Quiet Times Search

Refers to the building a structure and rhythm into our famiy schedule
Times when the whole group gets together

Mealtimes
Everyone is there for dinner - someone is missing, there is a very good reason
Talk about significant things that happened during the day
It is the simple things that build fabric

Stop letting people read the paper, watch TV or do homework during dinner
Disallow running off to different rooms
Stop making appointment that take you away
Allow no phone calls
Make dinnertime an event - work hard to keep it special

Create family traditions - do things that uniquel to our family
Make birthdays a big deal - does not have to be expensive

John 8:10-11 - When they were going to throw stones - Jesus just didn't say no
He said - one who is deserving of the same fate, go ahead

Jesus called what it is was - sin:

1. Not a fault
2. Not a cultural problem
3. Not a weakness

Was she being used by the Pharisees? Yes
Was she the product of a culture that oppressed women? Yes
Was she probably from a "bad" home? Yes

Sin enslaved us - John 8:31-34
Respect and love were the last things she expected
Jesus gave her freedom to change and was willing to forgive

 Sometimes we think repentance is more difficult than it is - Jesus called for immediately
We like to stall - think about it a while, talk about it

Is it hard for me to confront others in their sin?
Do I accept or resist others when they confront me with your sin?
What sin do I find difficult to leave behind me?

Amazing Speech

Mark 6:1-6

Suspicions and fear can evaporate because of love and openness

1. Deep Conviction

• Listeners who put his words into practice were wise
• How convicted are you about what you’ll be saying?
• Think about what to say instead of how it will come across

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

• Speak at their level mean not “to talk down to” or “to talk up to” an audience.
• Apologizing without reason, belittles himself
• Jesus was above us, but he came down to our level

5. Inspirational

• Conservative and low-key he will have no impact
• We all want our lives to count for something

6. Practical

• Message must be practical and applicable
• He specifically addressed the sins in their lives
• He gave them direction, and at times He told them exactly what to do

7. Meet the Need - Out of touch with the needs on the audience can actually make things worst then they are.

• Swords, camouflage, six-shooters, uniforms
• Boys want to be powerful and dangerous
• Aggression is part of man’s design – God’s image (Exodus 15:3)
• They do not want to call and talk about relationships
• Boys play is a rehearsal for a bigger drama
• Life needs man to be fierce and fiercely devoted
• Every man needs to know he is powerful – be the hero

• Fights the grizzly, wins the beauty
• Recipe for fun with boys – add an element of danger
• We may fear the test, yet we yearn to be tested and discover what it takes
• If a man has lost this desire (says he doesn’t want it) does not know he has what it takes – believe he will fail the test.

• Nothing more inspiring to a man as a beautiful women
• Make you want to charge the castle, slay the giant
• Men going to war carry a photo of their sweetheart in their wallet
• Paintings on side of airplanes
• Lonely men fight lonely battles
• Where would James Bond, Robin Hood, King Arthur, Indiana Jones be without their women
• Man needs a battle to fight, he needs someone to fight for (someone in particular – women he loves)

• Brother not engaging in fellowship
• Someone being insensitive or self-focused
• Sister seem dominated by negative and critical attitudes
• Someone overindulges in food or drink or something else
• Someone too serious and unrelatable

• Reasons for departures:
  • Oppositions from Pharisees
  • Hostility of Herod
  • Jesus wanted to be with disciples without distractions
• In Gethsemane, disciples were only a stone’s throw away - Luke 22:41
• Family: near each other in a time of departure
• Every minute cherished because the growing realization of He would be with them no more
• He spent more time with His disciples than with everyone else put together.
  • Ate with them
  • Slept with them
  • Talked with them
  • Walked with them
  • Prayed with them
  • Worshiped with them
• Ministering to the mass – disciples learned the lessons and then got an explanation afterwards
• Jesus had little time to call His own
• Only exceptions was when He kept to His own personal devotions with interruptions - Mark 46-48
• He wanted to be with them
• They were His spiritual children

1. Becoming inwardly focused, see only our problems
2. Trying to help other straighten out their lives without being open to the same help ourselves

• Seldom confess
• Confess only when there is a "big" sin
• Consistently confess sin
• Am open even about temptations

• There should be content to our encouragement - should not be empty talk
• Paul used words about the Second Coming of Jesus - words to help them live with Jesus' return in mind
• Our words need an emotional appeal based on specific biblical content

• Encouragement should move us to maturity
• Often combined with strengthening, building up or edification
• Growth in:
  • Our relationship with God
  • Interactions in the body
  • Our purity
  • Our discipline
  • Our prayer life
  • Our knowledge of the Word
  • Our Outreach
  • Our character

Biblical Principles of Reconcilation:

1. Realize the urgency and importance of being reconciled - Matthew 5:23-24
   • God would rather you patch up things with your brother than worship him
   • Have you called someone on a Saturday night to talk so you can worship God acceptably  the next day?
2. Accept the obligation and possibility of reconciliation
3. Know that we cannot always have our way
   • Reconciliation does not mean that everone will agree; power of the gospel is diversity working together in harmony
4. Make every effort to work things out - Ephesians 4:3
5. Forgive as the Lord forgave you - Colossians 3:13
6. Pray for your enemies (against human nature - Matthew 5:44

In the midst of the discussion about unity, Paul continues by talking about having the mind of Jesus - Philippians 2:5-8

The only way to have unity is to be like Jesus

We were called to follow in his steps - 1 Peter 2:21

Jesus willingly because a servant
Greek literally says, "he emptied himself"'

• He poured out his diviniy for us
• He gave up his rights
• Jesus was not just playing a role, he was showing us the depths of this heart

Jesus came not to be served but to serve - Matthew 20:28

• He was circumcised the first day it was possible (eighth day)
• He was an Israelite
• He was from the tribe of Benjamin (most honored tribe of all)
• He was a Hebrew of Hebrews - carefully passed on Hebrew language to children

• He was extremely zealous - Galatians 1:14
• He vigorously opposed the church
• He was faultless in the eyes of others

• Christ-centered - we preach Jesus Christ as Lord - 2 Corinthians 4:5
• Well-prepared - must know what we are talking about - 2 Timothy 2:15
• Be yourself / Be real - eloquence is not a requirement - 1 Corinthians 2:12
• Be gentle and respectful - No place for self-righteousness
• Non-retaliating - We will be opposed; If we retaliate, we lose; Turn the other cheek - Matthew 5:39
• Unhypocritical - People will be eager to change when they see the good news supported by your life

Preached by Richard Dixion on 1997-09-09

The people were amazed by Jesus

Mark 1:22, 27

• Teachings amazed them
• Why were they new?
  • Taught from the heart
• Above treating others like they do you - Love your enemies
• Caught in adultery vs. even thing about a girl lustfully

• Change/Repent = idleness is not godliness
• Not feel-good messages all the time

• vs. 20 Not of talk but of power
• Jesus amazed the people by his power

• Revealed the power of God
• Difference: his healing was attributed to God

Christianity is not an invitation to become a moral person or a program to get us into a reforming society

Christianity begins with an invitation to desire

What do you want me to do for you? - Luke 18:41
Jesus continually took people into their hearts - to their deepest desires

What does Jesus choose to talk about with the women at the well?
Her immorality? No
He speaks to her about thirst - John 4:10
Lets talk about your heart's thirst since the life you've chosen isn't working

All you who are thirsty, come to the waters - Isaiah 55:1-2
Message had gotten lost by the time Jesus' showed up
Jew of the day were practicing soul-killing, lifeless religion of duty and obligation

No wonder Jesus was feared. He came along and started appealing to desire

To the lost - Jesus spoke of finding your way
To the weary - Jesus speaks of rest

Again and again Jesus took them back to their desires
Ask and it will be given to you - Matthew 7:7

What is it that you want? - Would have fallen on deaf ear if his message was unrelateable

Men's punishment and curse hits man where it hurts most - in the field - Genesis 3:17-19

We drawn our sense of worth from work
Men generally don't talk about relationship as they do achievements

Man's deepest desire always relates to his strength
No matter how much a man achieves, it is never enough

Man's worst fear is not meaursing up
In some cases failure can be debilitating for life

Even received a different curse from God - Genesis 3:16
It hits where it matters most - in her relationships
The curse every woman knows the reality of loneliness and heartache

More talk amoug women revolves more about relationships than work
Imposters pretend they do not need love

The worst fear of a women is abandonment

Some men refuse to play the man for fear of failing
Some women shun imtimacy in fear of rejection

Better to:

• Go to class
• Read the textbook
• Study for the test
• Go to study groups
• Talk with the teacher

1 Peter 1:13-14

• Be disciplined
• Non-studying types will not do well

1 Peter 2:1-2 - Crave spiritual milk

1 Peter 3:15 - Tested with questions

1 Peter 4:1 - Get your attitude ready

1 Peter 4:7-12 - Love others with self-control

To know and to be known. It is our deepest ache.
Our bodies are an outward sign of an inward reality

Love makes us to crazy things for love. No union on earth like the consummation of love between a man and woman
Lovers reach for the stars to find words fitting enough to express what the beloved means to them - to a clue to a deeper reality

Becoming one - this is what God is seeking with us
Gender, sexually and marriage server as a lving metaphor
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother ... and the two will become one flesh... I am talking about Christ and the church - Ephesians 5:31-32
The cross is a great mystery - but in context of sacrifing animal - it became clear what they had been doing and what Christ was doing

Bible is the greatest romance ever written
God has given us the highest freedom of all - the freedom to reject him
Love is possible only when it is freely chosen

Myth - sometimes thought of as not factual true
But a myth is a story which confront us with something transcendent and eternal; a way of seeing and knowing
A kind of story that wakes you up and you suddenly say - this is what my life is really about

Myth tell us three truths, this first one is:

1. Things are not what they seem

Examples of movies that show us this include: Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, the Matrix

Jacob saw earth in a whole new way in his dream - Genesis 28:12
He awakes more awake then ever, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it" - Genesis 28:16

Two followers of Christ did not even recongized Jesus as he talked with him after his resurrection - Luke 24:17-21
They were slow in heart to believe

• Little Red Riding Hood - wolf
• Dorthy - Wicked Witch of the West
• Neo - powerful agents

• Scripture reading becomes I have to read it to understand the gospel for others
• Talking to God suddenly takes on a new purpose - passionate pleas for friends
• Our desire to worship grows as your gratitude grows
• Helps maintain a high standard of purity

1. Time and Energy
How better to expend time and energy than investing into someone who will thank you for enternity?
What other investment will reap so high a reward?

2. Reading and Study
Some effect to make cetain you know what you are talking about

3. Money
The amount of hard cash spent is still relatively low in camparsion to the overwhelming rewards that result
Can't imagine a safer investment

4. Risk of Embarrassment, Rejection or Persecution
Blessed are you when people insult you - great is your reward in heaven - Matthew 5:11-12

5. Complication of Life
It entangles us in the concerns and activities of their lives
We have less independence
Add to our overloaded schedules
But so does getting married, having children, and buying a house
The most important things complicate our lives, but they are worth it!

• Because you contacted them out of blue
• Both of you want to see all the changes that have happened since you last saw them

1. List some benefits of knowing Christ
2. Review the promises of Christ for this life and the next
3. Thank and worship Him for the countless blessings of knowing Him

• "How is it going?" then ask how is it going
• "I'm curious, do you ever think about spiritual matters?"
• "Who, in your opinion, is Jesus Christ?"
• "What is your spiritual background?"
• "Do you ever wonder what happens to us when we die?"
• "What do you think a real Christian is?"
• "Where are you heading in your spiritual journey?"

• Easter - What do you think happened to Jesus' body?
• Thanksgiving - what we are thankful for
• Independence Day - what kinds of freedom mean the most to them
• Conversations about what holidays their family likes to keep

• To give you wisdom and guide your words
• Help others be open and interested

1. God is loving - Out of compassion He made us and still desires to have a relationship despite our sin against him
2. God is holy - He is absolutely pure and is separate from everything impure
3. God is just - He is a perfect judge who will dispense justice to everyone fairly

• Expressed the love of God
• Upheld the holiness of God
• Satisfied the justice of God

• Some daring act of evangelism - although He did this almost daily
• Being baptized  - although it is commanded and can never be omitted

• Heroic acts of wisdom - Acts 2:14
• Boldness and courage
• Healings - Acts 5:15-16

• Jesus is God in the flesh. He is the unique Son of God: fully God and fully man!
• God came to earth as a man in order that we could come to know him.
  
• If you were an all powerful and invisible God, how would you have tried to communicate your love to your creation?
  
• Illustration: Imagine trying to talk to an ant - How do you communicate with them without terrifying them? Become an ant yourself
  

• All the fullness of God lives in Jesus Christ.
  
• Every aspect of God’s character can be found in Jesus.
  
• Reading through any of the Gospels describing Jesus life and words will give you insight into God’s character and will for your life.
  

• Mark 1:21-22 - Jesus was an amazing teacher whose words were spoken with authority.
• Mark 1:23-28 - Jesus cast out demons, showing that the power of God was present in him.
• Mark 1:29-31 - Jesus met people’s felt needs and healed the sick.
• Mark 1:32-34 - Jesus focused his attention on others and selflessly gave of himself.
• Mark 1:35 - Jesus was dependent upon God in prayer for his strength and direction.
• Mark 1:36-39 - Jesus was consumed with his mission to preach the good news.
• Mark 1:40-42 - Jesus was filled with compassion for all people.
• Mark 10:32-34, 45 - Jesus came to serve, and gave his perfect life as a ransom for sinners. As predicted, he was rejected by his people and crucified - but he rose from the dead three days later.

• Every person is either in the darkness or the light. This study will show us that outside of Jesus we are all in the darkness.

• What is the consequence of sin? Sin hurts others, hurts ourselves, but ultimately sin hurts and separates us from God.
• God is light. As long as the wall of sin remains, we are in the darkness.
• In order to have a relationship with God, the barrier of sin must come down.

• We will come back to other ideas in this text later, but focus on v23. Who has sinned?
• Use illustrations to show that some are better than others, but all sin and fall short.
  
• Examples: Swimming to Hawaii, graph showing piles of sin.
  
• Who is more lost? There is no “good person” who is without sin.

• Sin is not simply wrong actions, but a problem of the heart.
  
• Who is responsible for our sin? Despite genetics, parenting, peer pressure and socio-economic conditions, we are responsible for our own sin, which comes from our own hearts and makes us unclean.
  
• What is the consequence of being unclean before God?
  
• Discuss the sins Jesus talks about here.

• David talks about the heart of the Lord toward weak and sinful people: he is a compassionate, gracious, loving father.
  
• How deeply does God love those who fear him?
  
• What is he willing to do with their sins (transgressions)?
• Is this the way you see God?
  

• Jesus taught many things in parables, short stories created to teach spiritual truths.
  
• What does this story tell you about God’s attitude toward us when we repent and turn back to Him?
• Why did the older brother have such a hard time with his father’s attitude?
  
• In what way did he fail to understand the father and his grace?
  

• In this story, we see two very different ways of viewing ourselves and God.
  
• How did the Pharisee approach God? How did he view himself?
  
• On what basis did he presume to be righteous? (His goodness, religious activities, his own efforts).
  
• By contrast, how did the tax collector see himself?
  
• What was his appeal to God based on? (God’s mercy).
  
• Who went home justified (pronounced and considered “not guilty”)?
  
• Jesus taught that a person can never be good enough to be saved through his own efforts.
  
• The only basis of our salvation is the mercy and grace of God.

• v12 - Everyone that want to live a Godly life will have to go through persecution
• Question: What do you think that means - being persecuted for living a Godly life?
• v14-15 - Apostle Paul instructs Timothy to continue to believe to believe in the scriptures because it is able to make you wise in the choices of life
• v4:4 - Bible says that people will start to listen to and follow man (ideas and myths) rather than God
• If we read the Bible daily then we will know God's will for our lives. If we don't we will start to follow what people say, think, and feel.
• Question: How can reading the Bible daily change your life? What happens if you don't read daily?
• Question: Why do you think God wants you to read his word daily? So you can know him!

• Jesus is talking to the Jewish people and tells them that is they don't hold to his teachings, then they are not really his disciples
• Just because someone acts religious or know a lot about the Bible does not mean they are following Jesus
• Question: What does Jesus say it takes to be his disciple? Then you'll know what? Then what?
• When you read someone's journal you get to know that person more and more each day - same goes for reading God's word
• Question: How often do you read the Bible?
• Challenge: Read the Bible daily and make one decision each day.

Definition of Sin
Romans 3:21-25

• The Law and the Prophets (Old Testament) testify about the righteousness from God (Jesus)
• Questions
  • What has sinned?
  • Who is separated from God then?
  • Where does our redemption come from?

Sins of Omission
James 4:13-17

• Involves inward things that people don't nessarily see
  • Bitterness
  • Hatred
  • Procrastination
  • Looking down on others
  • Unwillingness to help/serve
• Question: What sins of ommission would you say have been or are currently in your life?

Sin of Commission
Galatians 5:16-25

• Go through the list and define each sin to paint a clear picture
• Person leading the study share their own sin (5-6 minutes), then 1 or 2 others for 2-3 minutes
• After the person studying shares then suggest meeting again to talk about things further

• If a person sins against you (go and talk to them one on one), if it does not go well get help.
• If they refuse to stop sinning it's better that they leave the body than for the whole body to be hurt.
• Question: How do you feel about what Jesus is telling his disciples to do with someone who refuses to repent?
• This won't happen to someone if they continue to seek advice and imitate Jesus.

• Question: When these people found the kingdom of God what was their response?
• They were willing to give up any and everything to possess the kingdom of God
• God wants you to experience this same joy, are you willing to give up anything for the kingdom?

• Question: What do you understand these scriptures as saying to you?
• Question: Who would be the most challenging relationship for you to keep God above?
• Question: What if your (spouse, kids, parent) did not want to be a disciple (or left) what would you do?
• Satan will use relationships closest to you to try to pull you away.
• Don't think these things will never happen to you - never underestimate the devil
• v26 - Even his own life
  • What will you need to overcome?

• Even when you sin after you are baptized then the blood of Jesus will continue to purify you from all sin if we stay in the light
• We should confess our sins and having discipling relationship helps us to take care of one another
• Question: If someone approaches you and talks about how many changes they have seen in you. What should you tell them (role play)

• Sons
• Strangers
• Daughters