First Lesson:

What’s silly during a game is costly for your life.

James 4:14-What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 

Exodus 12:31-36

God provided His people with the resources they needed to build the future God had planned.

Exodus 32:1-4

The riches they had, now had them.

Lesson 2:

Money is a great tool, but a horrible god.

Lesson 3:

Whatever is first in your life is what you worship.

Matthew 16:26

What are you living for?

Matthew 6:19-21

God’s not after your money.

He’s after your heart.

John 3:16

John 3:16-For God so loved the world, that I GET eternal life.

John 3:16-For God so loved the world that HE GAVE His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

Matthew 6:24

Who is your God?

#1 area people struggle to put God first in: Money

#1 area people struggle with in life: Money

Where is God in your life? 

What Monopoly money do you need to give up for a life that really matters?

- 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

- Context is Key

- The world says that sex is deified, indifferent, or debased.

- Sex ain’t everything, but sex ain’t nothing.

- Song of Songs 5:14

- Song of Songs 7:7-8

- Song of Songs 8:4,6-7

- The Bible says sex is important, sacred, and beautiful.

- What does your sexual brokenness look like?

- What is the Gospel?

- Romans 5:6-8

- What does redemption in Christ look like for you?

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY?

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?

WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?

HOW DO YOU GET SOMEONE TO FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU?

IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?

HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?

Leveraging Conflict

#1 Complaint in relationships: We are incompatible.

Conflict is healthy.

2 Corinthians 5:16a-So from now on, we regard no one from a worldly point of view. 

If Jesus can cause sinful man and holy God to be reunited, he can step into your marriage and heal it now!

2 Corinthians 5:16b-Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

2 Corinthians 5:17

2 Corinthians 5:18

2 Corinthians 5:19a-God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.

What would it look like to put Jesus at the center of your life/marriage/relationships?

What will you do with the conflict in your life?

Who are you? 

Romans 3:23

Genesis 1:26-27

Genesis 2:15-17

1 Corinthians 6:9-10

What does God desire?

The goal is being sexually abstinent and fleeing lustful desires in singleness while fighting for innocence and purity, then being sexually and emotionally faithful to your spouse of the opposite sex while continuing to flee lustful desires in the Covenant of marriage.

John 3:16

Romans 5:8

How have you allowed what you do to attach itself to your identity?  

What sin have you been justifying by claiming it as part of your identity?

Two Principles to Understand:

Emotional and spiritual intimacy really matter in your marriage

You have a true self and a false self

Genesis 2:25

Your true self leads you to live “naked and unashamed” in your walk with God and in marriage

Genesis 3:7

Sin: Attempting to secure for yourself what only God can give you

Your false self lives in shame and tries to secure freedom by hiding

The false self creates fantasies that collude with the hiding

Zach’s “List of Standards” (i.e. fantasies) for marriage

Shorter than me

Multi-lingual

Latina and exotic

Adventurous

Smart, but not smarter than me

My wife, Aryelle:

Taller than me

Monolingual

White

Home body

Smarter than me

There is a you who is in Christ (true self) and a you who continues patterns of the flesh (false self). Christian marriage invites the vulnerability necessary to chip away what is false, revealing the true you hidden in Christ.

Ephesians 5:25-27

Ephesians 5:21-24

Submission is about a heart attitude more than simple obedience

Being naked and unashamed with your spouse involves risk. Only relationship with Jesus provides the security to resist hiding throughout the life of your marriage.

For husbands: Ask your wives, “When do you feel your most true, radiant self in God when we are together?”

For wives: Ask your husbands, “When do you feel most seen and supported by me emotionally and spiritually?”

Matthew 22:34-40

Do we prioritize what the world says over what the Word says?

Husband-Thermostat

Wife-Thermometer

3 Types of Marriage:

Back-to-Back

Side-To-Side

Face-To-Face

1 Peter 3:7 (ESV)

How excited is God that you are married to His daughter based on how you treat her?

Shift your focus from finding to becoming.

When you become the right type of person you will attract the right type of person.

Goal: To become the type of person, the person you are looking for is looking for.

Dating is a process to move through, not a status to sit in.

Dating is about Deciding.

 Is this the type of person I want to become one with?

What are you pursuing or have the tendency to pursue more than God?

How will you pursue God more than anything else this week?

Why do I need to be filled with the Holy Spirit?

Acts 2:36-38

Salvation

Baptism

Filled With The Spirit

Luke 3:16

Ephesians 5:18

Acts 1:4-5

Revelation 3:20

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

How much access are you giving the Holy Spirit in your life?

How much access are you giving the Holy Spirit in your life?

What is holding you back from giving the Holy Spirit more access?

What is your next step in surrender to Jesus?

The Hungry are Filled

What are you hungry for God to fill in your life?

The Hungry are Filled

The Faker’s are Exposed

Acts 19:11-12

Acts 19:13

Acts 19:14-16

God does not bow to our agenda-We bow to His.

Acts 19:17

The Hungry are Filled

The Faker’s are Exposed

The Community is Transformed

Acts 19:18-20

Will we keep faking it? 

Will we repent and surrender to Jesus?

The Hungry are Filled

The Faker’s are Exposed

The Community is Transformed

What could happen if Jesus got a hold of this community? 

What are you craving more than God right now? 

Who is in your circle that God wants to transform? 

Will you BE the hands and feet of Jesus in their life?

BE- To exist, live, or happen. To have identity with!

Will this year be like last year?

Hunger-The state of wanting or needing something you do not have.

Many of us are settling for less than what God offers.

Smaller plates: We are too easily satisfied by lesser things.

Good food at end: We are too easily distracted by lesser things.

Everything other than Jesus satisfies quickly but not completely.

“…it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink, sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” C.S. Lewis

Would you commit to saying “yes” to whatever God puts in front of you for 1 year?

How are you satisfied or distracted by lesser things in your life right now?

How will you sharpen your focus and strengthen your faith this year?

Who has God called you to be?

Ecclesiastes 2:10-11

Luke 10:38-42

James 1:22

Luke 10:40

Before we can do, we must be.

John 1:12

Ephesians 2:8-9

How will you receive God’s love this year?

Luke 10:41-42

Mark 10:45

Is serving a requirement or a response?

What am I doing that God hasn’t asked me to do?

How can I put myself in a position to receive this year?

Luke 2:8-20

Good News

Romans 3:23

Romans 6:23

Great Joy

It is not joy that makes us grateful. It’s gratitude that makes us joyful. 

All People

Where are you at with the Good News that causes Great Joy for All People?

Romans 5:8

What will you do with the gift of Good News that can cause Great Joy for You this Christmas?

Romans 10:9-10

God, I am so sorry for the mess I’ve made and the pain I’ve caused. Please forgive me of my sin. Thank you so much for sending your son, Jesus, at Christmas to be my savior. To pay the price for my sin and restore my relationship with you. That is good news! Help it cause great joy in my life. Help me follow you today and every day you give me. I pray this in the name of my savior, Jesus Christ. Amen!    

Text “Jesus” to 8445964503

Go, tell it on the mountain,

over the hills and everywhere.

Go, tell it on the mountain

that Jesus Christ is born.

Isaiah 52:7

How do we go?

Jesus Christ is born

How do we go?

1. Who is Jesus?

Genesis 1:1-5

John 1:1-5

How do we go?

1. Who is Jesus?

2. Why did Jesus come?

Jesus Christ is born

How do we go?

1. Who is Jesus?

2. Why did Jesus come?

3. How did Jesus come?

Jesus Christ is Born

While shepherds kept their watching

over silent flocks by night,

behold throughout the heavens,

there shone a holy light.

The shepherds feared and trembled

when lo! above the earth

rang out the angel chorus

that hailed our Savior’s birth.

Luke 2:8-14

Luke 2:16-18

How do we go?

With Urgency and Faith

Matthew 11:28

Isaiah 53:3-5

Humility invites humility.

Who do you know that is weary and burdened?

Genesis 1:1-3

Isaiah 9:2

Land of Deep Darkness

“A land where death casts its shadow.”

Romans 3:23

Romans 6:23

John 1:14 (MSG)

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, hail the incarnate Deity! Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel.

The Bible says “Fear Not” 366 times.

Why?

Fear not for I am with you.

How is the Light of Christ inviting transformation in your life this Christmas?

Who will you provide light for this Christmas?

The wonder of Christmas relates to two simultaneous truths:

1. God is unimaginably big and great

2. God makes himself unimaginably small

Idols: Things that help people secure their own power, image, position, and control

Paul’s message in Athens came down to two things: Jesus and the Resurrection

At the Areopagus Paul is not starting a fight–he is confirming their deepest hopes

Consider:

There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all the beaches on earth combined. And most of these stars have their own solar systems.

Consider:

The universe is expanding at a rate faster than the speed of light; there is no conceivable way we could ever reach or even see to the end of it. And the expansion is accelerating.

Consider:

There are at least 400 billion planets just in our Milky Way galaxy alone. Do you know our best estimates of how many galaxies exist?

We often associate repentance with a chore, but biblically it is the beginning of freedom.

Do you know one of Rome’s ongoing problems with Christianity? Weakness.

How can you live with the terrifying thought that the hurricane has become human, that fire has become flesh, that life itself became life and walked in our midst? Christianity either means that, or it means nothing. –N.T. Wright

Hark the Herald: “Mild he lays his glory by, born that man no more may die.”

1. The Power to Break Chains:

Acts 16:16-34

2. The Power to Transform:

Acts 16:19-26

3. The Power to Save:

Acts 16: 27-34

Are you sensitive to God's leading?

Is God asking you to do something you might not want to do?

A Supernatural event points to God’s investment in that event.

A supernatural event would be enough to shift my perspective.

The Problem: Prejudice

What’s with those food laws anyway?

God is asking Peter to take the Gospel to an enemy.

The Solution: Prayer

3 Parts to Prayer:

-Dedication

-Authenticity

-Listening

“Not being changed by prayer is sort of like standing in the middle of a spring rain without getting wet. It's hard to stand in the center of God's acceptance and love without getting it all over you.”- Steve Brown

What do you think God wants to change most in your life?

What’s the best thing that can come out of a real prayer life?

When will you pray?

Confronted

Corrected

Committed

What sin in your life is God confronting that you need to correct?

Is your commitment to God based on the fact that Jesus is your Savior? 

Confronted

Corrected

Committed

What is the most important thing in your life?

What is the most important thing in your life?

Health

Family

Friends

Success

What others think of you     

On a scale of 0-10, how serious are you seeking first the Kingdom of God?

Full of faith

Filled with the Holy Spirit

Faithfully said “Yes”

Wouldn’t you rather live a life worth living than the life society says is “good enough?”

What stone is being thrown at you that God is wanting to use to advance His Kingdom?

What stone are you throwing at someone else that God is asking you to set down?

What are you building your life on?

How scared is Satan because of you sharing hope in Jesus? 

What is your “Next Step” in trusting Jesus with your life? 

Faith is living life beyond recovery but not beyond God's cover. - John Maxwell

Who will you invite into your life to help you grow into the man/woman God created you to be?

What area of your life are you scared to step out in faith and trust God in?

What does it look like to follow Jesus? 

What authority does Scripture have over your life? 

Where in your life are you looking for an escape, when you need an embrace? 

What spoke can you strengthen this week?

On a scale of 0-10, how serious are you taking Jesus and His teachings?

Witness-to speak about what you have seen or experienced.

Who will experience the forgiveness of sin, the fullness of life, and eternity with God because of you?

How will you take Jesus and His teachings serious this week?

How do I change?

Zacchaeus:

Jewish name: “Pure of the Lord”

But he has wandered far from his name and heritage

In being a tax collector, Zacchaeus:

Could not worship in the synagogue

Was probably disowned by his family

Was labeled a moral equal with murderers and robbers

How does Zacchaeus change?

He makes himself available

How does Zacchaeus change?

He makes himself available

Jesus finds him

How does Zacchaeus change?

He makes himself available

Jesus finds him

Zacchaeus surrenders

How does Zacchaeus change?

He makes himself available

Jesus finds him

He surrenders

He changes

Romans 2:4b “The kindness of God is intended to lead you to repentance.”

Charles Dickens’s Ebenezer Scrooge became aware of how worthless his life had become

Zacchaeus became aware of how valuable his life had become

Jesus was the true older brother from the Parable of the Lost Son, bringing a wayward son back to the family of God

Zacchaeus could now live up to his name, “Pure of the Lord” because Jesus was going to bear his sin on the cross.

What is an area of your life you don’t like Jesus rattling?

Lazarus-God has helped.

Are you willing to hear God out on what happens after this life?

What do I do to inherit eternal life?

Humble yourself

Repent of your sin

Place your trust in Jesus

What am I condoning that God is convicting me of?

How will I prepare now for the next life?

HOW WE RESPOND MATTERS

WHATEVER IT TAKES

What do I do to inherit eternal life?

Humble yourself

Repent of your sin

Place your trust in Jesus

Deceives us

Destroys us

Deceives us

Destroys us

What role does God play in your life?

Am I trustworthy in handling worldly wealth?

What’s at stake?

What would doing “whatever it takes” look like in your life this week? 

What would your bank account say is most important to you?

Two Groups:

Tax collectors and “sinners”

Pharisees and teachers of the law

Which do you most identify with?

The younger son does not want his father, but his father’s stuff.

Repentance does not lead to despair; it leads to hope

The older son does not want the father either; he too is after his father’s stuff

The older son had spent his whole life doing his father’s work, but his heart had grown very different from his father’s heart.

Jesus is the true older brother, the one who left home to bring us back to the Father.

To those who identify with the younger son: Consider responding to Jesus’s call to come home to the Father

To those who identify with the older son: Consider repenting of your hardness and realign with the heart of your Father

Who are the lost around me? How can I help?

Found

Is my heart aligned with God’s?

Who is my ONE?

Lost 

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your son Jesus to die on the cross for my sin. I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I ask you to forgive me for all of my sin and for playing god in my own life! You alone are God! I surrender my life to you. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit and help me live my life for you, to the best of my ability. In Jesus name, Amen. 

Why do you follow Jesus?

Do you celebrate being a Christian?

Who will you invite to the table?

Who owns your life?

Do you see yourself as an owner or a manager?

I’ll do - my crops - my barns - my grain - myself (my soul)

Do you know how much God values you?

Worry must be replaced by Action.

Which Kingdom will you live for?

Clean Cups, Dead Hearts

Problem: Attaching spiritual significance to something God doesn’t

What are some ways you’re trying to show God or others how good you’re doing in one area so you don’t have to address another area that God might want to develop in you?

Woe-Warning/Condemnation-Watch out, wrath is coming.

God is not impressed by outward religion; He is after inward transformation. 

Where do you struggle with external performance over internal transformation?

What shiny cup do you need to trade in for a clean heart?

1. THE GOSPEL IS GOING

2. THE GOSPEL IS EVERYBODY’S RESPONSIBILITY

3. THE GOSPEL IS NOT RESULTS

The gospel does bring us solutions to these problems [of suffering and injustice], but it does so by first solving... the deepest of all human problems, the problem of man's relation with his Maker; and unless we make it plain that the solution of these former problems depends on the settling of this latter one, we are misrepresenting the message and becoming false witnesses of God."

- J.I. Packer

4.THE GOSPEL IS FOR EVERYBODY

Where are you taking the gospel?

Who are you taking the gospel to?

How will you take it forward today? This week?

The questions we ask give us the answers we get. The lawyer was asking the wrong question.

Jews as a whole were commonly divided into three groups:

Priests

Levites

Israelites

Samaritans:

-Once part of the Hebrew people

-Scattered by the Assyrian Empire, intermarried

-Considered half-breeds by the Jews

-Sided against Jews in the Maccabean Wars

-Lots of conflict, despised and rejected by Jews

Old question: Who is my neighbor? New question: What kind of a neighbor am I?

The lawyer’s knowledge was flawless. But he had very little mercy.

How do we get our softness back?

Jesus is the True Good Samaritan. Like the Samaritan, he:

-Was of mixed descent

-Was despised and rejected

-Came near to us when he did not have to

-Carried us when we could not carry ourselves

-Paid for us when we had nothing

-Is coming back

What is the cost of NOT following Jesus?

Jesus came to preach a message of grace, not judgement

Following Jesus costs us our…

-comfort

Following Jesus costs us our…

-Comfort

-Excuses

Following Jesus costs us our…

-Comfort

-Excuses

-Past

What ‘good’ thing is standing in your way of following Jesus?

How can you fix your eyes on Jesus? 

Is your life built around defense or offense?

2025 LEAP (Learning Early About Peanut allergy) study:

640 high allergy risk infants ages 4-11 months

Half followed standard advice for high-risk children

Half given a snack of peanut butter and puffed corn >3x/wk

When children turned five years, all were tested for allergic reaction to peanuts

LEAP study results:

17% of children who had been protected from peanuts developed a peanut allergy

3% of children who had been regularly exposed to peanuts developed a peanut allergy

Caesarea Philippi:

Temple to Caesar

Temple to Greek god, Pa

Pan:

Half man, half goat

Considered god of the underworld and of fear (i.e. PANic)

In temple was a “bottomless spring” thought to lead to the underworld

Historically, human sacrifices were made here

Church = A body of people called for a specific purpose

The war Jesus is waging is against the gates of Hades–death itself

Jesus test the disciples: Luke 9:13

Jesus meets the need: Luke 9:14-16

Jesus satisfies the need: Luke 9:17

The miracles of feeding the Five Thousand Teach us:

1. The importance of knowing the Lord intimately.

2. The importance to trust God to provide.

3. The importance to Yield to God's will.

“If Jesus rose from the dead, we accept all that He said; if He did not [rise from the dead], who cares about anything He said?” -  Keller, The Reason for God

On what basis does Jesus call His disciples?

To understand Jesus' teachings, we must realize that deep in our orientations of our spirit we cannot have one posture toward God and a different one toward other people. We are a whole being, and our true character pervades everything we do. We cannot, for example, love God and hate human beings. As the apostle John wrote, "Those who do not love their brother who is visible cannot love God who is invisible" (1 John 4:20). And: "The one who does not love does not know God, who is love" (1 John 4:8). - Willard, The Divine Conspiracy

What is Jesus talking about?

-The Transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36) ?

-The Second Coming (Revelation 19) ?

-The Early Church (Acts)

Accomplishments Owed to Christianity

-Universal human rights

-Body Autonomy

-Modern Science

-Abolition

How can you join in the Kingdom of God?

Trust Jesus

Desperate Dad

Diseased Daughter

Dead Daughter

Where in your life are you too proud to be desperate for Jesus?

Where are you tempted to give up praying for because it feels hopeless? 

Who around you might be experiencing a silent kind of suffering like the woman—who needs you to stop and care?

What "dead thing" do you need to trust God to resurrect in your life?

Have you ever felt like life is spinning out of control?

There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight. CS Lewis

Who might be waiting to hear what you’ve been through—and how God brought you through it?

What “demons” are controlling your life?

Where does Jesus’ authority stop in my life?

Who/what has the authority in your life?

When Jesus speaks, everything changes.

Will you fear the storms of life, or will you fear Jesus?

Jesus’ authority brings freedom.

Why is Jesus Cryptic?

“The same sun which melts wax hardens clay. And the same Gospel which melts some persons to repentance hardens others in their sins”

– Charles Spurgeon

Why is Jesus so cryptic?

He’s not, He’s human.

What is the point of the Parable?

What is the point of the Parable?

To engage us. What kind of soil are you?

What are Your Next Steps?

When you see lack of devotion, service, motivation in your life it all comes down to how much you love Jesus.

Do you see yourself as someone who’s been forgiven much?

We’re changed by what we love.

He felt like he was forgiven little, so he loved little.

Forgiven is her identity.

Do you see yourself as someone who’s been forgiven much?

Centurions:

Commanded 80-100 enlisted soldiers

Promoted based on merit

Upper ranks very well paid

The Centurion:

Born a pagan

Worked his way to success

Left home to go to a foreign land

Befriended foreign people who hated him

Gave his wealth to build a place of worship for those people

Is the only one standing between a loved servant and death

Where do you find this passage taking you so far?

Hebrews 4:12: The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

The word “amazed” that Jesus uses is only used in a positive way once in all of the four gospels.

Excerpt from Jesus Storybook Bible ch. 1:

“So God breathed life into Adam and Eve. When they opened their eyes, the first thing they ever saw was God’s face. And when God saw them he was like a new dad. “You look like me,” he said.

Jesus

Left home

Had all the power, authority, and honor, but made himself nothing

Gave up heavenly riches to befriend a world that hated him

Is the only one who stands between those he loves and certain death

In what was the Centurion’s faith?

Romans 1:19-20 (MSG) But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being.

Steps Toward True Humility:

Where have you been blind to your own or others’ need for Jesus because of your or their goodness?

For recovering achievement-aholics: Meditate on Romans 2:4 - “The kindness of God is intended to lead you to repentance” - and ask yourself where God’s goodness illuminates your pride

How are you recognized?

What is your heart full of?

What am I connected to?

& What is it producing?

Where are you at with the fact that Jesus is alive?

GO

What would it take for you to live like Jesus is alive?

How is the fact that Jesus is alive impacting your daily life?

Isaiah 53:3-10 NLT

Romans 3:23

Romans 6:23

ALTAR

Luke 23:38

Philippians 2:8

Luke 24:1-8

What altar are you kneeling at?

Matthew 16:24-26

What if, this Easter, we went countercultural and surrendered?

What are you holding onto?

What is in your suitcase that you aren’t willing to live without?

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your son Jesus to die on the cross for my sin. I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I ask you to forgive me for all of my sin and for playing god in my own life! You alone are God! I surrender my life to you. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit and help me live my life for you, to the best of my ability. In Jesus name, Amen. 

Romans 10:9-10

Text “Jesus” to 844-596-4503

What is freedom?

Mainstream definition of freedom: “To be able to move toward what I want with as few barriers as possible.”

As much as God was invested in the literal freedom of his people, it was their spiritual freedom he was after - and this can only happen by addressing sin

Sin: Patterns of thought, belief, and action which come from a desire for independence from God and to have ultimate control of our own lives

Traditionally, the head of the feast would say something like: “This is the bread of our affliction; we do this in remembrance of Egypt.”

Jesus says, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

Traditionally, the head of the feast would say something like this: “This is the cup of our freedom by the blood of the lamb.”

Jesus says, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood which is poured out for you.”

Grace is the experience of being shown love and compassion that you have not earned.

Jesus is offering an invitation to Peter—because it is only in light of his sin that he will ever understand grace.

Where is the lamb?

Luke 21:5-38

Stay Alert and Discerning

Luke 21:8

Ephesians 2:8-9

Endure Challenges with Faith

Luke 21:9

Luke 21:12-15

Witness-Martus/Marturo

Live Prepared and Prayerful

Luke 21:34-36

What is the condition of your soul?

Who will you care for the soul of?

Owner-God

Vineyard-Israel and promises made

Tenants-Israel’s leaders

Servants-Prophets

Owner’s Son-Jesus

We want to be OWNERS instead of TENANTS

How do you see yourself?

Are we handling everything like it belongs to God?

Pride                Humility

Are you living your life humbly, as a tenant of God’s stuff, leveraging everything for God’s glory? Or pridefully, as an owner, using everything for your glory?

Have you acknowledged Jesus as the cornerstone of your faith or are you rejecting Him through your actions?

How much peace do you have right now? Is it sufficient?

Jesus wants us to be part of what He’s doing.

What are you looking to for peace?

How do you respond when you’re misunderstood?

Jesus has made peace by reconciling us to the Father.

Peace is both a gift and a choice.

Will I accept God’s gift of Peace, and will I choose to experience it through trusting in Him?

What things are happening in “your temple” that are distracting you from worshiping Jesus?

Have you seen and heard enough to make a decision about Jesus?

What is Your Greatest Illness?

Who Is Jesus?

He saw me!

One of the challenges of the Christian life is to see a man or woman instead of an enemy.

I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.

Is it worth it? 

Who do you struggle to extend mercy to most?

Who is God asking you to see Levi in? 

Jesus asks Peter to do something Peter had done a thousand times.

But He asks Peter to do it in a way he had never done before.

What if they took all the information they had, said thanks for the fish and did nothing?

What if we do nothing? 

What next step is God asking you to take? Are you willing to trust Him enough to take it?

Jesus has the ultimate authority over everything

Jesus has authority because He is God

Jesus doesn’t stay, He Goes.

The Gospel is for only the spiritually poor.

2 Ways to Rebel against God:

Disobedience

Obedience

Where are you at spiritually? Poor? Middle Class?

What level of spiritual poverty am I willing to accept?

How am I living as the spiritually middle class?

Where do you find life?

In the Gospel of Luke, we meet Jesus who doesn’t just claim to have a way to life, but to BE the way to life

Obvious Question #1: Why did Jesus need to be baptized?

“For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” 1 Corinthians 15:22

Jesus comes as the Last Adam

Obvious Question #2: Why is the Spirit of God leading Jesus into a place where he will be tempted?

Does God tempt us? No.

God as a good Father leads us through winds to deepen our roots in Him, the source of life

“...He was the son, or so it was thought, of Joseph…” Luke 3:23

Rockets:

Booster: Temporary adjunct engine to move unit off launch pad/atmosphere

Primary: Permanent engine taking the unit where it needs to go

“You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life.” MSG

Application questions:

What comes to mind when you consider God as your “true Father?”

In what areas do you need to move past the “booster rocket” and surrender to God as the primary relationship which will take you into life?

Are you willing to pursue the people in your life in their darkest places?

Has your relationship with God become about you and your comfort?

How many lives will be changed because of your willingness to go?

Missionaries where we live, work, and play.

Legacy

Summits provide perspective!

Where are you at?

Who is one person you will commit to share hope with this week?

Venture, you are sent.

GO be the church!

KEEP GO SIMPLE

Lost

We have a line to cross!

VENTURE-A risky or daring undertaking involving risk and uncertainty as to the outcome.

Struggle

Stakes

Sacrifice

Learn

Explore who God is.

Live

Information + Application = Transformation

On the GO scale from 0-10, where are you?  

0-No way!         2-Hesitant         4-Willing          6-Looking          8-Go  10-Making Disciples

21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Slide

What is one small way you can start to move toward God/others? 

Who is one person you commit to praying for and going to this year?

2. Stakes

3. Sacrifice

Which story do you want to be your?

Who is a lost person God is sending you to?

-How have you TRUSTED God enough to FOLLOW Him? 

-What are some things you want to do differently in 2025? 

-What are some of your Victories from 2024? 

-77 people surrendered their life to Jesus last year!

-Matthew 14:26-29

-11 guys got to see 1 guy (Peter) walk on water. 

Which one do you want to be? 

-Do you want to get to the end of your life and be known as the one who played it safe in the boat? 

-Matthew 28:19-20 "Go and make disciples of all nations"

-The fruit of God moving in our lives is God moving in the lives around us. 

1 Timothy 2:2

-If we aren't growing in our personal relationship with God, we'll never end up going to the people and places he wants us to go. 

Snowflakes

How much did Santa’s Sleigh cost? 

Nothing. It was on the house

What do gingerbread men use when they break their leg? 

A Candy Cane

NEED 

What do I need? 

Are you willing to trust that a baby shows up in a manger in order to save you from your sin?

Why is Christmas Merry? 

God I need you. I need you to forgive me. I need your help. I can’t do this life on my own and by myself any longer. I need your help in every part of my life. God, I need you. I choose today to trust you and I give you my life. Please forgive me of my sin and the pain I’ve caused. Help me to trust you enough to follow you today and tomorrow and every day you give me. I pray this in the name of my savior, Jesus. Amen  

What areas of your life are you working to make changes on the outside that you need to let God transform from the inside?

How will you, in the midst of your ordinary life, commit to being part of God’s extraordinary story?

Who will you care enough about to invite them into what God is doing this Christmas?

Righteous in the sight of God.

What prayer have you been praying that you have given up on?

Have you surrendered to what God is doing behind the story and beyond what you can see?

Will today be the day you speak faith over your doubt? 

Father in Heaven, I believe that you love me. That in your great mercy, you sent your Son, Jesus, to pay the price for my sin by dying on the cross. I confess that I have sinned against you and I trust Jesus for the forgiveness of my sins. I commit to trust you enough to follow you as Lord of my life and speak faith over my doubt. Help me to live for you. In Jesus name, Amen.

2 Kinds of People - 2 Fruits

2 Foundations

What are the fruits of my Life?

What are my reasons for - partially or fully - rejecting Jesus?

Will I answer The Call?

“Our greatest desire is to be known, but our greatest fear is to not be loved” ~ Timothy Keller

God doesn’t want our mask, He wants our heart.

What door are you knocking on?

What is your “Next Step” in growing in wisdom?

What am I investing in that is going to outlive me?

If my budget could speak, what would it say about who I am and what matters to me?

- Craig Blomberg

When you give, pray, or fast, what reward do you find yourself hoping for?

Is there an area in your life where you feel the need for others to notice you?

What small step would you want to take to make it more about God than just people?

INFORMATION

UNDERSTANDING

CONVICTION

ACTION

Where are you today?

Soaking up information?

Seeking Understanding?

Wrestling with Conviction?

Weighing what Action will cost you?

What part of your life are you delaying obedience in?   

What is keeping you from “going public” with your faith?

What part of the process are you struggling with: Information, Understanding, Conviction, Action?

ACTS prayer model

Adoration

Confession

Thanksgiving

Supplication

How do I, as a follower of Jesus, engage in politics?

Navigating Biblical Issues in Politics

There is no perfect candidate.

Vote for policy over personality.

Vote for principle over passion.

How do we make the best decisions we can based on what we are given that most accurately aligns with God’s Word and His redemptive heart?

Filter:

Earthly agendas are driven by fear. 

Heavenly agendas are driven by love.

What does God say about borders? 

What does He say in regard to people who cross them?

What is our response to people who cross the border/foreigners?

The role of secure borders should be to protect the nation and not to keep out those fleeing persecution.

Filter:

Earthly agendas are driven by fear. 

Heavenly agendas are driven by love.

Which border policy more closely aligns with God’s design?

CI-128 would amend the Montana Constitution to expressly provide a right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion. It would prohibit the government from denying or burdening the right to abortion before fetal viability. It would also prohibit the government from denying or burdening access to an abortion when a treating healthcare professional determines it is medically indicated to protect the pregnant patient’s life or health. CI-128 prevents the government from penalizing patients, healthcare providers, or anyone who assists someone in exercising their right to make and carry out voluntary decisions about their pregnancy.

1 Timothy 6:13-I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things,

Which decision more accurately aligns with God’s Word and His redemptive heart?

How are you loving the people in your life you don’t agree with?

How can you commit to voting for policy over personality and principle over passion?

Research Tools:

Freespoke-Web Browser and app. 

Montanafreepress.org

ivoterguide.com

How do I, as a follower of Jesus, engage in politics?

What’s the point? 

Vs 

What’s wrong with people, why are they not engaging?

Apathy and  Idolatry 

Biblical issues have become political issues. 

Original Purpose of Government:

Provide national defense and navigate foreign relations.

Coordinate national diplomacy and commercial policy.

Prevent infringements of individual rights.

Biblical issues have become political issues.

1802-Letter written to President Thomas Jefferson

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between church and State.

1954-Johnson Amendment

Submitted by Lyndon B. Johnson

Salt/Light

Research Tools:

Freespoke-Web Browser and app. 

Montanafreepress.org

Ivoterguide.com

Which decision more accurately aligns with God’s Word and His redemptive heart?

Do you tend to be too passive about or too engaged in politics? Why?

How is God calling you to be His ambassador in this election season?

“In our clearest and most honest moments, we all too often seek security by conforming to the spirit of the times, rather than serving in the world as God's counterculture as we were created to do. Like Israel, we tend to forfeit the lordship of God in order to become like all nations. We become like all the other sheep and we follow our culture off a cliff.” Bill Arnold

How is your life singing harmony with society’s voice, rather than God’s?

How have your political views influenced your Biblical values?

Civil - How to behave in God’s society

Moral- How to honor the lord with your life (10 commandments)

Who are some of the friends who you are determined to bring to Jesus?

Who are your friends who are determined to bring to Jesus?

Beatitude = Blessing

What, other than Jesus, am I trying to find hope and joy from?

What parts of my life have started to look more like the world than the Kingdom of God?

What do you do when desire runs out?

Discipline: Dedication without Desire

Delight: Remember who God is and Celebrate what He has don

“For the present is the point at which time touches eternity.” ~ C.S. Lewis

Where are your disciplines leading you?

The world

“I will follow you, Lord; but first…”

“I want to follow the Lord, But first ____________.” Whatever is on the other side of that is the true god that you are worshiping and following

The Cost

“Self-denial, then, is intentional disowning of the self, or stepping away from relationship with the self as primary.”

The unknown

The world

The cost

The unknown

What is our response to the mess we are in?

How is your soul getting long right now?

The Truth is a WHO to follow, not a WHAT to understand.

What report would be sent back about you?

What does a Follower of Jesus look like?

Faithful-Daily walking in The Truth.

What does a Follower of Jesus look like?

Faithful-Daily walking in The Truth.

Generous-Giving to God’s Kingdom, not just ours.

What does a Follower of Jesus look like?

Faithful-Daily walking in The Truth.

Generous-Giving to God’s Kingdom, not just ours.

Hospitable-See our life as managing God’s stuff.

How do I manage your house, children, finances, time, resources?

If 4 John was written today, what would be said about you?

How is your soul today?

Is it blinding/repulsive?

Or do we find ourselves hiding because the darkness seems so overwhelming?

What is truth? 

Who do we listen to?

3 Tenants of our Christian Faith

Grace - Mercy - Peace

Follow

Where do you think you’d find God?

The TRUTH is a WHO to FOLLOW, not a WHAT to understand.

What voices are you listening to that are leading you away from The Truth/Jesus?

What is keeping you from walking in love and being obedient to Christ?

Non negotiables of Christian doctrine

There is one (trinitarian) God

We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in the finished work of Christ alone

The canonized Bible is the inerrant word of God (In its original language and form)

Gen 3:6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Legalism vs leniency

1 John 3:6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

1 John 3:9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.

1 John 2:3-6 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

1 John 5:18 We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them.

1 John 1:8-2:2 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 John 3:20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

1 John 5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

1 Cor 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

1 John 4:13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.

1 John 5:3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,

- The Gospel of John “John”

- First Letter of 

John “1 John”

- Second Letter of John “2 John”

- Third Letter of John “3 John”

- Revelation

The Gospels (the story of Jesus):

- Matthew (synoptic)

- Mark (synoptic)

- Luke (synoptic)

- John (love)

Write down 3 people you love

- At the top of the list put people who are easy to love

- At the bottom put people who are harder to love (that you still love)

How do you know if you love someone?

How do you know if someone loves you?

How do you know if God loves you?

19 We love because he first loved us.

4 loves:

Phileo - Brotherly love

Storge - Family love

Eros - Romantic love

Agape - Servant love

Do I love someone?

Do I serve them?

To serve/love someone:

“To treat someone like they are more important than you”

Matthew 20:26-28

Matthew 25:31-46

Who to love/serve?

- People who are close

- Those in need

- People who are hard to love

– Dr. Julia Slattery

What is the Gospel?

How is the Gospel Changing Your Life? Today? This Week?

3:20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

4:4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

4:16 God is love

5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

2:4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.

2:15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.

3:6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

3:8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.

4:3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

Exegesis vs. Eisegesis

Main themes

To make our joy "full" or complete (1:4)

To warn us about habitual sin (2:1)

To refute false teachers (2:26)

To assure us of our salvation (5:13)

HYDAIHYDE

How you do anything is how you do everything.

Entrust: to put something into someone’s care or protection.

Each servant had a choice of what they would do with what they had been given.

God is not concerned with what you can offer Him, but with how you use what He has offered you.

Are you someone God can trust?

“True service rests contended in hiddenness. It does not fear the lights and blare of attention, but it does not seek them either. Since [serving] is living out of a new Center of reference, the divine nod of approval is completely sufficient.”        ~ Richard Foster

How we treat someone who has nothing to offer us is how we treat Jesus.

Who gets to see your best?

What are you doing with what you’ve been given?

Where have you been doing nothing, that you need to start doing something?

I am a sinner trying to lead another sinner to the cross.

Parenting is unfinished people (parents) being used of God as agents of transformation in the lives of unfinished people (kids).

Everything in the world wants us to focus on it more than God.

Based on my current parenting, who will my kids become?

As a Child of God, how can I parent “God’s” kids as He would?

My IDENTITY IN CHRIST means I am LOVED, I am CHOSEN, I am FORGIVEN, I am REDEEMED, I am ADOPTED into God’s Family!

Reflect on your own relationship with God

If you don’t have a relationship with Jesus, he wants to wash away the old and make you a new creation! He wants to welcome you as an adopted child of God’s own family.

If you have a relationship with Jesus, are you prioritizing that identity above all else? Can you identify one area of your life that God is leading you to submit to him?

What do you do when things don’t go as planned?

Dreams are not the same as aspriations. 

Aspirations begin in the mind of the individual. Dreams begin in the mind of God. 

What do you do when things don’t go as planned?

What dreams has God given you that you have covered with aspirations?

 1. Observe 

 2. Listen 

 3. Address

Places to meet people:

-Friends / Family

-Roommates / Neighbors 

-Coworkers/ Classmates

-People with similar interests / Hobbies

Possible Next Steps: 

-Experience Jesus (Prayer, Bible, Venture groups) 

-Tell someone about Jesus 

-Build a relationship to share Jesus

Give me one person I can help follow Jesus this year.

Who will you “fish for" this year?

 Here i am vs there you are mentality

1 Cor 12:7 in NLT: A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.

Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

What is most boring/challenging about the Bible?

Why is the Bible important for Jesus followers?

What are your Next Steps?

Redemption-The action of saving or being saved from sin, error or evil.

Cross of Rejection

Cross of Repentance

Which cross will you choose?

What will your response to Jesus be?

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your son Jesus to die on the cross for my sin. I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I ask you to forgive me for all of my sin and for trying to play god in my own life! You alone are God! I surrender my life to you. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit and help me live my life for you, to the best of my ability. In Jesus name, Amen.

Text “Jesus” to 406-284-2113

Where would Jesus go if He came to Bozeman right now?

If Jesus was to come up to you right now, what do you think He would want to talk about?

When you approach Jesus, how do you expect him to react? And are you approaching him in a way that is consistent with that?

Money comes to us and says, “Without the messiness of the relationship, I can do that for you.”

First thing we have to know:

We are NOT God.

Second thing we have to know:

We are children of God.

What can I do today to start reminding myself I’m a child of God, saved by grace?

How will I commit to investing in the Kingdom of God and things that last?

Hope

Love

Arbiter-Divider.

The one way you know that Jesus Christ is precious to you is that nothing else is. Everything else is expendable. Nothing has a hold on you. Charles Spurgeon

What material thing is most precious to you? What’s in your box?

What would it look like for you to fully trust God with His definition of reality in your finances?

1. I can't afford it.

2. I don't trust who I'm giving to.

3. I don't see a reason to give.

3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Romans 5:8

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1 John 1:9

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Ephesians 5:21-25

21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her

Psalm 103:10-12

10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve

  or repay us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

  so great is his love for those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,

  so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

What is your “Next Step” in following Jesus?             

Who are you going to enlist in your life? Who are you going to invest in? 

3 Crucial Habits:

Fasting

Prayer

Bible

Specific Prayer Requests:

Building 

Followers/Disciples

Church Planters

Missions

Transformation

Will I trust God enough to follow Him?

Delayed Obedience is Disobedience

What if God responded to your needs at the same speed you obey Him?

Partial Obedience is Disobedience

How are you limiting what God wants to do in and through you?

What are you not wanting to "follow" God in that He is asking you to?

“She can make up her own mind.”

"I feel willing and expect, if nothing in providence prevents, to spend my days in this world in heathen lands. Yes, Lydia, I have about come to the determination to give up all my comforts and enjoyments here, sacrifice my affection to relatives and friends, and go where God, in his providence, shall see fit to place me.

Are you willing to Follow Jesus?

Have you been waiting for God to interrupt your life, grab you and force you to follow him? 

Are you ready to choose Jesus over anything else in life?

Do you step away from Jesus when his way is different than your way? 

Are you willing to do life Jesus’ way? Deny your way and choose his?

Is there anything in your life you’d be ashamed of, embarrassed by, or unwilling to give Jesus? 

Are you willing to be fully exposed in order to live the life guide created you to live?

Alone isn't an option.

Build Trust

Consume Truth

Is desire, denial, or devotion your biggest struggle? Why?

What will you do today to take one step toward following Jesus?

What path have you been following that you need to stop going down?

What promise of God do you need to KEEP focus on to keep following Him?

What areas am I not FOLLOWING God in currently?

What would be the hardest thing to give up to fully FOLLOW God?

Will you trust God enough to FOLLOW Him?

2 cultural options Joseph has:

Publicly shame her.

Divorce her quietly.

Isaiah 7:14-Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.            

Matthew 2:14-Joseph immediately got up and took the child and his mother and fled to another country.

In what ways are you canceling your own Christmas by saying “No” to God?

What “Yes” can you say to God today to start building trust?

How can you pursue and respond to God in the silence?

What are your own ‘deaf ears’ you may have turned towards God?

What are your Next Steps?

Who are you going to share the gospel with and how are you going to do it?

What do I need to give up chasing in order to chase after God?

How might God want to use my marriage as a model for the rest of the world of His love?

Will we trust God or trust the world?

Go sell all that you have.

If you say, “I will follow God if_________” whatever is on the other side of that “if” is your true god

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. - Jim Elliot

Psalm 16:11 ESV You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

What is my “Next Step” in trusting Jesus with my life?

What part of my story is God wanting to write differently?

A king who rules on our terms is no king at all.

Jesus is not calling for Cannibalism, but for Commitment.

How do we try to hijack Jesus in our own lives?

What does it look like for you to accept Jesus on His terms? Right now? Today? This week?

How can you leverage your platform for God's glory?

Is trusting God worth it, even if I don’t like how He does things?

God’s hand can’t be forced and His will can’t be stopped.

Where am I trying to force God’s hand?

How am I trying to manipulate God’s will to benefit my agenda?

We are just managers.

Ecclesiastes 5:10-​​Whoever LOVES money will never have enough. Whoever LOVES wealth will never be satisfied.

Are you the owner or the manager?

What are you investing in that will outlive you?

DENY YOURSELF

TAKE UP YOUR CROSS

FOLLOW ME

If you’re going to follow me, you’re going to have to be willing to die to yourself.

Salvation is free and costs us nothing.

Following Jesus, in this life, will eventually cost you something.

What is the conflict of interest you are facing with Jesus’ invitation?

Which story is your life telling now?

I couldn’t say no to me or I decided to say no to me.

I couldn’t say yes to Jesus or I decided to say Yes to Jesus.

Can I trust Jesus?

What if they hadn’t trusted God?

What if we don’t trust God?

What Next Step is God asking you to take?

Are you willing to trust Him enough to take that step?

Jesus is not content just hanging out with people who say and do all the right things.

Is it worth it?

What is my life worth?

Who is God asking me to help experience Him?

"work" - run swiftly in order to catch someone.

"Peace" - in the absence of rage and war.

'Holy " - set apart for God's intended purpose.

You are a messenger.

Refuse revenge.

Extend Honor.

Posture to fight for:

What do I want FOR them?

Types of Emotional Vampires:

Narcissist

Victim

Controller

Freeloader

Dramatic

Compassion-Deep intestinal emotion for others.

Everyone else’s emergency might not be your emergency.

Meeting needs is more loving than giving people what they want.

Forgiveness is NOT Forgetfulness.

Repent - Saying I'm sorry.

Repentance - Demonstrating we are sorry by changing.

Who is God asking you to forgive?

Sin always takes you farther than you want to go, and costs more than you want to pay.

No one drifts to holiness. Instead we drift to sin.

God wants to dwell with us. What would it look like for you to dwell with God in your daily life?

How do we identify idols?

-What leads and guides our decisions?

-What do we run to for comfort, guidance, and value?

Are we willing to sin to get it?

We can take a good thing and make it a "god" thing and that's a bad thing.

Behavior modification: When we change our actions but our heart stays the same.

God sets them free and THEN gives them the law to protect that freedom.

What law do you need to work on being more obedient to?

Reason 2- Test our trust.

Reason 3- Transform our lives.

What is God calling you away from?

God's loves people who don't trust Him.

Are we willing to acknowledge that we are not God, before it is too late?

God tells Israel exactly what He is doing and why.

How has God earned your trust?

Jesus is consistent.

Jesus is merciful.

What do you do to remember what the Lord has done for you?

Venture- A risky or daring undertaking involving uncertainty as the outcome.

Pray for: Impossible

Opportunities

Role

What might God's response to your list of reasons be?

What are you going through right now that you are asking God to get you out of?

What am I allowing God to do in my life?

Am I pursuing His will or my will?

Seek comfort when doubting.

Find answers when you are in a healthy place.

"The test of first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function"

Who is setting your compass?

What will you do to build trust to follow God instead of yourself?

3 Reasons not to sin:

1. Jesus is Lord

2. We are dead to sin

3. We love God more than sin

God is sovereign, we are not.

Christian Worldview vs Non-Christian Worldview

What is holding me back from being revival ready?

How can you show your commitment to God and people this week?

What causes you to be in conflict with God?

What areas of my life am I not trustworthy?

What is keeping you from "going public" with your faith in all circumstances?

I'll start trusting God with my TIME when?

Proverbs 16:9 Matthew 10:29-31 Genesis 37:19-20

Goodness-Kind/Loving

Our hearts require change!