2008-10-31 - Man of Prayer - Forgiveness Forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors - Matthew 6:12 Debt = opheilema = owning money to another Colossians 2:13-14 - written charge was canceled charge or code = cheirographon = charges drawn up against a convicted criminal Roman business world - debt had been paid - "tetelsthai" was written across the note - meaning "paid in full" Some word was used to when the punishment was executed on a list of chrages Every failure on our part to do God's will is a charge against us - a long document for most Jesus cried - it is finished (John 19:30) was actually the word "tetelsthai" = PAID IN FULL |
2009-01-18 - Jesus with People - Grateful Son Mary and Jesus - no greater pain than for parent to bury a child and live with that memory Jesus stops the process of redeeming humanity to focus on one final moment with him mom All excuses for neglecting our families die with Jesus - spends final moment and thinking how to provide for her Jesus submitted himself to being human - learned the lesson to honor your mother - Exodus 20:12 4x in the gospels - Jesus relates to Mary:
Busy disciples - often neglect the needs our immediate family? Husbands - too busy to listen to our wives? Parents - too busy to invest in our relationship with our children? When we neglect to provide for our relative - we deny the faith - 1 Timothy 5:7-8 Jesus won Mary's soul with a relationship |
2009-01-27 - Jesus with People - Rich Young Ruler Luke 18:22-24 Sell everything and follow him = It's not what you do but who you are Jesus did challenge him but he also loved him Jesus does not get into a lengthy theological debate Each of us lacks that "one thing" deep down that we must give up and following Jesus |
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? |
2009-02-06 - Jesus with People - Closeness Jesus, knowing he would have to face the cross alone - would be have been easay to maintain his distace Closeness reuires spending time together At the last supper, John was seated to Jesus' left - John 13:23-26 |
2009-04-04 - Promises of God - Prayers Real Purpose (part 2) Continued, a reminder of who God is: He can:
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2009-04-08 - Promises of God - Tireless Labor Satan works quickly to wear us down Fatigue and discouragement are his greatest tools Do you realize God can give you energy? Luke 17:7-10 and Galatians 6:9 -> gives energy to never quit Focusing on how hard something is will never product the desired fruit Focusing on God and letting others help us product tireless labor Moses needed Aaron and Hur to hold up his hands Ester needed Mordecai to carry out the plan to save the Israelities Jesus needed Simon to carry his cross God provides helps when we labor tirelessly for him |
2009-05-10 - No one like him - His Courage Submissive yes, Timid and fearful, no. Submissiveness, not cowardly or silence – gave up self for others Wanted loyalty over their families and friends (Luke 14:25-27) They must give up everything for salvation (Luke 14:28-33) Who can accept it? (John 6:60) Many no longer followed him (John 6:66) 1. Rich young ruler found that Jesus’ message would not change for anyone (Luke 18:18-30) 2. Jesus never held back – Jesus and turning over tables of thieves
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2009-05-12 - No one like him - Joy Most of the first 1,000 years’ pictures were of Jesus not smiling – common view Jesus never felt bitterness, negative thinking, or despair [Cheer-up] I have overcome the world – John 16:33 We can have complete joy – implementing the teaching of Jesus drew near to God (Joy) – John 16:21-24 Joy in enduring the cross – Hebrews 12:2 |
2009-05-31 - No one like him - Even Death on the Cross All during Jesus life, his brutal death was on his mind; he struggled and submitted to it (John 12:27) At Gethsemane, did not try to do it alone but asked for help from his friends (Mark 14:32-34); Peter and Judas did not ask for help One of the most important words in the Bible, Jesus – not as I will, but as you will (Mark 14:35-36) The image of the cross was so gruesome that it took 500 years to appear in art |
2009-06-02 - No one like him - The Empty Tomb (part 1) Disciples were confused with ups and downs of the week (Joyous entrance into Jerusalem then the cross) Without the resurrection there would be no church or New Testament; disciples would have disbanded and movement would have ended The resurrection gave them courage to preach the resurrection: Acts 1:22; 2:24,32; 3:15; 4:2,10, 33; 5:30 Must be together – cross and resurrection Cross only – a tragedy; Resurrection only – just another miracle Changed the disciples lives forever |
2009-06-04 - No one like him - Count Cost (part 1) Not a question of how hard or difficult but if it is true Not all struggling is bad Jesus calls us to:
Jesus was not out of touch – Matthew 9:36 Jesus had a clear view of love and generosity – John 10:33 Kingdom now in the present age Fix our eyes on Jesus We need to deal with OUR heart Jesus did not just come to amaze He came to call people to change their lives He was upfront with commitment level Must deny self |
2009-07-04 - A Life of Impact - Amazing Speech Amazing Speech Mark 6:1-6 Suspicions and fear can evaporate because of love and openness 1. Deep Conviction
2. Passion - If the speaker isn’t moved by the message, how can he expect it to move anyone else? 3. Integrity - Speaker must take plank out of their own eye before one can challenge other on the same topic 4. Person to person
5. Inspirational
6. Practical
7. Meet the Need - Out of touch with the needs on the audience can actually make things worst then they are. |
2009-07-15 - A Life of Impact - Prudence Prudence Mark 8:11-13
Moving On
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2009-07-20 - A Life of Impact - Hardline and Affirmation Hardline Mark 8:34-9:1
Affirmation Mark 9:2-13
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2009-08-17 - A Life of Impact - Mark 15 Unforgettable Words Mark 14:66-72
Mark 15:1-32
Mark 15:33-47
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2009-08-19 - Wild at Heart - Intro (part 1) Eve was created with the lush beauty of Eden’s garden Adam was created outside the garden – wild from the beginning Men have an insatiable longing to explore When most men come alive Discover it when they first cross the street or when they first ride their bikes to the store Adventure – all the danger and wildness (longing into the soul of men) Man needs a place where it is not prefabricated Moses – in the desert of Sinai Jacob – wrestling with God (somewhere east of Jabbok) Elijah recovered his strength in the wild So did John the Baptist and Jesus |
2009-09-24 - Wild at Heart - The Enemy (part 5) Not every thought that crosses your mind comes from you
Who caused the Chaldeans to steal Job’s herds – Satan Job 12,17 Anaias and Sapphira – Satan Heartache keeps us from praying Satan is behind that brutal assault on your on strength There is a whole lot more going on behind the scenes of our lives than most of us have been led to believe Behind the world and the flesh is an event more deadly enemy, one we rarely speak of and are even less ready to resist |
2009-11-07 - Repentance - The Cross Compels Our Hearts World is graceless, performance orientated
Sin + Forgiveness = Love Accurate assessment of debt
Questions
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2009-11-23 - Master Plan - Selection (part 2)
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2009-11-30 - Master Plan - He Required Obedience
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2009-12-02 - Master Plan - Learning to Obey
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2009-12-26 - First the Kingdom - Mourning Misunderstandings Two extremes to mourning: 1. Mournful mourning
We will have to face the mourning someday - it is be now and God's way or it will be later and God's way Are you postponing? Are you ignoring? |
2010-02-14 - One Another - Bearing With Another (part 1) How are we to bear with someone sin?
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2010-02-21 - One Another - Reconciling with One Another (part 1) Bible is clear - Jesus came to break down divisions - Ephesians 2:14 Worldly divisions
Can ONLY be done at the foot of the cross Only way a holy and righteous God can be reunited with his unrighteous enemy (us) - Romans 5:6-11 Reconcile = to become friends again Not to politely tolerate one another or a ceasefire The goal of Jesus is to be one - John 17:20-21 Only way Jews and non-Jews could form the church of God What Paul had is mind when writing - Ephesians 3:20 "...him who by the power that is working within us is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think" |
2010-02-25 - One Another - Forgiving One Another (part 1) Matters related to forgiveness: Forgiveness often is not easy Pain creates lasting memories The more deliberate the sin or the more we have invested in a relationship, the greater the pain Greater the pain = harder it is to forgive Forgiveness may be hardest in the church When we see sin in our brothers and sisters, there seems to be a much greater temptation of bitterness Satan's top-ranked scheme may be to lead us not to forgive Paul: I have forgiven in order that Satan might not outwit us - 2 Corinthians 2:9-11 If he can get us to forget the cross and create a different standard for our brothers and sister = victory for satan Sin can blemish the church but there is no uglier blemish than one cause by the lack of forgiveness |
2010-03-01 - One Another - One Another In Groups (part 3) Work out differences; maintain unity - Ephesians 4:1-7 Do not be surprised when there are differences See differences as:
Need to make the most of every opportunity Avoid lingo and behavior that make the visitor truly feel like an outsider Stay at the foot of the cross What makes a Christian group different from others is the cross Where is your group in regard to the cross? Are we dying and living a baptized life? |
2010-03-13 - To Live is Christ - No One Else Like Him Those with with the greatest impact are not the ones you expect Romans centurion - Matthew 8:5-10 Canaanite woman - Matthew 15:21-28 Timothy struggled with illness and fear made quite an impression on Paul
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2010-03-17 - To Live is Christ - Considered Rubbish Not only did Paul give up his religious past and performance, he gladly counted everything else a loss too He would give up any claim of such things so he could gain justification by grace He considered them rubbish - Philippians 3:8-9 skubala = human waste or dung (KJV) He was saying the same thing as Isaiah - all righteousness acts are like filthy rags - Isaiah 64:6 The good we do is not rubbish but it is if those works are seen as the source and trusted in Our obedience, which is imperfect, does not make us right with God Christ's righteousness saves by faith The message of the cross calls us to sacrifice everything to Christ, who sacrificed everything for us Without his sacrifice, our sacrifice would be worthless to God and to man |
2010-03-20 - To Live is Christ - Enemies of the Cross The acceptance of Jesus leads to joy and not to be naive - Philippians 3:17-21 Be thankful but still have our eyes wide open The cross stands as a constant reminder of the battle between good and evil Jesus did not just hang out at the cross - HE DIED there because of his enemies And the war goes on To act as though we do could do enough to earn salvation - undermines Jesus' sacrifice To act as though grace is a license for sin - undermines the purpose of the cross - Romans 6:17 Enemies of the cross = people with minds on earthly things Philippians had a unique blessing of having Roman citizenship outside of Rome Our real home country is heaven and our loyalty is to the King of Kings |
2010-04-07 - Life to the Full - Two Wisdoms (part 1) Wisdom can be earthly or demonic Teachers will be judged more strictly - James 3:1 The danger with the wrong type of teacher is his misuse of his tongue:
We all stumble in many ways - James 3:2 James included himself |
2010-05-24 - Desire's Journey - Blessed are the Nice? The enemy wants us to have small passions and desires We are producing a generation whose greatest virtue is to not defend anyone The greatest enemy of holiness is not passion but apathy If deadness is next to godliness, then Jesus had to deadest person ever - it wasn't the case God is a consuming fire - Hebrews 10:31
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2010-07-04 - Desire's Journey - The Grand Affair (part 1) To know and to be known. It is our deepest ache. Love makes us to crazy things for love. No union on earth like the consummation of love between a man and woman Becoming one - this is what God is seeking with us Bible is the greatest romance ever written |
2010-07-19 - Desire's Journey - Deeper Desire (part 6) From the section about Jesus' trial in the dessert 2. Trail comes after we determine not to take matters into our own hands By refusing to turn stones into bread, Jesus choose to trust God Satan tries to attack our sense of God's heart toward us If our thoughts are: "Do I really have to wait that long? Do you care me, God?" - Satan will jump all over this Jesus came to answer once and for all our question: "Do you love me?" We can stand firm on the ground of the cross against the doubt We don't need for God to prove his love for us - he has at the cross |
2010-08-15 - Waking Dead - Reason and Emotion Those who live only from the minds are detacted from life Those who live from the heart find those who live from the mind, unavailable. The heart is the source of emotion but we have equated heart with emotion - like saying love is a feeling If Christ had followed his emotions, we would nave not gone to the cross for us - Mark 14:32-35 Emotion are the voice of the heart |
2010-08-22 - Waking Dead - New Heart Most people assume the Cross is the total work of Christ The Resurrection is the epilogue of the real story If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith - 1 Corinthians 15:14 WWJD? Not wearing a cross necklace Church did not even began using the cross in a minor role symbol until 400 years after Christ Must become a witness with us of his resurrection - Acts 1:22 Proclaim in Jesus the resurrection of the dead - Acts 4:2 Apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus - Acts 4:33 Paul preached the good news about Jesus and the resurrection - Acts 17:18 |
2010-09-20 - Waking Dead - Christ's Great Works Son's three great works on our behalf 1. Cross accomplished many thing Forgiveness and the power to overcomes the constant attacks from the enemy 2. Resurrection Having put off the old self, we are to put on the new - Ephesians 4:24 It is life we were promised and it is life we need 3. Ascension All authority was given to Christ By the grace of God, we share that with him It was Adam who gave it away and it was Christ who won it back Lord of the Rings, Two Towers - Theoden (a king) who is reluctant to go to war Open war is upon you whether you would risk it or not - Aragorn The primary reason most people do not know the freedom and life Christ promised is that they won't fight for it |
2010-11-15 - Power of the Cross Preached by Maurice Hooks Answers to life's question is @ the cross Power struggles happen everyday
We are at level ground at the foot of the cross Wisdom 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Are you impowered by the cross? Colossians 1:15-20
In our relationships
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2010-11-17 - Contagious Christian - Making the Message Clear (part II) Christ - Common questions Why couldn't God just forgive and forget, as we can? Like in car accident, God is willing to forgive but someone still has to pay for the damage What kind of justice is there in having Jesus suffer instead of me? God was not a reluctant bystander The difference is that God is will and he is taking his own punishment for you You Many people are left with the impression that if they go to church or they born into a church they are saved Not everyone that calls Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom - Matthew 7:21-23 We have got to be crystal clear that a personal response is essential Do vs Done The difference between religion and Christianity is Do vs Done Religion spells DO - as in we try to do something for God's salvation It is like a salesman that needs to meet a quota but does not know what it is But we can never do enough and will always fall short - Romans 3:23 Christianity spells DONE Means that what we could never do for ourselves, Christ has already done He lived a perfect life we could never live He willingly died on the cross to pay the penalty we owed |
2010-11-30 - Mission - Repentance Both Luke 24 and 2 - message of repentance and forgiveness is mentioned in the light of the death and resurrection of Jesus The message to Preach 1. Repentance God wants the cross to reveal how disgraceful and disgusting sin is To motivate us to radical and rapid change Is there an example of repentance in the Bible that is not radical and rapid? Repentance is the first and foremost call to change to change our mind (metanoia) Paul preached they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance with their deeds - Acts 26:20 You can only change your action for a period of time without ever really changing your mind Change your mind, you will change your action rapidly and radically Baptism happened rapidly and radically because his heart was ready to change - Acts 8 Would we have have baptized the Ethiopian the same day? What did Philip see? Unmistakable signs of godly sorrow As soon as someone has repented, he is ready for baptism |
2010-12-01 - Mission - Forgiveness The message to Preach 2. Forgiveness of sins Without this, there would be nothing else God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us - Romans 5:8 We first need to clearly teach people why forgiveness is possible Happens only in the name of Jesus It is only because God loves us and not because of anything we have done or will do We must also make it clear that is when one is baptized in the name of Jesus that one is saved - Acts 2:38 As we preach, we must be careful, but not cautious Be sensitive but not sentimental We must preach the cross so powerfully that it cuts No one will ever repent until they are brought to Godly sorrow - 2 Corinthians 7 |
2010-12-02 - Mission - Taking Up the Cross Two questions to ask ourselves: Is the power of the cross producing real changes in my life? Are lost souls being radically converted as I preach? The message of the cross will seem foolish to those we are teaching if they do not see the daily demonstration of its power for us who are being saved Christians described in Romans 6
Our days are composed of countless choices and decisions Each step that Jesus took towards the cross he took willingly It takes 1000s of bricks to build a house, it takes 1000s of righteous choices to build a Christ-like character Our hearts - lost world needs to know how we feel towards our Father Our conversation - we should never get tired of telling our conversation story Our example - Our daily temptations and victories should be only shared |
2010-12-19 - Worlds Wisdom vs Gods Wisdom (part I) 1 Corinthians 1:18-20
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2010-12-20 - Worlds Wisdom vs Gods Wisdom (part II) Before we go on: What is the “world’s wisdom”?
Matthew 16:24-26
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2010-12-23 - Cross of Christ (part I) Romans 3:22-26, 5:6-8
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2010-12-24 - Cross of Christ (part II) Isaiah 53
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2010-12-31 - Baptism into Christ (part III) Sinner’s Prayer? 1 Peter 3:21
Acts 22:7-16
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2011-01-02 - Discipleship (part II) Luke 9:23-27
Luke 9:57-62 - Examine the issues involved with each person - thoughtless following, excuse making Luke 14:25-35
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2011-02-12 - Discipleship - Kansas City (part II) The Standard of a Disciple Luke 9:18-26
Luke 9:57-62
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