2011-02-11 - Fearing God - Parable of Awe Marine Corp example Solider learned to respect autority promptly and correctly by carrying out commands / seeing pure fear and humilation as punishment Later he realizes how much the general cares for him by putting his life on the line for the solider Jesus often spoke in parables, fictional stories that as if they really happened Awe is defined as:
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2011-02-13 - Discipleship - Kansas City (part III) Cost of Following Jesus Luke 14:25-33
Matthew 28:16-20
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2011-02-21 - The Church - Kansas City (part I) Purpose: To help you understand the role of the church and we (as disciples) have in the church The Head and Body Colossians 1:15-20
Ephesians 2:14-21
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2011-03-04 - Jesus is God (part I) Examples showing the deity of Jesus:
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2011-08-05 - Daughter Needs - Father Knows Best Father Knows Best dad = insists on always being right Only accepts his daughter when she performs to his standard Everyone needs to learn how to live and work under authority and need to command a certain level of respect, but sometimes we are wrong We need to own up to our own shortcomings If we ignore or deny our mistakes - it will create bitterness A father who refuses to admit their mistakes has a daughter that does not trust him How can can she rely on your advice Your reliability is increased when you admit your mistakes A strong man admits and corrects his mistakes If you want your daughter to believe in her father, show her you know best and own your behavior |
2011-08-14 - Daughter Needs - Learning Deuteronomy 6:6-7 - Moses told the parents of Israel, "talk about God all the time through their daily lives" Spiritual teaching/learning is with a doubt the highest priority for all dads Show your daughter the rules of society or let it come from somewhere else (friends, TV, schools) Show how to properly respond to authority - they are watching how you respond Drive with your daughter the way you expect her to drive when she gets her license Teach her to respect those in leadership Speaking well of leadership can encourage her to catch a vision for her life's calling |
2012-01-04 - Day 32 - Walking as Jesus did 1 John 2:5-6 - Think back over the past several days. Are you walking like Jesus? Mark 1:21-28
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2013-04-16 - The Strength of Jesus (part I) Four instances of Jesus' first impressions:
Jesus draws men to him because of his power
Only a man of strength draws to him great masses of men
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2013-06-26 - Why we need men of resolution (part III) Fathers are to reveal and represent God All fatherhood comes from Him (Ephesians 3:14–15). Should be able to see these qualities of God:
The word father means “founder, source, chief, or leader.” Godhead described, it is always God the Father first, then the Son, then the Holy Spirit. Want to know what God is like? then just look at Jesus. Are representing your heavenly Father? Thist is your priceless purpose.
Great homes don’t just happen, need to be intentionally cultivated and guarded. Let truth, love, and wise discipline become constant ingredients of fathering. |
2013-09-12 - A Man Embraces Responsibility Men are happiest and at their best when they are responsible We must resolve to fully embrace all of our responsibilities before God Responsibility = you are being entrusted and empowered by a higher authority to care for something or someone The first thing God did after creating Adam, was to give him responsibilities. He placed him in the garden “to cultivate it and keep it” - Genesis 2:15 Sin makes men tend to resist responsibility, but embracing it is part of our manhood It is a relatively modern invention that establishes teen years as a moratorium on responsibility and prolongs childhood indefinitely. When a young man is passive and irresponsible, he greatly limits his freedoms, opportunities, and successes. Responsibility calls us to action and tests us. It reveals our character. The more maturity a man has, the more responsibility God can trust him with. Embrace responsibility! Love it. Live it. Teach it to your children. If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward” - Luke 12:42-43 |
2013-10-09 - Resolve to Lead Your Family When Moses died, God turned to Joshua and told him it was now his job to lead He promised him four spiritual resources to help him
Again and again Joshua heard: “Be strong and courageous!” Leadership is about courage - the courage to trust God, to do the right thing, to stand alone, and to maintain forward momentum |
2014-02-19 - Heart Hindrances (part I) The following “heart hindrances” that will push your chidren away.
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2014-03-17 - Teach Them to Fear the Lord (part I) If you and your wife had two children and trained them to faithfully live for Christ, and both of them raised two more children to faithfully live for Christ as well, then those same ten generations could produce 1,024 faithful believers. Teach the Word “diligently” to your children “when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up” - Deuteronomy 6:7 Instruct “to fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments” - Deuteronomy 6:2 Love, truth, and respectful fear go hand in hand. Fearing the Lord transforms our thinking. |
2014-03-21 - Train Them to Honor Authority (part I) Honor is attractive
The whole concept of authority comes from God. Earthly authority is His design and tool for creating order and for keeping us accountable and responsible, for honoring good and for punishing evil - Romans 13:1-4 Authorities on earth help keep us mindful of His superior, eternal authority God can turn the heart of anyone in a leadership position in any direction - Proverbs 21:1 We should be like Jesus and submit to our imperfect, human authorities knowing that God uses them to carry out His purposes - John 19:11 The only time we should not submit to them is when they are asking us to disobey God and sin - Acts 5:29 Notice that Scripture does not tell us to obey them only if we agree with their judgment - Hebrews 13:17-18 When dishonoring authority, you are not rebelling against an individual but against God Himself. Handling and responding to authority is serious business. |
2014-03-22 - Train Them to Honor Authority (part II) You should actually want your leaders to succeed. You should be eager to help them fulfill their roles. This is how we should treat those over us - with a clear conscience, in respectful ways - not only from a fear of God but as a witness and an example to our children. Our kids will most likely adopt our views on authority in their own lives as well. We are accountable to Him - both to love Him and to fear Him. When you teach your children to honor authority, you are teaching them to better honor God.
Helping them not “forget his deeds” but to “keep his commands” - Psalms 78:7 Honoring authority will help them obey you. Honoring authority is a hallmark of godly men and their children.
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2014-04-04 - Disciplining Your Children (part I) A major part of your role as a father is to disciple your kids Discipling your kids requires discipline on our part Discipline doesn’t feel good, nor should it - Hebrews 12:11 Discipline should be more on the father’s shoulders than the mother’s because of who we represent. Loving discipline prepares our kids to respect and obey their heavenly Father We had earthly fathers to discipline us, for they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good - Hebrews 12:9-10 It is the father’s job is to take the long view, not the short one. Withheld discipline may seem momentarily pleasant to the child and the parent but it takes no skill or courage to be a passive father Not disciplining guarantees that uncorrected sin will follow his child into adulthood and follow his family into the coming generations Its momentary discomfort - knowing that sin will harm a child in far worse ways than even the painful discipline of a loving father. He who loves him disciplines him promptly - Proverbs 13:24 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it - Proverbs 22:6 IT is a lie from the Enemy to believe that rebelling against and dishonoring authority brings more freedom and peace Bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord - Ephesians 6:4
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2015-03-26 - Bucking the System Officals to Mordecai: "why are you disobeying the king's command?" - Esther 3:3-4 Bible teaches believers to obey those in authority Mordecai was tested when KIng Ahasuerus ordered his officals to bow before Haman - Esther 3:2 He had repeatedly proved his loyalty to the king but he would not bow down before any human God turned the crisis to actually advance the well-being of the entire Hebrew people When you take a stand, you demonstrate the ultimate value of your commitment to God and you encourage secret believers to declare their allegiance to the Lord |
2015-05-13 - Wise and Humble Leadership He had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall - 2 Chronicles 26:16 It takes a man of true humility to keep his feet on the ground over the long haul when he is given power and authority over others Uzziah, Judah's tenth king, was not such a man His long and sometimes distinguished reign came to an unfortunate end because of his arrogant thirst for power Uzziah expressed his arrogance by entering the sactuary though this job was reserved for his priest Had Uzziah remained humble, he might have become one of the nation's greatest kings - instead, he spent his later years shut away from people in a leper colony Do you understand your place in the big picture? |
2015-06-01 - Honesty's Rewards Have I ever... Tell me and I will make right whatever I have done wrong - 1 Samuel 12:3 Samuel earned a reputation for unimoeachable honesty that served him well At Saul's coronation, he asked the people to declare if Samuel was honest and person of integrity Everyone knew the answer and didn't hesitate to give it - YES! Samuel could speak to the people with great authority because he had carefully maintained his reputation as an honest man How can Samuel's example help you to choose honesty? |
2015-06-10 - Repecting the Office The Lord will strike down some day - he will die of old age or in battle - 1 Samuel 26:10-11 Even if you disagree with the person, you should still repect the office they hold God chose David to succeed Saul as Israel's king Saul's jealously and anger at David's popularity made him a target David might have been justified to defend himself by killing Saul but twice he refused He knew God alone had the authority to remove Saul David respected God's office as the One whose sovereign will works everything out in his own good time When you understand that remains at the helm of the universe, you can relax Wait on God to move on your behalf |
2015-07-15 - Don't Rock the Boat They incited a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 other leaders - Numbers 16:2 Korah was a strong man who organized a corp of leaders with the intention of usurping Moses' authority and installing his own very of the preisthood He forgot what happened to Aaron and Miiam when they challenged Moses' leadership - Numbers 12 Korah was a special leader but he wanted more than what God had given him God removed them from their positions and removed them from the earth altogether Some of God's greatest leaders have been willing to rock the boat but they also have a strong grasp of respecting authority When we submit to those in authority, we demonstrate a key condition for God's blessing: humility! |
2015-08-28 - Basis of Confidence It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord - 2 Chronicles 26:17-18 Nothing keeps you from what God calls like self-doubt and fear Nothing gives you confidence like knowing you have God's full support King Uzziah of Judah was arguably one of the most powerful men in the world - few dared to say "no" to him Azariah, the high priest, knew Uzziah had been out of line by burning incense - a duty reserved for the priests alone He knew confronting the king of Judah entailed a great deal of risk Uzzuiah had the authority, temperament, and the inclination to end Azariah's life Azariah spoke out because he knew he had God's full support Uzziah flew into a rage but it ended up Azariah who continue to stand in the Temple as God's servant |
2015-10-29 - Integrity They are honest and trustworthy men - 2 Kings 22:7 The unnamed men who supervised the restoration of the Temple were so honest that Josiah ordered the high priest to stop keeping accounts of the money they spent to repair God's holy Temple Josiah wrote what amounted to a blank check to get the work done Why? Because they had already proved themselves faithful How do you conduct yourself when no one is watching? When you demonstrate integrity in everything you say and do, you earn the trust of those in authority over you |
2015-10-30 - Authority I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are - Matthew 8:8 When you understand the authority of Christ over all things, you open yourself up to receive the very best The Roman officer was under the authority of his superiors and authority over his subordinates He was expected when he gave orders, it was good as done The officer recongnized that Jesus had absolute authority to carry out whatever he agreed to do What would Jesus do for us if we only asked him to do and believe he could What sort of confidence do you have in Jesus' authority? Would your life change if you had the confidence of this Roman officer? |
2015-12-03 - Faithfulness The Lord was with Joseph in the prison - Genesis 39:21 Joseph lived an upright life but endured more than his share of injustice at a young age Through everything Joseph continued to serve GOd and those in authority over him Joseph conduced himself in a way to earn himself respect and administration of everyone who knew him How did he maintain a faithful heart when at times it must have seemed God had abandoned him? The Lord was with Joseph Since Joseph knew God was with him, he prospered in every situation he faced including false imprisionment Joseph remained steadfast in his commitment to God and He would reveal his hand in due time |
2015-12-22 - Frame of Reference This happened so the power of God could be seen in him - John 9:3 Jesus' disciples believed bad things happen to bad people Jesus quickly corrected their faulty thinking by denying the man's blindness had anything to do with anyone's sin This blindness was to be one day used to bring the people's attention to Jesus' devine power and authority When blind man obeyed Jesus, he was able to see for the first time in his life Jesus' miracle changed the disciples' notions about God and how he works through human circumstances |
2018-02-07 - The Strength of Jesus John the Baptist was a mighty man but he said there was one coming who is mighter than he He baptized great and small but when Jesus arrives, John falters and draws back at thought of baptizing Jesus Fisherman left all and followed him - such was the impression he made upon them Jesus goes into the synagogue and begins to teach, they are amazed how he teaches with such authority He heals and the people are surprised because God given such power to a man Jesus drew men to him:
In each place Jesus arrived, he turned it upside down by his presence Only a man of strength draws to him great masses of men |
2018-03-30 - The Orginality of Jesus No one in Jesus' day raise the question of whether he was original or not No personality like that of Jesus had ever been encased in flesh before Jesus began by reading a scripture in Isaiah that others had read but they did not understand it meaning Religion is partly ceremony and partly ethics Jesus emphased mercy instead of sacrifice Accent in his teaching was full of assurance, certainty and authority He never hesitated, speculated, or showed any indication of a wavering mind - I tell you the truth Jesus was the complete man He was differernt from all other men that had ever been and he said so |