With Halloween around the corner, I am starting a series of  teachings about our mask we wear.

Here is the outline for the first message in a series called The Mask we will begin this weekend.

This weekend is a message on how to face your PHOBIAS
Pastor Steve Lummer
Mark 5:1-20

whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.  2 Corinthians 4:4 (nkjv)

Definition of fear- F-E-A-R — Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real.

Psalm 34:4 (GN) “I prayed to the Lord and He answered me; He freed me from all my fears.”

1.  THE DAMAGE FEAR DOES

*    It paralyzes POTENTIAL
(The disciples) “.were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish authorities.”  Jn 20:19

*    It ruins RELATIONSHIPS
(Adam) “. . . I was afraid and hid from you . . .” Gen. 3:10 (GN)

*    It hinders HAPPINESS
“Worry can rob you of happiness.”  Pr. 12:25 (GN)
(David) “I am worn out by my worries.”  Ps. 55:2

*    It sabotages SUCCESS
(Job) “Everything I fear and dread comes true.”  Job 3:25 (GN)

2.  THE FREEDOM FROM  FEAR

1. KNOW THE TRUTH “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”  John 8:32

2. EXPERIENCE THE LOVE but perfect love casteth out fear: indeed fully developed love expels every particle of fear, for fear always contains some of the torture of feeling guilty.”  1 John 4:18

3.  FIGHT WITH FAITH “Above all be sure to take faith as your shield, for it can quench every burning missile the enemy hurls at you.”  Eph. 6:16 (Ph)

“When I am afraid, I will put my confidence in God.  Yes, I will trust the promises of God.”  Ps. 56:3 (LB)

Mark 5:15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

So, because this is a month set aside to say thanks to pastor’s, I wanted to say thanks to some of the pastor’s I appreciate big time.
Pastor Henry Lummer, Pastor Ralph Hutchinson, Pastor Frank Lummer, Pastor Oscar Hamilton, Pastor Ben Leonard, Pastor Gary Denbow, Pastor Tommy Barnett, Pastor Bill Wilson, Pastor Harvey Smith, Pastor Cleddie Kieth, Pastor Hugh Rosenberg, Pastor Ron Stevens, Pastor Ron Garner, Pastor Morris Hunt, Pastor Daniel Williamson, Pastor Adam Kling, Pastor Jesse Quiroz, Pastor Leigh Metcalf, Pastor Jack Hayford, Pastor Brad Rosenberg, Pastor Doug Reed, Pastor George Mullen, Pastor Wayne Mancari, Pastor Dave Crabtree (Sr, Jr.) Pastor Charles Crabtree, Pastor Rich Wilkerson, Pastor Clyde Miller, Pastor Bob Crabtree, Pastor Jim Palmer, Pastor John Palmer, Pastor Tom Trask, Pastor Ray Corlew, Pastor Steve Harris, Pastor David Blunt .
Thank you.

Steve and Brenda

This Sunday I am doing a non – series message called “Survivor”

If you have ever felt like life has backed you into a corner in which there is no escape, and it seems like circumstances will never change, this sermon will definitely encourage you.  It will enlighten you on the mindset that you should have while dealing with your circumstances, illustrate some of the reasons why you may be “in your cave” as well as instruct you on how to deal with the people you encounter who may be facing similar or even greater circumstances.

Here is a brief preview of this weeks message.

SURVIVOR
Pastor Steve

David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. 2 All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.  2 Samuel  22:1,2

FACTS ABOUT THE CRISIS OF LIFE

1. Crisis are INEVITABLE –  James 1:2 ” “when all kinds of trials come your way
2. Crisis are UNPREDICTABLE – Matthew 8:24 “Suddenly, a terrible storm camp up.”
3. Crisis are IMPARTIAL – Matthew 5:45 It rains on the just and the unjust.”

What Traumatic events do to us
They Shatters life’s ASSUMPTIONS –    They conjures up GUILT –       They produces a sense of FATE

1. EVIL IS RAMPANT
John 17:15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

2. GOD IS IN CONTROL
Psalm 103:19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven,  and his kingdom rules over all.

3. LIFE IS FRAGILE
Luke 13:1-5 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

4. GOD IS TRUSTWORTHY.
Proverbs 3:5,6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight

ARE YOU IN THE SURVIVORS CLUB?
Matthew 11:7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

Here is the outline for the fourth message of the series SIMPLICITY.

SIMPLICITY
Pastor Steve Lummer

Five Foundations For Simple Financial Freedom

RULE #1:  KEEP GOOD RECORDS

“Riches can disappear fast… so watch your business interests closely.  Know the state of your flocks.”  Prov. 27:23-24 (LB)
“Get the facts at any price!”  Prov. 23:23 (LB)

RULE #2:  PLAN MY SPENDING

“Plan carefully and you will have plenty; if you act too quickly, you will never have enough.”  Prov. 21:5
“…stupid people spend their money as fast as they get it!” Prov. 21;20 (GN)

RULE #3:  SAVE FOR THE FUTURE

“The wise man saves for the future…”  Prov. 21:20a (LB)
“…He grows rich who accumulates little by little.”  Pr. 13:11 (Jer.)

RULE #4:  ENJOY WHAT I ALREADY HAVE

“Indulging in luxuries, wine, and rich food will never make you wealthy.”  Pr. 21:7
“Be content with what you have…”  Heb. 13:5

RULE #5:  GIVE TITHE BACK TO GOD

“Honor the Lord by giving Him the first part of all your income, and He will fill your barns… to OVERFLOW!”  Prov. 3:9-10 (LB)

“You are under a curse — because you are robbing me.  Bring the whole tithe into my Storehouse… Test me in this, says the Lord, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you won’t have enough room for it.  I will prevent the pests from devouring your crops…”  Mal. 3:9-10 (GN)

“Why spend money on what does not satisfy?”  Is. 55:2

The Lordship Test

The tithe is a tenth

The tithe is a test

The tithe is a tool

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. – Matthew 6:21

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. – Matthew 6:33

“Whoever loves money never has money enough.” Ecclesiastes 5:10 NIV

If your goal is to prosper in order to fulfill God’s purposes, God will bless you. If it’s just to be rich, you’re on your own! Notice:

(1) Money will buy people, but not true friends. Christina Onassis, one of the richest women in the world, had to hire someone to play tennis with her and go to supper with her. She’d so much money she couldn’t spend it all, yet she lived an empty, lonely life. Yes, money will buy people, but not true friends. They’ll be takers but not givers, and as soon as your money is gone they will be too.

(2) Money will buy books, but not brains. In his book The Seven Secrets, John Hagee writes: “A beautiful prayer tower was erected in the center of Trinity University. Every day the chimes echoed across the campus. But that prayer tower had to be locked with an iron gate. Why? Because some students who could not achieve the academic dreams of their wealthy fathers climbed the stairs of the prayer tower to leap to their deaths.” Yes, money will buy books, but not brains.

(3) Money will buy food, but not a healthy appetite. Ever thought of an empty plate as beautiful? An empty plate becomes beautiful when you have a sick loved one with a deadly disease. You prepare the finest foods only to watch them push it away, nauseated by the sight. Next time you see a dirty plate on your table, thank God for the food He has given you and the appetite to want it. Money can’t buy that. Bottom line: make Jesus Lord of your life, and make your money – His servant!

Here is the simple outline from the message Simplicity part 2

SIMPLICITY
No Bells Or Whistles
Pastor Steve Lummer

A zeal for your house consumes me  Psalm 69:9 niv

A SIMPLE FELLOWSHIP HAS

Clarity – Movement –  Alignment – Focus.

Clarity is the ability of the process to be communicated and understood by the people. Before the process can be clear to the people in the church, it must first be clear to the leaders. A lack of clarity ultimately leads to confusion and complexity because there is no coherent direction.
Movement is the sequential steps in the process that cause people to move to greater areas of commitment. Movement is about flow. Movement is the most difficult simple church element to understand. Assimilation effectiveness is more important than programmatic effectiveness.
Alignment is the arrangement of all ministries and staff around the same simple process. Alignment ensures the entire church body is moving in the direction, and in the same manner. In a church that lacks alignment, everyone is competing for the same space, resources, volunteers, and time on the calendar. All churches naturally drift away from alignment. Without alignment, complexity is certain.

Focus is the commitment to abandon everything that falls outside of the simple ministry process. Focus is the most difficult element to implement. Focus is the element that gives power and energy to clarity, movement, and alignment. In many churches the original tools for life change have created too much clutter. Instead of uniting, they divide focus. The programs have become ends in themselves.

In a museum at Greenfield Village, Detroit, Michigan, there is a huge steam locomotive. Beside this complicated piece of machinery is a sign showing boiler pressure, size and number of wheels, horsepower, lengths, weight and more. The bottom line indicates that 96% of the power generated was used to move the locomotive and only 4% was left to pull the load. Some churches are like that.

1. Gladness not Sadness
Psalm 122:1 I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

2. Focus not Frustration.
Philippians 3:13 – But one thing I do

3. Simplicity not Complexity.
And I will give them singleness of heart… Ezekiel 11:19
And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,  Acts 2:46 kjv

4. Eliminate not Accumulate .
Hebrews 12:1 let us strip off every weight that slows us down

I love the quote by Karl Barth –

“The Word became flesh–and then through theologians it became words again. ”

The world, (my world) is way too complicated.

In this new series we will be looking at Simple Faith, Simple Church, Simple Marriages, and Simple Living.

I am really attempting to make the profound simple and the simple profound lately.

These messages are part of that attempt.

Here is the outline to the first in our series called simply, SIMPLICITY.

SIMPLICITY
Pastor Steve
When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. 1 Cor. 2:1-5

WHO IS JESUS?

Simply ASK.
Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey him Exodus 5:2
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”  Matthew 21:10
Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. Acts 9:5

Simply LOOK

Look at his FRIENDS.
Look at the HYMNS.
Look at the BIBLE.
Look at the RESULTS.

Simply REMAIN
John 15 – “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

How do I remain in Jesus?

1. Remain HUNGRY for him.
One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. Psalm 27:4

2. Remain REPENTANT before him
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. Luke 3:8

3. Remain DAILY in him
How lovely is your dwelling place, O 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.  Psalm 84:1,2

4. Remain READY for him
This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Acts 1:11

Richard Foster’s Guidelines for Simplicity

1. Buy things for their usefulness rather than their status
2. Reject anything that is producing an addiction in you
3. Develop a habit of giving things away
4. Refuse to be propagandized by the custodians of modern gadgetry
5. Learn to enjoy things without owning them
6. Develop a deeper appreciation for the creation
7. Look with a healthy skepticism at all “buy now, pay later” schemes
8. Obey Jesus’ instructions about plain, honest speech
9. Reject anything that breeds the oppression of others
10. Shun anything that distracts you from seeking first the kingdom of God

“May God give you – and me- the courage, the wisdom, the strength always to hold the kingdom of God as the number one priority of our lives. To do so, is to live in simplicity”

–Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline