2008-02-29 - Power of Gratitude - Bon Appetit Satan works to both deceive us and accuse us - People tend to have a deceived or an accused conscience Too many of us seem to think that God turns away from us when we are doing bad and turns back when we repent Fathers are much more engaged when their kids are not doing well God ran to the Lost Son - Luke 15 Gave his only Son when we were not doing well - John 3:16-17 Christ died for the ungodly - Romans 5:6-11 At the point the mind changes - our conscience should be cleared Sin is serious - that is what the cross is all about Feel the burden of sin long enough to be convicted and move to repentence |
2008-03-23 - Be Still My Soul - Pour Out Your Heart We can to one of a few things in challenging times:
Pour out your hearts - Psalms 62:8 I pour out my complaint before him - Psalms 142:2 How can we be close to someone if we have not poured out our hearts God is all-knowing but unless we tell him our feelings we will never draw close Everyone has feelings; it may be difficult at first Jesus: offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears - Hebrews 5:7 Suggestions:
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2008-04-03 - Falling in Love with God - Fear The other emotional response that undermines our love for God Perfect love drives our fear - 1 John 4:18 Fear one of the most powerful and universal tools Satan uses for:
There is healthy fear (like fearing God) but unhealthy fear is one that controls us and causes us to turn away from God's direction
God understands the destructive nature of fear |
2008-05-20 - Power of Spiritual Thinking - Heaven Can Wait 2 Corinthians 12:2-7 - Paul longed for heaven but was willing to wait in order to fulfill his purpose Death held no fear for him because heaven was so real Life goes by so quickly - Psalms 90:10 All are destined to become distance memories for those we leave behind 2 Corinthians 4:16 - we are wasting away outwardly but being renewed day by day It is far too easy to become attached to this life - hardship changes this. As beautiful as all of God's creation is, God made it as throwaway It is destined to be burned up and to pass away - 2 Peter 3:10 |
2008-05-25 - Purpose Driven Life - Made to Last Forever This life is preparation for the next - realizing this will help you live differently
God has planted eternity in the human heart - Ecclesiastes 3:11 The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears The most damging aspect of contemporary living is short-term thinking This world is not our home - Hebrews 13:14 |
2008-06-03 - Purpose Driven Life - Best Friends with God God wants to be your friend God's ideal relationship - Adam and Eve (no rituals, ceremonies, or religion) Moses, Abraham, David, Job, Enoch, and Noah had intimate relationships with God Most in the OT had just the fear of God You are not longer servants but friends - John 15:15 Through constant conversations Make it a habit to have daily devotion time but it more than just that God wants to be included in every activity in your life (Some think you have to get away) Key to the friendship is not changing what you do but your attitude toward what you do Pray all the time - 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray as often as possible Help me trust you You are here with me I'm depending on you You are my God How awesome you are! Pray as often as possible Your goal is not a feeling but an awareness of the reality that God is always present Through continual meditation Thing about His Word throughout your day - who God is, What he has done, and what he has said Meditation is simply focused thinking - Worry is a form of meditation Friends share secrets God told his secrets to Abraham, Daniel, Paul, his disciples, and others friends When you read your Bible or hear a sermon - develop a practice of review the truth in your mind |
2008-06-14 - Purpose Driven Life - Protecting Your Church It is your job to protect the unity of the church Supreme model for unity is the Trinity Jesus' final moment was thinking and praying about the church's unity Make every effort to keep the unity - Ephesians 4:3 Focus on what we have in common We share the same life, salvation, and same future Conflict - focused on "disputable matters" Be realistic in your expectations People become disillusioned with church Should not be surprised - made up of sinners, including ourselves - 1 Corinthians 1:10 Reconciliation - not running away - road to stronger character and deeper fellowship If the church must be perfect to satisfy you, that same perfection will exclude you Choose to encourage rather than criticize It is always easier to stand on the sidelines than get involved Judge another believer:
Satan is the accuser of our brothers Other Christians are not the real enemy Any time spent for comparing and criticizing should be used for building others up Refuse to listen to gossip People who gossip to you will also gossip about you Great wounds usually come from other sheep, not wolves Practice God's method for conflict resolution Go to the person you are having issues with - Matthew 18 Takes a man of courage to speak the truth in love Support your pastor and leaders - Hebrews 13:17 No perfect leaders They are accountable but so are you You will give an account on how you obeyed your leaders |
2008-06-19 - Purpose Driven Life - Growth Through Temptation Happy is the man who does not give in - will be rewarded with the crown of life - James 1:12 Every temptation is an opportunity to do good through the path of maturity How does the Holy Spirit produce fruit in our lives? - Galatians 5:22-23 By allowing you to be tempted by the opposite opportunity
Temptation follows 4 steps:
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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 |
2008-07-27 - 30 Days at the Cross - Who Gets the Credit? How quick human nature is to accept credit for certain accomplishments I will not boast about myself, except my weaknesses (Paul) - 2 Corinthians 12:5 Why boast about our weaknesses?
Who would want the power of God? A person that truly boasts in the cross does not:
Jesus could keep a full record of your credits and debts - but do you want that? sin and all? Are you trying to earn your salvation |
2008-08-28 - Teach Us To Pray - Strength and Shield The closest solar system is 3.5 light years away or 21 trillion miles Some galaxies have 10 trillion stars Countless are the stars but has no trouble Our visible universe is 15 trillion by 6 trillion miles across We need to learn to trust God's ability to meet our daily needs:
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2008-09-01 - Teach Us To Pray - Hungry and Thirsty (part 2) We must Desire God Alone Many people fail to have satisfying prayer lives because they are double-minded when they pray Must do our best to rid ourselves of distractions Unless you passionately fight for time alone with God, it will not happen God Blesses the Hungry Heart When we pray righteously, it allows God to work powerfully in our lives
No hungry heart will ever be turned away |
2008-09-07 - Teach Us To Pray - Honesty and Openness Honest communication is crucial element to any great relationship: God, spouse, children. Consider how ludicrous it is to not be real with God:
Moses:
It is in our openness that we hear our faithlessness and can turn away from it. God wants a relationship with you He wants to know our longings, aspirations, problems, anxieties, doubts, and even our sin |
2008-09-20 - Teach Us To Pray - Power for our weakness Weakness include:
Prayer is simply the key that unlocks the door to God's free reign in our lives He reigns whether we like it or not, but he will not take away our free will - we have to surrender it Getting rid of weakness is not the point - it to humbly submit yourself to God, depend on his power, and to rely on his strength |
2008-12-06 - Raising Awesome Kids - Teach them to love others Kids who are showered with love must be taught to give it away Love and concern for others should be talked about often We can do far too much for them - creates self-centeredness The whole family is an instrument of God - God will use in us is a dark and lost world |
2008-12-20 - Raising Awesome Kids - Power of Discipline (part 2)
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2008-12-21 - Raising Awesome Kids - Power of Discipline (part 3) What does the Bible say about spanking? He who spares the rod hates his son - Proverbs 13:24 Message is clear - Spanking is vaild, employed with wisdom and love
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2009-01-14 - Raising Awesome Kids - Fabric Refers to the building a structure and rhythm into our famiy schedule Mealtimes Stop letting people read the paper, watch TV or do homework during dinner Create family traditions - do things that uniquel to our family |
2009-01-31 - Jesus with People - No Dogs in Heaven Matthew 15 - The Canaanite Women Jesus was silent and by his silent he tested and revealed both the hearts of his disciples and the heart of this woman Perhaps the instructions given earlier by Jesus send then to find the lost sheep of Israel was still in their mind Maybe thought: "he sent us to find the lost Israelite. too bad, she is a Gentile. Send her away." Jesus did not send her away but said - I was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel - Matthew 15:24 Jesus - it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their gods - Matthew 15:26 Savior was willing to be misunderstood in order to flush out faith or faithlessness in the heart of this woman In the end, Jesus affirmed her faith and admired her grit He did not see the woman as unsubmissive or rebellious or undeserving; he saw her as full of faith Jesus was more concerned about helping someone grow in their faith than he was keep up the nice-guy image |
2009-02-23 - Jesus with People - Will He Find Faith? Luke 18:1-8 - Jesus tells of a parable about praying not giving up; concluding, 'will he find faith on the earth?' After Jesus was crucified and resurrected he could have gone home to the Father but chose to remain with his friends again He wanted to know their hearts. Where was their faith? - They still did not get it He did not walk away in disgust and give up on them |
2009-03-13 - Promises of God - Faith vs Doubt Doubt: God has forgotten about you and does not care Faith: He knows the way you have served - Hebrews 6:10. He knows notices and cares when a sparrow falls - Matthew 10:29 Doubt: He remembers but he remembers others more than you; Doubt fills in the blanks and customizes to your hopes and desires. Faith: God shows no favoritism; He moves at different time for different people; He has given everything we need for life and godliness Doubt calls into question the faithfulness of God Faith tells us it is impossible for God to lie When Doubt comes calling, we must turn away Faith says yes to God's promises |
2009-03-20 - Promises of God - Lord Delivers May have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all - Psalms 34:19 Three types of trouble:
Our job is to trust God - John 14:1, 27 He may deliver us from trouble or he may deliver us by using the trouble to teach us important lessons Our eternal glory far out weights our momentary troubles - 2 Corinthians 4:17 |
2009-03-21 - Promises of God - Formidable Foe We have a common enemy that must be overcome Described as:
He blinds the minds of individuals - 2 Corinthians 4:4 Satan takes people captive - 2 Timothy 2:26 But there is one greater... |
2009-07-15 - A Life of Impact - Prudence Prudence Mark 8:11-13
Moving On
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2009-07-23 - A Life of Impact - Ambition Ambition Mark 9:33-35
Win/Lose/Win
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