Category Archives: Discovery Church

Discovery Church, family

You Can Have A Happy Home – Part 3

There’s No Place Like Home

YOU CAN HAVE A HAPPY HOME
Part three
Steve Lummer

Psalm 107 The Four Groups of people that are invited to gives thanks at the Lord’s Table

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.

The first Group THE WANDERERS.
“not all who wander are lost “ – that may be true but they can end up lonely.
Vs. 10-16
10 Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,
prisoners suffering in iron chains,
11 because they rebelled against God’s commands
and despised the plans of the Most High.
12 So he subjected them to bitter labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
and broke away their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
16 for he breaks down gates of bronze
and cuts through bars of iron.

The second group – THE PRISONERS.
Not long after a wealthy contractor had finished building the Tombs prison in New York, he was found guilty of forgery and sentenced to several years in the prison he had built! As he was escorted into a cell of his own making, the contractor said, “I never dreamed when I built this prison that I would be an inmate one day.

17 Some became fools through their rebellious ways
and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
18 They loathed all food
and drew near the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them;
he rescued them from the grave.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
22 Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of his works with songs of joy.

The third group – THE FOOLS – The opposite of wisdom is folly, meaning the short-term self-indulgence which marks out the person who doesn’t think about long-term priorities and goals but lives on a day-to-day basis, asking, “What is the most fun thing to do now?”
Vs 23-32
23 Some went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. 24 They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep. 25 For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves.
26 They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
in their peril their courage melted away.
27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards; they were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.

The fourth group – THE MERCHANTS
The risk takers – Entrepreneurship is the process of starting a business or other organization. The entrepreneur develops the model, acquires the human and other required resources, and is fully responsible for its success or failure.
Launch out into the deep

Luke 5:4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

 

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Discovery Church

Guest Blogger Cristina Dyer

Discovery’s Community Missions Project.

By Cristina Dyer

“We have a very unique and exciting opportunity to partner with Gary and Tammy at Opportunity, Community, and Justice for Kids. This is a care program that assists many of our youth that are entering and leaving the foster care homes in our state. Their program consists of mentorship, sponsorship, and building 3 different kinds of care packages.

The first is a suitcase. This is a medium size suitcase that is created for the young adults aging out of the foster care system at 18 yrs old.

The 2nd package is a Kinship Kit. This kit is medium- large size tote that was created for the children that are being stripped from their homes. They don’t have the opportunity to grab a toothbrush, a blanket, or even their favorite toy.These packs, are comfort packs.

The last package is a Welcome Kit. This is a plastic storage container that has a paper label for a name. These packs are held in each group home for the youth entering the foster care system. They have basic hygiene products and are specific to a boy or girl.

So our goal for Discovery Church is to create 5 of each package to sponsor the OCJ Program. This may sound like a small goal right now but I believe we can go above and beyond to sponsor the group homes in the Quad City area. This is the plan. For anyone interested, come sign up on the sheet and grab a shopping list. Hold onto your supplies, because on December 14th we will have a Packing party right after service to assemble all the packs and fellowship with one another. This is a great mission that hit my heart and I believe we can have a hand in making a big difference for the children in our community.”

Thank you for joining us in this very important effort.

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Cristina Dyer

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Discovery Church

You Can Have A Happy Home part 2

YOU CAN HAVE A HAPPY HOME
Part two
Steve Lummer

14 “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:14-15

The saying on Grandma’s wall “As for me and my house picture “.
DECLARATION OR DEFAULT?

DECIDE ON IT
But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you….then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.

If you do not have a vision for your family …. Someone or something else will choose that vision for you.
DECLARE IT – “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

What does that look like? – Do you wear a t-shirt/facebook post/ bumper sticker Christianity falls short of what Christ calls us to.

Matthew 10:32 – “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.”
Romans 10:9 – If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

TALK IT – WALK IT
Your mouth has a ministry
Your schedule/habits speaks volumes about what and who your committed to .

Everytime you tithe or give to Discovery you are declaring “As for me and my House.”!
DESIGN IT – “we will serve the Lord”
We become what we are committed to.
DECLARE IT OR LIVE WITH IT BY DEFAULT

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Discovery Church

You Can Have A Happy Home Part 1

 

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YOU CAN HAVE A HAPPY HOME
Part one
Steve Lummer

What’s A Family For?

home-10
Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.

Having a place to go — is a home. Having someone to love — is a family. Having both — is a blessing.

Nostalgia – The painful longing for a home.

DIASPORA  greek.– the dispersion of any people from their original homeland.
NOSTOS greek.– Nostos (Greek: νόστος) (pl. nostoi) is the Greek word for homecoming, the idea of returning home from a long journey.

The word nostalgia was first coined as a medical term in 1688 by Johannes Hofer (1669-1752), a Swiss medical student. It uses the word νόστος along with another Greek root, άλγος or algos, meaning pain, to describe the psychological condition of longing for the past.

Since Odysseus left Troy and took nine years to get home, Greeks have been leaving their homes, villages, cities, and traveling abroad — often to escape hardship in their native land, but also to pursue an idea, to achieve an ambition. But always, the Greeks of the diaspora have looked homeward

To have a happy home, you need to have a home.

How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! 2 My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young— a place near your altar,
Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Psalm 84:1-4

DON’T JUST BELIEVE ……BELONG.
The real definition of “church” is;  – People loving God who are connected together and love each other.”

Maybe if you don’t like church it’s because you don’t like people ….Love god/love people.

“You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19-22
LIGHTS AND LOCKS.

– We will leave the light on and not lock the doors
Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. 3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. 5 “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,” bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory. Hebrews 3:1-6

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Discovery Church

# IAMDISCOVERY PT.15

I AM DISCOVERY
Part 15

Claims Jesus Made about who he is.
I AM The Way, the Truth and the Life -John 14:6
I AM The Bread of Life -John 6:35
I AM The Light of the World -John 8:12
I AM The Sheep Gate -John 10:7
I AM The Good Shepherd -John 10:11
I AM The Resurrection and the Life John 11:25
I AM The Bread of Life -John 6:35
I AM The True Vine – John 15:1

But Jesus Ask “But who do you say that I am?” Matthew 16:15

Have you ever been sick? – Vs. 1-3
Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

Have you ever thought God was just too late? -Vs. 21-25
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
What is holding you back? – Vs. 38-44
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

Jesus also raised from dead, Jairus’ daughter (Matthew 9:18-26; Mark 5:41-42; Luke 8:52-56) and a widow’s son (Luke 7:11-15).
Others who were raised from the dead in the Bible:
In 1 Kings 17:22 Elijah raised a boy from the dead.
In 2 Kings 4:34-35 Elisha raised a boy from the dead.
In 2 Kings 13:20-21 Elisha’s bones raised a man from the dead.
In Acts 9:40-41 Peter raised a woman from the dead.
In Acts 20:9-20 Paul raised a man from the dead.
Marjorie Lucus – 1995
all of us long for renewal until we find out what it means. It means “bring back to life” which necessitates death. Simply put: spiritual renewal = death + resurrection. We all want renewal. But are you willing to die for it? If you want renewal you have to die to self. That means you have to die to pride, die to lust, die to selfishness, die to laziness, die to things that are permissible and strive for things that are beneficial. There is no other way. You want to come alive? Then die to self. You want the fullness of life Jesus promised? You will have to die a million little deaths to yourself. –
‘Never put a comma where God puts a period, and never put a period where God puts a comma.’

“Sometimes it looks like God is missing the mark because we are too short-sighted to see what He is aiming for.”
The bottom line is this. I don’t know where you are spiritually, but I hope you can hear this.  Lazarus, come out.  Put your name in there. God says come out. He died so that we could have life and life more abundantly. You can have that by simply believing, by simply receiving.
I’ll close with this. Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life,” then He asks Martha a very pointed question, “Do you believe?”  Do you believe?  Here’s the good news. Romans 10:9
9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Never Give Up on God!
Delayed, but not Denied!
God can Revitalize Dead Dreams!
Taking Away the Stone!
Your Deliverance is tied to Your Faith!
God Wants us to be Free!
Religion without Relationship is Destructive!

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