October 5 2014 Today's Kids Need Today's Parents (parts 1 & 2)

Today's Kids Need Today's Parents

Memory Verse: “God is the one who made all things, and all things are for his glory. He wanted to have many children share his glory.” Hebrews. 2:10a (NCV)

Malachi 2:15-16 (NCV)“GOD made husbands and wives—to become one body and one spirit for his purpose—so they would have children who are true to God. So be careful, and do not break your promise to the wife you married when you were young. God says, ‘I hate divorce.’”

I AM RESPONSIBLE TO MY KIDS

BUT I’M NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR MY KIDS

Five TRUTHS you must help kids understand & believe

Five QUESTIONS you must help kids ask & answer

1. TRUTH: I was planned for God’s pleasure.

Revelation 4:11b (NLT)“You (God) created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created.”

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

QUESTION: What will be the center of my life?

Matthew 22:37-38 (NIV)“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.”

Jeremiah 32:39 (TEV) “I will give them a single minded purpose in life: to honor me for all time, for their own good and for the good of their own children.”

2. TRUTH: I was formed for God’s family.

“Ephesians 1:5 (NLT) His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.”

QUESTION: Who will be my companions in life?

1 Corinthians 15:33 (TEV)“Do not be fooled. Bad companions ruin good character.”

Romans 12:5 (NLT)“Since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.”

3. TRUTH: I was created to become like Christ.

Ephesians 1:11 (MSG)“It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for...part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.”

Romans 8:29 (LB)“For from the very beginning God decided that those who came to him... should become like his Son.”

QUESTION: What will be my character?

Philippians 2:5 (NCV)“In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus.”

4. TRUTH: I was shaped to serve God

Ephesians 2:10 (LB)“It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.”

QUESTION: What will be my contribution?

1 Peter 4:10 (LB)“God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other, passing on to others God's many kinds of blessings.”

5. TRUTH:  I was made for a mission.

John 17:18 (MSG) Jesus: “In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world.”

QUESTION: What does God want to say to the world through me?

2 Corinthians 5:18, 20 (NCV)“Through Christ, God has made peace between us and himself, and He gave us the work of telling everyone about the peace we can have with Him.... So we have been sent to speak for Christ!”

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)