was fainting away,

I remembered the Lord,

and my prayer came to you,

into your holy temple.

8 Those who pay regard to vain idols

forsake their hope of steadfast love.

9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving

will sacrifice to you;

what I have vowed I will pay.

Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

SERMON NOTES

A Heart For Rebellion

Marco De Leon - Preaching & Teaching Pastor
Sunday, November 3rd 2019

Jonah 1:1-16

Jonah Flees the Presence of the Lord

1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

4 But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”

Jonah Is Thrown into the Sea

7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.

11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

SERMON NOTES

We are excited to walk through this sermon series, Asking for a Friend. We will explore the Song of Solomon, a collection of Israelite love poems that proclaim the beauty and power of the Lord's gift of love and sexual desire. These eight chapters capture the uniqueness of this exclusive relationship between husband and wife.

This text reveals what a relationship ought to be like through the exchanges of a couple bringing honor and glory to God. From the beginning of attraction and courtship to the deepening of intimacy between a married couple.

The Strength of Love

Marco De Leon - Preaching & Teaching Pastor
Sunday, October 27th 2019

Song of Solomon 8:5-11

5 Who is that coming up from the wilderness,

leaning on her beloved?

Under the apple tree I awakened you.

There your mother was in labor with you;

there she who bore you was in labor.

6 Set me as a seal upon your heart,

as a seal upon your arm,

for love is strong as death,

jealous is fierce as the grave.

Its flashes are flashes of fire,

the very flame of the Lord.

7 Many waters cannot quench love,

neither can floods drown it.

If a man offered for love

all the wealth of his house,

he would be utterly despised.

Final Advice

Others

8 We have a little sister,

and she has no breasts.

What shall we do for our sister

on the day when she is spoken for?

9 If she is a wall,

we will build on her a battlement of silver,

but if she is a door,

we will enclose her with boards of cedar.

She

10 I was a wall,

and my breasts were like towers;

then I was in his eyes

as one who finds peace.

11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;

he let out the vineyard to keepers;

each one was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver.

SERMON NOTES

Getting Away Together

Marco De Leon - Preaching & Teaching Pastor
Sunday, October 20th 2019

Song of Solomon 7:11-8:4

The Bride Gives Her Love

11 Come, my beloved,

let us go out into the fields

and lodge in the villages;

12 let us go out early to the vineyards

and see whether the vines have budded,

whether the grape blossoms have opened

and the pomegranates are in bloom.

There I will give you my love.

13 The mandrakes give forth fragrance,

and beside our doors are all choice fruits,

new as well as old,

which I have laid up for you, O my beloved.

Longing for Her Beloved

1 Oh that you were like a brother to me

who nursed at my mother's breasts!

If I found you outside, I would kiss you,

and none would despise me.

2 I would lead you and bring you

into the house of my mother—

she who used to teach me.

I would give you spiced wine to drink,

the juice of my pomegranate.

3 His left hand is under my head,

and his right hand embraces me!

4 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

that you not stir up or awaken love

until it pleases.

SERMON NOTES

Romantic Pursuit

Chris Elliott - Executive Pastor
Logos Community Church, Harlingen
Sunday, October 13th 2019

Song of Solomon 6:4-7:9

Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other

He

4 You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love, lovely as Jerusalem, awesome as an army with banners. 5 Turn away your eyes from me, for they overwhelm me— Your hair is like a flock of goats leaping down the slopes of Gilead. 6 Your teeth are like a flock of ewes that have come up from the washing; all of them bear twins; not one among them has lost its young. 7 Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate behind your veil. 8 There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and virgins without number. 9 My dove, my perfect one, is the only one, the only one of her mother, pure to her who bore her. The young women saw her and called her blessed; the queens and concubines also, and they praised her. 10 “Who is this who looks down like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as an army with banners?”

She

11 I went down to the nut orchard to look at the blossoms of the valley, to see whether the vines had budded, whether the pomegranates were in bloom. 12 Before I was aware, my desire set me among the chariots of my kinsman, a prince.

Others

13 Return, return, O Shulammite, return, return, that we may look upon you.

He

Why should you look upon the Shulammite, as upon a dance before two armies?

1 How beautiful are your feet in sandals, O noble daughter! Your rounded thighs are like jewels, the work of a master hand. 2 Your navel is a rounded bowl that never lacks mixed wine. Your belly is a heap of wheat, encircled with lilies. 3 Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle.

4 Your neck is like an ivory tower. Your eyes are pools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbim. Your nose is like a tower of Lebanon, which looks toward Damascus.

5 Your head crowns you like Carmel, and your flowing locks are like purple; a king is held captive in the tresses. 6 How beautiful and pleasant you are, O loved one, with all your delights! 7 Your stature is like a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters. 8 I say I will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its fruit. Oh may your breasts be like clusters of the vine, and the scent of your breath like apples, 9 and your mouth like the best wine.

She

It goes down smoothly for my beloved, gliding over lips and teeth.

Selfish Lovers

Nathanael Sommers - Missions Director
Sunday, October 6th 2019

Song of Solomon 5:2-6:3

The Bride Searches for Her Beloved

She

2 I slept, but my heart was awake. A sound! My beloved is knocking. “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one, for my head is wet with dew, my locks with the drops of the night.” 3 I had put off my garment; how could I put it on? I had bathed my feet; how could I soil them? 4 My beloved put his hand to the latch, and my heart was thrilled within me. 5 I arose to open to my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, on the handles of the bolt. 6 I opened to my beloved, but my beloved had turned and gone. My soul failed me when he spoke. I sought him, but found him not; I called him, but he gave no answer. 7 The watchmen found me as they went about in the city; they beat me, they bruised me, they took away my veil, those watchmen of the walls. **8v I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him I am sick with love.

Others

9 What is your beloved more than another beloved, O most beautiful among women? What is your beloved more than another beloved, that you thus adjure us?

The Bride Praises Her Beloved

She

10 My beloved is radiant and ruddy, distinguished among ten thousand. 11 His head is the finest gold; his locks are wavy, black as a raven. 12 His eyes are like doves beside streams of water, bathed in milk, sitting beside a full pool. 13 His cheeks are like beds of spices, mounds of sweet-smelling herbs. His lips are lilies, dripping liquid myrrh. 14 His arms are rods of gold, set with jewels. His body is polished ivory, bedecked with sapphires. 15 His legs are alabaster columns, set on bases of gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as the cedars. 16 His mouth is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

Others

1 Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Where has your beloved turned, that we may seek him with you?

Together in the Garden of Love

She

2 My beloved has gone down to his garden to the beds of spices, to graze in the gardens and to gather lilies. 3 I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine; he grazes among the lilies.

SERMON NOTES

Becoming One Flesh

Marco De Leon - Preaching & Teaching Pastor
Sunday, September 29th 2019

Song of Solomon 3:6-5:1

Solomon Arrives for the Wedding

6 What is that coming up from the wildernesslike columns of smoke,perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,with all the fragrant powders of a merchant? 7 Behold, it is the litter of Solomon!Around it are sixty mighty men,some of the mighty men of Israel, 8 all of them wearing swordsand expert in war,each with his sword at his thigh,against terror by night. 9 King Solomon made himself a carriagefrom the wood of Lebanon. 10 He made its posts of silver,its back of gold, its seat of purple;its interior was inlaid with loveby the daughters of Jerusalem. 11 Go out, O daughters of Zion,and look upon King Solomon,with the crown with which his mother crowned himon the day of his wedding,on the day of the gladness of his heart.

Solomon Admires His Bride's Beauty

He

1 Behold, you are beautiful, my love,behold, you are beautiful!Your eyes are dovesbehind your veil.Your hair is like a flock of goatsleaping down the slopes of Gilead. 2 Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewesthat have come up from the washing,all of which bear twins,and not one among them has lost its young. 3 Your lips are like a scarlet thread,and your mouth is lovely.Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranatebehind your veil. 4 Your neck is like the tower of David,built in rows of stone;on it hang a thousand shields,all of them shields of warriors. 5 Your two breasts are like two fawns,twins of a gazelle,that graze among the lilies. 6 Until the day breathesand the shadows flee,I will go away to the mountain of myrrhand the hill of frankincense. 7 You are altogether beautiful, my love;there is no flaw in you. 8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;come with me from Lebanon.Depart from the peak of Amana,from the peak of Senir and Hermon,from the dens of lions,from the mountains of leopards.

9 You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride;you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,with one jewel of your necklace. 10 How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!How much better is your love than wine,and the fragrance of your oils than any spice! 11 Your lips drip nectar, my bride;honey and milk are under your tongue;the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. 12 A garden locked is my sister, my bride,a spring locked, a fountain sealed. 13 Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranateswith all choicest fruits,henna with nard, 14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,with all trees of frankincense,myrrh and aloes,with all choice spices—15 a garden fountain, a well of living water,and flowing streams from Lebanon.

**16v Awake, O north wind,and come, O south wind!Blow upon my garden,let its spices flow.

Together in the Garden of Love

She

Let my beloved come to his garden,and eat its choicest fruits.

He

1 I came to my garden, my sister, my bride,I gathered my myrrh with my spice,I ate my honeycomb with my honey,I drank my wine with my milk.

Others

Eat, friends, drink,and be drunk with love!

SERMON NOTES