2008-02-27 - Power of Gratitude - Free at Last MLK - as bad as slavery was - there a slavery that last for eternity 2 Corinthians 5:21 - Jesus might become sin for us As existence of righteousness does not ensure we receive it Satan tries everything to help us miss this opportunity Jews after saw their failures in the past - created many regulations so they would not sin
Religion that is performance based is doomed
Romans 7-8 - Focus is not on themselves but on him who died for them; Because they are saved James 1:23-25 - Law points out their sin clearly / making them feel more indebted to God Motivation to last a lifetime - Our love responding to his grace Other motivations:
YES: I'll accept you, now let's walk together in my strength | ||||||||||||||||||
2008-07-12 - Purpose Driven Life - Sharing Your Message (Testimony) Your message includes testimony Tell other of the difference he made for you - 1 Peter 2:9 Witnessing = simply sharing your personal experiences regarding the Lord In court witness are NOT expected to:
You will be my witnesses - Acts 1:8 Personal stories:
Four parts of your testimony:
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2008-08-21 - 30 Days at the Cross - Never Forget Remembering is not easy God foresaw our tendency to forget:
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2008-09-02 - Teach Us To Pray - Full Of Faith Reading from 2 Kings 6:15-17 We can relate to Elisha's servant, he lacked faith As Elisha's servant looked down at the Arameans, he turned in despair to Elisha Do you collapse in a heap of self-pity or discouragement? Elisha's servant got humble and trusted his leader Problems always look less daunting when you get God in the picture and decide to be full of faith | ||||||||||||||||||
2008-09-12 - Teach Us To Pray - In Marriage and Family Unless the Lord builds, its builder labor in vain - Psalms 127:1-2 Powerful benefits of daily prayer with one another:
Prayer in family life:
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2008-10-10 - Man of Prayer - YHWH-jireh YHWH-jireh means "the Lord will provide" Our God is a provider God saw Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, God provided a ram "My God will meet all your needs - Philippians 4:19 He is a good provider Every good and perfect gift comes from His hand - James 1:17 No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly - Psalms 84:11 | ||||||||||||||||||
2008-11-26 - Raising Awesome Kids - Liberty and Justice His brothers saw that their father loves him more and hated him - Genesis 37:4 Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent - the Lord detests both - Proverbs 17:15 We fathers must see that there is respect given to all Must rule justly in any areas of dispute Playing favorites is deadly Who must be respected? Mother - besides watch the children's respect, we must watch how we communicate with our spouse Younger and weaker children - Your role as dispenser of justice starts from day one and it is one of your most vital roles | ||||||||||||||||||
2009-01-20 - Jesus with People - Harassed and Helpless Jesus was always able to look beyond people's outward behavior to the need within How does a person who is harassed and helpless behave?
He saw beyond the paralytic's phyiscal condition to his need for forgiveness - Mark 2:5 When we see a crowd who is harassed and helpless we see - problems, problems, problems Wiser to evangelize the "suburbs" because there are less "problem" people - NNNNOOOO!!!! Jesus saw the potential in people, not the problems - why see inspired such change People need a shephard and Jesus responded and raised up other shephards - Matthew 9:38-10:4 Are you meeting needs or do you alwaysfind yourself reacting to the way people treat you? | ||||||||||||||||||
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 | ||||||||||||||||||
2009-01-27 - 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 | ||||||||||||||||||
2009-01-29 - Jesus with People - God Come Looking John 9:25 - One thing I do know, I was blind and now I see
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2009-01-31 - Jesus with People - No Dogs in Heaven Matthew 15 - The Canaanite Women Jesus was silent and by his silent he tested and revealed both the hearts of his disciples and the heart of this woman Perhaps the instructions given earlier by Jesus send then to find the lost sheep of Israel was still in their mind Maybe thought: "he sent us to find the lost Israelite. too bad, she is a Gentile. Send her away." Jesus did not send her away but said - I was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel - Matthew 15:24 Jesus - it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their gods - Matthew 15:26 Savior was willing to be misunderstood in order to flush out faith or faithlessness in the heart of this woman In the end, Jesus affirmed her faith and admired her grit He did not see the woman as unsubmissive or rebellious or undeserving; he saw her as full of faith Jesus was more concerned about helping someone grow in their faith than he was keep up the nice-guy image | ||||||||||||||||||
2009-02-02 - Jesus with People - Seeing and Not Seeing Luke 7:36-50 - Simon, I have something to tell you Jesus is able to cut through the muck - right to the heart He had outspoken clarity - Luke 7:40 In truth Simon saw neither the woman or himself for how they really were Jesus did see the woman - Her sin was obvious as her brokenness He actions came from her new sense of reality Once she saw Jesus, she responded the only way she could have - compelled by love - 2 Corinthians 5:14 Jesus' words should have cut Simon deeply - But he who has been forgiven little lives little He wants to have a relationship with us Think of trying to have a relationship with ant - talking with it, caring for it and especially dying for it - it is unfathomable! How many times did Jesus change people's view if God? Who am I most like: Simon or the sinful woman? | ||||||||||||||||||
2009-02-04 - Jesus with People - Perceiving Potential John 1:42 Usually when you meet someone, you introduce yourself - Jesus knew Peter and changed his name!
Jesus looked at people differently than they look at themself
Jesus knew he would fail but he never gave up on Peter. What name might Jesus give you? | ||||||||||||||||||
2009-02-05 - Jesus with People - Realness When it comes to friendship, Jesus again sets the standard Jesus knew John:
Incredible thing about John is that it would seem that he never doubted Jesus' love He refered to himself 5 times as the "disciple that Jesus loved" | ||||||||||||||||||
2009-03-27 - Promises of God - Living By Faith Habakkuk complained to God about what he saw happening God basically said, "You are right, life is hard" The idea that life is not fair robs us of our peace Solution? God assurance to Habakkuk, "the righteous will live by faith" - Habakkuk 2:4 Then came incredible faith and peace - Habakkuk 3:17-19 Even if upheaval and uncertainty exist in every area of our lives, we can have peace Why do our circumstances sometimes have such an impact on our peace? | ||||||||||||||||||
2009-04-29 - No one like him - Who did he think he was? Christianity built on the identification of Jesus Not like any other prophet, priest, or preacherAdolf Hitler – consider one of the worst tyrant in history There were others that were close to him (Stalin…)Jesus – there are no one comes close Most scholars can not deny that Jesus lived First Century movement that was started by those who saw him first hand How Jesus viewed himself:
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2009-05-07 - No one like him - His servant heart (part 2) Many ways to set our mind
Not looking for comfort Not about the way he looked Jesus saw himself as a servant, leading others to be servants How would this thinking change – marriage, family, church, workplace, neighborhood? Jesus was about meeting needs
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2009-06-18 - A Life of Impact - Compassion Compassion Mark 1:40-45
Humility
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2009-06-26 - A Life of Impact - Discipliner Discipliner Mark 3:31-35
Discernment
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2009-10-11 - Wild at Heart - The Strategy (part 4) 3. Cutting a deal When did king David fall? When David was not a warrior He sent other to the fighting for him Weapons of war If you saw your life as a great battle and you knew you needed time with God for your survival, you would have “quite times” It’s about connecting with God Whatever brings you back to you heart and the heart of God If you do not have God and have him deeply, you will turn to other lovers Men devote hours to finances to retire Rigorous training for a marathon How much do we strive to for our relationship with God? The body is built to endure hardship Put on the armor of God everyday We walk in the authority of Christ Do not attack in anger and do not swagger forth in pride Do not even think about going into battle alone Don’t make that a lifestyle of isolation | ||||||||||||||||||
2009-11-05 - Repentance - Jesus Opens Our Eyes (part 3) The Purpose of Parables
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2009-12-08 - Master Plan - Demonstration (part 2)
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2010-03-03 - To Live is Christ - In My Heart Philippians 1:7-8 During Paul's 3 days of blindness:
Instead of seeing cell walls - he saw the Philippian disciples needs, struggles, and victories Paul had to have come to know them all He did not just start the church there, he began a family He was committed to all of them - he was a true shepherd:
We too can long for people with the affection of Christ but we must have people in our hearts | ||||||||||||||||||
2010-03-05 - To Live is Christ - From Trials to Triumph A successful life is not life from difficulty, trial, or tragedy - Philippians 1:12-14 He saw God the same - no matter what happened in his life In an earlier letter he saw illness as an opportunity bring the gospel to the them - Galatians 4:13 He saw imprisonment for a chance to convert Romans Paul not giving up deepen their convictions - he emboldened them to share the message Whatever happens in life can serve to advance the gospel when we are living by faith |