2009-01-23 - Jesus with People - Touching the Untouchable Jesus had compassion and healed the man with leprosy - Luke 5:12-18 Jesus was different:
What Jesus did we can also do (beside healing):
Society shrinks back - hospitals are not our favorite place Somehow, we think that the person is responsible for his or her condition Job "friends" did not understand what God was doing How can I imitate Jesus by "reaching out" in compassion to the sick? | ||||||||
2009-02-20 - Jesus with People - People Pleasing Pilate After having found Jesus innocent of the charges, three times Pilate "appealed to them" In the end surrender Jesus to the will of the crowd - Luke 23:13-24 Jesus still let Pilate know that he was guilty of sin - John 19:11 Instead of seeking an escape, Jesus testified to the truth about God He was still preaching and reaching out the lost - even his executor Jesus had an impact - from then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free - john 19:12 Pilate lived and kept his job - for a little while, but his name was written in infamy How do you fare under negative chatter about your Christian conviction? | ||||||||
2009-03-20 - Promises of God - Lord Delivers May have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all - Psalms 34:19 Three types of trouble:
Our job is to trust God - John 14:1, 27 He may deliver us from trouble or he may deliver us by using the trouble to teach us important lessons Our eternal glory far out weights our momentary troubles - 2 Corinthians 4:17 | ||||||||
2009-04-13 - Promises of God - God Passes the Test God Passes the Test:
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2009-06-28 - A Life of Impact - Discernment and Productivity Discernment Mark 4:14-20
Productivity
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2009-07-13 - A Life of Impact - Communicator Communicator Mark 7:31-37
A standard of excellence
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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 | ||||||||
2009-09-24 - 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 | ||||||||
2009-10-19 - Wild at Heart - An adventure to live (part 2) Most spend the energy of their lives trying to eliminate risk Their children hear “no” far more than they hear “yes” If a man succeeds in securing his life against all risk, he will wind up in a cocoon of self-protection and wonder why he is suffocating Seizing upon some sort of competence and rejecting anything that cannot be controlled This a refusal to trust God and reach out for control – runs deep in every man False self’s desire is to have power over experience – to control events and consequences - Mark 8:36 Too may men forsake their dreams because they aren’t willing to risk or fear they aren’t up to the challenge or are never told that those desire of the heart are good Soul of a man isn’t made for controlling things His job is charter to explore, build, conquer, and care for all creation If you had permission to do what you really wanted to do, what would you do? "How" is a faithless question – How is God’s department… Ask "what" What is written on your heart? What make you come alive? Don’t ask yourself what does the world need. Ask yourself what make you come alive and go do that because what the world needs is people who have come alive I’ve met men who’ve used advice like it was permission They are deceived about what they really want Goal of Christian discipleship is the transformed heart We move from boy who needs the Law to the man who is able to live by the Spirit of the Law Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit then you won’t feed on compulsion or selfishness | ||||||||
2009-11-29 - Master Plan - Church is the continuing fellowship (part 2)
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2009-12-13 - Master Plan - Supervision (part 2)
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2009-12-15 - Master Plan - Reproduction (part 2)
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2010-03-29 - Life to the Full - Crown not Frown (part 3) God does not work to ruin our lives but to improve us - James 1:16-18 Don't accuse God of wrong doing like Job did - Job 1:22 Our fate is in God's hands, not in the stars - v. 17 God's goodness is his gift of rebirth Peter makes this clear - 1 Peter 1:23 James moves to relationships with one another Don't retaliate when times are tough - James 1:19-21 James' wisdom would transform many a relationship if put into practice
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2010-04-08 - Life to the Full - Two Wisdoms (part 2) Teaching is one of the few gifts mentioned in both in the lists of Ephesian 4 and 1 Corinthians 12 What exactly is a teacher?
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2010-04-14 - Life to the Full - Got to Pray (part 2) James 5:7-11 - Addresses patience in peace and in suffering Two examples of patience in suffering:
Jewish were very fond of oath-taking - Matthew 5:33-37 James may have been referring to rash oath-taking - Ecclesiastes 5:4-7 Rather than swearing (v12), we should pray (v13) No true disciple should need to take an oath since we must be men and women of our word Simply let our yes be yes and our no be no | ||||||||
2010-06-03 - Desire's Journey - Hardest Lesson to Learn God promises evern man futility and failure We spend much of our time attempting to end these curses It can not be done Will life ever be what I so deeply want it to be? We must have life - we can not arrange for it People avoid the lesson:
...rather than facing the truth - Isaiah 57:10 Some have seen that this will not work, yet they have faded into resignation, bitterness or dispair How do we accept that it can't be done with an open heart? | ||||||||
2010-07-10 - Desire's Journey - The Adventure Begins (part 2) The first thing in the Bible is God working The morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy - Job 38:7 Jesus said his Father is always at work to this very day and he too is working - John 5:17
God loves his work God delights in doing tall these things | ||||||||
2010-08-12 - Waking Dead - Myths (part 3) Myth tell us three truths, this third one is: 3. In this desparate hour, we have a crucial role to play Neo sees himself as Thomas Anderson, but he was the one People in the scriptures that saw this:
This eternal truth is the most difficult for us to believe There is a glory to your life that your enemy fears The one who knows what you could be, fears it Things happen to you and we question why If believe we have a crucial role to play and come to know it is true, everything would change | ||||||||
2010-10-21 - Dealing With Debt (Part II)
QUESTIONS
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2010-10-22 - God and Your Job
QUESTIONS
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2010-10-23 - Decisions
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2011-01-01 - Discipleship (part I) Acts 11:25-26
Mark 1:16-20
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2011-02-07 - Christian Joy (part II) What is your personal yoke? Who or what are you yoked to?
What burdens you about Christianity?
Matthew 13:44-46
What is stopping you? You are | ||||||||
2011-04-19 - Names of Jesus (part XIII) Reading through the Bible relating to Jesus' names:
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2011-05-18 - Names of Satan (part V) Satan's names study:
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2011-06-14 - Mind of Christ - Intro (part VII) He is worth following:
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2011-06-15 - Mind of Christ - Intro (part VIII) Following Christ is more than merely adding a few new habits and activities to our lives. It is changing our total person from what we have been into what He is! Thus, to follow Christ I must be a student of His life.
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2011-08-04 - Daughter Needs - Mr. Success (part II) We often set high achievements goals that takes away from our family Excuses often made:
You may be sacrificing your daughter by saying yes to too many "good" projects even if they are "spiritual" Consider your plans' impact to your family before you move forward with them - Luke 14:28-30 | ||||||||
2011-08-06 - Daughter Needs - Sugar Daddy It is the Father's duty to provide for the material needs - 1 Timothy 5:8 But if all we do as fathers i provide, we will miss other important parental responsibilities A Sugar daddy is the one who spares no expense to but her toys and gifts Her affection is his reward - likes the rush of her admiration and appreciation Many times it comes from guilt after having spent too many hours on the job Also comes from our emotional inability to give ourselves to our daughter Daughters can begin to believe that the most important things in life are financial They say "It is important to daddy, I like material things too" Matter if adjusting our priorities If she sees that he really values his relationship with her - she will value relationships Give yourself to your daughter and you will teach her the value of real love | ||||||||
2011-08-24 - Fearing God - His rule Job's attitude toward God in the beginning: It profits a man nothing when tries to please the God - Job 34:9 The Lord confronted him, "I will question you and you shall answer me - Job 38:2-3 Job 38-41 is a gallery of God's creative wisdom and power What was Job's response? I am unworthy - Job 40:4 God cares for His creation He gives all men life and breath - Acts 17:25 He endows the heart with wisdom and gives understanding to the mind - Job 38:36 God governs His universe He is the ruler of all things - 1 Chronicles 29:12 He does as he pleases - Daniel 4:35 Our plans depend entirely on him - Lamentations 3:37 God's rule is universal and absolute A sparrow can not fall to the ground without His will - Matthew 10:29 Not one drop of rain falls without His command - Amos 4:7 | ||||||||
2011-09-28 - Proverbs on Advice - Without Instruction 4. Without instruction, you hurt others Proverbs 10:17 - He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray John Donne wrote, “No man is an island entirely to himself, every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main” When (in our independence) we disregard godly advice, we hurt others as well as ourselves. We set an example which by action and attitude say that we do not need others in our lives 5. Without instruction we are stupid Proverbs 12:1 - Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid The Bible uses the word “stupid”. It’s found only four times in the NIV (Job 18:3, Proverbs 12:1, Ecclesiastes 10:3, 2 Timothy 2:23)
Challenge: How do you respond when someone challenges you?
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2011-09-30 - Proverbs on Laziness (part II) How do I overcome being lazy (How do I become disciplined)? 1. Carpe Diem = Seize the Day We are only given a certain amount of time in a day (and on earth)
Being disciplined is about the little things in life.
One thing that can hurt your discipline is if you over commit
Philippians 4:6 - Do not be anxious about anything
Tips
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2011-10-01 - Genesis 1 - Creation & RecreationSummaryGod created the heavens, the earth and everything that lives. He made humankind in his image and gave them charge over the earth. ObservationsGenesis 1:1 - the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, Personal ApplicationGod is bigger than I think he is. I have made him too small in my mind and do not allow Him to take control -- this is absurd since he has control over the universe and does a perfect job at it. My actions show that I don't fully trust God in this way. | ||||||||
2012-01-26 - Ministry - Producing a Harvest Matthew 13:1-23 How fruitful have you been in the last year? Are the worries of this life making you unfruitful? There are so many things that we could worry about: our school, spouses, dating life, children, money, jobs, etc. Do we get so consumed with ourselves and our lives that we forget our purpose in life? Nothing will come of our efforts to save the lost if we are filled with stress and worry. We will choke out the power of the word and of God we focus on our worries. God wants us to have a fruitful life! When we really hear God's word and embrace it, we will produce a harvest beyond our wildest dreams. Have you let stress and worry in your life choke out the word? Make a prayer list of all the things you are worried about and pray through them. Pray with faith and see how God moves in your life when you cast your anxieties on Him. | ||||||||
2012-02-13 - Ministry - Are You Willing to Keep Praying? Luke 18:1-8 Jesus tells this parable to show us something. The scriptures even go so far as to tell us exactly what that something is that we should always pray and not give up. Have you ever decided to pray about a specific situation and not stopped until it has changed? What if it took a year to change? Five years? Ten years? Twenty years? Jesus says to never give up! Too often we get discouraged and want to quit-even on God-because something doesn't change. Maybe we haven't been fruitful for a while or we don't have a dating relationship yet. Maybe things have not changed in our marriage fast enough or our job situation is still not working out. Maybe we are just not changing our hearts the way we should. The answer is not to give up but to keep on praying. Jesus ends the parable questioning whether there would still be faith on earth when he returns. Our lack of prayer is a sign of a lack of faith! To keep praying and not give up is a sign of great faith. Write down three things you have quit praying about and recommit yourself to be faithful in prayer. Decide to trust. God and be in the kingdom for the long haul-no matter how many decades of prayer it takes!! | ||||||||
2012-02-23 - Fear of Failure - God Always Sees the Humble Heart by Gene Kim - Ministry Intern: San Francisco Church of Christ 1 Kings 21 Ahab really wanted Naboth's vineyard, and so he was willing to do anything to get it. He kept on sinning until he got the vineyard - discouragement, self-pity, anger, and eventually murder. There are "vineyards" in everyone's lives nowadays, jobs, relationships, or successes. Ahab was so consumed with what he wanted that his marriage was ungodly. I see how I don't lead my wife because I get consumed with my job and success, and my relationship with God goes the same way as my marriage. I get so guilty that I lose confidence in how God can use my life. What encourages me about this scripture is how God uses people to confront others with the truth and how He is hoping for people to humble themselves and turn back to Him. Ahab was described as a man who "sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord" (v. 25). Elijah warned Ahab of the impending disaster because of his sin. Ahab took God's warning seriously and humbled himself before God, and the Lord noticed and blessed him! I can feel at times that I have messed up so much that God would never believe in me again, and yet God is merely looking for a heart that is humble, broken, and grateful. He hopes that I would have the courage to see my sin. God notices and moves on behalf of a humble heart! | ||||||||
2013-01-06 - Prayer of the Righeous - God is a Consuming Fire (part II) We must totally aware of our own unworthiness It took a while, but Job finally understood this: "My ears heard you but now my eyes...and repent in dust and ashes" - Job 42:5-6 This is the reaction we should have when sinful selfs meets a pure, holy and prefect God David understood our unworthiness: "But who I am... Everything comes from you" - 1 Chonicles 29:14-15 Solomon aware of his own afflicions, asked God to hear men's prayers - 1 Kings 8:38 Jesus warned that we need to be careful to not be proud based off anything we have or done - Revelations 3:17 Our good deeds or possessions in no way make worthly of coming in the presence of the holy one | ||||||||
2013-09-12 - A Man Embraces Responsibility Men are happiest and at their best when they are responsible We must resolve to fully embrace all of our responsibilities before God Responsibility = you are being entrusted and empowered by a higher authority to care for something or someone The first thing God did after creating Adam, was to give him responsibilities. He placed him in the garden “to cultivate it and keep it” - Genesis 2:15 Sin makes men tend to resist responsibility, but embracing it is part of our manhood It is a relatively modern invention that establishes teen years as a moratorium on responsibility and prolongs childhood indefinitely. When a young man is passive and irresponsible, he greatly limits his freedoms, opportunities, and successes. Responsibility calls us to action and tests us. It reveals our character. The more maturity a man has, the more responsibility God can trust him with. Embrace responsibility! Love it. Live it. Teach it to your children. If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward” - Luke 12:42-43 | ||||||||
2013-10-09 - Resolve to Lead Your Family When Moses died, God turned to Joshua and told him it was now his job to lead He promised him four spiritual resources to help him
Again and again Joshua heard: “Be strong and courageous!” Leadership is about courage - the courage to trust God, to do the right thing, to stand alone, and to maintain forward momentum | ||||||||
2013-10-23 - Protect Them Fathers are the primary protectors - physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are undisturbed - Luke 11:21 You should not only guard your own heart but your wife’s as well Teaches your children to love wisdom instead of developing a greater appetite for the world. The older your kids get, the more they will need to understand the rationale behind your rules. | ||||||||
2014-04-04 - Disciplining Your Children (part I) A major part of your role as a father is to disciple your kids Discipling your kids requires discipline on our part Discipline doesn’t feel good, nor should it - Hebrews 12:11 Discipline should be more on the father’s shoulders than the mother’s because of who we represent. Loving discipline prepares our kids to respect and obey their heavenly Father We had earthly fathers to discipline us, for they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good - Hebrews 12:9-10 It is the father’s job is to take the long view, not the short one. Withheld discipline may seem momentarily pleasant to the child and the parent but it takes no skill or courage to be a passive father Not disciplining guarantees that uncorrected sin will follow his child into adulthood and follow his family into the coming generations Its momentary discomfort - knowing that sin will harm a child in far worse ways than even the painful discipline of a loving father. He who loves him disciplines him promptly - Proverbs 13:24 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it - Proverbs 22:6 IT is a lie from the Enemy to believe that rebelling against and dishonoring authority brings more freedom and peace Bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord - Ephesians 6:4
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2015-01-08 - Genesis 25 - Death of Abraham (part I)SummaryAbraham died and was buried with Sarah ObservationsGenesis 25:7 - lived a long and satisfying life | ||||||||
2015-03-31 - Eyes Have It I have made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman - Job 31:1 Sexual temptation burns many men simply because they are careless Job took some time for self-examination He knew that
Those who have no interest in pleasing the Lord will say, "Hey, there's no harm in looking" but the man commited to God knows better Job's advice if you want to keep your body and mind pure: Don't even look
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2015-04-02 - In Control Joseph: So it was God who sent me here, not you! - Genesis 45:8 Joseph's hear and mind had made peace with his treacherous brothers He firmly believed that the God who remains in control of all things had sent him to Egypt When one of your kids defies everything you save or your job moves in a different direction, how do you react? Do negative emotions to rule the day or take refuge in God who is in control? God has an amazing way of using even the worst circumstances for your good Like you, Joseph did know the events ahead of him, he had to move forward by faith | ||||||||
2015-04-07 - Clear Conscience I will maintain my innocence without wavering. My conscience is clear fpr as long as I live - Job 27:6 How oftern do we long for a quiet conscience when what we really need is a clean conscience? Job did a quick personal inventory - He had a completely clean conscience Though Job didn't know why he was suffering, he knew that it hadn't come as a result of sin God called Job "blameless" a man of complete integrity - John 1:8 Do you enjoy a clean conscience? Are you at peace with God? with the people around you? | ||||||||
2015-04-26 - Delegation Why are you trying to do all this alone? - Exodus 18:14 A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Nobody lives long enough to make them all himself. Moses filled hs plate to overflowing - working from dawn to dusk This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself - Exodus 18:17-18 Jethro's advice: Slow down and let someone who feared and loved God do a part of the work As a priest of Midian and successful businessman, Jethro had a lot of wisdom to share Your mistakes can be put to good use by encouraging others to not repeat them | ||||||||
2015-05-13 - Wise and Humble Leadership He had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall - 2 Chronicles 26:16 It takes a man of true humility to keep his feet on the ground over the long haul when he is given power and authority over others Uzziah, Judah's tenth king, was not such a man His long and sometimes distinguished reign came to an unfortunate end because of his arrogant thirst for power Uzziah expressed his arrogance by entering the sactuary though this job was reserved for his priest Had Uzziah remained humble, he might have become one of the nation's greatest kings - instead, he spent his later years shut away from people in a leper colony Do you understand your place in the big picture? | ||||||||
2015-08-01 - Listen No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words - Job 2:13 Many men struggle with just listening - why God gave us two ears and only one mouth At first Job's friends were the exactly the kind of friends he needed After Job had spoken, they began speaking but instead of comforting him they tried to fix his problems - which made things worst Sometimes it is best to just listen instead of trying to fix things | ||||||||
2015-08-04 - Appearance Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife - Matthew 1:20 It's hard to imagine Joseph not making some assumptions when his fiancee told him she was pregnant Joseph onlyknew two things:
What would his family think? Would they buy the story? Would he buy his own story? God saw his heart and knew that he was the right man for the job As Joseph slept, God confirmed Mary's story and told Joseph to not be afraid to marry her God allowed Joseph the privilege of caring for the most important child ever born | ||||||||
2015-08-31 - Unexpected Wisdom I am full of pent-up words and the spirit within me urges me on - Job 32:18 Job's three friends felt that God was punishing Job for some hidden sin - he rejected this Job thought God was treating him unfairly All four of them had it wrong Elihu: God repays people according to their deeds. He treats people as they deserve - Job 34:10-11 His knew Job's suffering could not be in vain. Job shouldn't see his affection as God didn't care about him rather as a tool in God's hand to teach Job more |