2011-04-04 - Old Testament - Evangelism Old testament evangelism scriptures
|
2011-06-06 - Fearing God - John feared Man is never sufficiently affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God's majesty When John was in the presence of God, he fell at his feet as though dead - Revelation 1:17 Not the first time this happened to John - Matthew 17:6 We can encounter Him in His Word as the Holy Spirit opens it to our minds and hearts
|
2011-09-12 - Followup: Purity (part I) Our society exalts sexual immorality, and it’s raging out of control. Teenagers have hormones that are newly active and they can let them rage out of control. Singles are looking for love in all the wrong places. Marriages are ending in divorce more now than ever before even though more people claim to be Christians. God has made it clear that he wants us all to let the natural sexual desires remain dormant until they can be expressed within the marriage relationship. In the Bible the term “purity” is most often referring to sexual purity, but it also is used to refer to being free from contamination by worldliness in general. Contaminated water is undrinkable, just as a contaminated heart is unacceptable to God. Question: Have you ever had food poisoning? What happens?
|
2011-09-30 - Proverbs on Laziness (part II) How do I overcome being lazy (How do I become disciplined)? 1. Carpe Diem = Seize the Day We are only given a certain amount of time in a day (and on earth)
Being disciplined is about the little things in life.
One thing that can hurt your discipline is if you over commit
Philippians 4:6 - Do not be anxious about anything
Tips
|
2011-10-15 - Genesis 15 - Abraham Believed God SummaryThe Lord promised Abram an heir and many descendants. Abram believed. He was told that they would be enslaved but would then return. ObservationsGenesis 15:6 - Abram believed the LORD ... credited it to him as righteousness Personal ApplicationSometimes I believe that perseverance is my strength but as I look at my prayers for the desires of my heart, I give up way easily. "But it has not happened in 2 weeks, 2 months, 2 years" - I say. Abram waited until he was 100 years for his son to be born. |
2011-10-19 - Genesis 19 - Sodom is destroyedSummaryAngels took Lot out of Sodom. The city was destroyed by fire and Lot's wife was turned to salt. His daughters had children for him. ObservationsGenesis 19:14 - But his sons-in-law thought he was joking Personal ApplicationBy nature, I am a jokester. I have love to laugh - there is a time for everything. I need to learn how to take the important things seriously. When I hear a call from God to repent, not sure my immediate reaction is to change. I make excuses about doing things in the near future or lie to myself that I am doing OK. The costs are too great not to hear and obey the call. |
2011-11-04 - Mind Change - Challenge Decide to enjoy the challenge. If it is going to be there, you might as well enjoy it. God is allowing it for some good purpose. Like Jacob, don’t let go it until it blesses you. James 1:2-4 - Consider trials a pure joy |
2011-12-02 - Guarding Your Heart (part I) Keeping your heart in good condition is not just an important physical principle, but a spiritual one as well. A bad spiritual heart will cause spiritual sickness and ultimately spiritual death – separate from God. The Bible gives us some great information on how to keep our hearts in good spiritual shape and keep them beating strong and healthy for God until the day we die. We guard our hearts to keep the good and keep away the bad we’re tempted to do
|
2012-01-03 - Day 31 - Dealing with Discouragement The prophet Elijah had just experienced some tremendous victories from God: The destruction of 450 false prophets, and the first rainfall in 3 ½ years because of his earnest prayer. (See James 5:17-18) But then he got afraid and discouraged. 1 Kings 19:1-8
|
2012-01-12 - Day 40 - Good Heart, Good Deeds, Good Things Luke 8:15
2 Peter 1:5-11
|
2012-01-15 - Ministry - The Generator of Power John 15:1-7; Mt 7:7-12; Luke 18:1-8 Prayer generates the power in a disciple's life. Without prayer, there is no power, no relationship with God, and no expectation of miracles. Prayer connects us to God's heart and reveals to us God's will. We can be afraid to pray because we think God will test us by not answering our prayers. James chapter 1 tells us that trials test our faith not unanswered prayer. We begin to pray with unbelief in our hearts and no expectation of answered prayer in our minds. God does not always answer when WE want Him to but He will answer. It is up to us to persevere and mature long enough to receive the answer. God desires to give us whatever we wish as long as we remain in relationship with Him. God is a merciful and loving God. He wants to bless us and encourage us. Generations of powerful men and women have walked before us in real relationship with God. They witnessed incredible answers to prayer. God has not changed since then. He is willing to answer; are you willing to pray? Pray with Passion Pray with Expectation Pray with Specificity Pray with Boldness Pray with Perseverance What three things will you pray about until they are answered, no matter how long it takes? |
2012-01-16 - Ministry - Faith: The Generator of Miracles Mark 6:1-6; Mark 9:14-25; II Kings 20:1-11 Sometimes we think that miracles ended when the Bible was finished. Or if they do occur today, they happen to other people. Our faith becomes limited to what we can accomplish instead of what God can do through us. The call of the disciple is to believe the unbelievable. To live on the edge. To dream where there are no dreamers left. God is unlimited in what he can do. Often times he does do miracles but because we are not looking through the eyes of faith, we cannot see them occur. We learn from the Scriptures above that miracles will only occur where faith is present. We have to confront the unbelief in our lives and battle against past faithlessness. We cannot let past sin or discouragement set low expectations or low beliefs in our lives. God is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. Questions:
What miracles do you choose to believe God will do in your life or others lives? Dream big! Write down something you will pray to see God do this year. |
2012-01-25 - Ministry - Jesus' Rescue Mission Matthew 18:10-14 (Luke 15:3-10) It is comforting to know we serve a God who is not only all-powerful and all-knowing, but also all-loving. Sometimes the spiritual battle gets so intense that we wonder if God really cares. This passage proves how deeply God cares about each individual "sheep". How we do spiritually does matter to God. He does not want any of his disciples to wander off and fall away. Jesus is the perfect shepherd who will do whatever it takes to go after the one lost sheep. Each soul matters to God. Jesus' heart is to keep on searching, keep on hoping, and keep on loving until the sheep is found and returns home. We need to take on Jesus' heart and persevere in rescuing those who have given up on their relationship with God. Satan wants us to get hurt, get bitter and angry instead of being compassionate and determined to help those who have lost faith. Let's be inspired by Jesus' unfailing love and decide to be part of Jesus' rescue team! Questions:
|
2012-02-11 - Ministry - Even While Suffering John 19:17-27 As we read the passage, particularly v25-27, it is compelling the even in the throes of pain, Jesus is taking care of his relationships. It would have been easy for him to neglect this as he was busying suffering and dying. It is easy for us as we are in transition spiritually or physically to forget to care of our relationships. This can really hurt people make them feel as though we do not care. Why did not Jesus take care of all of this earlier? Why did he get this done before everything got more harried? The scriptures are silent on this but maybe Jesus wanted to see which of his followers would remain near the cross right up until the end. Mary, formerly without her husband Joseph and now, witnessing the death of her eldest son, was sure to be hurting. Jesus saw in John the compassion and love that He knew his own mother really needed. I think he also knew that John would be for her the closest thing to her own son, Jesus. It is convicting about how much Jesus considered and thought about relationships, even while suffering on the cross. Questions/Followup
|
2012-02-13 - Ministry - Are You Willing to Keep Praying? Luke 18:1-8 Jesus tells this parable to show us something. The scriptures even go so far as to tell us exactly what that something is that we should always pray and not give up. Have you ever decided to pray about a specific situation and not stopped until it has changed? What if it took a year to change? Five years? Ten years? Twenty years? Jesus says to never give up! Too often we get discouraged and want to quit-even on God-because something doesn't change. Maybe we haven't been fruitful for a while or we don't have a dating relationship yet. Maybe things have not changed in our marriage fast enough or our job situation is still not working out. Maybe we are just not changing our hearts the way we should. The answer is not to give up but to keep on praying. Jesus ends the parable questioning whether there would still be faith on earth when he returns. Our lack of prayer is a sign of a lack of faith! To keep praying and not give up is a sign of great faith. Write down three things you have quit praying about and recommit yourself to be faithful in prayer. Decide to trust. God and be in the kingdom for the long haul-no matter how many decades of prayer it takes!! |
2012-02-23 - Fear of Failure - God Always Sees the Humble Heart by Gene Kim - Ministry Intern: San Francisco Church of Christ 1 Kings 21 Ahab really wanted Naboth's vineyard, and so he was willing to do anything to get it. He kept on sinning until he got the vineyard - discouragement, self-pity, anger, and eventually murder. There are "vineyards" in everyone's lives nowadays, jobs, relationships, or successes. Ahab was so consumed with what he wanted that his marriage was ungodly. I see how I don't lead my wife because I get consumed with my job and success, and my relationship with God goes the same way as my marriage. I get so guilty that I lose confidence in how God can use my life. What encourages me about this scripture is how God uses people to confront others with the truth and how He is hoping for people to humble themselves and turn back to Him. Ahab was described as a man who "sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord" (v. 25). Elijah warned Ahab of the impending disaster because of his sin. Ahab took God's warning seriously and humbled himself before God, and the Lord noticed and blessed him! I can feel at times that I have messed up so much that God would never believe in me again, and yet God is merely looking for a heart that is humble, broken, and grateful. He hopes that I would have the courage to see my sin. God notices and moves on behalf of a humble heart! |
2012-08-03 - Genesis 22 - The Offering of IsaacSummaryGod told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. As Abraham obeyed, an angel stopped him. The LORD provided a ram instead and blessed Abraham. ObservationsGenesis 22:2 - Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering Personal ApplicationI know for me I give until it starts to physically hurt, brings up bad memories, or I don't see the need to. It does not depend on me; I need to sacrifice in relation to the need. As I grow close to go God I will see God's heart in this. |
2012-10-12 - Prayer of the Righeous - Arms Wide Open (part II) The lost son took his first steps home and was ready to apologize Father perhaps had been scanning the horizon day after day - Luke 15:20 Until one day his dream came true The celebration spared no expense - Luke 15:22-24 He welcomes sinners who do not deserve it - it is how he feels about us Jesus literally opened wide his arms for us on the cross He opens his arms for us all day long - Romans 10:21 Peter, at Pentecost, pleaded with the people to be saved on God's behalf - Acts 2:40 God's heart cares deeply for us His heart was filled with pain during the time of Noah - Genesis 6:6 His heart is in that same way now - Luke 17:26 |
2013-09-09 - A Man Accepts His Masculinity THe key ingredient masculinity is actually strength Culture has spent decades telling women to “Rise up and be strong!” and telling men to “Sit down and be quiet!” King David charged his son Solomon, “Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man” - 1 Kings 2:2 This is our responsibility as men. This is required of us to be faithful. |
2014-05-31 - Genesis 24 - Search for the Bride of Isaac (part II)SummaryEliezer met Rebekah by the well exactly as he had prayed. ObservationsGenesis 24:12 - Please give me success today ApplicationI do not have the dependant prayer I need to have. I have many failures because I depend on myself and do not ask God. |
2015-02-05 - It's Not Over Quick, get up! And the chains fell off his wrist - Acts 12:7 It is not over unitl God says it is over Herod wanted Peter dead and had murdered other believers Peter must have wondered how many hours were left. God had a different plan. An angel appeared, awoke him, released hi, led him past 16 armed guard without notice Peter couldn't fully understand what happened but God had set him free The man of God is immortal until God chooses to take him home What impossible situation are you facing? |
2015-02-11 - Lead By Example Everyone must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence - Jonah 3:7-8 The biggest enemy of godly leaders is not leading by example Leading by example has always been one of a leader's greatest goals
Jonah warned the Ninevites of God's coming judgement and wrath Their king responded by instructing his people to:
...in hopes that God would change his minds and spare the city The king of the Ninevites humility and leading by example saved his city from judgement and wrath When you do as you say in life, you make it far easier for everyone around you to do the same |
2015-07-08 - Anticipation Rewarded Holy Spirit reveal to him that he woul not die until he had seen the Lord's Messiah - Luke 2:26 Humans are creatures of anticipation. Serveral studies show expectation of something good benefits our health and sense of well-being Simon had lived a long life of such close fellowship with God and the Holy Spirit told him he would see the Messiah A voice told him to go to the Temple, this was his day When Simon saw baby Jesus, he knew immediately that this was the One he had been waiting for Simon: Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people - Luke 2:29-31 |
2015-07-09 - Lead by Doing From the days of our ancestors until now, we have been steeped in sin - Ezra 9:7 People usually follow an example than any amount of talking If you want people to do what is good and right, do those things yourself Ezra led the second wave of Jewish exiles to their homeland after 70 years of capivity They started living like pagans they had married - Ezra 9:1 Ezra was innocent of any wrongdoing and could have let God deal with them as they deserved Instead, Ezra prayed in repentance on behalf of all the people and included himself His repentance by example move his people to change their ways |
2015-09-26 - In It Together Then they stood on each side of Moses holding up his hands until sunset - Exodus 17:12 Moses' part of the battle was to provide spiritual support for his army The hold up his staff represented Israel's dependence on God:
Israel ran into problems when Moses became tired Quick thinking from Aaron and Hur - held his hands up The problem was solved through cooperation |
2015-11-09 - Clean the Air Give him all of it, I am content just to have you safely back again - 2 Samuel 19:30 Mephibosheth and David had a great relationship until Ziba, Mephibosheth's servant, lied about Mephibosheth helping Absalom to take this throne Mephibosheth found out about Ziba's deception and traveled to Jeresalum to reconcile with his old friend When David heard Mephibosheth's account, he offered half of what he offered Ziba Mephibosheth cared little about the offering and was satisfied with know David had returned to his rightful place Has a relationship you onced enjoyed soured? Take a risk by taking the first step |
2015-12-04 - Need for the Holy Spirit Jesus returned to Galilee filled with the Holy Spirit - Luke 4:14 Any man who has accomplished something for the Lord owes his sucess to the empowerment of the Holy Spirit Jesus left us an example on how to depend on the Spirit for power, guidance, and encouragement Every wise word he spoke and every miraculous deed he performed grew out of the Spirt's prompting Jesus didn't began his public ministry until "the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove - Luke 3:22 If Jesus, as the perfect Son of God, needed the empowerment of God's Spirit, how much more do you need his power today? |
2015-12-20 - Speak Up Absalom never spoke to Amnon about this - 2 Samuel 13:22 Absalom showed what happens when the lines of communication between two people break down He had every right to feel angry about Amnon rapping his sister What went wrong is his refusing to talk about it and making no effort to try to resolve the situation - Amnon felt sorry for what he had done Absalom's anger grew deep inside until it became implacable hatred He waited for the right opportunity to order his servants to kill Amnon - 2 Samuel 13:28 Absalom paid a heavy price for his failure to resolve his conflict openly and peacefully
|
2024-02-01 - Truth (part III) Can truth be known? Athiest may start with "I don't believe in God!" Would you be willing to look at the evidence? Evidence can not convince the unwilling Complete agnosticism is self-defeating - "truth can not be known" and believe it to be true (a true claim) Truth can be known? YES Can all religions be true?
Major differences:
"Tolerance" means that you are suppose to except all religions to be true
You shall not judge - it is a judgment Elephant parable (world religions are objective vs objective) - may seem persuasive until you get to one question - what the perceptive of the narrator, isn't it an objectiveone? |