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Monday, 23 November 2009

  • Unity - Humility! Don't Let Your Pride Cause the Body to Divide

    Title:  Humility! Don’t let your Pride cause the Body to Divide!Text: A LotCentral Idea of the Sermon: To maintain unity we must live in humility but what is humility?Specific Objective: Kids will be challenged to live life in humility.

    Introduction: So last week we discussed that in order to live in Unity we must live in Humility. Today we are going to learn what humility is, but first let me ask this… what is the opposite of humility?

    TS: Pride!

    I.    Pride causes the Body to Divide (James 4:1-3)



    Exp: St. Augustine described Pride as “the love of one’s own excellence”
    Dictionary.com describes Pride as Arrogant or to think more highly of one’s own self.

    Jas 4:1  Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?


    Prideful people want what they want when they want it no matter what. They don’t stop to think about the effect on others

    .
    Jas 4:2  You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.


    In the end, Prideful people don’t really get what they want.
    Jas 4:3  You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.God will not give the prideful people what they ask for because they ask for selfish reasons.


    TS: Now that we know what is NOT humble, what is?

    II.    Humility is the state of being humble duh!



    Exp:

    When you are humble you don’t think more of yourself then you should. You recognize that some are better than you. You recognize that you can learn from others.

    Ill:  Now i'm pretty good with computers and programs. The other day one of my friends called me asking for some help with her Zune (mp3 player) The program wouldn't install on her computer right. Now it was in my best intrest to say "oh yeah i can fix it" and make it look like i'm the number one guy to go to.  This would have made me look better in her eyes, however, i knew for a fact that Pastor Matt (Youth Pastor at The Healing Place) would know more than me. Matt actually has a couple of Zunes. It was in her best interest for her to call him.
    So what did i do? I humbled myself and said "Look kid, i think this might help but the person you really want to talk to is Matt. He actually owns a Zune." Why did i do that? Because i was putting her best interest in front of mine.

    TS: But what’s the Point?

    III.    Top Three Reasons to be Humble



    Exp: 1.You can’t be saved unless you Humble yourself



    2Sa 22:28  You will save the humble people; But Your eyes are on the haughty, that You may bring them down.

    Here we find that God will save the humble but he will not save the proud.

    2Ch 7:14  if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

    See where it says THEN. That means that unless you humble urself you will NOT be saved.

    2. God will Hear your Prayers



    Psa 10:17  LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear,

    3. When we humble ourselves God can teach us.



    Psa 25:9  The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way.


    TS: Ok but what does this have to do with Unity?

    IV. Humility Won't Split the Body



    Exp. Have you ever seen the movie Nightmare Before Christmas?  In the movie there are two towns. Halloween Town and Christmas Town. In Halloween Town the people send all year getting ready for Halloween. That's their function and purpose in life. In Christmas Town they spend all year getting ready for Christmas, that's their function and purpose in life.

    One day the leader of Halloween Town, Jack The Pumpkin King, gets tired of Halloween. While on a walk one day he stumbles upon Christmas town. He freaks out! He thinks it's amazing! He sees what the elves and Santa are doing and thinks it's really cool... Suddenly he starts thinking "you know... i bet i could do this Christmas thing, in fact... i could do it better."

    Jack goes back to Halloween Town and starts planning. They kidnap Santa, make their own toys, everything! In the end Jack messed EVERYTHING up! He had to come to the point where he humbled himself and went back to Santa and admit to the fact that he was wrong. He couldn't do things better than Santa. Santa was in charge of Christmas because he knew best how to do it.

    Conclusion:



    If we don't humble ourselves we can begin to be like Jack. We start thinking  "you know Pastor doesn't really know what he's doing, I know better than him." or "I don't like they way they are worshiping God, they should do it more like me because i know best" When that attitude starts to creep in, you start to tear the Body of Christ apart. The Pastor of your church is YOUR shepard. He was anointed and put there by God. You should trust his judgment and choices. When you start to think that you are better than your Pastor you start to sow a seed of discord in the body.  When you start to think you are better than the other congregant members then you start to sow a seed of discord in the body.

    Unless you humble yoruself and allow God to teach you and grow you... your Pride will cause the Body to Divide.

Tuesday, 17 November 2009

  • Unity Intro

    This past Sunday I started a our new series on a very important topic. For the next four weeks we will be dealing with the issue of Unity.  The issue of unity is so important that Christ himself even prayed for us to have it. (John 17:20-21)

    In today's world of wars and lies and deceit that come across to our kids via television, movies, conversations with friends who are simply repeating what their own parents said; it is very easy to breed disunity.  Even in our own churches we hear Brother Bob and Sister Jane over in the corner "discussing" important issues in the church. Most of which turn out to be none of their business and are more about personal pride than actual concern for the body of Christ. Things like that is what causes disunity in the church.

    I spent Sunday just laying out what we will be discussing for the next four weeks.  I discussed how the very definition of being in Unity is the state of being one. I related it to what it's like to be on a team. In football not all members of the team are the quarterback. There are some who's single job is to simply block (granted that's not always simple). Some are needed to run and catch the ball for the touchdown. Some are needed to be on the sideline to cheer on encourage their teammates when things are down.  Now they all have different jobs and purposes, but they all have on goal in mind.

    We as Christians are the same. Some are called to preach, some to sing (i'm not one of those haha), some to serve. We each have a different job but we all have one goal; to serve and honor God.  One of the way we worship God is by presenting the Body of Christ to the world. So that we can help do our part in seeing people who don't know Christ become Christians.  If we as Christians are not unified and constantly backbiting and bickering  than those who are not Christians will have a bad impression of Christ.

    I turned the Kids attention to Ephesians 4:1-3. It is here that we find the key to building up and maintaining the unity that is suppose to be in the Church.

          
    1. Being Humble
      2.     
    2. Being Gentle
      3.     
    3. Being Patient
      4.     
    4. Being Tolerant


    Over the next four weeks the kids and I will betaking a journey to discover in more depth the meaning and function of each of these.

Monday, 19 October 2009

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

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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.

Thursday, 01 October 2009

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

    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.


Wednesday, 30 September 2009

Crazy_Jesus_Freak

  • Visit Crazy_Jesus_Freak's Xanga Site
    • Name: Dallas
    • Country: United States
    • State: Louisiana
    • Metro: Shreveport
    • Birthday: 8/10/1984
    • Gender: Male
    • Member Since: 5/9/2004

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