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Scared? Hurt? Feel Like You're in the Midst of a Storm?

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:12:06 GMT

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Let me ask you something…

Do you feel alone?

Are you hurting?

When you close you’re eyes is the only thing you see the troubles and strife in life?

May I share something with you?

Did you know; that even though you may feel alone that Jesus is there with you?

Did you know; that even though you are hurting Jesus is there applying his healing love to your broken heart?

Did you know; that even though all you see is troubles and strife Jesus is there holding you close, caring for you, carrying you, providing for you?

I am reminded of a story in the Matthew 8 and Luke 8 where the disciples and Jesus all boarded a boat and set sail. Jesus had just finished doing a lot of teaching and ministering so he had decided to lay down for a bit and take a nap. I imagine that it was nice calm peaceful day and the rocking of the boat and the cool air would have helped him fall asleep much quicker.

Then, suddenly, a massive storm hit. Towering waves came crashing down upon the boat! Tossing it back and forth like a rag doll. The wind howled and roared through their sail, possibly causing small rips in the fabric. The slick wood of the boat and the rocking of the waves; causing the men to slip and fall. This storm must have been much more than any ordinary storm because the disciples were experienced fishermen and they were terrified.

Does your life feel like this? Do you feel like you are one of those men on that boat. You’ve tried everything you know, but it all failed. You are now to the point that you are just holding on for dear life trying not to drown in the midst of your situation and despair.

Lets continue the story…

You see they didn’t stop their. They didn’t allow the storm to just over take them. Instead, they looked to the one person who could help. But when they looked at him he was asleep. I’m sure in some of their minds they felt abandoned thinking, “how in the world could he sit their and sleep while we are all so scared to death!” Others thinking, “Oh, we should bother him. He’ll just tell us to figure it out.”

Hmm.. seems like their situation just went from bad to worse. Do you feel the same way. Do you feel like Jesus has abandoned you? Or do you feel like he wouldn’t care about your situation?

Then perhaps… I should finish this story?

I wonder which disciple was the first to say “Forget this! I’m going to wake the master. I know he can help us.” And he, with weak legs struggling to walk across the tossing boat went to the Jesus to wake him. I wonder what he thought as he reached out his hand to the Jesus to seek help?

Suddenly the master arose, walked out on deck of the boat, and with his tongue, rebuked the storm. At that moment the storm in their lives came to calm.

If you are going through a storm right now, I want to urge you. Look to the one who can help. Reach your hand out to the one who can calm the storm of your life. He’s not to busy for you. He loves you, He cares for you. All you have to do is reach out and ask him for help.

How to Understand the Bible 2: 1 Meaning, Many Applications

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:16:31 GMT

Sunday we finished up our 3 weeks series on The Bible. Before i wrap up the final steps Let me recap the first 2.

1. First we must ask "what did the text mean to the original audience?" Remember it was written to certain group at a certain for a certain purpose. So discover it's meaning we must first discover what it meant to them.

2. We must then discuss the differences between the original audience and us. Things like language, customs, covenant, and situation are things we must look for.

The next two steps are often meshed into one step but in reality should be two seperate.

First we must take what we know and figure out the meaning. Remember there is one meaning to scripture and our task in this next step is not to come up with the meaning but rather DISCOVER the meaning intended by the author.

While it was written to a specific time for a specific audience he is also giving universal theological teachings for all of his people through these same texts. So in the midst of discovering the meaning you must discover the principle being taught. Then knowning the principle we look at the similarities between the Biblical situation and our own . For example in Joshua 1:1-9 we are also the people of God, in covenant relationship (new covenant though not old); while we are not the leaders of Israel, nonetheless many of us are in leadership position in one way or another. We are not invading the Promised Land, but we are seeking to obey the will of God and to accomplish what he has commanded us to do.

Now there are 5 very important things about the meaning that you must know.

1. It should be reflected in the text.
2. It should be timeless and not tied to a specific situation.
3. It should not be culturally bound.
4. It should correspond to the teaching of the rest of Scripture. Scripture proves scripture.
5. It should be relevant to both the biblical and the contemporary audience.

If it's missing any of those then you should go back and continue to dig deeper. Remember to allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate parts of the scripture to give you clearer understanding. Don't get frustrated if you are not getting it's meaning right off the bat. Some scholars, many who have more degrees then they have wall space, spend years on one verse.

In our example of Joshua 1:1-9 the Meaning (or theological principle if you like) is :

To be effective in serving God and successful in the task to which he has called us, we must draw strength and courage from his presence. We must also be obedient to God's Word, meditating on it constantly.

The final step is what i believe to be the coolest part of scripture. The application. Scripture is meant to be challenging and life changing. The Bible is not a book meant to be read on a whim and then toss to the side with out second thought. After discovering the meaning of the text we MUST apply it to our lives. There are many applications for different scriptures.

here's one example... Let's say... mmm that you feel God calls you to teaching a discipleship group of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, graders... ::cough cough:: not saying anything, just saying.... But anyways. Let's say you're teaching this class. It's new and scary for you because you may not have done anything like this before. But you can be strengthened and encouraged by God's empowering presence. Be obedient, keepign a focus on the scriptures.

So there you have it, How to read the Bible in 4 steps. :) i hope you've enjoyed the journey and i hope you enjoy every journey through scripture that you will ever take in your life.

EXCITEMENT!!!

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:22:01 GMT

I am stupid excited about this movie ! :)

I know i know most of u r rolling ur eyes but get over urselves. this is gonna be sweet! Why am i excited? cuz my inner geek is screaming out in excitement that Osamu Tzuka's work is still being carried on :) yay!!!

"I am"

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:33:31 GMT

So i don't normally post my notes from my Sunday night notes but i felt that i should post up this one...

I started off by handing all the kids a card. I told them to describe themselves. I told them to describe themselves physically and also describe their personalities. They had a really really rough time with this.

We then discussed why it was hard to describe their personalities. It's said that people have a hard time of really looking at themselves because they afraid that when they really take a look at who they are, they won't like what they see.

I then told them to flip the card over and write at the top of it

I am

You should do this too... yes you who are reading this right now... i'll wait...

got a card? good.

Like i said people have a hard time describing themselves because they are afraid of what they will see. But let me take you on a journey to discover who you really are.

Write down on your card Genesis 1:26. Look at this first part of the verse.

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness

It says that God made us in His image. Now, would you call God ugly? Dumb? So if you are made in the image of God why would you call yourself that?! So next to that verse i want you to write

I am made in the very image of God.

Now flip over to Ephesians 2:10 and write it down on the card. It reads

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

According to this verse we are the very workmanship of God. Some would say the masterpiece of God. And it also says that we were created to do good works.

So next to the the verse Ephesians 2:10 write this

I am a masterpiece of God and was created to do good works.

Now flip over to John 14:12-15. Write it down on your card :) now it reads

¹²I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. ¹⁴You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Now next to the verse on your card write this

I am able to do many great things that Christ did and greater through Christ to bring glory to God.

hand getting tired? well hang on one last verse. Write down Acts 2:17

'In the last days, God says,I will pour out my Spirit on all people.Your sons and daughters will prophesy,your young men will see visions,your old men will dream dreams.

According to this verse God will pour out gifts on us and we will have dreams and visions. so next to the verse write out

I am chosen to have dreams and visions.

Now take the card. get up from your seat. walk to the nearest mirror. when you get there look at yourself and read that card. Go ahead do it. i'll wait here for you.

Welcome back...

We as a whole, from babies to 80's are bombarded with images and concepts of what we are suppose to look like. We are told to look a certain way, to act a certain way, to be this, to be that. 9 times out of 10... those things aren't what God has dictated to be true. I had you and the kids get up and read that card in your mirror to help get into your spirit the truth. So that next time you look at yourself... you won't be afraid of what you find. you'll find the truth that God has laid out in his holy word.

The Bible: How to Understand It part 1: Old Fogies and Our Differances

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 02:07:11 GMT

Welp this week i'm just gonna put up my notes that i use for the sermon. enjoy :)

Central Idea of the Sermon: To understand the Scriptures we must first understand why it was written.

Introduction: Have you ever Read something and went "huh!?" For the next two weeks we will discover how to avoid the huh!?'s Now you will still get those but we'll try to make it easier for you!

TS: Ever read someone else's mail?.

I. Scriptures were written with purpose.

Exp: Scripture was written at a certain time, for a certain group, for a certain reason.

Ill: For an illustration I read an old e-mail from a friend of mine. The e-mail was from 2004 and made references to personal conversation and things that were happening in 2004

TS: Now that you understand that they are personal we must figure out why they were written.

II. Why’d they say that!?

Exp: To understand the Big picture we must first understand the smaller parts. When you read the Bible we must first attempt to understand why it was written and what it mean tot the original audience. If we don’t first understand that how can we possibly apply it out our lives? To do this we must read the scripture very carefully. Looking at what is said from their point of view.

Ill: Let’s look at Joshua 1:1-9. What did the text mean to the Biblical Audience?

The Lord commanded Joshua, the new leader of Israel, to draw strength and courage from God’s empowering presence, to be obedient to the law of Moses, and to meditate on the law so that he would be successful in the conquest of the Promised Land.

TS: Now that we know what it meant now need to figure out what the differences are between THEM and US.

III. Difference

Exp: There are differences between us and the biblical audience. These things include culture, language, situations, and also the time period.

Ill: If I gave you instructions on how to play a cassette tape, many of you would be completely confused. Why? Because you don’t know what a cassette tape is! Many of you are WAY to young to know what that is. What how about an 8-track player? Anyone know what that is? There’s a difference between then and now. So what are the differences? One… we don’t use those anymore. Now we use CD’s and MP3’s. Right? So what are the differences in the text.

App: We are not leaders of the nation Israel (although some of us may be leaders in a the church). We are not embarking on a conquest of Canaan, the Promised Land, We are not under the old covenant of law.

Conclustion: So now what? What do we do now that we know what the text meant to the original people and what the differences are between them and us today?

Hehe, you’ll find out next week :)

The Bible - The Very Words of God

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:56:32 GMT

So God has placed a burden on my heart over the last few weeks. The burden was for his Word. We have to many Christians who either don't read the Bible or when they do read it, they don't know how to read it. What I have decided to do is over the next three weeks, plant a seed into our children's hearts that will blossom into a hunger for God's word.

This past Sunday I've given the Children this "Big Idea"

The Bible is the very words of God

I started with this scripture

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness~2 Timothy 3:16

The first thing that I want to point out is that scripture is that because "Scripture is God-breathed" it carries authority. The Bible, coming from the very mouth of God, has the authority of God.

As a child i did not clean my room very often.... ok even as an adult i don't clean my room... ::cough::

But sometimes my mom would be in the kitchen cooking, something she does very well... and that's why i'm a fat guy, and she'd turn to my sister "Go tell Dallas to turn off tv or video game which ever it is he's doing and tell him he needs to have his room cleaned before It's time to eat dinner." So my sister would come to me, "Dallas, Mom says you need to turn that stuff off and clean u're room before dinner"

Now i didn't look at my sister and say "pssha" no because Damara was carrying the authority of my mom! Damara was the medium which mom chose to communicate with me at that moment. If i had chosen to ignore what was told to me by Damara then i would be in sin. Why? Because i didn't just ignore damara, the medium used for communication, but i ignored the source. My mom. (yes just related my mom to God, shhh don't tell her or she'll get a big head)

But that's the same way with the Bible. has decided to use the Bible to communicate to us. So for us to read the scripture and then say, "I'm going to ignore that," then you are not just ignoring the Bible, you are ignoring the one true God.

The second point was that the Bible is NEVER wrong. in Scripture itself we find this

"...it is impossible for God to lie,..."

If God can never lie than the words found in scripture can never be wrong. I explained to the children that the Bible was penned by some 40 different authors, over a time span of 1600 years. Yet it never contradicted it's self. 64 books dictating one plan of salvation. Some people try to bring up the differences in the 4 Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). But if you really step back and look at all of the Gospels you realize that they are not 4 different stories but 4 stories sides of the same event.

To illustrate this i pulled out a table. Place a small stuffed animal in the middle of the table. I grabbed 3 kids. each kid and my self sat on different sides of the table. We each drew the animal. Now we all drew the same creature. But each picture looked different. Looked different for 2 reasons.

1. we each saw a different side of it.

The 4 Gospel writers each saw a different side of the story. So you find that if you look at all 4 together and combine them that you have a fuller picture. One of my favorite books is a book called "Harmony of the Gospels" by Robert Thomas and Stanley Gundry. It takes the gospels and puts them together side by side in columns. Helping you to gain a fuller picture of what was happening in the stories. Here's a link to Amazon.com where you can buy it [link] the scriptures are from the New American Standard version of the Bible. Personally i really like this version. It's easy for me to read and it's closer to the original language than the NIV. However if you want you can find it in NIV.

2. We each had our own style of drawing.

We each saw the same thing but drew differently. why? just because we each had our own skill, and style. This is how all of scripture was written. God used the style and personality of each writer to lay out the Bible. This is called Verbal Plenary Inspiration (no i didn't teach the kids that word that's a freebie for you adults.) This is contrary to the popular belief that these authors went into some mystical trance and God over took their body and mind and wrote out the words himself.

NIGHT OF WORSHIP

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:33:55 GMT

Just want to invite everyone to this AMAZING event here at my church.

8957 Kingston RD
Shreveport, LA 71118

Praise God Even when Life Bites!?

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:56:03 GMT

So Philippians 4:4 says

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Do you have that song stuck in your head now too?

You know it's really easy to Praise the Lord when things are going GREAT! You got a raise in your allowance. People are being nice to you. God's blessing you left and right. OOO look a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies just for you. ::gospel choir begins to sing:: Well!! Can I get an AMEN!!! mmmhmmm it's really easy to Praise God when things are go'n great. When everything is simply fluffy (fluffy or fluffy bunnies is what i say when describing something good and happy... yes i'm odd... don't judge me haha) :)

But what about when things are rough? does that "always" mean... always?!

Flip over Psalm 13. Here we find King David writing out song

¹ How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?How long will you hide your face from me?²How long must I take counsel in my souland have sorrow in my heart all the day?How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

³ Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,⁴lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed over him,"lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

Hmmm, sounds to me like David is having a pretty rough day. It would appear that he feels alone, abandoned, in pain.

Have you ever felt that way. Like you are alone? Like there is absolutely no one there for you? it's a pretty harsh feeling. You kind of feel like crawling back into bed, pull'n up a thing of chocolate just disappear for a while.

... hmmm i wonder how the rest of this Psalm ends....

But I have trusted in your steadfast love;my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.⁶I will sing to the LORD,because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Sereiously!!?? this dude is having a horrid day! and yet! he's still saying "I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation" How!? Why?!

hmm... Lets flash forward to the book of Acts. In Acts 16-26 we run into the Apostle Paul and Silas. Just going along and doing their thing... Preaching the Gospel, healing the sick, you know... Christian stuff. All of a sudden some crazy demon possessed girl who works as a fortune teller starts following them screaming out ""These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation." and that got really really really annoying because she did it for several days in a row. Finally Paul had enough, turned around, and cast the spirit out of the girl.

Well that didn't make the girl's employer's very happy. Outraged they had Paul and Silas arrested, beaten up, and thrown in jail! Talk about a really BAD day. I don't know about the rest of you guys but that night. i would have been so worn out and bummed from what happened, i would have just crashed for the entire night. But what did Paul and Silas do?

²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,

They prayed and worshiped God. They rejoiced in Him and His goodness. Then something AMAZING happened.

²⁶and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.

Why should we praise and rejoice in the Lord even when we feel like there's no one there for us? Because God is always there. You are his child and He loves you greatly. He will provide for you when times are good and when times are bad. He loves you. Next time you find yourself in a place where life doesn't make sense and you feel alone, instead of sinking back into some hole. Rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice because the God of eternity, will provide for you.

Unlikely Heroes - Jesus

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:24:30 GMT

Our final installment in the "Unlikely Heroes" series is no other than Jesus Christ himself. To understand why Jesus is an Unlikely Hero we need go back... wayyy back... further than the cross... further than a group of wise men standing over a baby (notice i didn't say 3 wise men hehe)... further than a boy who killed a giant... further than Abraham. My friends we must go back to the beginning.According to the accounts in the book of Genesis God created EVERYTHING! Then he created the very first man. This man was named Adam. He sat Adam down gave him a mission then gave him one command...

"You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."~ Genesis 2:16-17

Simple enough right? He could have eaten from the pair trees, the apple trees, the fig trees. JUST DON'T TOUCH THE FRUIT FROM ONE IGNORANT TREE!!! that's it! One would think that this would not be a hard thing to do. if it were me i'd be like "ok let's grab some spray paint. paint a big huge red X on the tree. build some fences around it. and post a sign that says 'eat this fruit and you will die... seriously God said so.'"But now adam didn't do this. No, he felt he and his wife (came later) would have enough will power to say no to the temptation of eating from a tree that has fruit that will kill you. Logical enough. and i applaud his self confidence in their will power. Bravo. Glad he had self-esteemSadly though... they messed up. In Genesis 3 we read how Satan came in the form of a snake, started up a convo with eve

[i'd like to take a moment to pause on my commentary on this event to provide you all with a very important thought... if a snake walks up to you and begins to speak in a language that u understand to be a language only spoken by humans... i suggest... YOU WALK AWAY!!!! CUZ SOMETH'N IS VERY WRONG THERE!!!... ::cough:: sorry, now back to the commentary]

and tricked her into eating from the tree that God very specifically said 'NO EATING.' then she turned 2 Adam and he went "oo yummy" and ate the fruit... then a light went off and they said "oh snap! we at the fruit. lets hide!"Thus causing the disease known as sin to enter into the world. We were eternally separated from God. You see God is holy and can not allow sin to be in his presence. Everyone say "thanks adam and eve"Because of this. Everyone is born into sin. Like i said it's like a disease. You can try to deny it all you want. You can sit there and plug your ears and scream out 'LALALALALALALALALALALALA" But the fact remains... from birth, every single human being is born a sinner. In fact Romans 3:23 says

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

What is sin? Theologian Wayne Grudem describes sin as

"... any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature"

Now you ask me, "Dallas, I get it, we are messed up... but why does this make Jesus an Unlikely Hero?"I'm getting there just continue to take this ride with me. Let's walk through Scripture to see what exactly was done so that we would be able to live a sinless life (and yes it's possible to go a day without sinning once you're covered in the blood of the Lamb).Romans 6:23 starts off by saying

For the wages of sin is death

Which we know from Genesis. But if you continue to read the verse it also says

but the free gift of God is ^(B)eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Christ provides eternal live. Free from our sins.How? well Romans 5:8 reads

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us

Look at the last 4 words. "...Christ died for us" It took the sacrifice of a perfect sinless being to make it possible for man to enter the Kingdom of God. This point is further proven later in scripture in 2 Corinthians 5:21

He [God] made Him [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Who can partake in this amazing gift? Romans 10:13 reads

for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.

How do we do this? Romans 10:9,10 reads

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

That's the formula friends. Confess that Christ is your Lord, and Believe that God raised him from the dead and you'll be saved. Part of that confession of Christ as Lord is a complete repentance. Meaning you turn away from the lifestyle of sin that you live and you strive to live as Christ did. Sinless. And yes it's possible.

but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY."~1 Peter 1:15-17

So again you come to me. "Dallas, what does this have to do with Jesus being an Unlikely Hero?We, man kind, are sinful, we brought it on ourselves. No one helped us. Yeah, the serpent had a lil chat with Eve. But it was man's choice to eat the fruit. It's our fault that we are in this condition.What makes Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the third part of the three in one, an Unlikely Hero?

He didn't have to.

God could have said. "fine, you messed up, so you're all are going to go to Hell now." Instead, He loved the world so much, He gave his only begotten son, so that whoever believes in him wouldn't die and go to Hell, but would instead have everlasting life. [click here to see for yourself]

one

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:25:21 GMT

here's a lil promo-vid for Pastor Scott's New Series... one..
www.healingplaceonline.com