God is For-Giving

This past Sunday we were in between series so I shared the message "God is For-Giving"

We all are at different generosity stages and we all have a generosity point at which we pause and struggle to give.

We focused on the truth...learn to truly live by learning to truly give. As we cross the line into a relationship with Jesus, we become more like him. The more like him we become, the more we become for-giving!

We used the cheesy but fun acronym of (F.O.R.D-Frustrated over regular distractions) to talk about being generous with our time and (G.M.-Generous with our money) to talk about being faithful in giving in the church & outside as well.

#1-On a scale 1-10 (10 being the highest) how would you rate yourself on the generous scale?

#2-Why did you rate yourself the way you did?
#3-Where is your generosity limit?
#4-Why does it stop there? What is holding you back from growing in generosity?
#5--What can you do this week to grow in generosity?

Learn to truly live by learning to truly give!

"Big But's" Part 3 Blaming our Circumstances

I can't believe we wrapped up "Big Buts" this past Sunday with blaming our circumstances.

We talked about "When circumstances go wrong, remember to whom you belong"

We looked at John 5 and how Jesus asked a crazy question to a man who was paralyzed for 38 years..."Do you want to be made well?" Read John 5 and you will be shocked at his response.

We talked about learning the art of giving our circumstances to God

Psalm 55:22-Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken

We all will face tough, challenging or unexpected circumstances. When they happen we can either blame them for our ungodly attitudes & actions or we can take them to God in prayer.

Challenge for the week: Carve out 5-10 minutes each day to "Cast your cares on the Lord"
#1--Be authentic--share with God your true thoughts & feelings
#2--Spend time in prayer both talking to God but listening
#3--Spend time reading a chapter from The Bible (The book of John is a great place to start) be reminded that your identity is not in your circumstances but in GOD!

BIG BUT #2--Blaming Others

This Past Sunday we looked at "Big But" #2 Blaming Others. We talked about the reality that the moment we begin blaming other people we stop growing. "In Order to Grow we must let go."

#1--Who is one person you have been blaming for an attitude or action in your life?

#2--How has that been working for you?

#3--What will be the consequences for you if you don't let go?

#4--How different would your life be, if you do "let go?"

#5--What is one thing you can do today to begin the process today?

Here is a simple prayer..."Father God, I thank you that you love me and have my best interest in mind. I thank you that you have good things in store for me and that Your Word is truth regardless of how I feel. _______ has hurt me deeply and offended me greatly. I want to forgive and let go. Forgive me for my attitude and bitterness. Wash over me with your forgiveness and love so it can flow through me to others. Thank you for Your power and for helping me let go. I choose to let go today. In Jesus name...AMEN!

Does Anything Happen?

Yesterday, we finished our series "Starting Point: Going Deeper" with special guest speaker Pastor Cornell Jordan. He spoke on the topic of prayer....not how to pray but why we pray!

He asked tough questions like...

*When you pray does something miraculous, powerful or positive happen?

*If not then why?

James 5:16 says the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results (NLT)

The level of our prayer life will reveal the level of depth in our relationship with God. Why not begin to plan for prayer just like you plan to eat, take a shower and brush your teeth. The Creator of the Universe wants to have such a close relationship with you and be involved in your daily life. Will you let Him?

Fun

This past Sunday was part 3 in our series "Starting Point: Going Deeper." We talked about the third part of our vision; FUN!

The way we have been trained to do fun is often temporary and never enough. Many who live their lives for fun are just waiting for the next best thing. It reminds me of kids at Christmas time who get bored with their toys after 3 weeks.

We define fun as living your purpose to worship God by serving others. We believe that when you truly put others first and use your talents to serve others you will experience overwhelming joy and a fun filled life. (Read Acts 5 & 16 for people who were truly having fun)

The way to develop that kind of life is to train our minds with this reality, "Fun is not an activity but an attitude--Jeanne Mayo."

With this new definition of fun...

#1--How can you have "fun" at work this week?

#2--How can you have "fun" with your family?

#3--How can you have "fun" with your neighbors?

#4--How can you have "fun" with total strangers?

Let's life our lives to worship God by serving others and truly experience "FUN"

We Are Family (can you hear the song?)

This past Sunday we talked about what it truly means to be a family. When we cross the line into a relationship with Jesus, we become a part of something bigger than ourselves. We get to be a part of the family of God and to do life together. Yet, if we are honoest, most of us jus settle for showing up once a week for an hour to church so we can go our own way the rest of the week.

How do we do life together in this day and age? How do we get connected with others to the point where we can be authentic? How do we stop the crazy schedule of life that seems to control us and dictate how we spend our time?

Here are a few practical suggestions to help build family...

*Call another person or family this week and invite them to join you at your house for a meal

*The next time you go shopping, call someone and invite them to go with you.

*The next time you go out to a movie, McDonald's or somewhere else, invite others to join you

*When you hear someone else have a need, ask if you could come and help

As followers of Christ become a true family; giving, loving, praying and doing life together, we will see God's presence and love draw others to Him in an exponential way.

Gotta have faith

In the famous words of George Michael from the late 80's, "Gotta have faith, faith, faith..."

This Sunday we kicked of our NEW series, "Starting Point: Going Deeper." We focused on clarify what it means to have faith.

When you hear the word faith, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? On a scale of 1-10 how much faith in God would you say you have?

We defined faith as believing God is who he says he is and that he will always do what he says he will do. No matter what circumstances may be like, God's word is truth and we can take it to the bank.

According to that definition of faith, is there an area of your life that you have a hard time trusting God? If so, why do you think you struggle in that area but not in others? What does God say about that area? If you don't know, this would be a great time to check out what the Bible says.

God, I pray that in 2011, you teach me to trust you more than ever before. May I truly have faith and give you control. May I live my life believing you are who you say you are and that you will always do what you say you will do. In Jesus Name! Amen.