2008-08-10 - 30 Days at the Cross - Surprise of Serving Two types of serving: Hired and Bond (no rights nor wages) Bond servants included: thieves, unable to make restitution, and the poor Jesus willfully and purposefully became a bond servant - Phillippians 2 Character changes need to be made and preceded by suffering:
Are you know as a servant? Will others quickly turn to you in their time of need? | ||||||||
2008-08-11 - 30 Days at the Cross - Seeing It Through It is not hard to start something but it takes character to finish What did it take for Jesus to reach his goal? Nothing less than a relationship with the Father and death With dull disciples - could have become impatient Exhausted after a long journey - could have become selfish He never gave in How did he stay so determined to overcome? Offered prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears - Hebrews 5:7 Jesus shed tears for:
We are aware of our ineffectiveness, we focus on what we should be doing but neglect our relationship with God | ||||||||
2008-10-01 - Man of Prayer - Father (part 2) Addressing God as the Father seems pretty normal - not the case in Jesus' day Sometimes David prayed:
...but nowhere will you find David addressing the living god as "Father" Patriarchs, the prophets, and the priests of Israel were all men of prayer - never addressed their prayers to God as "Father" We begin our time in prayer with a father-child relationship | ||||||||
2008-10-02 - Man of Prayer - Empowerment Paul tells us that we don't know how to pray like we should - Romans 8 God will answer this prayer Do not have because we have not asked - James 4:2 | ||||||||
2008-10-03 - Man of Prayer - Relationship After asking for help from the Holy Spirit, then focus on the relationship with Pater (greek) = father Holy Spirit in our lives is a spirit of adoption by which God give us our spiritual birthright (Romans 8:16; Galatians 4:6) He delights when we come to Him as our Father, Abaa, Daddy:
The closer you are, the better responce you will get This relationship is critical to a healthy and vitaul prayer life | ||||||||
2008-10-04 - Man of Prayer - Authentic Encounter Must be an authentic encounter, not just a religious experience Imagine a small Aramaic child calling for his daddy Imagine Jesus holding you We live in a noisy culture Noise becomes background noise and without it, we can feel lost or anxious No wonder we do not allow God to speak to us When the disciples prayed, Hallowed be your name, it was to focus on God above all else Second section of prayer taught by Jesus in Luke 11, starts tomorrow | ||||||||
2008-10-08 - Man of Prayer - YHWH-shamma God is "the Lord who is present" He has a great desire to dwell in the lives of believers:
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2008-10-18 - Man of Prayer - Praying for our personal lives Jesus has given us permissions to seek divine intervention He delights in our desire to experience His intervention Part our our prayer time should be devoted to our needs: What do you want? Sometimes we do not have because we do not ask - James 4:2 OR because our motivation is not proper Asking for God's favor can not be self-centered because God is infinite: David asked to be the apple of God's eye - Psalms 17:8 He was a man after his own heart - Acts 13:22 Spiritual needs may include:
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2008-10-26 - Man of Prayer - Principles of Provision It is important to understand certain principles apply to receiving our daily bread
Haggai 1 - we need to consider our ways
Because of there repentance, they were rewarded:
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2008-10-28 - Man of Prayer - Experiencing Forgiveness Being a Christian is a no-lose proposition Athlete - performance dictated opportunity to participate Student - achievement is based off of grades and advanced degrees Every area in which we perform we are eventually bound to fail We become a Christian on the basis of my failure and Jesus' performance By grace we have been saved - Ephesians 2:8 Much more than just an initial experience of grace but a transformation of justification - we need daily bread (grace) Jesus taught his disciples to confess their sins - Luke 11:4 | ||||||||
2008-11-06 - Man of Prayer - The Flesh (part 3) Three other ways to fight the battle aginst our flesh (nature) Resist temptation - 1 Peter 5:9 Most effective - avoidance - Lead us not into temptation Prayer becomes our spiritual "dressing room" for the battle of the day - Ephesians 6:13-17
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2008-11-10 - Man of Prayer - Final Issues If there was a medicine that could:
It still takes work and self-discipline - Pain = Gain We must translate our desire into action Exercise 3 days a week = too easy to make excuses Exercise 5 days a week = develop a habit 5 days can then become 7 days more easily because it is so ingrained Prayer needs to be everyday | ||||||||
2008-11-23 - Raising Awesome Kids - Provision and Protection If anyone does not provide for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever - 1 Timothy 5:8 Our families should never have to worry about where the next meal is coming from Our Heavenly Father provides for all our physical needs - Matthew 6:25-34 We should not imitate him in caring for my children? He works his land , will have abundant food - Proverbs 28:19 Get adequate medical insurance - so you do not burden your family will major costs Takes care of things around the house Do the repair jobs and maintenance work Husbands who are lazy - kids will see this and either disrespect us or gladly imitate us in it Fathers are protectors If any family member is in a situation where they are being beaten down, overwhelmed - this is the time to act Should not shield them from the realities of life, but from the forces from which they become helpless | ||||||||
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 | ||||||||
2009-01-02 - Raising Awesome Kids - How to Nuture Confidence (part 3) Teach them to appreciate and applaud the efforts and achievements of others
Be basically encouraging Be your children's biggest fan If you are fundamentally positive - when you give correction it will be received with thankfulness rather than discouragement Some say - 5 compliments to overcome one criticism Human nature flourishes on a diet of praise | ||||||||
2009-01-03 - Raising Awesome Kids - Foundations of a Spiritual Family Spiritual = to be on the inside what we trying to do one the outside: to be genuine, not to live a pretense of religious performance but to function out of a sincere relationship with God A spiritual family is where:
We can not take our families where we have not gone Children can spot a fake We must be:
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2009-01-05 - Raising Awesome Kids - Discipling Times These are times set to spend alone time with your child to talk with them, teach them the Bible, and pray with them Can begin as soon as your child can communicate fairly well Never let discipling times become boring and burdensome duty Try to go somewhere out of the house if possible Try to have set hours Select a topic and verse to share Realize that there may be a different topic that need to be discuss depending on the situation Compare notes with your spouse Read verses together > Talk about them > Take action > Share with the rest of the family These are incredible times to draw your children closer to God and you | ||||||||
2009-01-17 - Jesus with People - Humility in Action Jesus and John the Baptizer were very different - ie one preached in the desert and one in the cities and villages John called the people not to focus on him but the one who was coming Jesus came to be baptized by John - Matthew 3:11 John responds - I need to be baptized by you John submits to Jesus' submission and baptizes Jesus Satan hated it - they kept humbling themselves before one another - the bond of unity grew tighter and tighter This humility continued through out their lives - John: He must become greater; I must become less - John 3:27-30 Jesus did not grasp his equality with God - Philippians 2:6 Humility kept them bonded together, even when Satan was working to divide Pride: Keeps people from being united Humility: Bring people together When unity does not exist among believers: People are not willing to pay the price Pride means too much to them What relationship do you have that would be greatly changed if you show humility and not pride? | ||||||||
2009-01-22 - Jesus with People - Finding Faith Jesus was in ahuge crowd and suddenly a Roman centurion walks up to Jesus - Matthew 8:5-10 NT centurions are often mentioned with honor:
Lord, my servant lays paralyzed and in terrible suffering - Matthew 8:5-6 Jesus was moved by the man's heart - I will go and heal him Lord, I don't deserve to have you under my roof - Matthew 8:8 Say the word and he will be healed - Matthew 8:8 Jesus did not find anyone in Israel with such faith | ||||||||
2009-01-29 - Jesus with People - God Come Looking John 9:25 - One thing I do know, I was blind and now I see
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2009-01-30 - Jesus with People - Greatest in th Kingdom I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven - Matthew 18:1-4 Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost - Matthew 18:12-14 We need to become like children in a very specific way Our human nature wants to be first and to have control Matthew 18 were driven by the same desire - they asked Jesus "Who is the greatest?" When become like little children, we become like Jesus Paraphrase - Because of your power-hungry pride you guys are not even in the kingdom of God, and nothing will change this fact unless you start imitating this child After Jesus' sacrifice, all his teachings made sense Having a child's humility is impossible until we understand the cross Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends - John 15:13 Must see other brothers and sisters in Christ as God's little spiritual children who must be cared for God's heart is that not a single person be lost Do we feel the personal responsibility for others? Who do you know who is struggling spiritually? What can you do to help them? | ||||||||
2009-02-03 - Jesus with People - Give or Take? World seem to be divided into givers and takers Usually we feel as though we are the givers and everyone else is a taker We can draw back and become cynical - before long we cling to possessions, our rights or our feelings At that point we have become takers We would never admit it - and many of us do not see it Jesus meet a man that was a taker - Matthew Matthew was no different than us - he probably had a family with mouths to feed As he left the office and crept closer toward the crowd surrounding Jesus He heard the words - You must deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me Jesus then walked up to Matthew and said "Follow me" His life changed forever - became a disciple of Jesus How did Jesus know? do it? Jesus knew that he was sick and need to get well - Mark 2:17 We need to see people as they ready are and what they can become Is there some in your life you can share with but haven't because you don't think they are open? | ||||||||
2009-03-04 - Promises of God - Forgiving Others By the time we are old enough to understand, we have hurt and been hurt so many times - we need forgiveness and so do others The definition of a dysfunctional relationship: the inability to solve conflict and forgive Hugh obstacle: We can not truely forgive until we have experienced forgiveness Once we are forgiven, we are obligated to forgive others - Matthew 18 Our sins against each other pale in comparison to our sins against God | ||||||||
2009-03-08 - Promises of God - Lord of Physical Challenges Psalms 91:9-11 - God will protect us and guard you in all your ways We do not see the refuge that God is or the trouble from which he has saved us - we can become bitter He brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us In what areas of your life are you most thankful for this promise? | ||||||||
2009-03-09 - Promises of God - The Problem is Me Deuteronomy 4:29 - Find God when we seek him with all of our heart Repentance must be proven by our deeds - Acts 26:20 Praise God for his faithful correction - Proverbs 3:11-12 God hates sin, takes sin of idolatry, personally - Deuteronomy 6:15 Sin comes when we lower the standard of commitment in our lives and allow ourselves to become lazy, selfish and self-indulgent Being idolatrous and lukewarm is a serious sin against God - Revelation 3:16 Against God, his church, and the souls that are not saved as a result | ||||||||
2009-04-15 - Promises of God - Importance of Repentance God's goodness and God's blessing are designed to lead us to repentance - Romans 2:4 God's will is for us to hear about God's faithfulness and his promises and to decide:
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2009-06-14 - A Life of Impact - The Call The Call Mark 1:16-18 …To purpose
… To Imitate Him
… To a mutual Commitment
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2009-06-24 - A Life of Impact - Effective with the crowds Effective with the crowds Mark 3:7-12
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2009-07-09 - A Life of Impact - Toughness and Excellence Toughness Mark 6:45-46
Unwavering Excellence Mark 6:47-56
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2009-07-10 - A Life of Impact - Sounding the Alarm Sounding the Alarm Mark 7:1-13
Protectiveness
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2009-07-12 - A Life of Impact - Firmness and Flexibility Firmness and Flexibility Mark 7:24-30
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2009-07-23 - A Life of Impact - Ambition Ambition Mark 9:33-35
Win/Lose/Win
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2009-07-25 - A Life of Impact - Friend or Foe? Friend or Foe? Mark 9:38-41
Hell-Fire Speech Mark 9:42-50
Teacher Mark 10:1 – We must good teachers and in teaching mode. | ||||||||
2009-08-01 - A Life of Impact - Anger Anger Mark 11:11-19
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2009-08-14 - A Life of Impact - Emotional Transformation (part 1) Emotional Transformation Mark 14:32-42
In touch with His feelings
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2009-08-23 - Wild at Heart - Wild One whose image we bear Where do we come from? A man must know where he comes from and what he is made of both past and family fathers Most men are trying not to be like their fathers Who will they derive their sense of strength? To men God is: Distant and weak (How they would describe their father) Reminds us that life lived in fear is no life at all – all will die someday | ||||||||
2009-09-02 - Wild at Heart - The wound (part 2) Adam receives his name from God Abraham names Issac Jesus needed to hear those words God renames Jacob and Paul Racheal names son “son of my sorrow”. Jacob renames him “son of my right hand” It took intervention by the man, it always does A boy is brought into the world by his mother There comes a time for the shift when he begins to seek out his father’s affection – Hard for a mother Dad coming home is biggest event in a boy’s day Women try to fill void that an absent father has left Father calls his son “tiger” Turns to mom for comfort and dad for adventure If a mother will not allow her son to become dangerous, if she does not let the father take him away, she will emasculate him. | ||||||||
2009-09-04 - Wild at Heart - Fathers wound Divorce and abandonment - believes if they would have done better than daddy would have stayed Father’s silence - men become passive, doubt they are a man Most men who are living in falsehood have this kind of wound - arrows are deep and produces:
Can not marry because they are uncertain of themselves Drifting, deeply insecure, and loaded with-hatred | ||||||||
2009-09-08 - Wild at Heart - The fathers voice (part 1) A man needs to know his name - He needs to know he has got what It takes Can not know who we are until we know God Adam knew Eve intimately - this how we need to know God. Deep knowledge comes from a process of initiation. You have to know where you come from. Some try to get their identity from others – girlfriend/wife, friends, job, and hobbies Who can we turn to for this need? God could take him on that journey, provide what is missing Who will give your name and mean something? God! There is a terrible assault Adam was created for adventure and battles; he created us for a unique place in his history Abram becomes Abraham, Jacob becomes Israel, and Saul becomes Paul | ||||||||
2009-09-10 - Wild at Heart - False self (part 1) Place of our woundedness we construct a false self People can shutdown their heart and focus on what they are good at - Spock like Can become a perfectionist An impostor - don’t ever be your real self anymore because nobody likes you as you are As a defense against pain It becomes OUR plan for salvation - will fail time and time again until we give up God must take it away Those plans to protect and save us will actually destroy us - leads to death - Proverbs 16:25 Seems right to shield ourselves from pain and to save a little love There is a critical point in every man’s life True test of a man is when he starts to longer rely on what he’s used all his life Not women want a man that just exists | ||||||||
2009-09-19 - Wild at Heart - Healing the wound (part 5) Until we are broken, our life will be self-centered, self-reliant, our strength will be our own. So long as you think you are really something in and of yourself, what will you need God for? Think of the poser you know – are they the kind of man you would call 2am, when life is collapsing around you? Where a man’s wound is, that is where his genius will be. Because the wound was given in the place of your true strength Out of your brokenness that you discover what you have to offer the community When we begin to offer not merely our gifts but our true selves, that is when we become powerful That is when we are ready for battle | ||||||||
2009-09-20 - Wild at Heart - The Enemy (part 1) Any castles? Any great battles? Are there any great dragons? A man needs a battle to fight Early death of a man’s warriors keeps the boy in him from growing up If we can reawaken that fierce quality in a man – higher purpose, release the warrior within, then the boy can grow up and become truly masculine Every man is a warrior inside but the choice to fight is his own A man must have a battle to fight, a great mission to his life that involves and yet transcends even home and family. He must have a cause to which he is devoted even unto death – in the fabric of our being That is why God created you. Your whole life is in preparation for The lie from the enemy is that your role is insignificant No other man can replace you You are the hero in your own story - the main man A warrior has a vision Root of all our woes and false self was this: We are seeking to save our life and we lost it “Who ever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it” – Mark 8:35 For years all my daily energy was spent trying to beat the trails in my life and arrange for a little pleasure. Mercenary fights for pay, for his own benefit, his life is devoted to himself | ||||||||
2009-10-03 - One Another - Responsibility for one another Two extremes:
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2009-10-10 - Wild at Heart - The Strategy (part 3) 2. Intimidation Our condition may become normal to use after a while - depression If you pray and fight against – It will get worse. Once the Enemy is discovered, he usually does not just roll over and die. Jesus says get tough and resist the onslaught Next level Satan tries intimidation and fear He wants you to agree with intimidation because he fears you Fighting back, he will lose – Resist the devil and he will flee – James 4:7 Why do so many pastor’s kids go off the deep end? Evil One is trying to an old tactic – strike first and maybe the opposition will run He can’t win, you know God is with us “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you” – Joshua 1:5 The Lord is a warrior, the Lord is his name – Exodus 15:3 How did Jesus win the battle against Satan? God was with him Doesn’t simply mean that he’ll be around - he will fight for us Satan is trying to appeal to the traitor’s commitment to self-preservation when he uses fear and intimidation. So as long as we are back in the old story of saving our skin, looking out for Number One, those tactics will work. Become a warrior The most dangerous man on earth is the man who has reckoned with his own death. All men die, few men ever really live. | ||||||||
2009-10-23 - Repentance - What Happened (part 2) Congregation of consumers ultimately switches products, wholly dissatisfied with a church product
Like a doctor – it would be absurd to change their diagnose and treatment to the wants of the patient. Repentance is revival Questions:
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2009-10-30 - Repentance - The Prophets (part 1) Scriptures had become mere words to be studied and debated, rather than the practice of life Prophets are positive and negative reinforcement One needs not predict future events in order to serve as a prophet Don’t evade the prophet that God, in his grace, sends you – seek their counsel If God cannot help you repent through His word, then you will never repent – Luke 16:27-31 Moses
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2009-11-02 - Repentance - The Prophets (part 4) Prophets Transcend Public Opinion
Prophets Get to the Root to Produce Real Fruit
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2009-11-10 - Repentance - Transfigure Our Minds (part 3) Issue with Lust
Apply spiritual disciplines with dramatically different results How would Jesus think? Once you see the world through God’s eyes your mind and heart become so transformed that you “automatically” respond to every situation differently Questions
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2009-11-11 - Repentance - Worldly Sorrow (part 1) Sorrow does not equal repentance Nothing is more tragic than losing your eternal reward through popular yet readily avoidable errors Two great misconceptions Confusion that sorrow is repentance Humble prayers and our sorrow pleases God – still not repentance World Sorrow is neither Godly Sorrow Nor repentance Worldly sorrow brings death Five signs of world sorrow (pride) 1. Damage Control
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2009-11-15 - Repentance - Godly Sorrow (part 3) Zelos - Zeal Zeal reject the “whatever…” attitude as it determines to do “Whatever to takes!”Questions
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