May 11 2014 Building Confidence In Your Marriage

Building Confidence In Your Marriage 

Ephesians 1:19-20 – And His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead.

Stress Points of Every Relationship:

• Unexpected differences.
• Unmet needs.
• Unforgiven mistakes.

Three Areas We Need Strength In

1. Strength to fathom our mates differences.

1 Corinthians 2:11 – No one can really know what anyone else is really thinking, or what He’s really like except that person himself.

1 Peter 3:7 – Husbands, you should try to understand the wife you live with.

Proverbs 24:3 – Homes are built on the foundation of wisdom and understanding.

James 1:5 – If you lack wisdom, you should ask God who gives to all generously.

2. Strength to fulfill our mates needs.

1 Corinthians 7:3 – The man should fulfill his duty and the woman should fulfill her duty as a wife and each should satisfy each other’s needs.

Philippians 2:4 – Look out for each other’s interest, not just your own.

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

3. Strength to forgive our mates mistakes.

Proverbs 21:19 – It’s better to dwell in a desert than with a quarrelsome and nagging woman.

Ephesians 4:31 – Let there be no more bitter resentment or anger, no more shouting or slander and let there be no bad feelings of any kind among you.

May 4 2014 The Source Of Self Confidence

The Source of Self Confidence 

Verse 5 – My God has been my strength. (Confidence.)

Unreliable sources of self-confidence

1. Appearance

Proverbs 31:30 – Charm can be deceptive and beauty doesn’t last.

1 Samuel 17:7 – Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

2. What I own

Proverbs 11:7 – Confidence placed in riches comes to nothing.

3. Achievement

Jeremiah 9:23-24 – The Lord says wise men should not boast of their wisdom, nor strong me of the strength, nor rich men of their wealth. If anyone wants to boast, he should boast that he knows me and understands me.

Luke 16:15 – For what men think is of great value is worth nothing in God’s sight.

The reliable sources of confidence

1. God made you unique

Psalm 9:5 – You (God) made man inferior only to yourself, you crowned him with glory and honor.

Psalm 139:13 – You (God) created every part of me, you put me together in my mother’s womb.

2. Jesus died for you

Romans 5:8 – God has shown us how much He loves us. It was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us.

1 Peter 1:18-19 – God paid a ransom to save you. He paid for you with the precious life-blood of Christ.

3. God has a plan for your life.

Ephesians 2:10 – We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.

1 Corinthians 12:4 – God gives us many kinds of special abilities but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all.

2 Thessalonians 2:17 – May our Lord Jesus Christ inspire you with courage and confidence in every good thing you say or do.

April 27 2014 Restoring Inner Confidence

Restoring Inner Confidence

Lamentations 5:21 – Restore us O Lord and bring us back to you.

Four Causes Of Losing Inner Confidence

1. Over-Confidence.

1 Corinthians 10:12 – Let him who standeth take heed lest he fall.

Proverbs 16:18 – Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

2. Laziness.

Mark 14:37 – Could you not keep watch for one hour.

Matthew 26:41 – Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.

3. Fear of disapproval.

Mark 15:54 - Peter followed Him at a distance.

Proverbs 29:25 – Fearing people is a dangerous trap.

Mark 8:28 – (Jesus) If anyone is ashamed of Me and My Words, I will be ashamed of him before the Holy angels and My Father in heaven.

4. Convenience.

Verse 54 – There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.

Steps To God’s Restoration

Jeremiah 15:19 – If you will return to me, I will restore you so you can continue to serve Me.

Isaiah 1:18 – No matter how deep the stains of your sins, I can take it out and make you as clean as freshly fallen snow.

1. Confession of my movement away.

1 John 1:9 – If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

2. Cooperation with God’s presence.

John 15:5 – I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing.

Psalm 37:34 – Wait for the Lord and keep His way. He will exalt you to possess the land.

3. Consecrate your whole life to God.

Romans 12: 1-2 – I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice holy, acceptable to God which is your reasonable service.

4. Continue to serve God.

John 21:15 – Feed my sheep.

2 Corinthians 5:18 – God reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

Jeremiah 15:19 – If you return to Me, I will restore you.

April 20 2014 Power For Confident Living

Power For Confident Living 

Matthew 28:6 – He is not here, He has risen.

Power For Confidence Effects Three Things

1. The Past can be put to rest.

John 8:36 –So if the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed.

John 3:36 - Whoever accepts and trusts God’s Son gets in on everything, life complete and forever, but the person who avoids and distrust God’s Son is in the dark and doesn’t see life.

2. He gives power for the present.

Matthew 11:28 – Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.

Ephesians 1:20 – How incredibly great is His power to help those who believe in Him, the same power that raised Christ from the dead.

3. There is a promise for the future.

Matthew 28:6 – He is not here, He has risen.

John 11:26 – Whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.

Psalm 34:8 – Open your eyes and see how good God is. Blessed are you who ran to Him.

Lamentations 5:21 – Bring us back to you God, we’re ready to come back.

April 13 2014 God's Love From The Cross

God's Love From The Cross

John 13:1 – Having love His own who were in the world, He now showed them the full extent of His love.

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Four Ways God Wants To Love You From The Cross

1. God wants to supply my need.

Philippians 4:19 – God will supply all that you need from His glorious resources in Christ Jesus.

2 Peter 1:3 – As you know Him better, God will give you, through His great power, everything you need for living a truly good life.

John 14:14 – If you ask anything in My Name, I will do it.

2. God wants to forgive your faults.

Isaiah 43:25 – I am the God who forgives your sins, and I do this because of who I am.

Romans 3:23-24 – All have sinned, yet God declares us not guilty of offending Him if we trust in Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:9 – If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.

3. God wants to relieve your stress.

1 Corinthians 14:23 – God is not a God of confusion, but of peace.

John 14:27 – The peace I give you isn’t fragile like the peace the world gives, so don’t be troubled or afraid.

4. God wants to heal my hurt.

Psalm 147:3 – God heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds.

2 Corinthians 5:17 – When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A New Life has begun!

Psalm 33:21 – No wonder we are happy in the Lord. We trust in His Holy Name.

Romans 5:8 – God demonstrates His own love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.