Restore Part 3: Moving Beyond Offended

Main Question

When a follower of Christ engages the culture, how are they suppose to respond when they are confronted with a belief systems and world views that are contrary to their own?

Most Christians default reaction is to be _____________________

When comforted with the corruption of our world Christians ought to be _______________ not offended.

Provoked vs. Offended

Offended people tend to focus on registering their complaint

Vs.

Provoked people tend to take action

Offended people tend to point their finger at others and talk about how awful everything is and but to wait for someone else to take action.

Vs.

Provoked people looks for way to address the issue themselves

Those who are offended tend to focus on the __________________
Vs.
Those who are provokes tend to focus on the __________________

Sermon Passage: Acts 17:16-23; 32-34

Our Offense

-We can only be offended only by those we do not love.

-Those who we are unwilling to love.

-Those who we keep at a distance and continue to view as the enemy.

-Those we have depersonalized someway.

Final Point

__________________ is based not on offense at our sin, but is a demonstration of his paradoxon for us and his action towards are sins

Engaging Your Culture

Student Notes

Next Step

·      We have to ________________ with the culture.

Two way Christians have interacted with the culture that differed form Jesus

1: ________________

2: ________________

How Jesus did it?

Jesus ______________ the culture (Luke 19)

This kind of story is very typical for Jesus

§  Luke 7: the prostitute (anoints his feet)

§  Luke 10: Samaritan (cast as the hero)

§  Luke 15: Young brother who goes out and waste his life (fathers love)

Contagious _____________________

o   Jesus discloses not one instance of fearing contamination whether moral or ritual by associating with the wicked or with the impure. Whether He believes that his purity will rub off on them and he hopes that His magnetite toward them would heed them toward his call to discipleship 

Order of Grace

1^st ___________________

2^nd ___________________

Final Point  

Two Action Points

o   You’ve got to __________________ God’s grace, before you can experience his restoration in your life

o   You’ve got to __________ with grace if you want to see restoration in the world around you. 

Restore Part 1: A World Re-imagine

Student Notes

Main Question

·      Where would you say that the message of the gospel begins?

The message of the gospel begins with the _________________ of the garden

·      Genesis 1:3-4,9-10,14-15,25,27

God is on mission in the world to take all that is _____________ and _____________ and _____________ and restore it.

To see the finished product of God’s work then you go to the ___________

Revelation 21:4-5

4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

God’s restoration can begin ___________

Luke 4:18-19,21

 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. 
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, 
to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus invites us to ____________ Him in the restoring work

What does it involved?

It involved looking at this world that has been damages and broken by sin and being able to _____________________it.

One of the things Satan wants to robbed us of is your ______________ to look at the world around you and to dare imagine it

Final Question

·      Is there some area of your life that you have _______________

re-imaging?

Not A Fan Week 6: Is Jesus Enough?

Series Verse

Luke 9:23, and it reads, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

Main Question: Are you a fan or a follower of Jesus?

Sermon passages John 6:26-27; 35

1) When Jesus is the Only Thing on the Menu, You Find Out if He’s the One You Were Really hungry For. (John 6:66-67)

2) When You Really know Jesus as Lord, You Don’t Want to leave Him.

3) We Don’t Know the Way We wish , So We Don’t Believe the Way We should .

4) We Don’t Know the day , But We Know His name

Final Point

Are you a fan or are you a follower of Jesus?

Not a Fan

not a fan. Whether Jesus was speaking to large crowds or small group, He made sure everyone was clear on what it meant to follow Him. As pastors, we are called to do the same. Jesus is NOT looking for fans...He's looking for followers.

Followers who understand that...
There is no forgiveness without repentance.
There is no salvation without surrender.
There is no life without death.
There is no believing without following.

For the first time our sunday morning service will directly impact the wednesday night study. We are being purposeful in the fact that not only the adults but the youth will grasp this concept of not being just a fan, but that there is so much for us and that we are called to be followers of Christ.

So come and join us Sunday mornings at 10:00 am as we explore what the bible says about being a true follower of Christ and then come back on Wednesday nights at 7:00 pm as we take it a little deeper and really strive after being a follower of God.

Rise of the Absalom Spirit

Main Passage: 2 Samuel 15

Introduction

• Spiritual power ARE at work
• In America
• In the Church
• In our own life

Absalom--History

• Genealogy
• Murder
• Revolt--2 Sam 15:1-6
• Death

Characteristics of an Absalom Spirit

• Origin in the House of the King
• Entitlement Mentality
• False promises with an agenda
• Rebellion
• Division
• Death

The Answer--The Love of the King

• The Love of THE King would have given Absalom anything...
• The Love THE King will restore our nation...
• The Love of THE King will revive the church...

Conclusions--

• Do you see any of the spirit of Absalom at work in your life?
• Do you sense the power of that spirit influencing your view on life right now?
• Are you controlled by a sense of entitlement?
• Ask God to change your heart!!

Financial Faker

Key Verse:

One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be

poor, yet has great wealth. Proverbs 13:7

I am cool because I have…

iPhone, iPad, Mac, Xbox, cable, car, clothes—can’t pay cc/afford 2 eat

·      Play now… pay later…

·      Great Depression never did

o   Baby boomers adopted this

Under 30 cashed in retirement. 70% have 0 cash reserve.

Where are you going on your honeymoon?

·      Exotic locations and charged it and start off on debt.

o   Start off the marriage in bondage

·      Paid for Honeymoon without debt

o   Planned for

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The Lie:

They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served

created things rather than the Creator — who is forever praised. 

Rom 1:25

·      Money is the #1 competitor for our hearts!

·      "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Matt 6:24

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MONEY AND THINGS PROMISE

1) HAPPINESS

Money and things doesn’t buy happiness

·      We believe this intellectually 

·      But not emotional

Make your life a little better

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2) SIGNIFICANCE

Drive up in a new car… clunker, Right jeans, school, neighborhood

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3) SECURITY

Trade health for more, Time w/kids for more. How much more? Little

 

God can provide! Happiness, Significance, Security

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We have a spiritual problem… not a financial problem.

·      Mask… Anxiety, Worry, Tension, Fear, Guilt

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DROP THE MASK AND EXPOSE THE TRUTH

• WE TRUST MONEY FOR HAPPINESS BECAUSE WE

DON’T KNOW WHAT WE HAVE IN CHRIST.

• WE TRUST MONEY TO MAKE US SIGNIFICANT

BECAUSE WE DON’T KNOW WHO WE ARE IN

CHRIST.

• WE BELIEVE MONEY WILL MAKE US SECURE

BECAUSE WE TRUST IN MONEY AND NOT IN

CHRIST.

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Defenses: My parents didn’t teach me, My job didn’t pay me enough,

Economy’s bad, Spouse spent too much, Can’t help that kids’ needed

braces, my car broke down. Not as bad as most… Nice things.

Actions reveal what we really believe!

Actions say we love and trust and worship things more than God!

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Behavior follows Belief

·      When we put our belief in Christ

When we change what we believe—change how we behave.

  

TRUTH

• TRUE HAPPINESS, SIGNIFICANCE AND SECURITY

ARE FOUND IN CHRIST ALONE. 

7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of

Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the

surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake

I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ…

Phil 3:7-8

Dropping the mask and tell the truth…

Money and things will never fulfill me.

Say it over & over & over & over & over again until you believe it.

…A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

Luke 12:15

Repeat with me…

I am not what I have.   I am not what I wear.

I am not where I live.   I am not what I drive.

I am who God says I am.

 16 Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil. 

17 Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf

with hatred. Prov 15:16-17

Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant than pretend to be

somebody and have no food. Prov 12:9

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and

godliness… 2 Peter 1:3

If a fish flops on the beach would it be happy?

If you give the fish a big wad of cast is he happy?

If you give a fish a big fish condo is he happy?

If you give a fish a carona beer and a play fish mag will he be happy?

Why is the fish not happy, because he was created for the ocean not the beach.

-Max Lucado (retold by C. G)

Overcome the seductive lie of what the world tell.

Get out of debt, get your life on track, give, and enjoy nice things.