November 3 2013 Called To Be Sent

CALLED TO BE Sent - Live Your Calling: What On Earth Am I Here For? – Part 6

GOD’S PLAN FOR HISTORY: He’s gathering a Family that will love and live with him forever! (Ephesians 1:5)

Romans 10:13-15 (NLT) “‘Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being SENT? That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News!’”

MY FIFTH PURPOSE & CALLING IN LIFE: I’m sent to bring others into God’s family.

HOW TO SHARE WITHOUT FEAR

Memory Verse: I Peter 3:15-16“If you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it, but you must do this in a gentile and respectful way.”

1. Confirm my own faith.

John 5:13 “I write this to you who believe in the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.”

2. Pray regularly for my friends.

Romans 1:9 “God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart by telling others the Good News about his Son.” –

3. Tell others that I am Christian.

Romans 1:16 “I am proud to be a Christian, because the Good News is the power God uses to save everyone who believes. . .”

4. Invest in others by serving them.
Matthew 20:28 It's the same way with the Son of Man. He didn't come so that others could serve him. He came to serve and to give away his life for other people."

5. Invite my friends to church.

Luke 14:23 “"Then the master told his servant, 'Go to the roads and streets! Urge the people to come to my house. I want it to be full.”

6. Share the story of Jesus.

Ephesians 3:8 “Just think! Though I did nothing to deserve it, and though I am the least deserving Christian there is, I was chosen for this special joy of telling others about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.”

Luke 22:19“Then (Jesus) took a loaf of bread; and when he had thanked God for it, he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, ‘This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’"

October 6 2013 Called To Be Loved

CALLED TO BE LOVED - Live Your Calling: What On Earth Am I Here For? – Part 2

“Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure.” Ephesians 1:4-5 (NLT) 

• The first purpose of my life is be loved by God

“This letter is from Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. I am writing to all who are CALLED TO LIVE IN THE LOVE OF GOD the Father and in the CARE of Jesus Christ.” Jude 1:1 (NLT) 

• My first calling is I’m called to enjoy a relationship with God! 

“Dear friends in Rome, God loves you dearly, and he has CALLED you to be his very own people.” Romans 1:7 (NLT) 

• That relationship is to be  His son or his daughter!

“What an incredible quality of love the Father has shown to us, that we should be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are!” 1 John 3:1 (Amp) 

“I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love; and may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how WIDE, how LONG, how HIGH, and how DEEP his love really is. May you EXPERIENCE the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.” Ephesians 3:17-19 (LB, NLT) 

WIDE ENOUGH to be everywhere.

LONG ENOUGH to last forever

DEEP ENOUGH to handle anything.

HIGH ENOUGH to overlook my sinsWHAT CHANGES HAPPEN IF I STAY AWARE OF GOD’S CONSTANT LOVE FOR ME? 

1. I feel accepted rather than ashamed.

“By faith we have been made acceptable to God. And now, because of our Lord Jesus Christ, we live at peace with God.” Romans 5:1 (CEV) 
 
“If God says his chosen ones are acceptable to him, can anyone bring charges against them? Or can anyone condemn them? No indeed!” Romans 8:33-34 (CEV) 

2. I am bold in bringing my needs to God.

“All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God! So, you should not be like cowering, fearful slaves. You should behave instead like God's very own children, adopted into his family—calling him ‘Father, dear Father.’ ... And since we are his children, we will share his treasures—for everything God gives to his Son, Christ, is ours, too.” Romans 8:14-15, 17 (NLT) 

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)

3. I have peace in pain I don’t understand. 

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 (NIV) 

4. I gain the courage to take risks.

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.” 1 John 4:18 (NIV)

September 29 2013 Live Your Calling

THE CALL IS FOR YOU
 

Live Your Calling: What On Earth Am I Here For? – Part 1

“We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, WHO HAVE BEEN CALLED according to His PURPOSE.” Rom. 8:28 (NIV) 

“My prayer is that light will flood your hearts and that you will understand the hope that was given to you when God CALLED YOU. Then you will discover the glorious blessings that will be yours together with all of God's people!” Eph. 1:18-19 (CEV) 

WHAT I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MY LIFE’S CALLING

1. MY CALLING IS A GIFT FROM GOD

“God, by his grace through Christ, has called you to become his people.” Galatians 1:6 (NCV) 

“He has saved us and called us to a holy life - not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.” 2 Timothy 1:9 (NIV) 

2. I AM CALLED FOR GOD’S PURPOSE

“Before the two boys were born, God told Rebekah, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ This was before the boys had done anything good or bad. God said this so that the one chosen would be chosen because of God's own plan. He was chosen because he was the one God wanted to call, not because of anything he did.” Romans 9:11 (NCV)

“For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) 

3. GOD CHOSE MY CALLING BEFORE I WAS BORN

“It pleased God in his kindness to choose me and call me even before I was born! What undeserved mercy!” Galatians 1:15 (NLT) 

“Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you.” Jeremiah 1:5 (MSG)

“I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born!” Isaiah 44:2 (CEV)

4. MY CALLING IS CONNECTED TO OTHERS
 
“We are all one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future hope.” Ephesians 4:4 (NLT) 

“Brothers and sisters, you are holy partners in a heavenly calling.” Hebrews 3:1 (GW) 

5. GOD EMPOWERS WHAT HE CALLS ME TO DO

“I now urge you to live the life to which God called you.” Ephesians 4:1 (NCV) 

“That is why we always pray for you, asking our God to help you live the kind of life he called you to live. We pray that with his power God will help you do the good things you want and perform the works that come from your faith.” 2 Thessalonians 1:11 (NCV) 

“The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24 (NIV) 

6. THERE IS A PRIZE FOR LIVING OUT MY CALLING

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14 (NIV) 

“Live the kind of life that pleases God, who calls you to share in his own Kingdom and glory.”  1 Thessalonians 2:12 (TEV)