Here is the outline to the final message in our series called Scar Wars.

SCAR WARS
Pastor Steve Lummer

Introduction:
The wounds of our nation are still very evident and painful from the 9/11 tragedy even after nine years.

“So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” John 20:25 (NIV)

JESUS SCARS

1. JESUS SCARS SERVE AS PROOF.
“He showed them his hands and his feet.”—Luke 24:40.

That he went into battle for us.            That he cares for us     That he was not defeated by death.

2. JESUS SCARS SHOW US THE HUMAN AND DIVINE NATURE OF GOD.
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” 28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

3. JESUS SCARS SHOW US HOW GOD CAN RELATE TO OUR PAIN.
For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15

OUR SCARS

From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.  Galations 6:17 NLT

WE ARE FRAGILE

WE MAKE MISTAKES

WE ALL HAVE A STORY

WE HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON WITH EVERYONE.

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TOP TEN COASTERS IN THE WORLD

No. 10 Nemesis at Alton Towers in England
No. 9 The Comet at The Great Escape in Lake George, NY
No. 8 Steel Force at Dorney Park in Allentown, PA
No. 7 The Beast at Paramount’s Kings Island near Cincinnati, OH
No. 6 The Raptor at Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH
No. 5 Megafobia at Oakwood Coaster Country in Pembrokeshire, Wales
No. 4 Steel Phantom at Kennywood near Pittsburgh, PA
No. 3 Cyclone at Astroland in Brooklyn, New York
No. 2 Magnum XL-200 at Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH
No. 1 Thunderbolt at Kennywood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

They show you the first part ….when you get on…
They show you the last part where you get off….but they don’t show you the IN BETWEEN!

YOU just hear a lot of screaming!
It is funny how people change from when they get on and when they get off.

How people get on…and how people get off!

FOR MOST OF US , WE FEEL THE SAME WAY AS WE ARE JUST TRYING TO GET THERE..

And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us  the land  which  he swore unto our fathers.   – Deuteronomy 6:23

Maybe you are yielding to get on the highway of life as a young person
Zig Zagging in and out of traffic on the freeway of  making a living raising a family and getting by
Stalled out in the passive parking lot of getting no where fast
Or in the parking lot of life waiting for retirement …we are all trying to get some where.

Trying to get “there” will give you bumps bruises scraps and scars.

Scar Wars
Pastor Steve Lummer
Part 2

Today – the SCARS OF JUST TRYING TO GET THERE..

ALONG THE WAY TO GETTING THERE WE NEED TO :
1. KNOW HOW TO MANAGE CHANGE ALONG THE WAY
2. STAY FOCUSED ON  GOD’S PURPOSES AND GOD’S PLAN.

How God Heals the Hurts We Don’t Deserve

Matthew 6:9-14 “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ 14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

1. DISPEL THE STINKIN’ THINKIN’ THAT GETS US STUCK IN THE PAST.
VS. 12  Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

FORGIVE THE BAD DEEDS.
FORGIVE THE BAD DAYS.
FORGIVE THE BAD DEBTS .

2. CHOOSING TO LIVE IN THE PRESENT
VS. 11. Give us today our daily bread.
When you’re down to nothing,God’s up to something. “Stand firm &see the deliverance the Lord will give you!” 2Chron.20:17

3. INVITE GOD INTO YOUR PAINFUL MEMORIES.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

4. RELEASING A PAST WE CANNOT CHANGE.
14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE.
VS 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

God created you…….Go back to your creator and find out his original design for you.
John Mason says “You were born an original….don’t die a copy.”

As you invest time with your creator He will give you a clear picture of who you are and what you are supposed to look like.

There is an old saying: a picture is worth a thousand words. It’s not true. The brain is able to process print on a page at a rate of about a hundred bits per second. But the brain can process a picture at about a billion bits per second. That means that a picture isn’t worth a thousand words! A picture is literally worth ten million words!
Aristotle said, “The soul never thinks without a picture.” That is the way God has designed us. We are self-fulfilling prophecies. We become what we imagine. If we don’t imagine anything we won’t become anything. But if God gets a hold of our imaginations, anything can happen. Walter Wink said, “When God wants to initiate a new movement in history, he does not intervene directly, but sends us dreams and visions that can, if attended to, initiate the process.”

Like most of you, I’ve forgotten most of the messages I’ve heard preached. But there are a few sound bytes that are forever seared into my spirit.  In 1991 when I was planting a church in Missouri,  someone sent me a sermon tape … The speaker was Paul Yonggi Cho, the pastor of the largest church in the world.  Cho said something I’ll never forget. “Show me your vision and I’ll show you your future.”

J.C. Penney said, “Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I will give you a man who will make history. Give me a man without a goal and I will give you a stock clerk.”
Specificity is part of spirituality. Dreams are more than a vague wish. The level of specificity reveals the level of faith.

Eye it  – try it –  fly it

Still focused.

Steve

This weekend we begin a new series at Prescott First.

We all have scars in our life, physical reminders of painful experiences. In this sermon we take a look at the life of people in the bible who share their story  of restoration and forgiveness. When you allow your wounds to become scars, your scars can heal.
Here is a look at the outline for the first message in this series.

Scar Wars
Pastor Steve Lummer
Part 1

Psalm 107:2  “Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story.”

What’s your History – HIS story.

What A Good Story Does For Us

A good story CHALLENGES us.
A good story  CHARGES us.
A good story CHANGES us.

Basic Elements Of A Story:

You have an AUTHOR. – you are the author
You have a MAIN CHARACTER  – you are the main character. – (JOSEPH)
The ROAD BLOCK
The A DEFINING MOMENT.
The ENDING.

The story of Joseph is a story of
A DREAM, a DUNGEON, a DECISION

A good story reminds us that OUR OWN LIFE IS A STORY.

The STORY of Redemption  is a story about SCARS.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 55:3

1 The COST of your sin.
2 The CURE for your sin.

“The blood…makes atonement for the soul.” Lev 17:11 NKJV

Jeffrey Ebert says: “When I was five years old, before factory installed seat belts and automobile airbags, my family was driving home at night on a two-lane country road. I was sitting on my mother’s lap when another car driven by a drunk driver swerved into our lane and hit us head on. I don’t have any memory of the collision. I do recall the fear and confusion I felt as I saw myself literally covered with blood from head to toe. Then I learned that the blood wasn’t all mine, but my mother’s. In that split second when the two headlights glared into her eyes, she instinctively…curled her body around mine. It was her body that slammed against the dashboard, her head that shattered the windshield. She took the impact…so that I wouldn’t have to. It took extensive surgery for my mother to recover from her injuries.” At the cross Jesus took the impact of our sin, and the moment we place our trust in Him, His shed blood reconciles us to God. Consider God’s problem. The Bible says God is “of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on [wickedness]” (Hab 1:13). So God solves His problem by repositioning us “in Christ,” and seeing us “through the blood.” The songwriter wrote: “When God looks at me He doesn’t see the things I’ve done, He only sees the blood of His crucified Son.” God’s Word says, “The blood…makes atonement for the soul.” The word “atonement” means “at-one-ment.” Wonderful, the blood of Jesus bridges the gap and makes us one with God!

See you Sunday.

Steve

I took these pics tonight on one of my favorite singletrack trails and thought of the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:14 when he said, “narrow is the path that leads to life, and there are few who find it.“

Choosing and staying on the right path, is not an easy task that is why Jesus referred to Christianity as a Narrow path because he knows that its a challenging task .. Have you ever tried to walk something narrow? Its trying isn’t? Paths are usually a little rocky and not to mention at times there are hills, so it takes one to remain focused and determined to ride or walk such a path and at times you are going to need help to make your way .

Can you see what Jesus is saying? Even though our lives (will) have turmoil and trials, there may be times when we stumble or veer off the path but we must not give up we must stay focused and push through, leaning on him to help us when we think that we no longer have the strength to make it, Jesus will be there to guide us he will never forsake us, for he promises us this, over and over again in his word…Here is one, Isaiah 2:3 And he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths.

Steve

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
Pastor Steve Lummer

Speak to yourselves – Ephesians 5:19

Anything You Say Can and Will Be Used AGAINST You
Anything You Say Can and Will Be Used FOR You

What your SPEECH says about you – “ You are one of them…your speech shows it'” Mk 14:67-70 NKJV

1. THE RIGHT WORDS.
“He who invokes a blessing on himself…shall do so by saying, May the God of truth…bless me.” Isaiah 65:16 AMP

Your own words have more power to affect you than anybody else’s.
You’ll never enjoy what God has for you in the future while you’re still living in the past.

2. THE RIGHT THOUGHTS.
“Take captive every thought.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV

The right thought.
The right people.
The right environment.  ——–   Always = the right RESULTS.
The right time.
The right reason

3. THE RIGHT  INFLUENCE.
We are his people, the sheep he tends.” Others may guide us to God, but no one does the work of God, for only God can heal. He “heals the brokenhearted” (Ps 147:3 NIV).

Go to the right person.
Assume the right posture

Here is the last outline of the series called “Cage Fighters.”

CAGE FIGHTERS
Living a Life of Spiritual Adventure
Pastor Steve Lummer
PART 6
Coming out of the cage of FAILURE

The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:8

1. SOMETIMES IT TAKES A SHIPWRECK.
But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.  Acts 27:41

Failure can be DEVASTATING. – Failure  can be DIVINE DIRECTION.

2. Are shipwrecks and snakebites the WILL OF GOD?
Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. The islanders showed us an unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and as he put it on the fire, a viper snake, driven out by the heat, fasten itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer, for though he escaped from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.”  Acts 28:1-9

3. DIVINE DETOURS and DELAYS.
There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably. 8 His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. 9When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured 10 They honored us in many ways and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed. Acts 27:7-10

Sometimes our plans have to FAIL in order for God’s plans to SUCCEED.

Straight lines or ZigZAGs? – appendix of maps

4. THE WIND FACTOR.
When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the “northeaster,” swept down from the island. 15 The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along.  Acts 27:13-16