Dayspring Fellowship Podcasts

Risking It All!

November 28 & 29, 2015Risky LivingCan you imagine finding a hidden treasure?  It’s happened
before.  A shepherd boy near the Dead Sea found scrolls that were 2000
years old; a diver off the Florida coast located a sunken 17th-century Spanish
vessel...filled with silver & gold.  There’s a treasure worth much
more than we could ever give up in order to obtain it.  Jesus described
this hidden treasure as “the kingdom of heaven”.  This weekend, we’ll
consider twin ‘mini-parables’ about a couple of ‘finds of a lifetime’. 
We’ll look at risking it all for a prize of inestimable worth.  
Enjoy some turkey & pumpkin pie.  Then come this weekend ready
to risk it all for a greater gain.
 Pastor John

Moving Beyond Fear

November 21 & 22,
2015Risky Living
 
This week, we’ll look at one of
the most popular, but often misunderstood, parables of our Lord…the parable of
the talents.  It’s a story with multiple layers & lessons. But the
greatest lesson is our need to move beyond fear.  When we become fearful,
suspicious or distrustful, our tendency is to bury opportunities to glorify God
and grow spiritually.  Burying a God-given opportunity will eventually lead
to “weeping & gnashing of teeth,” i.e. sorrow and despair.  We all
have fears we need to face down in order to be found faithful with what God’s
entrusted to us. Come this weekend ready to be challenged.  Together,
let’s move beyond fear!
Why don’t you plant a seed by
inviting a friend?  Remember, planting seeds is our part; changing hearts
is God’s.
Pastor John

Sower, Seeds & Soil

November 14 & 15,
2015Risky Living
 
Risky Living—a strange series title, for sure.  Yet,
risk is part of the lifestyle of anyone who loves & serves God. Jesus
taught brilliantly about risk & rewards in His parables. 
 
The sower risks precious seed when he casts them on the soil; entrepreneurs
takes risks with every business venture. This week, we’ll consider the
risks associated with a seed-sowing lifestyle.  
 
What are you willing to risk for God’s glory?  I’ve been asking myself
that lately. This weekend I’ll share how God is leading me to take some
new risks. God may be calling you to take a risk or two for Him as
well.
 
Come this weekend and bring a friend, will you?
 
Pastor John

Illustrating the Integration

November 7 & 8,
2015An Integrated Life
You may ask at the conclusion of this current
series of messages, “Just what does an integrated life look like and what is
the first step to head in that direction?”
           
     
I’m glad you asked. This weekend I’m wrapping up our 5-message series on living
an integrated life in which we’ve talked about how different facets of our
lives tie in to our relationship with God. All along I have been planning to do
two things in this last message and the two halves of my sermon will provide
the answers we need.
     
My first objective will be to illustrate the interplay between these various
aspects of our lives. The need for integration is apparent in many common
concerns, such as our employment and our ministry, but and I’ve chosen to use
intimacy as the example to illustrate. The need to not conform to the world and to live with
balance and integrity is clear to see in this controversial hot topic. I’ll be
sharing a helpful chart I’ve been using in premarital counseling for many
years, which has application for all of us. This is just one of many ways we
can visualize and apply the concept of integration.
     
I’ve also known from the start that I wanted to wrap up with a clear presentation
of the gospel. It would be a shame to end the series and fail to offer an
invitation for you to come alive spiritually!
     
Now that you know where I’m going with this concluding message, plan to join us
in worship. And pray right now, asking God to give you the boldness to ask
someone to join you. Whom might God want to bless this weekend?

The Circle of Life

November 1, 2015An Integrated Life
 
This week we’re continuing our series, An
Integrated Life, by taking a look at relationships. We’re wired to do this
journey called life in the company of others. Sometimes it’s marvelous, but
often, it can get messy! Join us as Pastor Chris speaks on our five most
important relationships, God’s design for what they should look like, and how
to have healthy, thriving relationships with those God has placed in our lives.

Renewing Your Mind

October 24 & 25,
2015An Integrated Life
 
The word intellect intimidates some people. You
may immediately think, “I’m
not an intellectual!” That may be true, but you have an intellect.
Just as you have a body and have emotions, you possess reasoning ability. Like
your body, the function of your mind is largely a product of what you put into
it. It is hard to keep our heads on straight these days with so many
contradictory philosophies competing for our acceptance and allegiance. We need
to be proactive, but the odds are stacked against us and being passive
intellectually doesn’t lead to good things. No one will look out for your
intellectual health if you don’t. This weekend’s message will help us to live
liberated lives, free from walking in lockstep conformity with the silly
celebrities and their foolish fads.
     
If you’re guessing from my title that I’ll be starting in Romans 12:2, you’re right.
In order to prepare for worship this weekend, look up that verse and ask God to
meet you here. I look forward to seeing you.         

Inside Out Upside Down

October 17 & 18,
2015An Integrated Life
Have you seen the Pixar movie, Inside Out? It’s
a touching film about the voices in your head, the various emotions that
sometimes argue with each other and occasionally lead you into trouble. The
movie is not theologically or psychologically accurate, but it’s not trying to
be – it is entertaining and pretty insightful for a cartoon! Tickets are only
$3 at the theater in South Salem. I justified the expense as research, since
I’m preaching on our emotions this weekend in the second installment of a new
series of five messages on the integration of the many facets of our lives.
I’ll show the trailer at the beginning of my sermon and then study some
passages in the Bible with you that show Jesus expressing his feelings.
Examples from his life legitimate all five emotions presented in the movie.
Come worship with us as we learn to control our emotions and let them serve us
rather than serving our emotions and letting them control us.

Housekeeping for Your Body

October 10 & 11,
2015
An Integrated Life
 
Living with integrity involves recognizing that
every facet of our lives touches the rest. We are physical, emotional,
intellectual, social and spiritual beings. In this new series, we will work
together on integrating each interrelated aspect with our relationship with
God. This weekend we will begin by concentrating on the physical part of our
lives. Are our bodies merely temporary dwelling places for our souls, which we
can legitimately neglect? How should we view these homes in which we live out
our years down here?
     
I’m excited about this series and particularly excited (maybe even worried)
about this first installment, for it touches some unpleasant and controversial
ideas. I’m happy with my outline and will continue to prepare right up to the
time I deliver this message. You can prepare by praying for me and for
yourself. While you are praying, ask God if he would lead you to invite someone
to come worship with us this weekend. And pray also for the boldness to follow
through on God’s leading.

Communion

October 3 & 4,
2015
In our home, Celina has put up family pictures everywhere. In fact, we
have an entire wall in our dining room devoted to pictures of our family
interspersed with words that define family.  In fact, you might say the
pictures and words reveal our family values. They are pictures of camping
trips, family reunions, birthdays, and posed family photos. The words displayed
are things like Love, Joy, Patience, Laughter, Strength, and Kindness.  We
look at these pictures and words every day.  In fact, we are so familiar
with them they have lost some of their ability to evoke cherished memories or
remind us of the things we value the most in life.  They certainly still
portray these events and values accurately but our over familiarization with
them has unintentionally desensitized us, and they no longer effect our heart
as deeply as they did when we put them up.  It’s not that the memory is
diminished or we cherish them less.  It’s not even that we take them for
granted; nor have we lost our love and fondness for the people and memories
captured in them.  It’s just that we walk by them in our busy life every
day and rarely stop to take the time to pause and reflect.  We rarely
pause long enough to allow those pictures to return us to those places in our
memory, to re-experience those moments and enjoy their sweetness again.
 
Communion can be a lot like those pictures in our home. Depending on how
we participate in this significant and meaningful act of worship, we can either
become desensitized to its significance by our familiarity, or we can enter
into it and be carried back to a time when its meaning and significance were
first enjoyed.  
 
Join us this weekend as we reflect on the meaning and significance of Communion
and ask God to remind us of his great love for us.
 
--Kap Otten

A Grace Filled Conversation