North Park Baptist Church of Bridgeport CT

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The Confident Child of God

May 24, 2020

Basic Christianity - 1, 2, & 3 John

1 John 3:19-24

Mark Smith

The Confident Child of God

Date Preached: May 24, 2020

Series: Basic Christianity - 1, 2, & 3 John

Speaker: Mark Smith

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Insecurity in a relationship can be devastating. It can introduce fear, anxiety, depression, and anger. It can lead us to withdraw from or distance ourselves from the other person and lead us to over analyze and/or sometimes mistake that person's words or actions. The same can happen to a child of God when he/she is unsure of his/her relationship to God. John's talk of the love believers are to show each other could lead some sensitive believers to conclude they must not be born-again Christians at all. To counter this, John lets his readers know that God wants them to have a secure relationship with him and he points to the right source of assurance of a genuine born-again experience in this passage.

The Confident Child of God

If We Have Love, It Will Show

May 17, 2020

Basic Christianity - 1, 2, & 3 John

1 John 3:11-18

Mark Smith

If We Have Love, It Will Show

Date Preached: May 17, 2020

Series: Basic Christianity - 1, 2, & 3 John

Speaker: Mark Smith

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In some churches it seems people are in a hurry to leave. At North Park we see folks talking with others and hanging out long after the service is over. A visitor noticed and said, "Your people really seem to love each other." We'll see in this week's passage that love for fellow born-again Christians is exactly what God expects to see among us. As John returns to the theme of love his emphasis changes. He focuses on not one's claims of love but on demonstrations of love. If our love is genuine, John says, it will show. You can't fake genuine love.

If We Have Love, It Will Show

The Believer’s New Relationship to Sin

May 10, 2020

Basic Christianity - 1, 2, & 3 John

1 John 3:4-10

Mark Smith

The Believer’s New Relationship to Sin

Date Preached: May 10, 2020

Series: Basic Christianity - 1, 2, & 3 John

Speaker: Mark Smith

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Sin may not seem to be a big deal to us, but it is to God, and so the way God's children relate to sin says a lot about their claim to know hi and about their ongoing relationship with him. In this passage John continues the theme of why God's children seek to purify themselves by explaining the nature of sin and why practicing sin is incompatible with a genuine relationship with God. It's a word for every professing believer today.

The Believer’s New Relationship to Sin

Believers Are God’s Children

May 3, 2020

Basic Christianity - 1, 2, & 3 John

1 John 3:1-3

Mark Smith

Believers Are God’s Children

Date Preached: May 3, 2020

Series: Basic Christianity - 1, 2, & 3 John

Speaker: Mark Smith

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The apostle John reminds us of another basic truth of Christianity. Born-again believers have become God's children. John has known this for 60+ years when he writes, but the fact still awes him. In this short passage John will affirm the fact, speak of the amazing future God's children have, and close by mentioning the consuming desire of God's children.

Believers Are God’s Children

The Test of Right Belief

April 26, 2020

Basic Christianity - 1, 2, & 3 John

1 John 2:18-28

Mark Smith

The Test of Right Belief

Date Preached: April 26, 2020

Series: Basic Christianity - 1, 2, & 3 John

Speaker: Mark Smith

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I does matter what we believe. In fact, sometimes what we believe reveals whether or not we are in genuine fellowship with God and with his Son, Jesus. This is the truth of the section of John's first letter that we'll examine today. Here John reveals a second test of genuine fellowship with God: the test of right belief. In a time when hundreds of religions exist and tolerance is the mantra of our day, John's warning could not be more relevant.

The Test of Right Belief

The Test of Love

April 19, 2020

Basic Christianity - 1, 2, & 3 John

1 John 2:3-17

Mark Smith

The Test of Love

Date Preached: April 19, 2020

Series: Basic Christianity - 1, 2, & 3 John

Speaker: Mark Smith

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In his first letter John gives a number of ways that people who profess to have intimate fellowship with God can evaluate their claim. Each test of genuine saving faith enables anyone who wants to be sure of their salvation another way to gain security. In the first test John, which gives us in today's passage, he points to love as an indicator of true salvation. He challenges us to evaluate our love in three different directions before we come to our conclusion.

The Test of Love

Easter Hope

April 12, 2020

Good Friday-Easter Sermons

1 Peter 1:1-5

Mark Smith

Easter Hope

Date Preached: April 12, 2020

Series: Good Friday-Easter Sermons

Speaker: Mark Smith

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Writing to Christians who were under a great deal of pressure and were suffering for being Christ followers, the apostle Peter reminded them of something they had that could get them through their current struggles and allow them to continue to love and live as Jesus did. What he pointed them to he called living hope. We're going to see what that is, how we can have it, what it can do for us, and how it is connected to the resurrection of Jesus in this message.

Easter Hope

It Is Finished

April 10, 2020

Good Friday-Easter Sermons

John 19:30

Mark Smith

It Is Finished

Date Preached: April 10, 2020

Series: Good Friday-Easter Sermons

Speaker: Mark Smith

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The sixth, and next-to-last, cry of Jesus from the cross is the most important single cry in history. Seemingly defeated and about to die, Jesus knew that through his suffering and impending death he completed the act of redemption he came into the world to accomplish. With a single word in the Greek he declares his work finished, perfect, and forever completed. If you wonder about the crucifixion and death of Jesus, understanding this single word could not be more important.

It Is Finished

Jesus Our Advocate

April 7, 2020

Basic Christianity - 1, 2, & 3 John

1 John 2:1-2

Mark Smith

Jesus Our Advocate

Date Preached: April 7, 2020

Series: Basic Christianity - 1, 2, & 3 John

Speaker: Mark Smith

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As we learned last week, sin is a big deal when it comes to having the relationship with God we are invited to have through Jesus. John adds to what he's said so far about sin in our passage today. In it we learn about God's goal for sin in a believer's life, and also how God provides for us when we do sin after receiving Christ as our Savior. As those who want to enjoy an intimate relationship with God today, his words are not to be missed.

Jesus Our Advocate

Join the Fellowship

March 29, 2020

Basic Christianity - 1, 2, & 3 John

1 John 1:1-10

Mark Smith

Join the Fellowship

Date Preached: March 29, 2020

Series: Basic Christianity - 1, 2, & 3 John

Speaker: Mark Smith

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The apostle John wrote a short letter that highlights the basics of Christianity. It is called First John or the First Letter of John. In John's opening chapter we learn that Christianity is not a religion but a relationship. It is not about worship, offerings, rituals, and things to do, but it is about having close, intimate fellowship or communion with God and with other believers. That's the heart Christianity, relationship, not religion. We'll learn that everyone is invited into this fellowship, but that there are two important conditions we must meet to experience this fellowship. So, come learn, then come join the fellowship today!

Join the Fellowship

Choose Joy

March 22, 2020

Living In Uncertain Times

John 15:11

Mark Smith

Choose Joy

Date Preached: March 22, 2020

Series: Living In Uncertain Times

Speaker: Mark Smith

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How should followers of Jesus respond to all the negative news surrounding us today? As we'll see from the example and promise of Jesus we can choose joy rather than fear, worry, and anxiety. We'll see how Jesus' joy differs from what we call happiness, what its source is, and how we as his followers can live it out in this message.

Choose Joy

Responding to Fear with Faith

March 15, 2020

Living In Uncertain Times

Mark 4:35-41

Mark Smith

Responding to Fear with Faith

Date Preached: March 15, 2020

Series: Living In Uncertain Times

Speaker: Mark Smith

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Fear can be overwhelming. For many it seems that the only way to respond to a frightening experience is with fear. There is another option that Jesus taught his disciples in the midst of a terrifying situation. The story is familiar, but many of us may need to listen to it again and be sure we are applying its lesson to our lives, for fear can overwhelm if that is the only way we know to respond.

Responding to Fear with Faith

How We Should Feel About the Bible

February 23, 2020

40 Days In the Word

Psalms 119:163

Mark Smith

How We Should Feel About the Bible

Date Preached: February 23, 2020

Series: 40 Days In the Word

Speaker: Mark Smith

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One of our goals in 40 Days in the Word is to Love God's Word. In this message we'll deal with a subject many of us have never thought about: how should we fell about God's Word? We'll see a range of feelings that people in the Bible had toward God's Word and discover that developing a real feeling of love for God's Word is within reach for all of us.

How We Should Feel About the Bible

The Bible is Clear

February 16, 2020

40 Days In the Word

Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Rick Giuntoli

The Bible is Clear

Date Preached: February 16, 2020

Series: 40 Days In the Word

Speaker: Rick Giuntoli

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A key Reformation teaching about scripture is that it is sufficiently clear that it can be read and understood by almost all people. Is this a Biblical doctrine or a doctrine of men? We'll examine that question in this message, and show what the clarity of scripture means and what that means to our reading and studying the Bible.

The Bible is Clear

The Bible Is True

February 9, 2020

40 Days In the Word

Psalms 119:160

Mark Smith

The Bible Is True

Date Preached: February 9, 2020

Series: 40 Days In the Word

Speaker: Mark Smith

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We're beginning a new forty day emphasis at church called 40 Days In the Word. In this message we answer an important question about the Bible: is it true? Some might add the question, does it matter? I think we can answer both of those questions with an affirmative and we'll see how in this message, plus explain why it is important that the Bible is true and not just a book of fiction.

The Bible Is True

What’s The Big Deal About Bible Study?

February 2, 2020

What's the Big Deal?

2 Peter 3:18

Mark Smith

What’s The Big Deal About Bible Study?

Date Preached: February 2, 2020

Series: What's the Big Deal?

Speaker: Mark Smith

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Most Christians agree someone should study the Bible. Not all agree they should study the Bible. They are content with letting others do the work and they will listen to or read what other people have discovered. In this message we'll make the case that all Christians should learn how to study the Bible and do it regularly. We'll discover what the big deal is about personal Bible study.

What’s The Big Deal About Bible Study?

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