2008-04-11 - Falling in Love with God - Remembering The Father It is good to be reminded of who God the Father is: 1. God's love is unconitional
The only ones who dail to receive forgiveness are the ones who fail to ask for it 2. God always comes through God is faithful, he can not disown himself (2 Timothy 2:13) 3. Nothing is impossible for God God's power is absolute 4. God never makes a mistake He knows what we can bear - he is always right | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008-04-23 - Falling in Love with God - Discerning God's voice
God's word contains God's voice | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008-05-14 - Power of Spiritual Thinking - I was Born this Way Son will not share the guilt of the father - Ezekiel 18:20 Environment or heredity - most likely both Must be slow to judge situations we do not completely understand otherwise may bless us with an understanding in a way we do not want Other extreme - develop a victim mentality regarding ourselves or others Can lead to being angry, use drugs, being immoral, or just about anything else We have difficulty applying this to a murder Answer: despite it being more difficult and having different backgrounds, the standard is still the same He does not ask us to do anything he will not enable us to do Identify the sin > repent of it > start relying on God grace > formulate a plan to overcome sin Psychology can find root causes but it is powerless to find a cure Hezekiah and Josiah were righteous amount a line of kings that were evil The promises of God are far greater than our past and present challenges Pray that we may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way - Colossians 1:10-12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008-05-26 - Purpose Driven Life - Seeing Life from God's View How do you see your life? What images come to mind? Let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind Life on earth is a Test Trials, temptations, refining, and testing occurs over 200x in the Bible Success:
Your realize that nothing is insignificant, tested by:
God wants you to pass - James 1:2-3 Life on earth is a Trust God loans you the earth, we never really own anything Want to hear: "Well done, good and faithful servant" God uses finances: As a test (in good times) and a trust (hard times) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008-05-29 - Purpose Driven Life - Planned for God's Pleasure You are planned for God's pleasure He chose to create you for his enjoyment Bringing enjoyment to God is the first purpose in life He considers valuable enough to keep you for eternity with him Bringing pleasure to God is called worship Anything you do that brings pleasure to God is an act of worship to God Worship is a universal urge - if not worshiping God, it will be something Worship is not for your benefit, not "I got a lot out of it" Worship is far more than music Worship music is not limited to a particular style of music - nothing to do with volume or speed of the song Style of the music says more about you than it does God Worship is not a part of your life, it is your life Every activity can be transformed into an act of worship Whether you drink or eat or whatever... do it all for the glory of God- 1 Corinthians 10:31 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008-05-31 - Purpose Driven Life - What Makes God Smile? (Part 2) Noah was an example of making God smile (continued):
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2008-06-04 - Purpose Driven Life - Developing Your Friendship with God You are as close as you choose to be to God Must work to develop your friendship Must choose to be honest ...about your faults and feelings No one in the Bible was perfect:
We may harbor resentment toward God He wants you to hold back nothing about how you feel Choose to obey John 15:14 - You are my friends if you do what I command We are not equals - We obey obey God because we love him True friendship isn't passive; it acts "Great things for God" - Great things come once in a lifetime; small things come everyday Must choose to value what God values What does God value the most? His lost children Must desire a friendship with God more than anything Longing, yearning, thirsting, hungering - that was David Nothing matters more NO: What is it worth to you? NO: What cost is too much? Problems are wake-up calls for you come back to him | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008-06-06 - Purpose Driven Life - When God Seems Distant Easy to worship God when things are going great God matures relationship by times of separation - Job, David, Jesus God promises to never leave you or forsake you Sin separates - Friendships are tested by separation and silence Sometimes distance from God is not because of sin - feelings may be off It is not a feeling, God will remove your dependence of feelings Tell God how you feel God can handle your doubt, fear, anger, grief, confusion, and questions Remember: God is unchanging: Job praised God in these ways:
His promises do not change despite circumstances Remember what God has already done for you Even if God will not do anything else for you (very unlikely) He gave his son | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008-06-12 - Purpose Driven Life - Cultivating Community Community requires commitment Only the Holy Spirit can create real fellowship between believers Cultivating community takes... ...Honesty Silent when someone sins - not loving thing to do Means caring enough to lovingly confront - Proverbs 24:26 A group will remain superficial because they are afraid to conflict It is where gossip thrives Corinth church was allowing sexual immorality because no one had the courage to say anything. ...Humility Pride builds walls between; humility builds bridges Being prideful is living in opposition to God - 1 Peter 5:5 Develop humility by: admitting weakness, being patient with other's weakness, being open to correction, pointing the spotlight on others ...Courtesy Nothing to do with compatibility Basis of our fellowship is our relationship to God - We are family ...Confidentiality Does not mean keeping silent about sin Means - stays within the group - Proverbs 16:28 ...Frequency You need to spend time - make it a habit - Hebrew 10:25 Community is not built on convenience - "Let's get together sometime" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008-06-16 - Purpose Driven Life - How We Grow God wants you to grow up - some grow older but never grow up (Ephesians 4:14-15) Nothing shapes your life than the commitments you make God's part and your part Our part is to: Continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling - Philippians 2:12-13 Our role = "work out" salvation (grow - in a body workout we have our body but we make it better) Changing your autopilot Becareful what you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts - Proverbs 4:23 Going on a diet, exercising does not work if you do not change your thinking - "I am going on a diet" The way you think determines the way you feel - which influences how you act - Ephesians 4:23 Babies by nature are completely selfish It is not the amount of biblical information and doctrine you know | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008-06-20 - Purpose Driven Life - Defeating Temptation There is always a way out Refocus attention on something else By resisting, you actually reinforce it Reveal your struggle to a gold friend or support group If you fall, a friend can help you up - Eccelesiastes 4:9-10 Resist the Devil He will flee when you resist - James 4:7 Realize your vulnerabilities The heart is deceitful above all things- Jeremiah 17:9 Don't carelessly place yourself in tempting situations, avoid them - Proverbs 14:16 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008-06-23 - Purpose Driven Life - Dont Get In A Hurry Believe God is working in your life - Expect gradual improvement Keep a notebook or journal of lessons learned
There are many examples where God goes through the process of maturing It took over eighty years to mature Moses Don't try to get out of anything prematurely - James 1:4 Don't get discouraged Things God plans don't always happen right away, just be patient - Habakkuk 2:3 A delay is not denial from God | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008-06-27 - Purpose Driven Life - Shaped for Serving God Before God created you, he decided what role he wanted you to play on earth You were made for a specific ministry. Created in Christ to do good works - Ephesians 2:10 God does not make junk God never wastes anything - he did not give you talents and gifts unless he intended for you to use them for his glory God shapes us: Spiritual Gifts Heart Abilities Personality Experience We will look at spiritual gifts and heart today: SHAPE: Spiritual Gifts He alone decides which gift each person should have - 1 Corinthians 12:11 If you had them all, you would not need others; teaches us to love and depend on each other Given gifts for the benefit of others Gift given as a means of helping the entire church - 1 Corinthians 12:7 Two gift problems:
Heart = desires, hopes, interest, ambition, dreams, and passion Heart reflects the person - Proverbs 27:19 You may have interest that no one else has - from God Don't ignore your interest; consider how they might be used by God Serve the Lord with all of your heart - Deuteronomy 11:13 How do you know if you are serving the Lord with all of your heart?
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2008-07-01 - Purpose Driven Life - Real Servants (part 1) We server God by serving others How can you know if you have the heart of Jesus? Real Servants make themselves available to serve Like a soldier, always by for duty - 2 Timothy 2:4
Real servants pay attention to needs Always looking out for ways to help others Real servants do their best with what they have Servant never make excuses, procratinate, wait for better circumstances | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008-07-11 - Purpose Driven Life - Made for a Mission (part 3) Your mission give your life meaning The nest use of your life is to spend it for something that outlast you. My life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me - Acts 20:24 The is some people that only you can reach God's timetable is connected to the completion of our mission Some are focus on when Christ will come No one knows (or will know) the day or hour of the end - Matthew 24:36 It is not for us to know; it is up to us to witness - Acts 1:7-8 Jesus quickly switch the conversations from prophecy to evangelism Satan would rather have do anything besides sharing your faith Expect Satan to throw all kinds of diversion at you Anyone who lets themselves get distracted from God's plan is not fit for the Kingdom of God - Luke 9:62 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008-07-17 - Purpose Driven Life - Becoming a World-Class Christian (part 3) Shift from "here and now" thinking to eternal thinking Eternal thinking will keep us from majoring on minor issues We fix our eyes on what is unseen - 2 Corinthians 4:18 Deal sparingly on things the world trusts on you - 1 Corinthians 7:31 Let's strip off anything that holds us back - Hebrews 12:1 Invest in the future (in heaven) Store up treasure in heaven - Matthew 6:20-21 Real treasure in God in heaven and the friends we can bring with us - 1 Timothy 6:19 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008-08-07 - 30 Days at the Cross - Spectators or Sacrifices Sacrifice - we think of pain, suffering, loss, and the uncomfortable concept of denying self Sacrifice is a voluntary presentation of ourselves to God to be used for his purposes We can respond in serveral ways to the sacrifice of Jesus:
Christ love needs to compel us - 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 What happens when you offer your body as a living sacrifice?
What types of sacrifices is God asking of you right now? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008-08-23 - 30 Days at the Cross - Consumed with Reconciliation Bible makes it clear: God is consumed with reconciliation At the cross: it reconciles us to God, then reconciles us to each other There must be humility on both sides: God humility (did not need to go the human level but he did for our sake) - Philippians 2:5-8
Do you want to resolve a conflict in a relationship? Do it Gods way:
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2008-10-27 - Man of Prayer - Daily Bread Praying for our needs: 1. Needs of our life 2. Desires of our life 3. Area of anxieties - we should not worry about our lives - Matthew 6:25-34 The Biblical antidote for anxiety is prayer Make a list of all the sources of desire and anxiety in our life If I wanted it or worried about it - decide to pray about it Also keep in mind to ask God to not give me anything that would not be a blessing Israel asked for meat and received it from God while in the dessert - but also sent leanness into their souls - Psalms 106:15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008-11-15 - Man of Prayer - Miracle List It is helpful to keep a separate list of needs for times of pure intercession:
Also good to have a "miracle list" God can do anything - nothing is impossible - Luke 1:37 During difficult times, God extended a seeming impossible invitation: Call to me and I will answer with great and unsearchable things - Jeremiah 33:3 He can do immeasurably more than what we can ask - Ephesians 3:20 We know God can do anything; we just don't know if he will do them
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2008-11-29 - Raising Awesome Kids - Humility and Approachability Clothe yourself with humility toward one another - 1 Peter 5:5 Our families know how imperfect we are Most responsibility = most mistakes Powerful and enduring leaders are those without pretension Paul said he was the chief of sinners Apologize bluntly Apologize quickly Ask "Is everything all right? Is anything else bothering you?" Wallowing in guilt or losing self-confidence over your mistakes is not true humility - it is selfishness and lack of faith People in our family should feel free to come to us and tell us whatever is on their mind Our responsibility is to create a feeling of freedom and openness in our households If we do not, we are headed for a day of bitter reckoning | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008-12-18 - Raising Awesome Kids - Dreary Disobedience (part 2) Israelites - if only we had meat; we never see anything but manna - Numbers 11:4-10 God met the needs of the Israelites but he punished them for their attitude - Numbers 11:33 Must teach our kids to be grateful | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008-12-31 - Raising Awesome Kids - How to Nuture Confidence (part 1) Only proper foundation is their relationship with God Develops confidence without cockiness Stress a relationship with God Focus on character - Tell your children over and over again that heart and attitude matter to God Applaud effort than ability Two of three men were successful because of their efforts not their ability - Matthew 25 Enough openness
Search out your kids strengths - everyone has at least some It is your job to help children discover and succeed in those things | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2009-01-06 - Raising Awesome Kids - Family Devotionals Family worship is an abolute must if we are to build a spiritual household Two or three come together in my name, there am I with them - Matthew 18:19-20 Shouldn't be anything but a boring or irrelevant hour Plan devotionals with your spouse - select relevant to the current needs Last about 45 mins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2009-04-10 - Promises of God - How We Are to Give? Do not give as the world gives - John 14:27 Give to :
Fear may cause questions:
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