Honest to God

God Invites Honesty, Not Performance

The Psalms Model a Full Emotional Life Lived in God’s Presence, But Willing to Learn and Be Shaped

Psalm 73:21-28 (NIV)

“When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.”

1.      Joy And Praise - Loads of It

2.      Fear and Anxiety

3.      Anger and Frustration

4.     Grief and Despair

5.      Honesty and Repentance

God Is Not Intimidated by Emotional Complexity - He Created Us…

God Desires Relationship Over Ritual

Authenticity Is Central to a Deep Spiritual Life

God Desires Your Real Heart, not a Rehearsed One

2 Samuel 14:14 (NIV)

“Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But that is not what God desires; rather, he devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from him.”

God devises means so the banished are not forever separated from Him.

2 Peter 3:9 (AMP)

“The Lord does not delay [as though He were unable to act] and is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is [extraordinarily] patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

Life Is Fragile and Fleeting

Humanity Is Banished by Sin

Sin Always Pushes Us Away from God

God Desires Relationship

God Could Leave Us, But He Does Not

God Has Always Desired Nearness

God Wants Restoration, Not Rejection

God Devises Means and Uses Circumstances

Circumstances Become Invitations

Your Current Circumstance May Be a Doorway

God Wastes Nothing When He Is Drawing Our Hearts Toward Him

Jesus Is the Ultimate Example

God Did Not Merely Send Help - He Came Himself

Luke 15:7 - All Heaven Rejoices When One Lost Returns Home

God Still Wants a Relationship with You

David

He was a son, shepherd, musician, warrior, king, fugitive, father, adulterer, liar, murderer, and a man after God’s own heart.

1 Samuel 13:14 (ESV)

“But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”

Biblical Heart

The control center of your life.

David and Bathsheba

2 Samuel 11:1 (NIV)

“At the time when kings go to war… David stayed home.”

SlideThis is an abuse of power. This is manipulation. This is murder.

David shows us again, that it’s not a question of if we will fail, but what to do when we do.

Psalm 51 (ESV)

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.”

“Have mercy on me, O God” …

“I know my transgressions…”

“Create in me a clean heart…”

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation” …

“That’s what true repentance sounds like.”

David’s greatness was not that he didn’t fall.

It was this: he knew where to go when he did.

“Repentance Isn’t Punishment—It’s Realignment.”

Cultivating A Heart After God’s Heart

Humble Yourself

James 4:10 (NIV)

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

“God, I really need you.”

Acknowledge Your Brokenness

1 John 1:8-9 (MSG)

“If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—simply come clean about them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing.”

James 5:16 (MSG)

“Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed.”

Run Toward God

Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

A man after God’s heart isn’t someone who never fails…

It’s someone who knows where to run when they do.

Psalm 115:4-8 (ESV)

“Those who make [idols] become like them, so do all who trust in them.”

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

“THE ANALYSIS PARALYSIS”

“Perhaps”

God Can Accomplish All He Wants to Do, Whether by Many or by Few (Or Two)

FAITH AND COURAGE GO HAND IN HAND

James 2:14, 26 (NIV)

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save

them? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”

Jonathan Engages Faith… Rallies Courage… And Takes Action

1. Let’s Show Ourselves

2. 3. 4. We Will Trust God to Guide Us

They Give It Their All

They Fight… They Fight and Win!

Our Faith… Our Courage…Our Action… Can Bring Liberty… Courage… And Life to Others

Ruth 1:6-18 (NIV)

“When Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. With her two daughters-in-law, she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah. Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the Lord show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me. May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.’ Then she kissed them goodbye, and they wept aloud and said to her, ‘We will go back with you to your people.’ But Naomi said, ‘Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!’ At this, they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. ‘Look,” said Naomi, ‘your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.’ But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.’ When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.”

Ruth 1:16 (NIV)

“Your people will be my people and your God my God.”

Sometimes The Bravest Thing You Can Do Is Take The Next Step.

My Pain Is Real, But It Is Not My Identity.

In God’s Family, There Are No Outsiders.

Take The Next Step Or Stay Where You Are.

John 10:10 (NIV)

“I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”

Forgiveness Is the Beginning, Not the End

God Doesn’t Forgive You Just to Reset You—He Forgives You to Release You into Everything That Was Purposed for You.

Jesus Did Not Rise Just to Leave You Empty—He Rose to Fill You.

The Resurrection Is Not About Subtraction of Sin Only—It Is About the Addition of Life.

Here Is the New Reality:

•     We Are Not Just Declared “Not Guilty”

•     You Are Now Called a Child of God, Alive in Christ

•     We Are Not Just Set Free from the Power of Sin

•     Our Life Has New Direction, Meaning and Power

•     We Are Not Just Given a Behavior Management Manual

•     We Are Given a New Empowered Way of Living Differently Where We Grow in Love, Joy, Peace, Etc.

Receive More Than Forgiveness - Walk in the Newness of Life

Jesus Didn’t Walk Out of the Grave So We Could Stay the Same

The Cross Erases Our Past—But the Resurrection Rewrites Our Future

God is Holy, Not Ordinary

Isaiah 6:3 (ESV)

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts…”

Leviticus 10:3 (ESV)

“Among those who are near me I will be sanctified…”

Proverbs 9:10 (KJV)

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

God is Loving — But Deeply Worthy of Reverence

Casualness Can Lead to Spiritual Drift

Galatians 6:7-10 (NIV)

“God is not mocked…don’t sow to self… be about what He is about.”

Romans 11:22 (ESV)

“Note then the kindness and severity of God…”

The Balance

Irreverence Toward God has Serious Consequences

The Lord’s Presence - The Attack on Ai and the Defeat

Joshua 7:10-12 (NIV)

“The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.’”

1 Samuel 4 (ESV)

“By the time of Samuel the Ark had become an amulet and was used casually as a good omen or good luck charm and God let’s it be taken.”

The Lord’s Portion - Achan’s Sin

Joshua 7:1 (NIV)

“But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.”

The Lord’s Counsel - The Gibeonites

Joshua 9:14-15 (NIV)

“The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.- it all looked right so they forgot to ask God for his counsel.”

James 1:5 (NLT)

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.”

The Lord’s Name - Commandment

Exodus 20:7 (NLT)

“You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.”

The Lord’s Word - Every Word is God- Breathed and Useful

The Lord’s Church - His Body - His Representation

Deuteronomy 30:11-20 (NIV)

“Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, ‘Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

Half Heartedness

Deuteronomy 16:21 (NLT)

“You must never set up a wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build for the Lord your God.”

James 1:5-8 (NLT)

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”

Idolatry Robs Us of Our True God Designed Humanity

Idolatry is Misplaced Identity, Trust and Dependance

Idolatry Reshapes Behavior

Romans 1:21-25 – 21 (NLT)

“They knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.”

Modern Idolatry May Well be Good Things Turned to Ultimate Things

Idolatry May Be Just Hiding Inside Normal Life

Here are a few simple questions way identify modern idols are:

1.    What do I fear losing the most?

2.    What do I think I need to be okay?

3.    What do I organize my life around?

4.    What hinders my giving or generosity?

So, in everyday life, idolatry isn’t about statues—it’s about substitutes. 

Therefore, we have to ask... is there anything that plays the role the Bible says belongs to God alone?

Note for online notes section only:

Here in the first 12 chapters of the book of Deuteronomy, Moses reintroduces the law and the promises of God to the next generation who will be the ones to enter into the promised land. Moses reinforced the character of God and the importance of His covenant of love with His people, warning the Israelites to be faithful to the Lord, unlike their fathers who had rejected the Lord and His promises just 40 years prior.

Deuteronomy 5:1-21 (ESV)

“And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Not with our fathers did the LORD make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. The LORD spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, while I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the LORD. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain.’ He said, ‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. You shall not murder. And you shall not commit adultery. And you shall not steal. And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’”

The Lord your God X 132 

For your Good X 14

Fear the Lord X 8

Three Benefits of Obedience

We Reap the Fruit of His Righteous Life

Deuteronomy 6:3 (NKJV)

“…that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD…

promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Proverbs 14:14 (ESV)

“The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be

filled with the fruit of his ways.”

John 14:15 (KJV)

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

We Announce What God is Like

Deuteronomy 4:5-10 (ESV)

“See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today? “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children— how on the day that you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’”

We Have Confidence in Truth

Proverbs 14:12 (NKJV)

“There is a way that seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death.”

Psalm 119:160 (ESV)

“The sum of your word is truth.”

Psalm 19:7 (ESV)

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”

Deuteronomy 7:6-8 (ESV)

“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.”

1.    How do I think about my place with God?

Numbers 6:22-26 (ESV)

“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying,

Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.’”

2.    How do we handle extenuating circumstances?

Numbers 9:9-14 (ESV)

“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If any one of you or of your descendants is unclean through touching a dead body, or is on a long journey, he shall still keep the Passover to the Lord. In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight they shall keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break any of its bones; according to all the statute for the Passover they shall keep it. But if anyone who is clean and is not on a journey fails to keep the Passover, that person shall be cut off from his people because he did not bring the Lord's offering at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin. And if a stranger sojourns among you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its rule, so shall he do. You shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native.’”

3.    How do we handle insecurity?

Numbers 12:1-2, 10, 15-16 (ESV)

“Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said, ‘Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it… When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, like snow… So Miriam was shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again.  After that the people set out from Hazeroth, and camped in the wilderness of Paran.’”

4.    How do we handle a husband’s jealousy?

Numbers 5:27-28 (ESV)

“And when he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and has broken faith with her husband, the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain, and her womb shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away, and the woman shall become a curse among her people. But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be free and shall conceive children.”

The Blue Dye Decree: No man shall dye his garment blue. Blue is a sacred color and reserved for garments of the High Priest.

The Rash Quarantine: If you have a persistent skin rash or an "itch" that looks suspicious, you are legally required to go to the priest. He will lock you in a house for seven days to see if the rash gets better and then if you can return to society.

The Grape Law: If you are harvesting your vineyard and drop a grape, you are legally forbidden from picking it up. You must leave it for the poor and the alien.

The Grasshopper Rule: If a grasshopper or cricket falls or jumps into a pot you must break the pot because it will be considered unclean forever. 

The Right Foot First Stipulation: When entering the Tabernacle, a man shall lead with his right foot; for the left is the side of weakness, and the right is the side of the Lord's strength.

The Standing Ovation Statute: You are commanded to stand up whenever an elderly person enters the room as a sign of respect and fear of God.

The Holy Kiss Directive: Always greet one another with a holy kiss.

The Mixed-Fiber Ban: You are prohibited from wearing clothing woven from two different types of thread.

Gleaning

Leviticus 19:9-10 (NIV)

“When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the Lord your God.”

                                       The Year of Jubilee – The Great Reset

                                                          Leviticus 25:8-34

Leviticus 25:23-24 (NIV)

“The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers. Throughout the land that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land.”

Leviticus 25:35-36 (NIV)

“If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you. Do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God, so that they may continue to live among you.”

"The Church is the Church only when it exists for others...not dominating but helping and serving. It must tell men of every calling, what it means to live for Christ - to exist for others."

-      Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Letters and Papers from Prison)

 “At the first onset of the disease, unbelievers pushed the sufferers away and fled from their dearest, throwing them into roads before they were dead…they treated unburied corpses as dirt, hoping to avert the spread of the disease.”

-      Bishop Dionysius of Alexandria, 260 AD

“But Christian doctrine provided a prescription for action. While many were running for their lives, Christians were risking their own, taking care of the sick and those in need. In short, the core values of Christianity, love and charity, were acted upon by the believers of the day.”

-      Rodney Starck

Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

John 10:10 (NIV)

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

There are Five Strategies I Want to Look at: (I’m sure there are others too)

1. Discouragement

Discouraged by Circumstances

Exodus 6:9 (NLT)

“So Moses told the people of Israel what the LORD had said, but they refused to listen anymore. They had become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery.”

Discouraged by the Enemy

Exodus 13:17-18 (NLT)

“When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”

Discouraged by One Another

Numbers 32:7-9 (NIV)

“Why do you discourage the Israelites from crossing over into the land the Lord has given them? This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to look over the land. After they went up to the Valley of Eshkol and viewed the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the Lord had given them.”

Antidote: Encourage and Build Up

Hebrews 3:13 (ESV)

"But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called 'Today,' so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.”

Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV)

"...Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together... but encouraging one another.”

1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV)

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

2. Distraction

Antidote: Stay Focused

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT)

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.”

3. Disruption/Division

Antidote: Walk in Unity

1 Corinthians 1:10 (NIV)

“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.”

Philippians 2:2 (NIV)

“Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.”

Colossians 3:13-14 (NV)

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

4. Deception

Antidote: Hold Fast to Truth

John 8:32 (NIV)

“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 17:17 (NIV)

“Jesus said, ‘Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth’.”

Psalm 51:6 (ESV)

“Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.”

5. Destruction

Antidote: Choose Life

Proverbs 14:2 (NIV)

“There is a way that seems right to man, but the end of it is destruction.”

Acts 2:21 (NLT)

“But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

2 Samuel 22:2 (ESV)

“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer."

Bezalel and Oholiab

Exodus 31:2-3 (NLT)

“Look, I have specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts.”

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (NIV)

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”

Romans 11:29 (AMP)

“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable [for He does not withdraw what He has given, nor does He change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call].”

James 1:17 (NIV)

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.”

Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV)

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Do What’s in Your Heart to Do and Do It to the Best of Your Ability

Exodus 14:1-31 (ESV)

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.’ And they did so. When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, ‘What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?’ So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon. When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, ‘Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.’ And Moses said to the people, ‘Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.’ The LORD said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.’ Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.’ Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.’ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.”

God heard the people’s cry for deliverance from oppression                     

God’s Victory was decisive 

            Deliverance for His people  

            Demonstrated absolute power over Egypt    

            Earned the trust of his people

There was so much more to learn about Him 

Exodus 6:2-3 (NIV)

“I am the LORD (YHWH). I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty (El Shaddai), but by my name YHWH I did not make myself known to them.”

Exodus 33:13 (NASB)

“Let me know Your ways that I may know You.”

Go Forward

Isaiah 41:10 (ESV)

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Job 38:1-3 (NLT)

“Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind: Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.”

Job 38:16 (NLT)

“Have you explored the springs from which the seas come? Have you explored their depths?”

Job 39:1-2 (NLT)

“Do you know when the wild goats give birth? Have you watched as deer are born in the wild? Do you know how many months they carry their young? Are you aware of the time of their delivery?”

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NASB)

“He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Chris's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

1. Recognize God’s Supremacy and bow before him

2. Recognize God’s Sovereignty and let it be your comfort (He is Good)

3. Pursue a right view of God and a right view of self (Humility)

4. Repent of pride and arrogance

5. Take a posture of surrender

James 1:19 NLT

“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.”

Be careful who you listen to…

Sufferers attract fixers.

Set up a filter based in faith and fact before you start listening

Hold Fast to Faith… Even in the Silence…

Job 13:15 KJV

“Even though he slay me, yet will I trust him.”

Job 19:23-27 NLT

“Oh, that my words could be recorded. Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument,

carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead, engraved forever in the rock. But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I will see him for myself. Yes, I will see him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought!”

What do we have when all we love and value is stripped away?

James 5:10-11 NLT

“For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.”

James 1:2-6 NLT

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.”

Hagar

Genesis 16:3-13

Used/Despising

Genesis 16:4 NLT

“So, Abram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when Hagar

knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt.”

Abused - Mistreatment

Genesis 16:6 NLT

“Abram replied, ‘Look, she is your servant, so deal with her as you see fit.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away.’”

Abandoned

In light of the contempt, Sarai gets sick of it. Abram gets sick of hearing about it, and the

thing continues to be a big mess. Abram says to Sarai… “Do as you see fit,” in essence

washing his hands of the story. Hagar now gets shipped off to the wilderness with very

limited resource.

But Not Forgotten

·     God heard the boy crying and heard Hagar’s affliction and her pain.

·     God is near to the brokenhearted and comes close to those who are crushed in spirit.

·     God provides and promises to bless Ishmael and his inheritance

Tamar

Genesis 38:6-30

Used/Abused

Wicked husbands - Second son, particularly… wants the sex but not the responsibility

Abandoned

Sent away from the household of Judah to her own parents’ house under the ruse of waiting for the third son, which Judah had no intention of giving. Tamar has a ‘black-widow’ label attached to her. She has become the one at fault… not the evil brothers.

·     Tamar is put on parade in front of the people and about to be burned for her ‘sin’. Alone…

But Not Forgotten

She is named in the lineage of Jesus…

Out of the scandal and mess of Judah’s life comes the reminder that in God’s time, he will work his purposes.... Who would have thought that from the union of Judah and Tamar, we would have the line of Jesus… God is out to redeem lives, not just condemn lives!

Joseph

Genesis 37:1-36, 39:1-50:26

USED

Interpreted dreams and immediately forgotten

Abused

Stripped of his Robe, his reminder that he was loved

·     Thrown in a pit

·     Sold to the Ishmaelite traders

·     Sold as a slave in Egypt

Abandoned

·     Joseph is falsely accused of attempted rape by Potiphar’s wife after he refused to sin against God.

·     Based on these lies, his master abandoned him to a royal prison.

·     Forgotten by Others: Even after helping the cupbearer in prison, he was forgotten for years. 

But Not Forgotten

·     The phrase "The Lord was with Joseph” appears repeatedly in Genesis 39, highlighting God's constant companionship even in the pit and the prison.

·     God granted Joseph favor with his captors and success in his tasks, even in slavery and prison.

·     There is Purpose in Pain: God used these trials to build Joseph's character and prepare him for his future role in saving Egypt and his family from famine, demonstrating that what was intended for harm, God used for good. 

Genesis 12:1-3,7 (NIV)

The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’ The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’ So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.”

Fear and doubt are very real enemies.

Time can become a very real enemy.

Romans 4:16-25 (NIV)

“Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring---not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written: ‘I have made you a father of many nations.’ He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed---the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were… Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead---since he was about a hundred years old---and that Sarah's womb was also dead.

Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why ‘it was credited to him as righteousness.' The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness---for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”

God Who Calls and Leads

God Who Provides

God Who is All Sufficient

God Who is Our Refuge and Strength

God Who is a Good Father

God Who Knows No Shadow of Turning

God Who Knows Us by Name and Calls Us by Name

God Who is Always Faithful

God Who is the Same Yesterday, Today and Forever

God Almighty

Philippians 1:6 (NIV)

“…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Translation Philosophies of Different Bibles

Formal

Functional

Dynamic

Paraphrase

Formal Translation - The motto for this is “as literal as possible, as free as necessary.”

·  There is usually some indication of the form/structure of the underlying Hebrew and Greek.

·  Keeps Hebrew/Greek metaphors and idioms intact, which means even if the saying is dead or non-relevant, it will stay as is.

Examples: KJV, NKJV, ESV

Functional - The motto here is “translate the meaning.”

·  The focus is to get to the meaning of the text, which means it will naturally step closer to interpretation of unclear passages.

·  It’s usually easier to read and follow.

·  It captures thoughts and phrases in a more concise way.

Examples: NIV, CSB (Christian Standard Bible)

Dynamic - The motto is “translate for readability and accessibility.”

·  It is highly readable.

·  Modernizes dead metaphors and idioms so we can try to understand what they actually mean.

·  It is more theologically accessible.

·  A step further into interpretation.

Examples: NLT, Amplified

Paraphrase

·  A Retelling: It's a retelling of the biblical message from a modern perspective, not a literal rendering

·  Easy to Read: Designed for accessibility, it reads at a much lower grade level, making it popular for first-time Bible readers.

·  Interpretive: It offers an interpretation of the text, which can differ from other versions.

·  Good for Overview: Useful for getting a feel for familiar passages in a fresh way. 

Examples: Message, Passion

The Layout of the Bible - Old Testament

·  The Bible is the historical account of God’s creation, pursuit of, and engagement with mankind through a specific lineage.

·  The traditional layout has books of the Bible in groupings by type of literature.

·  Historical, Law, Wisdom/Poetic, Prophetic

·  The Chronological version puts it in the order of events and God’s interaction and man’s response throughout the historical narrative.

John 3:16-17 (NIV)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Love That Was Given for The Liberty of The Human Heart.

What A Gift That Comes with God’s Love!! … No Condemnation

John 3:18-22 (ESV)

“…But whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

But We Weren’t Designed to Live in Darkness

Love is The Longing of The Human Heart

Of every individual…

We are created first and foremost to know the love of God…

But mankind has chosen differently from God’s desire and design…

John 1:11-12 (NIV)

“He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

John 3:16 (NIV)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

We see this about God’s love…

SO LOVED - His love is INTENSE

HE GAVE - His love is GENEROUS

HIS ONE AND ONLY SON - His love is INTENTIONAL

WHOSOEVER - His love is INCLUSIVE

WOULD NOT PERISH BUT HAVE - His love is GRACIOUS

His love is Intense, Generous, Intentional, Inclusive, and Gracious

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NLT)

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”

Ephesians 5:1-2, 8-9 (NLT)

“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us…

For once, you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So, live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.”

This Christmas, May We Again Experience The: 

Intense… Generous… Intentional… Inclusive… And Gracious… Love of God

May We Love as We Have Been Loved

May The Light of Love Illuminate Our Hearts and Shape the Way We Live 

May We Live and Love with Intentionality

May Our Lives Be the Light in a Darkening World, The Warmth of a Fire in a World That Grows Colder…

May We Neither Live nor Love in Vain…

The word for Joy is the Greek word “Chara - Khar-ah,” meaning calm delight or cheerfulness, or “Chairo - Khah-ee-ro,” meaning to be calmly happy or well-off.

Philippians 4:4 (KJV)

"Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice."

Matthew 2:1-18 (NLT)

“Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.’ King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, ‘Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?’ ‘In Bethlehem in Judea,’ they said, ‘for this is what the prophet wrote: ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’ Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. Then he told them, ‘Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!’ After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod. After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,’ the angel said. ‘Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.’ That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: ‘I called my Son out of Egypt.’ Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: a cry was heard in Ramah—weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, for they are dead.” 

On a day when we announce good news of great joy. It doesn’t sound very joyful…

It is because of the Nature of this Joy.

This is a Joy that is Stronger and Deeper than our Sorrows; 

A Joy that Cannot be Quenched by the Tragedies of Life; 

A Joy that can Sustain those who Suffer Great Loss.

A Joy that Shines in the Darkness...

Whatever the circumstances of our world and our lives, the message given to Joseph by the angel is true, and it’s a message of joy—“Give him the name Jesus, because He will save His People from Their sins.”

The Joy of Christmas is not just the Joy of personal salvation; it’s the Joy of being part of something bigger, grander, and greater—it’s the Joy of being able to participate in and cooperate with Christ in the coming and establishing of God’s kingdom. 

It’s in our coming together, it’s in our unity of heart and purpose, it’s in our giving and serving, it’s in our intentionality in the midst of our community.

It’s the Joy of living out of all that we are blessed with to be a blessing to others.

It’s the Joy of being a participant in the message of salvation to the world.

Joy to the World

Our Whole Existence is Ravaged by Conflict

It's in Our World...

It's in Our Nations...

It's in Our Cities...

It's in Our Communities...

It's in Our Homes...

It's in Our Hearts and Our Minds...

Peace Means So Many Different Things to Different People

Peace May Be Ease from Conflict...

Peace May Be Ease from Noise...

Peace May Be Ease from Torment...

Peace May Be Ease from Busyness...

Peace May Be Ease from Pain...

For Some People It May Be Found in A Treaty…

For Some It May Be Found in a Place…

For Some It May Be Found in An Embrace…

For Some It Is Found in a Symbol…

For Some It Is Found in Solace…

For Some It Is Found in A Smile…

Some Think It Is Accomplished by Negotiation...

Some Think It Is Accomplished by Meditation...

Some Think It Is Accomplished by Separation...

Some Think It Is Accomplished by Location...

Some Think It Is Accomplished by Reconciliation...

Some Think It Is Accomplished by Medication...

But for Most of Our World it Remains an Elusive State of Being...

God Has Come, and He Has Provided a Lasting Peace for Us! Not Just a Fleeting Moment or an Elusive Dream...

Romans 5:1 (NIV)

“Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

God Loved Us So Much that He Sent His Son to Redeem Mankind and Restore Our Peace with Him. 

Judges 6:23-24 (NIV)

“But the Lord said to him, ‘Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.’ So, Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord is Peace.”

2 Thessalonians 3:16 (NIV)

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.”

Hebrews 11:1 (NASB)

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Faith in Greek = Pistis

Conviction (sure confidence and fervor) of the truth

Hope in Greek =Elpis

Joyful and confident expectation of good

Counterfeit Aims of Hope

Hebrews 13:14 (ESV)

“For here, we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.”

Past Hope Fulfilled in Christ

1 in 1,000,000,000,000,000 Chance

Future Hope, Found in Christ

Hebrews 11:1-2 (MSG)

“The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.”

Online notes only, NO slide

Jesus Promised:

John 14:3 - He is coming back

John 14:2 - He is preparing a place for us

John 6:39 - He’ll raise the dead

Matthew 28:20 - He’ll always be with us

Acts 1:8 - He’ll fill us with power from the Holy Spirit

Matthew 16:27 - He’ll judge all people

Matthew 5:12 - He’ll reward the faithful

John 14:19 - We will live forever, because he lives forever

Matthew 16:18 - He’ll keep building his church, and hell won’t be able to prevail against it

Matthew 19:28 - He’ll make all things new

Matthew 24:14 - His gospel will be preached to the whole world, and then the end will come

Hebrews 10:23 (ESV)

“Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”

Hebrews 10:24 (ESV)

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.”

Gratitude is a Choice

Gratitude is a Disposition

Romans 1:20-22 (NIV)

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.”

2 Corinthians 4:4, 6-11, 16-18 (NIV)

“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God… For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body… Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Gratitude Doesn’t Depend on Circumstances, but it Determines How We See Circumstances…

Psalm 136 (NIV)

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods.

His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords:

His love endures forever.

to him who alone does great wonders,

His love endures forever.

who by his understanding made the heavens,

His love endures forever.

who spread out the earth upon the waters,

His love endures forever.

who made the great lights—

His love endures forever. the sun to govern the day,

His love endures forever.the moon and stars to govern the night;

His love endures forever.

to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt

His love endures forever.

and brought Israel out from among them

His love endures forever.

with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;

His love endures forever.

to him who divided the Red Sea[a] asunder

His love endures forever.

and brought Israel through the midst of it,

His love endures forever.

but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;

His love endures forever.

to him who led his people through the wilderness;

His love endures forever.

to him who struck down great kings,

His love endures forever.

and killed mighty kings—

His love endures forever.

Sihon king of the Amorites

His love endures forever.

and Og king of Bashan—

His love endures forever.

and gave their land as an inheritance,

His love endures forever.

an inheritance to his servant Israel.

His love endures forever.

He remembered us in our low estate

His love endures forever.

and freed us from our enemies.

His love endures forever.

He gives food to every creature.

His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of heaven.

His love endures forever.

It Starts as a Practice, that Becomes a Discipline, that Becomes a Lifestyle.

Gratitude Week 3 // A Lifestyle of Gratitude

Hebrews 12:28

NIV

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe…”

AMP

“Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, and offer to God pleasing service and acceptable worship with reverence and awe…”

KJV

“Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear…”

Greek Word “Charis” - A Manner of… A Lifestyle of… or A State of… according to the divine influence on the heart and its reflection in the life…

The word most often used for Thankfulness is “Eucharistio” - A word or an action of thankfulness…

Luke 17:11-19 (NLT)

“As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance, crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” He looked at them and said, ‘Go show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, ‘Praise God!’ He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, ‘Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?’ And Jesus said to the man, ‘Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.’”

The Way We Respond is the Difference Between “Thanks for the Blessing” and “I Owe You My Everything”.

Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable---if anything is excellent or praiseworthy---think about such things.”

2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (ESV)

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

“Life is not lost by dying it is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day in all the thousand small uncaring ways.”  Stephen Vincent Bennett

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while you could miss it.” Ferris Bueller

James 1:17 (NIV)

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

“We are perishing for want of wonder rather than want of wonders.” G K Chesterton

“Be happy in the moment. Each moment is all we need, not more.” Mother Theresa

James 3:6 (NIV)

“The tongue also is a fire… it sets the whole course of one’s life on fire.”

Ephesians 4:29 (KJV)

“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying (building up), that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”

Philippians 2:14-16 (ESV)

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life.”

Philippians 2:15 (MSG)

“Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night.”

Maya Angelou, a well-known American writer and activist, once said, “If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude about it - what you say matters.”

Seek Life, See Life and Be Life!!!

Live in Gratitude.

Philippians 4:4-7 (NLT)

“Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 1:3-5 (NLT)

“Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.”

Philippians 1:17-18 (NLT)

“Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.”

Philippians 2:17-18 (NLT)

“But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy.”

Philippians 3:1 (NLT)

“Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.”

Philippians 4:4 (NLT)

“Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!”

Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Matthew 6:25-34 (NLT)

“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Philippians 4:11-13 (NLT)

“Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”

Need - Thanks That You are Jehovah Jireh - Provider

Sickness - Thanks That You are Jehovah- Rophe - Healer

Need Guidance - Thanks That You are Jehovah-Rohi - Shepherd

Overwhelmed, Under Assault - Thanks That You are Jehovah-Sabaoth - Lord of Hosts

Vulnerable

Psalm 18:1-3 (NLT)

“I love you, Lord; you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;  my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise.”

Philippians 4:7 (NLT)

“Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:8 (NLT)

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

Living Out of the Restored or Renewed Heart

Lives That Are Salt and Light

Living Illustrations of Godlikeness and Godliness

Restored Hearts… Leading to Restored Lives… Leading to Restored Families… Leading to Restored Communities… Leading to Restored Nations…

Jeremiah 29:4-7 (NIV)

“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

Galatians 6:9-10 (NIV)

“As much as you have the opportunity, do good to all.”

1Peter 2:11-17 (NIV)

“Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.”

John 10:10 (NIV)

“I have come that you might have life and have it to the full - abundantly!”

The Heart Series Week 3

Last couple of weeks…

God Who Knows the Human Heart

God Who Contends with the Human Heart

God Who Restores the Human Heart

Ezekiel 36:22-23 (MSG)

“Therefore, tell Israel, ‘Here is the Message of God, the Master: I’m not doing this for you, Israel. I’m

doing it for me, to save my character, my holy name, which you’ve blackened in every country where

you’ve gone. I’m going to put my great and holy name on display, the name that has been ruined in

so many countries, the name that you blackened wherever you went. Then the nations will realize

who I really am, that I am God, when I show my holiness through you so that they can see it with

their own eyes.”

Romans 7:14-25 (MSG)

“What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I

absolutely despise. So if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it

becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary: But I need something more! For if I know the

law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I

obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to

do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway: My decisions, such as

they are; don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of

me every time. It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is

there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins

in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried

everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for

me? Isn’t that the real question?” The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted

to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind,

but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.”

Ezekiel 36:24-28 (MSG)

“‘For here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to take you out of these countries, gather you from all

over, and bring you back to your own land. I’ll pour pure water over you and scrub you clean. I’ll give

you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it

with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to

do what I tell you and live by my commands. You’ll once again live in the land I gave your ancestors.

You’ll be my people! I’ll be your God!”Mark 7:21-23 (NIV)

“For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder,

adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these

vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”

Proverbs 4:23 (NKJV)

“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”

Proverbs 4:23 (NLT)

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

”

Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is

pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about

such things.”

Colossians 3:1-4 (NLT)

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where

Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things

of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who

is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.”

Luke 6:45 (NKJV)

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good, and an evil man out of the evil

treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

Hebrews 3:12-15 (NIV)

“See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from

the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may

be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the

confidence we had at first. As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your

hearts as you did in the rebellion."

Ephesians 1:17-19 (NKJV)

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and

revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may

know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working

of His mighty power.”

Hebrews 13:12 (NLT)

“Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and

unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is

still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are

faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that

belongs to Christ. Remember what it says: Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts

as Israel did when they rebelled.”

God Who Contends with the Human Heart

Jeremiah 17:9-10 (MSG)

“The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be.”

Johari Window

Psalms 10:4 (NIV)

”In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.”

Mark 7:6-8 (NIV)

“You hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men. You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.’"

God Wants to Work In The Whole of Our Hearts, and It Can Mean Facing Some Tough Things. He May Need to Challenge and Change Some Areas…

Where Can I Go from Your Presence?

Psalms 139:1-18 (NIV)

“You have searched me, Lord,

and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

 You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue

you, Lord, know it completely.

You hem me in behind and before,

and you lay your hand upon me.

 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me

and the light become night around me,”

even the darkness will not be dark to you;

the night will shine like the day,

for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place,

when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts,  God!

How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand—

when I awake, I am still with you.”

Luke 16:15 (NIV)

”You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight."

Psalms 26:2 (NIV)

“Test me, O LORD, and try me; examine my heart and mind.”

Psalms 139:23-24 (BSB)

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the way everlasting.”

1 John 3:20 (BSB)

“Even if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and He knows all things.”

Prayer of Confession

“Most merciful God,

we confess that we have sinned against you

in thought, word, and deed,

by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you with our whole heart.

We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.

We have not walked in your ways

and have chosen what seems good and right in our own eyes

we are truly sorry, and we humbly repent.

For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,

have mercy on us and forgive us.

That we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways,

to the glory of your Name. Amen.”

Often, the description associated with the heart describes a season we are in or a condition we are living in.

Look at some of These Words Associated with the Heart:

Kind Hearted

Open Hearted

Warm Hearted

Wholehearted

Heart Felt

Heart Sick

Heart Wrenching

Broken Hearted

Heavy Hearted

Hard Hearted

Cold Hearted

Disheartened

Faint Hearted

Wounded Heart

God Sees the Heart and Knows Us at the Center of Who We Are, or The Season We Are In.

He is Willing to Meet Us There and Let Us Know that We are Known.

He is Not Content that We Remain Hurting, Sick, Broken, Hidden, etc.

God Doesn’t Look at What We Look at; He Looks at the Heart.

Jeremiah 17:9-10 (MSG)

“The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be.”

Exodus 34:6 (ESV)

“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…”

He Walks with Us on this Journey So We Can Walk with Others.

He Doesn’t Want Us to Remain in Hiding.  We Can Journey with Others into Freedom and Into the Light.

Seasons Don’t Have to Define Us

Experiences Don’t Have to Hold Us

Feelings Don’t Have to Hold Us Fast

God Knows

God Contends

God Restores

God is a God of Hope and a Future, Not Just Our Past.

Romans 12:15 (ESV)

“Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.”

To Do this Requires a Willingness to Enter Intimacy and Connectedness.

Philippians 4:12-13 (NIV)

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Celebrating and Remembering Go Hand in Hand

Psalm 103:1-18, 22 (NLT)

A Psalm of David

Let all that I am praise the Lord;

with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.

Let all that I am praise the Lord;

may I never forget the good things he does for me.

He forgives all my sins

and heals all my diseases.

He redeems me from death

and crowns me with love and tender mercies.

He fills my life with good things.

My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

The Lord gives righteousness

and justice to all who are treated unfairly.

He revealed his character to Moses

and his deeds to the people of Israel.

The Lord is compassionate and merciful,

slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

He will not constantly accuse us,

nor remain angry forever.

He does not punish us for all our sins;

he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.

For his unfailing love toward those who fear him

is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.

He has removed our sins as far from us

as the east is from the west.

The Lord is like a father to his children,

tender and compassionate to those who fear him.

For he knows how weak we are;

he remembers we are only dust.

Our days on earth are like grass;

like wildflowers, we bloom and die.

The wind blows, and we are gone—

as though we had never been here.

But the love of the Lord remains forever

with those who fear him.
His salvation extends to the children’s children

of those who are faithful to his covenant,

of those who obey his commandments!

Praise the Lord, everything he has created,

everything in all his kingdom.

Let all that I am praise the Lord.

Here are two simple reasons to stop and think about our own connectedness within the church family:

1.     Connecting to the Community Puts Us in a Place to Love and be Loved

1 Corinthians 12:31 (CSB)

“And I will show you an even better way.”

1 Corinthians 13:13 (CSB)

“Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love—but the greatest of these is love.”

Colossians 3:12-14 (NIV)

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

2.     Connecting to the Body of Christ is Essential to Living. Scripture Reveals to Us that We are Better Together than if We Stay Disconnected.

1 Corinthians 12:12-18 (NLT)

“The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with

the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.”

Steps to Connecting

Be Pleasant

Be Approachable

Find Common Interests

Be Willing to Learn

Be Quick to Listen, Slow to Speak and Slow to Become Angry

Practice Being Loving

Enemies of Connecting

Pride

Insecurity

Fear

Criticism

Divisiveness

Our Own Echo Chambers of Agreement that Pit Us Against Others Who Think Differently.

Jesus is Still Our Hope.

GIVING IS ABOUT AUTHORITY

Deuteronomy 8:18 (ESV)

“You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

Proverbs 3:9-10 (ESV)

“Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.”

GIVING IS ABOUT OBEDIENCE

Luke 6:38 (NIV)

“Give and it will be given to you.”

2 Corinthians 9:6-11 (NIV)

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”

GIVING IS ABOUT PRIORITIES

Proverbs 11:24–25 (NIV)

“One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”

2 Corinthians 9:6–8 (ESV)

“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”

GIVING IS A VALUES ISSUE

Malachi 3:8–12 (NLT)

“Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.”

Matthew 6:19–21 (ESV)

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[a] destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Our heart motive matters more than money. The story of The Widow’s Offering (Mark 12:41-44) illustrates God’s hope for our motivation toward generosity.

GIVING IS A TRUST ISSUE

Matthew 6:26-33 (ESV)

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Luke 6:38 (TLB)

“If you give, you will get! Your gift will return to you in full and overflowing measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use to give–large or small–will be used to measure what is given back to you.”

GIVING IS ABOUT GOD’S KINGDOM ADVANCING

1 Corinthians 16:2 (ESV)

“On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.”

SERVING IS THE SAME IN MANY WAYS - Generosity with our Time and Talents

As we give of ourselves, we get our eyes off ourselves.

We become less aware of our own needs as we serve others.

Finding Personal Fulfillment in Giving

You are never more like Jesus than when you serve and give. Matthew 20:28 says, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Will We Allow God to Have Authority?

Both Praise and Worship are in Part:

Reverence (Awe)

Recognition (Awareness)

Revelation (Awakening)

Response (Action)

Hebrew Words

Yadah

Psalm 44:8 (NIV)

“In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise (yâdâh) your name forever.”

Towdah

 Psalm 56:11-12 (NKJV)

“In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?...I will render praises (tôwdâh) to you.”

Zamar - To make music. To celebrate in song and music. To touch the strings.

Psalm 144:9 (NKJV)

“I will sing a new song to You, O God; On a harp of ten strings, I will sing praises (zâmar) to You.”

Psalm 21:13 (KJV)

“Be exalted O Lord, in Thine own strength, so will we sing and praise (zâmar) thy power.”

Barak - To kneel. To bow down. To salute. To thank.

Psalm 103:1 (NIV)

“Praise (bârak) the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being praise his holy name.”

Shabach - To address in a loud tone. To shout. To commend, glory, and triumph.

Psalm 145:4 (NKJV)

“One generation shall praise (shâbach) your works to another.”

1 Samuel 4:5 (NLT)

“When all the Israelites saw the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord coming into the camp, their shout of joy praise (shâbach) was so loud it made the ground shake!

Tehillah - Derived from the word halal and means "the singing of halals, to sing or to laud; perceived to involve music, especially singing; hymns of the Spirit or praise.

Psalm 22:3 (NASB)

“Yet you are holy, and you are enthroned upon the praises (tehillah) of Israel.”

Isaiah 61:3 (NASB)

“To grant to those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The garment of praise (tehillah) instead of the spirit of heaviness, So they shall be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

Halal - Means "to be clear, to praise, to shine, to boast, show, to rave, celebrate, to be clamorously foolish."

Psalm 113:1-3 (NKJV)

“Praise (hallal) the Lord, praise (hallal) all you servants of the Lord, praise (hallal) the name of the Lord.”

Psalm 150:1 (AMP)

“Praise (hallal) the Lord! Praise (hallal) God in His sanctuary; Praise (hallal) Him in His mighty heavens.”

Psalm 149:3 (NKJV)

“Let them praise (hallal) His name in the dance: let them sing praises with the timbrel and harp.”

The Hebrew word most often translated as worship is Shachah - to bow down or to be prostrate; it’s used over 170 times in the Old Testament.

Exodus 34:8 (NIV)

“Moses bowed down and worshipped.”

The Greek word most often translated as worship is Proskuneo

Matthew 28:9 (NKJV)

“And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held him by the feet and worshiped him.”

John 4:24 (NKJV)

“God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Revelation 5:14 (NKJV)

“Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped him who lives forever and ever.”

These are Biblical, not just cultural or denominational, and they all have their place and time.

As much as a people of Praise and Worship, we need to be a People of Prayer.

Prayer as an Expression of Worship:

An Expression of Worth

Of Reverence

Of Gratitude

Of Dependence

Of Expectation

Lord Teaches Us How to Pray:

Our Father in heaven

Hallowed be thy name

Your kingdom come

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven

Give us what we need for today (our daily bread)

Forgive us as we also forgive others (submission to God’s work in me and through me)

Lead us not into temptation/testing (lead us from temptation)

But deliver us from the evil one

Adoration

Confession

Thanksgiving

Supplication

Types of Prayer:

In the moment - Nehemiah 2:4-5

Extended - Daniel 10 - 21 days

Prayer with fasting - focus and prioritizing

What about tongues?? Read 1 Cor 14:1-19

Prayer is Both Individual and Communal or Interpersonal:

When you pray, go into Private Space

Pray for One Another, Bear One Another’s Burdens

This Tuesday Night and every first Tuesday, Prayer Night - Cards Available

Hebrews 10:23-25 (NLT)

“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.  Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”

Galatians 5:20-21 (NIV)

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

- Love God in Totality

- Love God as a Priority

- Love God Exclusively

How can we, as a church and as individuals, live in our community in a way that reflects the grace and kindness of Jesus?

But What Is the Love of God?

Ephesians 3:14-19 (ESV)

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

Agape - noun used 18x = benevolence, goodwill, flowing from God’s charter.

Agapáo - verb used 28x = The proof of love.

Love Is + Love Does

God is Love

What is the Love of God Like?

His Love Appears First

1 John 4:19 (ESV)

“We love because he first loved us.”

His Love Cannot be Earned

1 John 4:9-10 (NLT)

“God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”

Romans 8:38-39 (ESV)

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

“The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” - Timothy Keller

His Love is Proven by the Cross

Romans 5:6,8 (ESV)

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly… but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

John 3:16-17 (NIV)

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”

His love is revealed by the Holy Spirit

Galatians 1:11-12 (ESV)

“For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Ephesians 3:14-19 (ESV)

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

“Holy Spirit, Give Me a Revelation of Your Love, I Need It!”

The Woman Caught in Adultery

John 8:1-11 (NLT)

“Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. ‘Teacher,’ they said to Jesus, ‘this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?’ They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, ‘All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!’ Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, ‘Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?’ ‘No, Lord,’ she said. And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I. Go and sin no more.’”

Matthew 7:3-5 (NLT)

"And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye."

Ephesians 4:32 (NLT)

“Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”

Colossians 3:12-17 (NLT)

“Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  Make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.”

The Samaritan Woman at the Well

John 4:1-42 (NIV)

“Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.  Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he. Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people,“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They came out of the town and made their way toward him. Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

Deuteronomy 25:5 (NIV)

“If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her.”

Mark 12:18-23 (NIV)

“Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

John 4:27 (NIV)

“Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

John 4:27 (MSG)

“Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked. They couldn’t believe he was talking with that kind of a woman. No one said what they were all thinking, but their faces showed it.”

Jesus not only walked through cultural barriers, but he also walked through racial barriers. 

Jesus not only walked through cultural barriers and racial barriers, but he also walked through religious/traditional barriers.

John 4:20-24 (NIV)

“Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 

Jesus brings the focus from the practice to the purpose.

John 4:10-14 (NIV)

“Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” 

Revelation 22:17 (NASB)

“Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.”

John 2:1-5 (ESV)

“On the third day, there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus was also invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’” 

John 2:6-12 (ESV)

“Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.’ So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.”

John 21:25 (ESV)

“Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”

Isaiah 25:6-9 (ESV)

“On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

2 Corinthians 3:15-18 (ESV)

“Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

Jesus’ Actions…

Honored Others 

Announced His Kingdom 

Provided Joy

Matthew 20:28 (NIV)

“Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

John 13:1-17 (NIV)

“It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus replied, ‘You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ ‘No,’ said Peter, ‘you shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’ ‘Then, Lord,’ Simon Peter replied, ‘not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!’ Jesus answered, ‘Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.’ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ he asked them. ‘You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.’”

Mark 9:34-35 (NIV)

“But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

Mark 10:45 (NIV)

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Luke 22:21-27 (NIV)

“But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!”  They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this. A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.  For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.’”

Mark 4:9 (NIV), Matt 11:15 (NIV)

Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

Some Keys to Servanthood:

1.     Serving like Jesus means we move in humility, take action on behalf of others.

Phil 2:8 (NIV)

“And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death.”

2.     Serving like Jesus means we engage compassionately.

Matthew 9:36 (NIV)

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

3.     Serving like Jesus means we must serve graciously.

Luke 6:35 (NIV)

“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.”

            Galatians 5:13 (NIV)

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.”

4.     Serving like Jesus, we must take time for people.

1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms.”

Let your doing be done for the sake of the doing, not to be seen!

Deuteronomy 5:16 (NIV)

“Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”

1. I had a father who taught me compassion and kindness.

Psalm 103:13 (NIV)

"As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him."

2. My dad showed me what it meant to let the Lord shape you.

Proverbs 3:11-12 (NIV)

“My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.”

3. My dad modeled disciplines he wanted his children to have… 

Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV)

"Train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old they will not depart from it…"

4. My dad taught me that Love pursues the rebel.

Matthew 18:12-14 (NIV)

"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.”

1 John 3:1 (NIV)
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”

5. My dad taught me grace and joy in the midst of suffering.

Dementia and wheelchair bound and in a room in a care facility - “God has been so good to me.”

Luke 19:1-10 (NIV)

“Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’ So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.’ But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.’”

Ephesians 4:22-25 (NIV)

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

Ephesians 4:28-5:1,2 (NIV)

“Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others upaccording to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Let us imitate Christ and have the mind of Christ.

Ephesians 5:1 (NIV)

“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children.”

Philippians 2:1-11 (NIV)

“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.  In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Keys to a Transformed Life

         Deny Self

         Matthew 16:24 (NIV)

         “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves 

         and take up their cross and follow me.’”

         Walk in the Light

         Ephesians 5:8-10 (NIV)

         “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for 

the fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness, and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.”

Cast Off Hindrances 

Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

Fix Our Eyes on Christ

Hebrews 12:2-3 (NIV)

“Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Mark 10:46-52 (NIV)

“Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means ‘son of Timaeus’), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’ So they called to the blind man, ‘Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.’ Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ Jesus asked him. The blind man said, ‘Rabbi, I want to see.’ ‘Go,’ said Jesus, ‘your faith has healed you.’ Immediately, he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.”

Luke 4:16-21 (NIV)

“He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.’ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’" 

The 59 “One Another’s” of the New Testament

1.               “...Be at peace with each other.” (Mark 9:50) 

2.               “...Wash one another’s feet.” (John 13:14) (Serve one another)

3.               “...Love one another...” (John 13:34) 

4.              “...Love one another...” (John 13:34)

5.               “...Love one another...” (John 13:35) 

6.              “...Love one another...” (John 15:12) 

7.               “...Love one another” (John 15:17)

8.              “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love...” (Romans 12:10) 

9.              “...Honor one another above yourselves.” (Romans 12:10)

10.            “Live in harmony with one another...” (Romans 12:16) 

11.             “...Love one another...” (Romans 13:8) 

12.             “...Stop passing judgment on one another.” (Romans 14:13) 

13.             “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you...” (Romans 15:7) 

14.             “...Instruct one another.” (Romans 15:14) 

15.             “Greet one another with a holy kiss...” (Romans 16:16) 

16.            “...When you come together to eat, wait for each other.” (I Cor. 11:33) 

17.             “...Have equal concern for each other.” (I Corinthians 12:25) 

18.            “...Greet one another with a holy kiss.” (I Corinthians 16:20) 

19.            “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” (II Corinthians 13:12) 

20.            “...Serve one another in love.” (Galatians 5:13) 

21.             “If you keep on biting and devouring each other...you will be destroyed by each other.” (Galatians 5:15) 

22.            “Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” (Galatians 5:26) 

23.            “Carry each other’s burdens...” (Galatians 6:2) 

24.            “...Be patient, bearing with one another in love.” (Ephesians 4:2) 

25.            “Be kind and compassionate to one another...” (Ephesians 4:32) 

26.            “...Forgiving each other...” (Ephesians 4:32) 

27.            “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.” (Ephesians 5:19) 

28.            “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21) 

29.            “...In humility consider others better than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3)

30.            “Do not lie to each other...” (Colossians 3:9) 

31.             “Bear with each other...” (Colossians 3:13) 

32.            “...Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.” (Colossians 3:13) 

33.            “Teach...[one another]” (Colossians 3:16) 

34.            “...Admonish one another” (Colossians 3:16) 

35.            “...Make your love increase and overflow for each other.” (I Thessalonians 3:12) 

36.            “...Love each other.” (I Thessalonians 4:9) 

37.            “...Encourage each other...” (I Thessalonians 4:18) 

38.            “...Encourage each other...” I Thessalonians 5:11) 

39.            “...Build each other up...” (I Thessalonians 5:11) 

40.            “Encourage one another daily...” Hebrews 3:13) 

41.             “...Spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:24) 

42.            “...Encourage one another.” (Hebrews 10:25) 

43.            “...Do not slander one another.” (James 4:11) 

44.            “Don’t grumble against each other...” (James 5:9) 

45.            “Confess your sins to each other...” (James 5:16) 

46.            “...Pray for each other.” (James 5:16) 

47.            “...Love one another deeply, from the heart.” (I Peter 3:8) 

48.            “...Live in harmony with one another...” (I Peter 3:8) 

49.            “...Love each other deeply...” (I Peter 4:8) 

50.            “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” (I Peter 4:9) 

51.             “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others...” (I Peter 4:10) 

52.      &nbsp...

Matthew 8:1-4 (NLT)

“Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside. Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. ‘Lord,’ the man said, ‘if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.’ Jesus reached out and touched him. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be healed!’ And instantly the leprosy disappeared. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.’”

John 6:37-39 (AMP)

“All that My Father gives Me will come to Me; and the one who comes to Me I will most certainly not cast out [I will never, never reject anyone who follows Me]. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.”

Romans 10:13 (NLT)

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

We are the Leper … 

… And Jesus has come to heal

Healing is Found in an Encounter with the Authentic Love of God.

We Get to Love Like Jesus

John 14:12-14 (NLT)

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!”

Matthew 10:8 (NLT)

“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!”

Mark 4:35-41 (NIV)

“That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’”

1.     Jesus says to them, “Let’s go over to the other side…”

1 John 4:17-18 (ESV)

By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

2.     Responses to Fear in Life.

1.     Evasion

2.    Control

3.    Engagement

4.    Faith

Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

Isaiah 7:14 (NIV)

“Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (God with us)”

Isaiah 9:6-7 (NIV)

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

Colossians 2:9 (NIV)

“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.”

Colossians 1:15-22 (NIV)

“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.”

Isaiah 40:12,15 (NLT)

“Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale? … For all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket. They are nothing more than dust on the scales. He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand.”

John 1:1-4 (NLT)

“In the beginning, the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.”

Luke 1:30-39 (NIV)

“But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacobʼs descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.’ ‘How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’ The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.’ ‘I am the Lordʼs servant,” Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’ Then the angel left her. At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea.”

Luke 1:41-42 (NIV)

“When Elizabeth heard Maryʼs greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!’”

Luke 1:44-45 (NIV)

“As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Hebrews 4:15-16 (AMP)

“For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin. Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].”

 John 1:14 (NIV)

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 1:14 (MSG)

“The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son.”

John 1:9-11 (NIV)

“The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”

Romans 8:28 (NIV)

“We know that God works all things together for good to those that love him and are called according to his purposes.”

Romans 8:31-39 (NLT)

 “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?  Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?  Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself.  Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.

We are now the ambassadors…

• Representatives of the kingdom
• Representatives of the person
• Representatives of the values
• Representatives of the invitation

When we read about Jesus in the Gospels, we can ask ourselves a series of questions:

• What is being communicated?
• What can I learn?
• What can I apply or adjust accordingly?
• What can I imitate?
• What needs to be formed in me?

John 21:1-14 (NLT)

“Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples. Simon Peter said, ‘I’m going fishing.’ ‘We’ll come, too,’ they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night. At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. He called out, ‘Fellows, have you caught any fish.’ ‘No,’ they replied. Then he said, ‘Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!’ So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it. Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It’s the Lord!’ When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore.  The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore. When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread. ‘Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,’ Jesus said. So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn. ‘Now come and have some breakfast!’ Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord. Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.”