Victory Church Providence

Discipleship: Selection

A Sermon by Pastor Richard Sfameni, Lead Pastor of Victory Church in Providence, RI.

Who would you pick to help you run a successful business?

What did Jesus do to select his disciples? He chose men and women.

• Jesus prayed
• He called them to Himself
• They were available, Jesus called the available
• They were dependable, following Jesus is not easy

 

Mark 3:13-19

The Twelve Apostles

¹³ And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. ¹⁴ Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, ¹⁵ and to have power ^[to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: ^16 [Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; ¹⁷ James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder” ¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.

Luke 6:12-16

The Twelve Apostles

¹² Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. ¹³ And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: ¹⁴ Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; ¹⁵ Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; ¹⁶ Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.

Discipleship: Making Jesus’ Last Commandment Our First Priority

A Sermon by Pastor Richard Sfameni, Lead Pastor of Victory Church in Providence, RI.

A Disciple is a follower of Jesus that learns to do what Jesus did.

Three ways to grow:

1. Biological Growth
2. Transfer Growth
3. Conversion

70% of churches has no plan for discipleship

90% of Christians will never lead someone to Christ

We need to make a decision to become a disciple and make disciples.

Matthew 28:16-20

The Great Commission

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. ¹⁷ When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go ^[therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Make Room for God

A Sermon by Pastor Richard Sfameni, Lead Pastor of Victory Church in Providence, RI with a testimony from Lawrence Ashong-Katai.

 

Benefits of daily scripture reading:

1. It expresses God’s loves for you
2. It changes the battlefield
3. It gives you a desire to share the Gospel

 

Making room for God: press, perceive, and prepare.

II Kings 4:8-13

⁸ Now it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a notable woman, and she persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food. ⁹ And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. ¹⁰ Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.”

¹¹ And it happened one day that he came there, and he turned in to the upper room and lay down there. ¹² Then he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite woman.” When he had called her, she stood before him. ¹³ And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Look, you have been concerned for us with all this care. What can I do for you?

Struggle to Believe

A Sermon by Pastor Richard Sfameni, Lead Pastor of Victory Church in Providence, RI.

1. Worship: The ruler came and worshiped him.
2. Speak Life: I shall not die, but live, and declare the works I of the Lord.
3. Close the door on negativity: Jesus sent the crowd outside.
4. Push through distraction: The ruler wasn’t distracted by Jesus stopping to heal the woman, he just kept going.

 

Jude 1:3

Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

 

A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed

¹⁸ While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live.” ¹⁹ So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.

²⁰ And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. ²¹ For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” ²² But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.

²³ When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, ²⁴ He said to them, “Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him. ²⁵ But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. ²⁶ And the report of this went out into all that land.

New Years Eve Service

A Sermon by Pastor Douglas Ahamefula, Elder at Victory Church in Providence, RI.

Let us strive to be more like Jesus in 2022.

Matthew 5:14

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.

F.A.S.T.

A Sermon by Pastor Lisa Sfameni, Co-Pastor and Worship Director of Victory Church in Providence, RI.

A Sermon by Pastor Maureen Doyle, Associate Pastor of Evangelism and Outreach at Victory Church in Providence, RI.

A Sermon by Pastor Mike O'Brien, Associate Pastor and Director of Student Ministries and Communications at Victory Church in Providence, RI.     

A Sermon by Pastor Richard Sfameni, Lead Pastor of Victory Church in Providence, RI.

 

Our Pastoral staff joins together for a teaching on fasting.

Freedom

Freedom to choosing to move past the bad on move into walk in Christ’s freedom

II Corinthians 3:17

Answers

Don’t be discouraged, through fasting we can see what God can do. Your answer is on the way

Isaiah 58:9

Judges 20:26-28

Daniel 10:2-3,12-13

Self-Control

Discipline yourself. We never know what’s coming but fating can help you prepare for it.

I Peter 4:7

Turn

God’s judgements are really his mercies. We need to turn back to the Lord

Joel 2:12

Christmas Eve Service

When Your Christmas Needs Grace

A Sermon by Pastor Richard Sfameni, Lead Pastor of Victory Church in Providence, RI.

Come find the Grace we see in the genealogy of Jesus.

Grace is God giving us a gift we could never earn or deserve.

 

II Corinthians 8:9 NKJV

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

Every Miracle Begins With A Mess

A Sermon by Pastor Richard Sfameni, Lead Pastor of Victory Church in Providence, RI.

1. The Mess

Under Herod the Great the people suffered under his wicked lifestyle and evil deeds. Elizabeth was barren and advanced in years, socially and economically devastating.

2. The Miracle

God met them in their faithfulness took away their shame and blessed the nation through their son John.

 

Luke 1:5-17 NKJV

John’s Birth Announced to Zacharias

⁵ There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. ⁷ But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.

⁸ So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, ⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, ^[c]his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹ Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵ For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Use Your Time Wisely

A sermon by Evangelist Tim Shuttlesworth, who has been involved in full time evangelism for four decades. In 1994 he was inducted into the “Billy Graham’s Notable Names in Evangelism.” As President and Founder of Lost Lamb Association, his focus has been directed at reaching and discipling the unsaved both in North America and around the world. In 2019 Tiff was named as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Northpoint Bible College and Graduate School.

1. The Race of Time

Our lives are like of vapor, life goes by faster and faster.

2. The Responsibility of Time

Jesus lived His life in a discipline manner and used his time wisely.

3. The Risk of Time

All time is uncertain, we do not know what time God has given us.

 

God is holy and unchanging, and we are not, so we are separated. He gave of Jesus so we could be saved through Christ though the forgiveness of sins.

 

Luke 12:16-21 NLT

16 Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17 He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ 

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ 

21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”