September 20 2015 Getting Connected

GETTING CONNECTED

Matthew 6:8 – For your Father knows the things you have need of.

Romans 12:5 – Even though we are many individuals, Christ makes us one body and individuals who are connected to each other.

FOUR CONNECTION POINTS

I. Connection one: God made you to know Him.
   
A) Ephesians 1:4-5 – Before the world was made God had already decided that through Jesus Christ He would bring us to Himself as His children, that was His pleasure and purpose.

HOW TO GET CONNECTED

1. God reached out to us.

a) 1 John 4:10 – This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

2. Respond to His love.

a) John 5:24 – I tell you the truth, whoever hears my Word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life.

II. Connection two:  God wants you to be like Him.

A) Romans 8:28-29 – We know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into His plans.  For from the beginning God decided that those who come to Him should be like His son.

HOW TO BE LIKE HIM

1. Make Christ your very life.

John 12:24 – I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single see, but if it dies, it produces seeds.

2. Allow circumstances to mold you.

Romans 8:28 – We know that all that happens to us is working for our good.

III. Connection three:  God made us to serve Him.

A) Acts 13:36 – For David served God’s purpose in his generation the then he died.

HOW DO I SERVE?

1. It’s a choice.

a) Romans 12:1-2 – Off yourselves to God, dedicated to His service, then you will be able to know the will of God, what is good, pleasing and perfect.

2. Serve God where you are at.

1 Corinthians 15:58 –Nothing you do in the Lord’s service is ever useless.

IV. Connection four:  We will live with Him.

A) 2 Corinthians 5:1 & 5: - For we know that when the tent we live in on earth is folded up, there is a home built by God for us, an everlasting home in heaven.  This is the purpose for which God made us.

HOW TO PREPARE

1. Make the Lord King.

John 6:40 – Everyone who believes in the Son will have everlasting life.

2. Begin to serve Him.

Matthew 6:33 – Be concerned above everything else with God’s Kingdom and with what He requires and He will provide you with all these other things.

June 28 2015 God's Answer To Your Needs

God's Answer To Your Needs

Matthew 6:9-13 “This, then, is how you should pray:   ‘Our Father in heaven,  hallowed be your name,  your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

Ephesians 1:10 (GN)"God's -purpose, which he will complete when the time is right, is to bring all creation together..with Christ as head.  " 

WHAT IS GOD'S PURPOSE FOR MY LIFE?

1. God made me to KNOW HIM                    

Ephesians 1:4-5 (GN)"Before the world was made... God had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would bring us to himself as his children -- this was his pleasure and purpose.  "

2. God made me to BE LIKE HIM            

Romans 8:28-29 (LB)"We know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans.  For from the beginning God decided that those, who come to Him . .would become like his Son. . . "

3. God made me to SERVE HIM        

Acts 13:36 (GN)"For David served God's -purpose in his own generation, and then he died "

Romans 12:1-2 (GN)"Offer  yourselves ... to God, dedicated to his service .... then you will be able to know the will of God, hat is good, pleasing and perfect.  "

Memory Verse: 1 Corinthians 15:58 (GN)". . . Nothing you do in the Lord's service is ever useless.  "

John 6:40"(God's) will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life"

Matthew 6:33 (GN)"Be concerned above everything else with God's Kingdom and with what he requires, and he will provide you with all these other things."

4. God made me to LIVE WITH HIM SOMEDAY

2 Corinthians 5: 1,5 (LB)"For we know that when the 'tent we live in on earth is folded up, there is a home built by God for us, an everlasting home in heaven .... This is the purpose for which God made us ... !"

John 6:40"(God's) will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life"

Matthew 6:33 (GN)"Be concerned above everything else with God's Kingdom and with what he requires, and he will provide you with all these other things.  "

November 23 2014 Building A Life Of Purpose

Building A Life Of Purpose

IF I DON’T UNDERSTAND THE PURPOSE OF LIFE

• Life Seems useless.

Ecclesiastes 1:2-4 – Life is useless, all useless.  You spend your life working, but what do you have to show for it?  The world just stays the same.

• Life Seems tiresome.

Ecclesiastes 1:4-8 – The sun rises and goes down, the wind blows round and round and back again.  Every river flows into the sea, then the water returns to where the river began and starts all over again.  Everything leads to weariness.

• Life Seems unfulfilling.

Ecclesiastes 1:8-10 – No matter how much we see, we’re never satisfied; no matter how much we hear, we’re not content.  History merely repeats itself.

• Life Seems insignificant.

Ecclesiastes 1:11 – No one remembers what has happened in the past, and no one in days to come will remember what happens between now and then.

• Life Seems uncontrollable.

Ecclesiastes 1:15 – You can’t straighten out what is crooked; you can’t count things that aren’t there!

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF LIFE?

• Life is a preparation for eternity.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 – He has planted eternity in the human heart.

WHAT IS GOD’S PURPOSE?

I. First God made you to know Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:4-5 – Before the world was made, God had already decided that through Jesus Christ, He would bring us to Himself as His children that was His pleasure and purpose.

HOW TO KNOW GOD

1. Remember God first reached out to you.

1 John 4:10 – This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

2. Respond to His love.

John 5:24 – I tell you the truth, whoever hears My Word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life.

II. Secondly, God made you to be like Him.

Romans 8:28-29 – We know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into His plans. For from the beginning God decided that those who come to Him should be like His Son.

HOW TO BE LIKE HIM

1. Make Christ your very life.

John 12:34 – I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat fall to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed, but if it dies it produces seed.

2. Allow every circumstance to mold you.

Romans 8:28 – We know that in all thing God works for the good of those who love Him.

III. Thirdly, God made us to serve Him.

Acts 13:36 – For David served God’s purpose in his generation and then he died.

HOW DO I SERVE?

1. It’s a choice.

Romans 12:1-2 – Offer yourselves to God, dedicated to His service, then you will be able to know the will of God, what is good, pleasing and perfect.

2. Serve God where you’re at.

1 Corinthians 15:58 – Nothing you do in the Lord’s service is ever useless.

IV. God made us to use our treasure in view of eternity.

1 Timothy 6:18-19 – Use your money to do good, always being ready to share whatever God has given you.  By doing this you will be storing up real treasure for yourself in heaven.

Luke 16:9 – Use worldly wealth to make friends who will welcome you into eternal dwellings.

October 27 2013 Building A Life Of Intention

BUILDING A LIFE OF INTENTION

Ephesians 2:10 – God is our Maker, and in our union with Christ, He has created us for a life of good works, which He has already prepared for us to do.

Acts 13:36 – David served God’s purpose in his generation.

Acts 20:24 – (Paul) I reckon my own life to be worth nothing to me, in order that I may complete my mission and finish the work the Lord Jesus gave me to do.

THE BENEFITS OF LIVING AN INTENTIONAL LIFE

1. It will reduce frustration.

James 1:6-7-A doubtful mind is unsettled as a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

James 1:8 – The double minded man can never keep a steady

Isaiah 49:4 – I’ve labored to no purpose. I’ve spent my strength in vain and for nothing.

2. It will increase my motivation.

Job 7:6, 17 – My life drags by, day after hopeless day, I’m tired of living, my life makes no sense.

Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, they are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Ephesians 3:20 – God is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of.

3. It will allow greater concentration.

Philippians 3:13 – I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: forgetting what is behind and looking forward to what

Ephesians 5:15-17 – Pay close attention to how you live. Make good use of every opportunity you get, find out what the Lord wants you to do.

4. It will attract cooperation.

Ezra 10:14 – Tell us how to proceed in setting things straight, and we will fully cooperate.

5. It will prepare me for God’s evaluation.

Romans 14:10, 12 – We will all stand before God’s judgment seat. So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

∙ Believe God has a purpose for my life.

Proverbs 16:4 – The Lord has made everything for His own purpose.

∙ Receive God’s Son into my life.

Ephesians 1:4-5 – Long ago, even before He made the world, God choose us to be His very own through what Christ would do for us, His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family be sending Jesus Christ to die for us. And He did this because He wanted to!

∙ Live in Christ each day.

Colossians 2:6 – So then just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him.

Acts 20:24 – Life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned to me by the Lord Jesus.

I Corinthians 6:20 – Use every part of your body to give glory to Him.

∙ Use your treasure in view of eternity.

I Timothy 6:18-19 – Use your money to do good, always being ready to share whatever God has given you. By doing this you will be storing up real treasure for yourself in heaven.

Luke 16:9 – Use worldly wealth to make friends who will welcome you into eternal dwellings.