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I Choose Pt. 4 | April 28, 2024Pastor Wes Morris 
 Acts 12:1-10 (TLB) About that time King Herod moved against some of the believers and killed the apostle James. When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish leaders, he arrested Peter during the Passover celebration and imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of sixteen soldiers. 
Herod’s intention was to deliver Peter to the Jews for execution after the Passover. But earnest prayer was going up to God from the church for his safety all the time he was in prison. The night before he was to be executed, he was asleep, double-chained between two soldiers with others standing guard before the prison gate, when suddenly there was a light in the cell and an angel of the Lord stood beside Peter! 
The angel slapped him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists! Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your shoes.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me!” the angel ordered.
So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a dream or vision and didn’t believe it was really happening. They passed the first and second cell blocks and came to the iron gate to the street, and this opened to them of its own accord! So they passed through and walked along together for a block, and then the angel left him.


✓  Prayer is our priority. 
Acts 12:5 (GNT) Peter was kept in jail, but the people of the church were praying earnestly to God for him.✓  Problems are an opportunity to rely on God’s power.
✓  Peace isn’t the absence of problems, it’s the presence of Jesus. 




I CHOOSE TO REST
I. REJOICE
I Peter 4:13 (MSG) Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.



II. EXAMINE
Psalm 139:23-24 (NIV) Examine me, O God, and know my mind; test me, and discover my thoughts. Find out if there is any evil in me and guide me in the everlasting way.

III. SILENCE
Exodus 14:13-14 (MSG) Moses spoke to the people: “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and watch God do his work of salvation for you today. Take a good look at the Egyptians today for you’re never going to see them again.
14 God will fight the battle for you. And you? You keep your mouths shut!”
Psalm 46:10 (NIV) Be still and know that I am God.

IV. TRUST
Acts 12:18-23 (TLB) At dawn, the jail was in great commotion. What had happened to Peter? When Herod sent for him and found that he wasn’t there, he had the sixteen guards arrested, court-martialed and sentenced to death. 
21-23 An appointment with Herod was granted, and when the day arrived he put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to them. At its conclusion the people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It is the voice of a god and not of a man!”
Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness so that he was filled with maggots and died—because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God.
Matthew 11:28-29 (MSG) Are you tired? Worn out?...Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.

I Choose Pt. 3 | April 21, 2024Pastor Wes Morris 
John 21:7-17 (NLT) Then I said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic, jumped into the water, and headed to shore. The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore. When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread. This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.
After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.
Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.
A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.



√ Steal our joy.

√ Carry our shame and regret.
Psalm 32:1-11 (NLT) Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!
When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.
Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.
10-11 Many sorrows come to the wicked, but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord. So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!

√ Destroy our identity.
Isaiah 43:18 (MSG) Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.
 


I CHOOSE TO LET GO OF MY PAST

I. RECEIVE THE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE OF GOD.

I Corinthians 15:9-10 (NLT) For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church. But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me...
 
II. LISTEN TO THE RIGHT VOICES.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (MSG) Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.


III. EMBRACE THE CALL OF GOD FOR YOUR LIFE.

I Peter 2:9 (MSG) You have been chosen by God himself—you are priests of the King, you are holy and pure, you are God’s very own—all this so that you may show to others how God called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
Jeremiah 1:5 (MSG) Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you...

I Choose Pt. 2 | April 14, 2024
Pastor Wes Morris 

Joshua 6:1-11 (NIV) The gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go out or in. But the Lord said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors. 
 
You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.”
 
After Joshua spoke to the people, the seven priests with the rams’ horns started marching in the presence of the Lord, blowing the horns as they marched. And the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant followed behind them. Some of the armed men marched in front of the priests with the horns and some behind the Ark, with the priests continually blowing the horns. “Do not shout; do not even talk,” Joshua commanded. “Not a single word from any of you until I tell you to shout. Then shout!”  So the Ark of the Lord was carried around the town once that day, and then everyone returned to spend the night in the camp.
 
 
✓ We live paralyzed by fear. 
 
✓ We worry about what people will say.
 
Proverbs 29:25 (GNT) It is dangerous to be concerned with what others think of you, but if you trust the Lord, you are safe.
 
✓ We wrestle with doubt.
 
Joshua 1:9 (NLT) This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

To learn more about Bay Chapel or to visit us in person, go to baychapel.com 
 
I CHOOSE TO TRUST GOD‘S PLAN
 
 
 I. LET GOD TAKE THE LEAD.
 
Jeremiah 7:23 (NIV) Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you.
 
 
II. KEEP MOVING FORWARD. 
 
Joshua 6:14 (NLT) On the second day they again marched around the town once and returned to the camp. They followed this pattern for six days.
 
II Corinthians 5:7 (ESV) We walk by faith, not by sight.
 
 
III. KEEP WORSHIPING. 
 
Joshua 6:15-16, 20 (NLT) On the seventh day the Israelites got up at dawn and marched around the town as they had done before. But this time they went around the town seven times. The seventh time around, as the priests sounded the long blast on their horns, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the town! 
 
When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it.

I Choose Pt. 1 | April 7, 2024
Pastor Bria Gilmore

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
 

Acts 1:15-17, 21–26 (NIV) In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”

21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

 

“They must have been among the earliest disciples of Jesus, and must have been faithful to the end; they must have been well known and esteemed among the brethren. What became of them afterwards, and what work they did, are entirely unknown.”

- Commentary on The Acts of The Apostles
Thomas M Lindsay

 

✓ Acceptance

✓ Applause

PURPOSE OVER POPULARITY
 

1. We live for God alone.

Question: Where in your life are you living for others or yourself?

 

2. We let God write the story.

Question: Who is the one authoring your story?

Easter at Bay Chapel | March 31, 2024Pastor Wes Morris 
John 20:19-29 (NLT) That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! 
One of the twelve disciples, Thomas was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”
Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”
“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”
 
I Corinthians 15:14 (NLT) And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.
 
✓  THE COMPLETE TRANSFORMATION OF THE DISCIPLES
✓  WHAT MOTIVE DID THE DISCIPLES HAVE TO LIE?
✓  MULTIPLE EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS



I Corinthians 15:3-6 (NLT) I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.
 



I BELIEVE 
I. NEW MERCY FOR MY MISTAKES. 

Ephesians 2:4-5 (NLT) But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!
 
II. NEW LIFE IN CHRIST.

Galatians 2:20 (ESV) I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.


III. NEW HOPE FOR MY FUTURE.

I Peter 1:3 (MSG) What a God we have! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole.
John 1:10-12 (NLT) He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 

Seven Days Pt. 5 | March 24th, 2024Pastor Wes Morris 
Hebrews 12:2-4 (MSG) Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
 
✓  BETRAYED
John 18:1-3 (NIV) When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it. Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees.



✓  RIDICULED
Matthew 26:63-65 (NIV) The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” ...Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 



✓  REJECTED
John 18:25-27 (NIV) Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself. So they asked him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?” He denied it, saying, “I am not.” One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?” Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.



✓  ABUSED
Matthew 27:27-32 (NIV) Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
Hebrews 2:18 (TLB) For since he himself has now been through suffering and temptation, he knows what it is like when we suffer and are tempted, and he is wonderfully able to help us.
Hebrews 12:2-3 (NIV) Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 




THE FINAL WORD
I. BE QUICK TO FORGIVE.
Luke 23:32-34 (NIV) Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
 
II. SURRENDER YOUR LIFE AND YOUR SITUATION TO GOD. 
Luke 23:44-46 (NIV) It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
 
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