SERMONS & LESSONS

Many times we will find ourselves in places we would rather not be. Sometimes we are in those places for weeks or months or years or even for a lifetime. And we can’t just push a button or say a prayer and make the difficulty go away.

We Were Born Discontented None of this is unusual in any way. We were born discontented and some of us stay that way forever. And a certain amount of discontentment can be good for the soul. It’s not wrong to have dreams about what the future might hold.

Ever since the beginning of creation, when the first creatures came from the hand of God, there has always been someone, somewhere, unhappy with his position in the universe. It all started with an angel named Lucifer, the brightest star of the heavenly firmament, who was not satisfied to be the apex of God’s creation.

The average Olympian trains four hours per day, 310 days per year, for six years before succeeding. That translates into more than 7,000 hours of training for an event that may last less than sixty seconds.

Have you blown it - big time? Maybe you think God can never forgive you or love you again. If you’ve sinned and you know it’s wrong, but you don’t know where to go, join Chip as he unpacks Psalm 51 and shares how you can begin to experience God, even if you’ve really messed up.

IT’S HARD TO GET WHAT YOU WANT
IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT

If trying to decide what you want feels like an enormous task, start by thinking about what you don’t want and get those thoughts down on paper. You may find that the information you’re looking for is right there.

In the days of dusty roads and open-toed sandals, feet often became dirty, and it was the job of the lowest servants to wash the guests’ feet. But Jesus set an example of service by doing this job himself, despite the protests from Peter.

Solomon wants you and me to understand that God is not your “buddy next door,” He’s not the “big man upstairs.” He’s the infinite, eternal, unchangeable God who is full of wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. Yes, He’s also a faithful friend and a caring Father, but He’s always more than that too. He expects us to take Him seriously as the chief authority in our lives.

Regardless of what we do at the church, or how much work we put in preparing the sermons, or how good the music is; we need to look at where the bottom line is and how close are we to looking at it for what it's worth.

The Christian church does not historically include what many have labeled as false religious systems or (alternative faith awareness) such as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc., since they deny the essentials of the Christian faith. In their own rights they too include healthy benefits to social living and are important in the process of God given choice.

Many love to prove themselves as relevant and impressive because of education, smart solutions, clever one-liners, victory in a game of Scrabble. We love to be praised because of our bodies — that we can work long and hard, or that we are muscular or shapely, or that we can run fast or lift a heavy weight or run far.

Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou (being a Jewess) shalt escape in the king's house more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed. And who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

Without having to think very hard about It, I would lay odds that anyone of us at any time can come up with at least 8 things to praise God for immediately!

Another year has almost gone and we are on the brink of another! What kind of a year has 2017 been for you? Where would you place it on a scale of 1 – 10? Maybe you would give 2017 an 8 or 9 out of 10 – in other words, it was a really good year...

We have been told in some form or another that our lives are only worth living if they are spent pursuing our dreams.

We live in a culture where our real value is rooted in how far we are willing to go for our chosen cause.

There is a distinct difference between wavering and warring! The weariness that one see's worn on the faces of the embattled is often confused with discouragement.

There are new experiences to face; new problems to solve, new trials to endure, new temptations to meet, new sorrows to bear, new opportunities to grasp, new tasks to perform, new blessings to enjoy.

One man said, “The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference."

It is absolutely my privilege to aquatint people with the idea that flesh is dirt and to go on further to talk about the power or (Finance) associated with dirt and the intrinsic value in the elements hidden within it.

The idea of a future Armageddon-like scenario isn’t merely reserved for fictional entertainment plots, as the concept is deeply embedded in Christian theology, impacting the way in which believers have read, interpreted and processed biblical scripture over the past two millennia.

Someone said that: "Despair … is the voluntary and complete abandonment of all hope of saving one’s soul and of having the means required for that end.

There is a distinct difference between wavering and warring!
The weariness that one see's worn on the faces of the
embattled is often confused with discouragement.

“Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so.”

When It’s supernatural (miraculous) it’s performed without any intervention on your part, but when it’s natural it just flows, not a phenomenon or magic although it blows the minds of everyone that sees.

If no one does their best, then the whole community, the whole family, the whole church is dramatically affected.

The phrase “doing your best” has become so cliché, that it hardly means anything anymore.

Hypocrisy is the practice of engaging in the same behavior or activity for which one criticizes another. In moral psychology, it is the failure to follow one's own expressed moral rules and principles.

The Bible tells us that one of the highest, ultimate goals that God has in store for each one of us is our transformation in Him – and this transformation is accomplished by the renewing of your mind.

Today’s human ideas about masculinity and manhood are a far cry from the example Christ set in the flesh for all humanity, including males, to follow.

When used properly, words promote understanding and encourage agreement. When misused, they usually aggravate offenses and drive people farther apart.

We often find ourselves in the place where we stop listening to God. Maybe, if we really thought about it, our lives wouldn’t be in the broken state we’ve been found in?

If you fear it you’ll will create or give it power
by overreacting to it~ causing a more emotional or forcible response than is justified, thus reacting with unnecessary or inappropriate force, emotional display, or violence.

When ones mind is anchored to doubt, disparities, disappointment and dismay one soon finds that the oxygen necessary for life has been cut off and death is the ultimate result.

The power to speak the things that we don’t or can’t see into existence is absolute and is and inalienable right to every believer:

If you had been one of Jesus’ disciples, what might you have done in this situation—reeling from the death of your teacher, fearing for your life, and wondering if everything you believed in was really true?