Dayspring Fellowship Podcasts

God is First

February 20 & 21,
2015Genesis 1:1
This weekend we’ll begin a new 4-part series I’m calling, “Where it Starts -
The First Things About Our Faith.” In each message, I will be diving into deep
places from the launching pad of a well-known Bible book’s first verse.
     
In this opening message, I’ll start at the very beginning, Genesis 1:1, and we
will explore the implications of God being before all things. This message, and
the whole series, will be particularly suitable for you to invite a friend.
     
Here is where I’m going with the rest of the series:
 
Feb. 28, Mar 1 “God
Came Here” - John 1:1
        
Mar. 7, 8 “God’s Way
Works” - Psalm 1:1
        
Mar. 14, 15 “God Is the
First and Last” - Rev 1:1    

Restore the Joy

February 14 & 15,
2015
David’s prayer in Psalm 51 became mine years ago: “Restore to me the joy of my
salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me…then I will teach
transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you”.
 
This prayer came after years of defiance toward God that culminated in several
months of deep soul searching. God graciously led me to a godly man who helped
me understand, in a fresh way, the meaning of Christ’s death on the cross and
the need for personal surrender to the Lordship of Christ Jesus.  
 
This weekend I want to share my story. My story is God’s gift to me, but it’s
also a gift God wants me to share with you. 
 
Be forewarned however, parts of my story will reveal the ugliness of spiritual
ignorance from my own life. But the Good News has and continues to prevail in
my life to God’s glory.
I hope to see you this weekend. - Pastor
John

Pursued for a Purpose

February 7 & 8,
2015
What is a testimony? I'm not sure how you would answer that question, but for
myself a testimony is a gift to be shared. When I listen to or share a
testimony I imagine it to be a song of worship; a song of praise and
thanksgiving for what Christ has done and will continue to do in our lives.
 
So this weekend is my opportunity to worship. To give thanks to the God who
gave me life when I deserved death; who gave me hope when I was hopeless and
transformed my life forever.
 
Join us this weekend as we celebrate God as our purposeful creator, faithful
pursuer, redeemer and living hope. Thanks be to God for his grace and
mercy.  -  Nathan

I Choose God

January 31 & March
1, 2015
Life is filled with choices. To be or not to be? True or false? At the eye
doctor, 1 or 2? Every choice becomes a part of our story. How we choose to use
that story defines much of our lives. Will we allow God to lift us up for His
glory, or try to drag Him down to the muck? Will we move toward Him or away?
Will we live life His way or our own? Will we say “yes” when He opens a door,
or stand on the sidelines watching His Grand Story play out?
 
This weekend, we will talk about my story. It isn’t glamorous. But, it is my
story, lived out by a normal guy who tries to choose God so He can complete the
good work He began from the day I was conceived. -  Pastor Chris

Steps in a God Direction

January 24 & 25,
2015
The story of my movement toward God
involves several stages. I’ve stumbled along the way, but the movement has
generally been in the right direction, in a God-ward direction. This week I’ll
share why and how I came to believe in God and to follow Jesus. I think the way
I describe and diagram my progression will help you see reflections of your own
spiritual pilgrimage. I hope to worship with you this weekend.

Look Out for the Other Guy

January 17 & 18,
2015
 
A disciple named Andrew shows up
three times in the Gospel of John. In each passage we read of him bringing
someone to Jesus. I guess it came naturally for him. Last week we talked about
loving our neighbors. This involves moving from strangers to acquaintances and
then into real relationships. Many of us are far less confident about
introducing people to Jesus than Andrew was. Studying his three encounters (in
John 1:35-42; 6:5–11; and 12:20–22) will help us to think creatively about
reaching out to the different kinds of people we encounter in our lives.  

Like a Good Neighbor

January 10 & 11, 2015
Romans 12:1-5
What does it
take to act like a good neighbor? I’d like to “love my neighbor” as myself,
just like Jesus taught, and I don’t want it to be merely an act. I want to be
sincere. What does genuine love look like these days?
What does it mean to love the people who live around us?
This weekend we will build on what we learned last week, that we lead people to
follow Jesus. We will consider the next steps in implementing this succinct
summary of our mission right where we live.
A man once asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus answered with a story
recorded in Luke 10:25-37. We will study these verses, think about our own
neighbors, and reflect on what love looks like in action today.

What We Do

January 3 & 4, 2015
Matthew 28:18-20If
you drive to church from the west or southwest, you may drive by a grocery
store or two, a Starbucks, a 7-11, Rite Aid, and the Dairy Queen. People
generally are pretty familiar with what happens in those buildings. There is
little confusion about what they do. If you approach our facility from the
east, you probably pass Lowes, another Starbucks, REI, and Guitar Center.
Again, there is little mystery about the purpose of those places. The basic
mission of most companies is pretty clear. We know what they are trying to do.
But what do people know about what we do? As cars drive by on Lockhaven and
pass our building, do they get it? Do we? Can our average attender state in six
words what we do? I want to take care of that this weekend. I’m really excited
about the plan I have to share the basics about what we do. I hope you will
start the year off on the right foot by walking through our lobby and taking a
seat by others who want to live for more in this New Year. You are part of what
we do. Come discover and celebrate together.

Taking Inventory (2 Corinthians 13:5)

December 28 & 29,
2014For a wholesale or retail business owner, taking inventory is a critical
task.  A manager must know what’s in stock or risk losing business
opportunities.  Jesus described the importance of ‘taking inventory’
before a major endeavor, as a builder estimates costs before building a tower
or a commander compares troop strength before a military campaign (Luke 14).
Failure to take inventory can be costly! Taking spiritual inventory is
something we should do regularly.  It can be a little scary.   A
personal inventory exposes areas where we've missed the mark. The good news is
this: even when we've fallen short, God provides the grace we need to turn back
to Him (repentance) in order to pursue the abundant life.
 
Pastor John

The Main Event (Galatians 4:4,5)

December 20 & 21,
2014Galatians 4:4-5
Picture someone unfamiliar with American culture or Christianity trying to
discover the meaning of Christmas from what he could see at a shopping mall.
Think of what he would observe surrounding him there – would he be able to
grasp that Christmas is all about something God did for us? The frenetic
activity and mass materialism certainly wouldn’t make the meaning of Christmas
clear. Neither would the decorations, sweets, or holiday music reveal that the
main event is God’s sacrificial choice to send his Son to be our Savior.
     
Most of what we see around us at Christmas has absolutely nothing to do with
Jesus. Our surroundings hardly even hint at what God did for us. Even if you’re
not from far, far away, it is easy to miss the meaning entirely.
     
Our key verses for this week provide a simple summary of what Christmas is all
about. “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman,
born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full
rights of sons (Galatians 4:4,5).
     
Come worship with us as we explore the simplicity and significance of God’s
gift to us.