November 6 2016 I am the Light of the World

I am the Light of the World

John 14:6 I am the way, the truth and the life, no one can come to the Father, except through me.

John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

John 10:14 "I am the good shepherd. I know my own sheep, and they know me."

MEMORY VERSE: Matthew 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on a stand that gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

HOW TO BE LIGHT IN MY WORLD

1. Ask God to use me.

Isaiah 6: 8 "Then, I heard the Lord asking, whom should I send as a messenger to my people? Who will go for us? And I said, Lord, I'll go. Send me."

Acts 20:24 "Life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus. The work of telling others the good news about God's mighty kindness and love."

2. Boldly speak up about my faith.

Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of this good news about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes, Jew first, and also Gentiles."

1 Peter 3:15, 16. "If someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way."

Philippians 1:27 (MSG) "Live in such a way that you are a credit, to the message of Christ."

3) Care enough to invite my friends during the holidays to church

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.

Mathew 5:14 (MSG) You're here to be light, bringing out the God colors in the world."

October 2 2016 Connecting With The Real Jesus

Connecting With The Real Jesus

John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth and the life."

John 14:1-9 (NLT) “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.” “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him! Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am?

How Do We Connect to the Real Jesus?

1. I engage the way of Jesus through prayer.

Question: "How do you know what Jesus would do?"

John 14:13 "You can ask for anything in my name and I will do it because the work of the Son brings glory to the Father."

Matthew 7:7 "Keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives. Everyone who seeks finds and to everyone who knocks the door will be opened."

2. I encounter the truth of Jesus through Bible study.

John 14:9-11 Jesus replied "Philip, don't you even yet know who I am even after all the time I've been with you? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. Why are you asking to see Him? Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?" "The words I say are not my own but my Father who lives in me, does his work through me." "Just believe that I'm in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe, because of what you have seen me do."

Question: Have you ever seriously studied who Jesus is?

Common Myths:

• Jesus came to make us more religious.

See Mark 7.

•  Jesus was just a good human.

See John 2.

• Jesus was a good historical figure.

See John 18.

• Jesus will make your life easy

CS Lewis “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

3. I experience the life of Jesus through believing.

Acts 16:31 "Believe on the Lord, Jesus Christ and you will be saved."

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only son so that everyone who believes in him would not perish but have eternal life.

Memory Verse: John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me."

April 3 2016 Why Do I Do What I Don't Want To Do

WHY DO I DO WHAT I DON'T WANT TO DO?

What do you have a hard time controlling?

• My temper
• Spending
• Eating
• My moods
• Drinking
• Sexual desires
• Procrastinating
• Bad habits

1. THE PROBLEM:

Romans 7:15-16, 18 (LB) "My own behavior baffles me. For I find myself doing what I really hate and not doing what I really want to do! I often find that I have the desire to do good, but not the power. I don't accomplish the good I set out to do, and the evil I don't really want to do I find I am always doing!"

Mark 14:37"The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. "

Results: 

• Confusion.
• Frustration.
• Defeat and discouragement

Romans 7:24 It is an agonizing situation. Who can set me free from the prison of this mortal body?

II GOD'S PROMISE:

John 8:22"Jesus said '.., When you know the Truth, the Truth will set you free. 

FACT: Behind every self-defeating behavior is: A LIE THAT I’M BELIEVING

III. THE PRESCRIPTION:

Acknowledge THE ROOT OF MY PROBLEM

“Sin”: "I'M IN CHARGE AND I DON'T NEED GOD."

1 John 1: 8 (LB)"If we say we have no sin we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth."

To stop defeating myself, I must stop DECEIVING myself.

John 8:34 (Phillips) Jesus: "Everyone who commits sin is its slave " 

Believe that Christ can change me.

Romans 7:24-25"Who can free me from this prison... " I thank God there is a way out through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

Romans 8:2 (Ph)"For the new spiritual principle of life in Jesus Christ lifts me out of the old vicious circle of sin... "

John 14:6"Jesus said, 'I AM" the Truth!"

Commit ALL I AM TO CHRIST

2 Corinthians 5:17 (LB)"When anyone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!"

2 Timothy 1: 7"The Spirit God gives us doesn't make us timid,- instead his Spirit fills us with power, love, and SELF CONTROL. "

Stop Trying! Start TRUSTING

2 Corinthians 3:17"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. '

August 30 & September 6 2015 How Jesus Handles Stress

HOW JESUS HANDLED STRESS

The Jesus Model - Part 3

1. IDENTIFICATION: Know who you are

John 8:12, Mark 14:62, John 14:6, John 6:35 “I am ...the Light of the world... the Son of God...the Way, the Truth and the Life...the Bread of life...” 

John 8:18 (TEV)“I testify on my own behalf.” 

2. MOTIVATION:  Know what you’re living for 

John 5:30 (TEV) “I am not trying to do what I want, but only what my Father who sent me wants.”

John 8:29 (NLT) “ I always do those things that are pleasing to Him.”  

Luke 16:13 (NIV) “No one can serve two masters...” 

3. CONCENTRATION: Focus on what matters most. 

Luke 9:51 (LB) “As the time drew near for his return to heaven, he moved steadily onward toward Jerusalem with an iron will.” 

Luke 9:62 (LB) “Anyone who lets himself be distracted from the work I plan for him is not fit for the Kingdom of God.” 

1 Corinthians 10:23 (Amplified) “We are free to do anything but not all things are helpful or profitable or wholesome or constructive to your character and spiritual life.”

4. MEDITATION: Listen to God

Mark 1:35 (NIV) “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”  

Luke 5:15-16 (NCV) “News about Jesus spread even more. Crowds came to hear him and to be healed...but Jesus often slipped away to be alone so he could pray.” 

Colossians 2:7 (CEV) “Plant your roots in Christ and let him be the foundation for your life.” 

5. COLLABORATION: Join a small group

Mark 3:14 (NIV)“He appointed twelve – designating them apostles – that they might be with him…”

Matthew 26:38 (NIV) “Jesus said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 

6. RECREATION: Take time to recharge

Mark 6:31 (NCV)“Crowds of people were coming and going so that they did not even have time to eat. He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves, and we’ll go to a lonely place to get some rest.’”  

Matthew 11:19 (Ph) “Jesus came enjoying life...” 

7: SALVATION: Give It All to Jesus

Matthew 11:28-29 (NLT)  “Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls.”

August 24 2014 My Faith

My Faith

Matthew 11:28-29 “Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls.’”

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and selfdiscipline.”

TWO STRESS-BUSTING TRUTHS ABOUT MY FAITH

STRESS-BUSTING TRUTH #1:

Getting to Heaven is Not About WHAT I DO... It's About What JESUS HAS ALREADY DONE..

Ephesians 2:8-9 “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”

Memory Verse: John 14:6 “Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.’”

STRESS-BUSTING TRUTH #2:

Living to PLEASE JESUS is Less Stressful... Than Living to PLEASE PEOPLE.

Galatians 1:10 “Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.”

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”