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 |
2008-05-26 - Purpose Driven Life - Seeing Life from God's View How do you see your life? What images come to mind? Let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind Life on earth is a Test Trials, temptations, refining, and testing occurs over 200x in the Bible Success:
Your realize that nothing is insignificant, tested by:
God wants you to pass - James 1:2-3 Life on earth is a Trust God loans you the earth, we never really own anything Want to hear: "Well done, good and faithful servant" God uses finances: As a test (in good times) and a trust (hard times) |
2008-05-31 - Purpose Driven Life - What Makes God Smile? (Part 2) Noah was an example of making God smile (continued):
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2008-06-01 - Purpose Driven Life - The Heart of Worship (Part 1) Surrender is an unpopular word, implies losing Heart of a true worshiper of God is surrender Three barriers to 100% surrender are: fear, pride, and confusion Can we trust God? Trust is essential, you can not surrender to God if you do not trust him Fear keeps us from surrendering - God is love and love us deeply and casts out all fear God is willing to have his son die for us - Romans 5:8 Admitting our limitations The oldest temptation is want to be like God - Genesis 3:5 That desire wants complete control We want to be taller, smarter, anger, stronger, more talent, more beauty, and wealthier. When faced with our limitations we react with irritation, anger, and resentment. |
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 |
2008-06-05 - Purpose Driven Life - Worship That Pleases God God wants all of you All of your soul, mind, heart, strength God is pleased when... ...our worship is accurate
...our worship is thoughtful
... our worship is practical
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2008-06-13 - Purpose Driven Life - Restoring Broken Fellowship Relationships are always worth restoring God has given us the ministry of restoring God gave everything (his son) for restoring relationships Does not mean avoiding conflict or appeasement Talk to God before talking to the person God may change your heart or their hear - James 4:1-2 Tell God your frustrations Most conflict is rooted in unmet needs; some needs can only be meet by God Always take the initiative God expects you to make the first move - Matthew 5:23-24 Abandon your offering at the alter and go make things right first Acting quickly reduces the spiritual damage Bitterness is only hurting yourself Sympathize with their feelings Use your ears more than your mouth - Philippians 2:4 Focus on feelings and not facts Start with sympathy, not solutions Confess your part of the conflict Ask "Am I the problem?" - Matthew 7:5 The way you handle a conflict creates a bigger hurt Attack the problem, not the person How you say it is important as what you say Cold War - country decided on weapons that should never be used Cooperate as much as possible - Romans 12:18 Sometime it cost our pride, self-centerness Emphasize reconciliation, not resolution Reconciliation focuses on the relationship Takes a lot of effort to restore a relationship |
2008-06-18 - Purpose Driven Life - Transformed by Trouble God has a purpose behind every problem God uses problems to draw you closer to himself God had the ability to kept:
... but he didn't Problem force us to look to God and depend on him Romans 8:28-29 (NLT) And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers and sisters.
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2008-06-20 - Purpose Driven Life - Defeating Temptation There is always a way out Refocus attention on something else By resisting, you actually reinforce it Reveal your struggle to a gold friend or support group If you fall, a friend can help you up - Eccelesiastes 4:9-10 Resist the Devil He will flee when you resist - James 4:7 Realize your vulnerabilities The heart is deceitful above all things- Jeremiah 17:9 Don't carelessly place yourself in tempting situations, avoid them - Proverbs 14:16 |
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 |
2008-06-24 - Purpose Driven Life - Accepting Your Assignment You were put on earth to make a contribution Not what we get out of life, it what you give You were created to server God God created us for a life of good deeds - Ephesians 2:10 Set apart for a special work - Jeremiah 1:5 You were saved to server God Saved us and chose us for his holy work - 2 Timothy 1:9 We are not saved by service but you are saved for service Offer yourself as living sacrifices to God - Romans 12:1 Our love for each other proves we have gone from death to life - 1 John 3:14 A saved heart is one that wants to server He leaves us here to fulfill his purpose |
2008-06-27 - Purpose Driven Life - Shaped for Serving God Before God created you, he decided what role he wanted you to play on earth You were made for a specific ministry. Created in Christ to do good works - Ephesians 2:10 God does not make junk God never wastes anything - he did not give you talents and gifts unless he intended for you to use them for his glory God shapes us: Spiritual Gifts Heart Abilities Personality Experience We will look at spiritual gifts and heart today: SHAPE: Spiritual Gifts He alone decides which gift each person should have - 1 Corinthians 12:11 If you had them all, you would not need others; teaches us to love and depend on each other Given gifts for the benefit of others Gift given as a means of helping the entire church - 1 Corinthians 12:7 Two gift problems:
Heart = desires, hopes, interest, ambition, dreams, and passion Heart reflects the person - Proverbs 27:19 You may have interest that no one else has - from God Don't ignore your interest; consider how they might be used by God Serve the Lord with all of your heart - Deuteronomy 11:13 How do you know if you are serving the Lord with all of your heart?
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2008-06-30 - Purpose Driven Life - Using What God Gave You Begin by assessing your gifts and talents Take a long honest look at what you are good at Experiment with different areas of service Consider your heart and personality Examine your experiences and extract lessons you have learned Remember today what you have learned about the Lord - Deuteronomy 11:2 Were rarely see God's good purpose - John 13:7 Run with patience the particular race that God has set before us - Hebrews 12:1 Satan can steal our joy by:
Avoid comparisons, resist exaggerations, and seek only God's commendations - 1 Corinthians 10:12-18
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2008-07-01 - Purpose Driven Life - Real Servants (part 1) We server God by serving others How can you know if you have the heart of Jesus? Real Servants make themselves available to serve Like a soldier, always by for duty - 2 Timothy 2:4
Real servants pay attention to needs Always looking out for ways to help others Real servants do their best with what they have Servant never make excuses, procratinate, wait for better circumstances |
2008-07-02 - Purpose Driven Life - Real Servants (part 2) Real servants do every task with equal dedication Whatever you do, do it with all your heart - Colossians 3:23
Small taks often show a big heart Real servants are faithful to their ministry Servants finish tasks, fullfill their responsibilities, and complete their commitments Real Servants maintain a low profile Put on the apron of humility, to serve one another - 1 Peter 5:5 Servants are content with quietly serving in the shadows Be confident that nothing you do for God is a waste of time or effort - 1 Corinthians 15:58 |
2008-07-06 - Purpose Driven Life - Gods Power in My Weakness (part 2) All God's great people in the Bible were weak but did not stay that way:
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2008-07-14 - Purpose Driven Life - Sharing Your Message (Godly Passions) God passionately loves some things and passionately hates things other thing The closer you are to God - you will share these view Jesus - Man's heart determines his speech - Matthew 12:34 David - Zeal for God's work burn within him - Psalms 69:9 Jeremiah - Cannot keep silent - Jeremiah 20:9 Are defend the defenseless, those who can not speak for themselves Should not expect everyone to have the exact same passion as you It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good - Galatians 4:18 |
2008-07-18 - Purpose Driven Life - Balancing Your Life (part 1) God 5 purposes for your life:
Churches do the same thing Habits to stay on track: Talk it through in a spiritual group Helps you to internalize information Helps with accountability - Iron sharpens iron - Proverbs 27:17 Helps you put in the practice what you learned - Philippians 4:9 Helps encourage each other - 1 Thessalonians 5:11 Give yourself a regular checkup Test yourself - 2 Corinthians 13:5 Take a look at the way you are living - Lamentations 3:40 |
2008-07-22 - 30 Days at the Cross - Hating Sin We can feel pain because God feels pain Questions:
Amazing grace cost amazing pain Don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? - James 4:4-5 How does God feel about:
Imagine that you can home from work and you found a dog that just kill your child We killed Jesus with our sin, how should we be treated?
Resist the devil and he will flee; Come near to God and he will near to you - James 4:7-10 |
2008-07-24 - 30 Days at the Cross - Freedom of Forgiveness True forgiveness - made possible by God Jesus forgave when it was most difficult by: Facing the truth Jesus didn't expect life to be fair He expected God to be fair He accepted everything from God without question (in the end) Judas only received kindness from Jesus Taught forgiving your brother should be limitless - Luke 17:1-5 Feeling the pain Jesus was totally honest with his feeling both God and man Greatest test was at the garden of Gethsemane Freeing his heart He trusted his Father and focused on him rather than on his own pain He yielded to God's sense of justice in the most unjust situation 1 Peter 2:23
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2008-08-03 - Questions and Answers - Part 4 Answered the following questions in the Q & A section:
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2008-08-07 - 30 Days at the Cross - Spectators or Sacrifices Sacrifice - we think of pain, suffering, loss, and the uncomfortable concept of denying self Sacrifice is a voluntary presentation of ourselves to God to be used for his purposes We can respond in serveral ways to the sacrifice of Jesus:
Christ love needs to compel us - 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 What happens when you offer your body as a living sacrifice?
What types of sacrifices is God asking of you right now? |
2008-08-09 - 30 Days at the Cross - If the King is a Servant What Jesus rightly deserved and what he received while here on earth were quite different Jesus didn't resent or resist his role He had a desire and compassion to help others Greatest of humility and suffering for him to subject himself to the cruelest of deaths - Philippians 2:8 People who have a major impact are the ones who serve Nothing moves the human heart more than someone who puts the needs of another above his own need It is a rare and precious expression of love Jesus has called you and me to be like him and take on his attitude toward serving others Jesus' serving was not limited to his friends (but also his enemies) His people will do the simple acts of service for the "least" among us Easier to serve someone on a schedule; more difficult if unexpected or interrupting my schedule |
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 |
2008-08-22 - 30 Days at the Cross - Not Surprise by Joy Joy set before him endured the cross - Hebrews 12:2-3 Yet joy joy was still in the heart of Jesus:
When we try to take over God's role - there is no joy Even the violent scene of the cross brought about joy and hope |
2008-08-29 - Teach Us To Pray - The God who Enjoys Hearing and Watching Us We enjoy accomplishment: meeting a deadline, A on a test Imagine the incredible feeling God must have experienced when he first viewed his own creation:
How would iy affect your prayer life if you had a deep conviction that God enjoys his relationship with you? God Enjoys Hearing Us Talking to Him God Enjoys Watching Us |
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 |
2008-09-04 - Teach Us To Pray - Persistent and Determined Luke 18:1-8 - Persistent widow kept on seeking justice from an unjust judge until she received it
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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 |
2008-09-08 - Teach Us To Pray - Reasoning with God Reasoning with God in prayer is an expression of great faith Persistent widow reasoned with the unjust judge - Luke 18:1-8 We cannot change the eternal purposes of God but we can change his mind on how his purposes will be accomplished Abraham was a man who reasoned with God - his Son being sacrificed - Genesis 18:23-33 Moses was too - God decided to destroy the disobedient Israelites and start a new nation True humility is the key to the prayer of reason - not telling God what to do |
2008-09-10 - Teach Us To Pray - Alone and in Private Mark 1:35, Matthew 14:13, and Luke 4:42 - shows us that Jesus often went to solitary places to pray Solitude is essential in developing a deep relation ship with God Psalms 5, 38, and 42 are examples of how open and expressive David was with God We get fired up by sermons, fellowship, and music - Jesus went to be alone Prayer times make special memories Ideas for times with God:
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2008-09-15 - Teach Us To Pray - Changes in Character Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place - Psalms 51:6 Character can grow if we take a sober gut-level check look at who we are Too often we pray:
When we aim at nothing, that is what we hit The word of God discerns the thoughts and intentions of our heart - Hebrews 4:12-13 Like a mirror reflecting how we look spiritually - James 1:23-25 We also learn the truth about ourselves from other people in our lives - Proverbs 20:5 Ask God to help you see what you need to change Ask others what things they see in your sinful nature How badly do you want to change? It will show by the way you pray My power is made perfect in weakness - 2 Corinthians 12:9 |
2008-09-17 - Teach Us To Pray - The Harvest Is Plentiful Jesus promises a great harvest but the worker are few (Matthew 9:35-38):
Fruitfulness limited primarily by one thing - God himself Gratitude control the harvest Luke 9 - The charge was to preach the kingdom and heal the sick They gave to everyone who had need - Acts 2:43-47 Salvation wasn't just a doctrine rather a reality in their lives Jesus spent much of his time meeting physical needs, feeding, comforting, healing, serving As a result, people spread the word even more Reflects the power of meeting needs and our heart as a worker To acquire this heart, we need to pray:
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2008-09-18 - Teach Us To Pray - Courage and Boldness Prayer reminds us God is in control It is his battle, I belong to God, and God will make me successful God will not let me be tempted beyond what I can bear - 1 Corinthians 10:13 To pray for boldness and courage:
God's work cannot be done in this world without courage |
2008-09-19 - Teach Us To Pray - Direction for Decisions Most difficult decision are not so much a question of right and wrong but rather what is good, better, and best When ask according to God's will, he hears us - 1 John 5:14-15 God give wisdom in prayer (James 1:5) and through his Word (Hebrews 5:14) He will give us wisdom to discern what is best God also gives wisdom to men and women in his kingdom It is would be foolish and arrogant to not actively seek out wisdom God has made available Should imitate leaders faith - Hebrews 13:7 |
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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2008-11-01 - Man of Prayer - Getting Honest On a daily basis we need to allow the Holy Spirit to show us areas of our life to be brought to confession Psalms 139:23-24
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2008-11-05 - Man of Prayer - The Flesh (part 2) Sinning is easy; it comes naturally Fruits of that new nature - Galatians 5:22-23 Jesus fought the battle with scripture - He said "It is written" many times while responding to others God promises that we will not be tempted more than we can bear - 1 Corinthains 10:13
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2008-11-17 - Raising Awesome Kids - First Things First (part 2) When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment is: Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength - Mark 12:30 Committed to God vs committed to a person Deeply loves God vs being religious
Were we one time zealous - before we got married and had kids? Where am I today? Have I allowed "life's worries, riches, and pleasures" to choke my relationship with God? - Mark 4:19 |
2008-11-28 - Raising Awesome Kids - Encouragement and Inspiration Fathers deals with his children with encouragement, comforting, and urgency of lives worthy of God - 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12 Life is hard, especially for kids - easy to lose heart There is a immense power in a father's encouragement Young Timothy -
By his encouragement, Timothy became the dynamic leader of the huge and powerful Ephesus church It is our jobs as fathers to assess our children's talents and gift and help them to excel in them Be a great inspirer and encourager of your children Let it be you who thinks they are great and who picks them up when they fall |
2008-12-01 - Raising Awesome Kids - Love Love is of first importance. All else is secondary. Above all we should have love - 1 Peter 4:8 Lack of love, we are nothing - 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 We may lavish upon our children the finest things but if we do not make them feel loved, it is all to no avail If there is closeness and love between us and our kids, we have a place to stand and start for the battle of their hearts Build our families on love and our kids will be strong Kids are born with the capacity to love, but not all learn how |
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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2008-12-25 - Raising Awesome Kids - Gods Training Plan (part 3) These commandments... are to be upon your hearts (v. 6) Should train from the heart level Impress them on your children (v. 7) Training with the Scriptures must be done with great conviction, sincerity and earnestness Talk about them always (v. 7) Train consistantly - everywhere, anytime, anyplace About teaching our children how to live life - not nagging about their misdeeds Make it fun, doable, effective Most training should be spontaneous Never underestimate how many times we will have to say the same things over and over again |
2008-12-31 - Raising Awesome Kids - How to Nuture Confidence (part 1) Only proper foundation is their relationship with God Develops confidence without cockiness Stress a relationship with God Focus on character - Tell your children over and over again that heart and attitude matter to God Applaud effort than ability Two of three men were successful because of their efforts not their ability - Matthew 25 Enough openness
Search out your kids strengths - everyone has at least some It is your job to help children discover and succeed in those things |
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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2009-01-16 - Raising Awesome Kids - Atmosphere (part 2) If we can laugh together, then we like being together, which adds up to unity Idea: have a "joke night" - everyone tell jokes Happy heart makes the face cheerful - Proverbs 15:13 Cheerful heart has a continual feast - Proverbs 15:15 Cheerful look brings joy to the heart - Proverbs 15:30 Cheerful heart is good medicine - Proverbs 17:22 The phyical environment need to be pleasant The environment says, "we don't care", then people stop caring about each other |
2009-01-19 - Jesus with People - Through the Roof When the paralyzed man came down through the roof - damaged the house of Peter and Andrew - how would you respond? If we follow Jesus, the smallest seed of faith that we see in others should encourage and excite us. Who big is your crowd? |
2009-01-21 - Jesus with People - Going Deeper We want to be know but we keep a safe distance John 4:39 - Samaritan women:
We too can be afraid of seeing who we really are To set people free, we must be like Jesus:
Jesus' love and acceptance allowed the woman/us to be real and to change |
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 |
2009-01-24 - Jesus with People - Feeling the Pain Luke 7:11-17 - He said, "Don't cry", Jesus chose to be vulnerable to everyone's pain:
Jesus compassion knows no bounds Are you praying to stretch the capacity of your heart to feel deeply with many others? Is your lack of openness (rooted in fear of the sin of pride) blocking your passion and compassion? |