April 16 2017 Easter - The Foundation For Happiness

EASTER, THE FOUNDATION FOR HAPPINESS

Col. 1:14 – Christ bought our freedom with His blood.

John 10:10 – Jesus said, “I come to give you life to the full.”

Matt. 28:5 - He is not here, He has risen.

Psalm 146:5 – Happy is he whose hope is in the Lord.

Happiness is Possible:

1. Because Christ can free you from guilt.

Eph. 1:7 – By the death of Christ we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven.

Col.2.14 – He has cancelled every record of the debt

we owed. Christ has done away with it by nailing it to the cross.

Rom 8:1 – There is no condemnation awaiting those who belong to Christ.

2. Because Christ can free you from worry.

I Peter 1:2 – God’s Spirit has been at work in you heart through Jesus Christ. May God grant you increasing freedom from all anxiety and fear.

Ph. 4:13 – I am ready for anything through the strength of Christ who lives in me.

3. Because Christ can give you purpose.

Eph. 2:10 – We are God’s work of art, created in Christ Jesus to live the good life as He meant for us to live it.

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

4. Because Christ can give you a home in heaven.

Col. 2:20 – Christ has set you free from following the world’s ideas of how to be saved by doing good and obeying various rules.

Rom 4:4 – You don’t earn the right to heaven, no, for being saved is a free gift. If a person could earn it by being good, then it wouldn’t be free, but it is.

Rom. 6:23 – The free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.

A Prayer That Leads to Happiness: Dear God, I believe Jesus Christ was who He claimed to be, Your Son, and that He proved it by rising from death. Jesus Christ, thank You for dying for me on the cross. I want You to forgive my sins and I want to know You personally and experience the freedom You offer. As much as I know how, I ask You to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. Amen.

July 31 2016 Accept No Substitutes

ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES

Ten Values That Build Strong Families - Part 2

"You shall not make any idols ... you must never bow to an image or worship it in any way." Exodus 20:4-5 (LB)            

TWO PRINCIPLES

I.  DON'T `IDOLIZE' ANYTHING!

"Idolize" - to look to something more than God.

"For your own good ... don't sin by making an idol in any form at all."  Deuteronomy 4:15-16 (GN)
    
Why?

1.  Idols will disappoint me.

"...those who make idols are disillusioned because the gods they make are false and lifeless."    Jeremiah 10:14 (GN)

"What's the use of an idol?  It's only something a man has made.  What good does it do ... to trust it?  Habakkuk 2:18(GN)
    
2.  Idols will dominate me

"... (before you knew Christ) you were controlled by dead idols, who always led you astray."  1 Corinthians 12:2 (GN)

3.  Idols will deform me

"Those who make idols will become like them, and so will those who trust in them." Psalms 115:8 (GN)

"They worshiped worthless things and became worthless themselves." Jeremiah 2:5 (GN)

II.  WORSHIP ONLY GOD!

"Worship" -- to give my highestlove and devotion

"(Many) exchange the truth about God for a lie; they worship and serve what God has created instead of the Creator himself!" Romans 1:25 (GN)

The Benefits of Worshiping Only God

1.  IT WILL DELIGHT ME

"Seek your happiness in the Lord and He will give you your heart's desire.” Psalm 37:4 (GN)

"Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed." Romans 10:11 (GN)
    
2.  IT WILL DELIVERME

Jesus said, "If you obey my teaching ... you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." John 8:31-32

"If the Son sets you free, you will be really free." John 8:36

3.  IT WILLDEVELOP ME.

"As the Spirit of the Lord works with us, we become more and more like Him."      2 Corinthians 3:18b (LB)

"We arrive at maturity -- that measure of development which is meant by `the fullness of Christ.'" Ephesians 4:13-15 (Ph)

"Christ is the visible image of the invisible God." Colossians 1:5

ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES

February 21 2016 Daring To Grow A Deep Soul

DARING TO GROW A DEEP SOUL

Daring Faith: The Key to Miracles – Part 7

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." Matthew 22:37 (NIV)

Spiritual growth is a process in which GOD AND I EACH HAVE A PART.

1. GOD’S PART: HE INVITES

MY PART: I RESPOND

Ephesians 1:4 (NLT) "Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes."

James 1:21b (NJB) "Humbly welcome the Word which has been planted in you and can save your souls."

2. GOD’S PART: HE IS FOUND.

MY PART: I SEEK HIM.

Jeremiah 29:13­14a (NIV) "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord . .

Psalm 27:8 (NIV) "My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek."

3. GOD’S PART: HE TEACHES ME.

MY PART: I LEARN.

John 16:13a (ESV) "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth."

Hebrews 5:11­14 (NLT) There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is dif icult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word.[a] You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the dif erence between right and wrong

4. GOD’S PART: HE BRINGS GOOD OUT OF EVIL.

MY PART: TO ENDURE.

Romans 8:28 (NJB) "We are well aware that God works with those who love him, those who have been called in accordance with his purpose, and turns everything to their good."

Colossians 1:11 (Msg) "We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory­strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy."

Jeremiah 17:7­8 (NLT) "But blessed are those who trust in the Lord, and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing

Philippians 1:11 (Msg) ". . . bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and

GOD’S GUARANTEE: GOD WILL FINISH WHAT HE HAS STARTED.

Philippians 1:6 (Amp) "And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ (right up to the time of His return), developing that good work and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you."

May 3 2015 Freedom From Our Hurts

FREEDOM FROM OUR HURTS

Isaiah 57:18 – I have seen how they acted, but I will lead them and help them and I will comfort them that mourn.

DENIAL BUSTERS 

1. Crises

2. Confrontation

3. Catastrophe 

Hebrews 11:6 – Anyone who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

THREE STEPS TO GET HELP FOR OUR HURTS

1. Acknowledge God’s existence.

Romans 11:20 – Since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen.

Psalm 19:1 – The heavens declare the glory of God.

Psalm 14:1 – The fool says there is no God!

2. Understand God’s character.

Colossians 1:15 – Christ is the visible expression of the invisible God.

• God knows all about my situation.

Psalm 31:7 – You have seen the crisis in my soul.

Psalm 69:5 – You know how foolish I have been.

• God cares about my situation.

Psalm 103:13-14 – He is like a Father to us, tender and sympathetic, for He knows what we are made of, dust!

Jeremiah 31:3 – God says I have loved you with an everlasting love!

Romans 5:8 – God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us.

• God can change me and my situation.

Ephesians 1:20 – I pray you will begin to understand how incredibly great His power is to help those who believe Him.  The same power that raised Christ from the dead.

Luke 18:27 – What is impossible for men is possible with God.

3. Accept God’s offer to help you.

Philippians 2:13 – For God is at work within you giving you the will and the power to achieve His purpose.

2 Timothy 1:7 – The Spirit that God gives us fills us with power, love and self-control.

HOW TO PLUG INTO GOD’S POWER

• Believe Christ died on the cross to save me and help.
• Believe that He cares and has power to help me.
• Surrender my all to Him

Isaiah 43:2-3 – When you go through deep waters and great troubles, I will be with you, you won’t drown!  When you walk through the fires of oppression, you won’t be burned up!

April 5 2015 Discovering God's Power

Discovering God’s Power

“Then the angel spoke to the women. ‘Don’t be afraid!’ he said, ‘I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified isn’t here! He has been raised from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. now, go quickly and tell his  disciples he has been raised from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember, I have told you.’” – Matthew 28:5-7

“Although Jesus died on the cross in weakness, he now lives by the mighty power of God. We, too, are weak, but we live in him and have God’s power.” – 2 Corinthians 13:4

• I CAN  understand God’s Plan

“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 1:5

“If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless, and you are still under condemnation for your sins.” – 1 Corinthians 15:13-17

“When I think of the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father.” – Ephesians 3:14

• I CAN  experience God’s presence.

“You who were once so far away from God.  You were his  enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and  actions, yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body.  As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.” – Colossians 1:21-22

Memory Verse: “Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those how believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again. They are given eternal life for believing in me and will never perish. Do you believe this?” - John 11:25-26

“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. you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” - Ephesians 3:18-19