2009-09-17 - Wild at Heart - Healing the wound (part 3) Wound unfelt is wound unhealed Door may be your anger – perhaps from a girl, failure The way to God is stopping the false self It may a simple prayer – Jesus, take me into my wound Jesus never seems to heal the same way twice There are no formulas with God Insists on working personally Masculinity is bestowed by masculinity Healing never happens outside of intimacy with Christ It begins with surrender; until you have given yourself to him you will not have a real self …to set you free – What? Your heart So take him at his word – ask him in to heal all the broken places within you But you can’t do this at a distance I simply allow myself to say that the loss of my father mattered Important for us to grieve our wound Grieving we admit the truth, we hurt by someone we loved Few men are ever so vulnerable as to simply let themselves be loved by God Why don’t you just let God love you? The imitate union with Jesus and with his Father is the source of all healing and all our strength Unforgiveness and bitterness can wreck our lives and the lives of others – Ephesians 4:31, Hebrews 12:15 Forgiveness is setting a prisoner free and then discovering the prisoner was you. |
2009-09-18 - Wild at Heart - Healing the wound (part 4) Forgiveness is a choice Do not wait for the feeling of wanting to forgive because it will not come Not “It didn’t matter” and “I probably reserved it” “It was wrong, it mattered, and I release you” Masculinity is passed from father to son Adam, Abraham, Jacob, David leaned who they were out of their intimacy with God the Father New heart and put a new spirit in you - Romans 8:1 What God sees when he see you is the real you, the true you, the man he had in mind when he made you You must ask God what he thinks of you, and you must stay with the question until you have an answer Last thing the Evil One wants you to |
2009-10-22 - Repentance - What Happened (part 1) What ever happened to repentance? Millions claim Jesus as their Savior, but neglect to make him Lord – want forgiveness without repentance Most spend a considerable amount of time of pondering change While we pursue change, we demand change on our own terms Examples – self-help, self-improvement Today’s seekers of Christianity – “shopping” for a church Do we truly love if we neglect to call the unrepentant to repentance? In an effort to “accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative” we have treated sin and repentance as the embarrassing uncle Why am I an uncommitted believer?
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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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2010-02-01 - One Another - Confession Questions (part 2) What is the power of confession? a. It brings the forgiveness of sin and purifies us from all unrighteousness - 1 John 1:7-9 b. Confession brings fellowship with God and with brothers and sisters - 1 John 1:7-9 Confession is just not good for the soul, it is good for other's souls and unity c. Confession represents a strong stand against Satan Resist the devil and he will flee - James 4:7 d. Confession is contagious - one person's confession can encourage another's confession |
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 |
2010-02-26 - One Another - Forgiving One Another (part 2) Other matters related to forgiveness: Forgiveness is the ultimate 'one another' trump card Love, which always forgives, can cover a multitude of sins - 1 Peter 4:8 Forgiveness must come from a grateful heart If forgiveness comes from anything other than a grateful heart, we lack the purity of heart Rid yourself of all bitterness, rage, and anger - forgiving each other as Christ forgave you - Ephesians 4:31-32 We must help one another forgive When a person is not forgiving, they grow bitter The sin of lack of forgiveness of someone may be greater than the actual offense See that no one misses the grace of God and no bitter root grows - Hebrews 12:14-15 Pain and anger are not resolved in a moment, but let us never doubt where we must end up |
2010-07-01 - Desire's Journey - Great Restoration (part 2) Restoration of the world is play out each spring and summer He annouced the coming of the kingdom of God
God's kingdom - his will is done "on earth as it is in heaven" Jesus healed every disease and sickness among the people - Matthew 4:23 |
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 |
2010-10-06 - Contagious Christian - Impacting Your World (part 2) You are the light of the world - Matthew 5:14 What does the light do? Makes things visible and helps us see them for what they really are God made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of knowledge of the glory of God We must not cover or obscure the light in any way - Matthew 5:15-16 The Clear Communication (CC - in the formula) must consist of and understanding of:
Make an honest assessment about your evangelism Which are you?
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2010-10-20 - Dealing With Debt (Part I)
PRACTICAL:
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2010-11-11 - Contagious Christian - Starting Spiritual Conversations It is not enough to merely have high impact (HI) and close proximity (CP) We have got to talk about our faith and put the spiritual concepts of the gospel into everyday words People won't figure out the gospel out on their own - Romans 10 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways - Isaiah 55:8 Watching the life of a Christian (even a contagious one) won't be enough Someone has to articulate the gospel Must take the initiative and steer the the conversation toward spiritual topics This book contains a limited number of examples - meant to spur our thinking Must start with the heart-felt assurance that the gospel is good new my life and for others If you need a firmer foundation:
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2010-11-16 - Contagious Christian - Making the Message Clear (part I) Before you can bring the message to others, need to make sure we clearly understand we understand the message ourselves Making the message clear will need us to be able to illustrate it for those we talk to God Three aspects of God we need to look at:
God made us without sin but we abused our freedom and became evil Sin requires God to pronounce upon us the death penalty - both physical and spiritual This is separation from God via hell We are helpless to change this Christ God had the power and authority to devise a plan for our salvation Christ died and suffered the death penalty debt for us and
You don't deserve it, we didn't pay for it, we can not earn it He paid a debt He did not owe I owned a debt I could not pay |
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 |
2010-12-22 - Sin (part II) Galatians 5:19-21
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2010-12-29 - Baptism into Christ (part I) 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Acts 2:36-41
Romans 6:1-4
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2010-12-30 - Baptism into Christ (part II) Ephesians 1:3-10
Galatians 3:26-29
Infant Baptism? Colossians 2:11-12
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2011-02-16 - Sin and Repentance - Kansas City (part III) Romans 6:23
John 3:1-7
Acts 2:22-24
Acts 2:36-41
Romans 6:1-4
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2011-06-02 - Excuses - Isaiah Isaiah Isaiah 6:1-8
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2011-08-28 - Fearing God - Awe and Gratitude Awe and Gratitude are two expressions of the proper way of fearing God With you there is forgiveness, therefore you are feared - Psalms 130:4 Neither awe nor gratitude alone can represent adequately show the meaning of the fear of the Lord At the same time:
More than God is loving, he is love This is love: He sent his Son as a atoning sacrifice - 1 John 4:9-10 God showed his love by sending His Son. |
2011-09-06 - Followup: Grace (part I) The understanding of grace is the foundation for a love-motivated relationship with God, rather than one that is works-motivated. We can become Pharisees (knowing the requirements of Christian life but missing the heart motivation. Similarly, overachievers (in the world or in the kingdom) are valued by others and value themselves based on their performance. The goal of follow up is to build security, self-esteem and worth based on God’s grace and love not on their Christian duty of perfect performance. Question: How do you define “grace”?
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2011-09-07 - Followup: Grace (part II) Grace is almost too good to be true, but it is. The goal of this study is to help you to see the real God who loves you and how valuable you are to him. He valued you at the cost of his only Son, whom he gave up so that thee could be grace to forgive your sins and restore your relationship with him. Psalms 103:8-10
Matthew 18:21-35
As you continue your walk with God picture yourself in a world of God’s grace. And remember every time you stumble or fall down your landing in God’s grace. Just get back up and continue on in God’s grace. Not once, not twice, not seven times but continue on in God’s grace for eternity. |
2011-10-24 - Mind Change - Wastes Wastes: regret, wishing, worry. Be smart. Don’t use time for any of these: No regret – accept forgiveness. No wishing – bloom where you are planted. No worry – trust God who is not perplexed at all. Matthew 6:27 - And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life? |
2011-12-07 - Day 4 - Learning to Pray Luke 11:1-13
If you pray 10 minutes of each section, you will pray a powerful 40 minutes! Read the Psalms to learn how to really praise God. Philippians 4:6-7
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2011-12-08 - Day 5 - The Grace of God Romans 5:6-11
Application: Write down (and do) 3 things today that will show God how grateful you are to be saved! |
2012-01-13 - Genesis 20 - Abraham lies about Serah at GerarSummaryIn Gerar Abraham said, "Sarah is my sister." King Abimelech took her but God warned him in a dream. He restored Sarah to Abraham. ObservationsGenesis 20:3 - You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken Personal ApplicationI usually don't have an issue with knowing right from wrong. It is usually that I am not aware of what I am doing. I am either not paying attention or not focused. I need to watch my life closely so I will be righteous in God's eyes and so others can be saved because of it [1 Timothy 4:16]. |
2012-02-16 - Fear of Failure - God Will Give Us the Grace We Need to Succeed by Sean Kiluk, San Francisco Church of Christ 2 Corinthians 9:8 God will give us all the grace we need to be successful in whatever role he has put us in. He did not put us where we are to fail, but to rely on him for success. Our problems come when we value success and praise more than knowing God. God forgives us, and he loves us even though we fail or sin. His love is unconditional. We need to have confidence in God's grace in everything. We will fail at times, but God has enough grace to ensure a victory in the end. Decisions:
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2012-02-21 - Fear of Failure - God is Able, Part 1 by Del & Daurence Johnson - Region Leaders: San Francisco Church of Christ When I think about how many times that I have blown it or dropped important balls, it can be very depressing. So often I feel inadequate, incapable and fearful. This has made me prideful and unopen. Failure is never fatal when we have our eyes on God and not on our mistakes. God is perfect, I am not. God is pure, I am full of sin. God is righteous, I am jaded. Why not base our level of success on God and who he is rather than ourselves? 1) God is able to keep you from falling. Jude 24 When failure seems inevitable, it's probably because you are not looking to God. God wants us to learn from our experiences, not be perfect. 2) God is able to save completely. Hebrews 7:25 As I look at the sin in my life and how I keep repeating it, it can discourage me from believing I can be pleasing to God. This is why we need forgiveness. He is able to save completely. He can and will get me through. My challenge is to never quit on God or myself. 3) God is able to guard what you have entrusted to him. 2 Timothy 1:12 When we sacrifice day after day and year after year, we are investing ourselves in heavenly treasures. As Special Missions contribution quickly approaches again, we will have to reinvest ourselves into God's dream again. God is protecting and always will protect our lives and our dreams. He is faithful. Decisions:
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2012-02-22 - Fear of Failure - God is Able, Part 2 by Del & Daurence Johnson - Region Leaders: San Francisco Church of Christ Part of dealing with failure and sin is realizing that God is able. He can give us strength, and forgiveness to help us deal with our burdens. 1) God is able to do immeasurably more - Ephesians 3:14-21 God is able to do more than what my puny faith believes. So I have to ask for so much more and imagine even greater than I ever have. Make a list of your dreams that you desire. Pray through them. Test Him. See if the outcome doesn't blow your mind. 2) God is able to make all grace abound - 2 Corinthians 9:8 We need forgiveness to make up for how we purposely sabotage God's will for our life. Grace makes up for all our weaknesses and inadequacies.There are things God has done for us that we will never get the chance to thank Him for, because we don't even know what they are. For example, the times that we have hurt people, but they never said anything. Or times we could have hurt ourselves, but He guided us down a different road. God is the unknown soldier for every moment of our life. Our failures have become learning experiences that result in our maturity and people becoming stronger disciples. Don't short cut God's discipline and will for your life because you are consumed with you and not Him. Learn to pray. Learn to read your Bible. Learn to be open and build spiritual friendships that keep you believing and repenting. He is not finished with you yet, nor I. Decisions:
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2015-04-12 - Honest Examination Those who humbel themselves will be exalted - Luke 18:14 We need a regular spiritual checkups to assess our relationship with God Jesus told a story of self-righteous Pharisee who had no idea of his desparate spiritual sickness and the tax collector who, after some painful soul-searching found himself in desparate need of mercy and forgiveness True confession before God means being honest enough to admit who you really are and humble enough to understand you can never earn God's forgiveness |
2015-04-30 - Inner Conflict I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway - Romans 7:19 Paul found himself unable to always do what he knew was right. He was equally unable to always avoid doing what he knew was wrong Paul reveled his genuine conflict over his desire to obey God perfectly and his inability to do so What Paul wanted more than anything was to have vicotry over sin We are sinners who must daily tap into God's grace and forgiveness You will find consistent success in avoiding sin only as you walk daily in the power of the Holy Spirit |
2015-06-16 - Restored Jesus' words flashed through Peter's mind and he went away, weeping bitterly - Matthew 26:75 God offers forgiveness for even the worst of sins and the worst of sinners Peter learned this firsthand Theories abound as to why Judas' motivation for betraying Jesus, but for Peter it was clear, he was afraid Judas and Peter both:
Two remorseful sinners but only one turned back to the Lord |
2015-07-14 - The Road to Forgiveness I appeal to you to show kindness to my child, Onesimus - Philemon 1:10 Philemon, an apparently wealth and influential believer, faced the same decision we face when some wrongs us Do we forgive and restore or we withhold forgiveness and let the relationship die? Onesimus had been Philemon's slave, stolen from Philemon, deserted him, and ran away The question wasn't wheather Philemon had been wronged but what he was going to do about it Understanding God's grace and forgiveness is the key to forgiving those who have hurt us |
2015-07-25 - Forgive and Forget Now it is time to forgive and comfort him - 2 Corinthians 2:7 Paul told the Corinthian Christians to forgive a man who had caused him and the church a lot of trouble God's purpose for discipline is to forgive and restore, not to condemn and reject Paul apparently shared these believers' sense of injury but he eagerly extended forgiveness and restoration to give the man some hope and encouragement Who in your life needs that kind of forgiveness and encouragement? |
2015-08-13 - He Got It He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west - Psalm 103:12 Men who follow Jesus Christ wholeheartedly often see more clearly how they have been forgiven David had plenty in his life for which he needed forgiveness He knew when he failed God, God's love would never fail him David did not choose his words randomly If get in a plane and head east and unlimited fuel you never stop heading east - endless love |
2015-08-20 - Balanced Approach You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing youe unfailing love - Micah 7:18 The Bible is largely a book about finding balance - between God's hattred for sin and his desire to completely forgive the sinner Micah understood this balance Challenges:
Opportunites:
Repentant hearers had hope for better things ahead Are there people in your life who need to see both sides of God's nature? |
2015-09-11 - Face the Music I am sending him back to you and with him comes my own heart - Philemon 1:12 Onesimus had dessert his master, Philemon, and headed home to find anonymity While there, he met Paul, who probably brought him to faith in Christ Now Onesimus made a tough decision: return back to his master despite his fears It would have been easier to stay in Rome but he knew that God wanted him to return to Philemon and make amends for his actions God always honors you when you go out of your way to seek another's forgiveness |
2015-10-22 - Glimpse of Jesus He ran ahead and climbed a sycamore fig tree beside the road where Jesus would pass by - Luke 19:4 Zacchaeus understood his wretched condition well He understood more than anyone how despartely he needed forgiveness Zacchaeus sensed he obtain forgiveness by making contact with Jesus Many of us would have given up and gone home but Zacchaeus found a way Jesus recongnized Zacchaeus' willingness and desparation and his life changed forever How uncomfortable are you willing to be to spend time with Jesus? |
2019-10-10 - Love Through Forgiveness Jesus' love was boundless, foreign to his being He expected others to not have boundries on their love either When Peter asked Jesus about forgiveness and how many times to forgive, Peter suggested seven (twice as many as most liberal rabbis) Jesus blew Peter's mind and said to not set limits. There are no boundries in love. Love is not a calculation, Mathmatics is foreign to affection Jesus knew the blessedness of forgiving heart He himself was always forgiving without grudges, retaliations, revenges His heart was the most discerning that ever existed. He hated sin like no one else but loved the people like no one else No better example: on the cross with so much pain and through his love his heart was to love and forgive. |
2024-01-15 - Intro (part IV) Included in the greatest commandment is: love the Lord with all of your MIND Belief is both a matter of faith but also of will Sometimes we just want things to be true - this could be said for both Christian (something to rely on) and non-believer (changes in life required) There is a difference between proving and accepting Christianity The point of open mindedness is to find the truth when it comes along; God has given us enough evidence to see him without comprising our faith or our free will |