Seasons

Here is the sermon and brief notes for the message called seasons out of 2nd Timothy.

We have all kinds of seasons don’t we?

Football season – baseball season – hoodie season – flip flop season monsoon season – vacation season – a season to be jolly. Hunting season, fishing season.

Summer – Fall – Winter and Spring.

2 Timothy talks about seasons.

“Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. – 2 Timothy 4:2

OUTLINE :

BE INSTANT IN YOUR SEASON.

BE PRESENT IN YOUR SEASON.

BE PERSISTENT IN YOUR SEASON.

BE EXPECTANT IN YOUR SEASON.*

Be ready – Be prepared – Instant IN season and OUT of season.

When it is popular and unpopular.

When is fun and not so fun.

When it is politically correct and when its not.

2 – BE PRESENT IN YOUR SEASON.

3 – BE PERSISTENT IN YOUR SEASON.

Proverbs 6:6-8 Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
⁷It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
⁸yet it stores its provisions in summer

and gathers its food at harvest.

4 – BE EXPECTANT IN YOUR SEASON.

Psalm 5:3 Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.

Especially if you are in a winter season!

Everybody will go through seasons they would rather skip –

but there is strength for every season if we know how to weather it

Don’t go into the new season holding a grudge from last season. Leave the hurts and disappointments behind.

Nothing in life has happened to you. It’s happened for you. Every disappointment. Every wrong. Even every closed door has helped make you into who you are.

I believe if you keep your faith, you keep your trust, you keep the right attitude, if you’re grateful, you’ll see God open up new doors to your new season.

The question is not, ‘are you having a hard season?’ The question is, ‘Does the hard season have you?’

We can’t choose our circumstance, but we can choose our response

Some seasons are hard because of a decision you made (i.e., not every season is God’s decision). So if you’re in a season of debt, that season will require obedience/doing some things differently. But we don’t always know the reason for the seasons that God lets us go through.

3 Things God Will Do in a Winter Season of your Life

1 – Prepare you for something

(or prepare something for you)

In the winter, you can’t see what’s happening in the ground to prepare for spring.

Winter makes way for spring; it’s a preparation process

God is the gardener; He understands the process.

o If you’re going to walk this thing out – really live for God and grow to be the person God wants you to be (even when it doesn’t feel good)

In winter, the ground gets to rest; nutrients are rejuvenated in the soil

I’m the kind of Christian that shows up in the cold, because I know that God is doing something in the cold months to prepare me for what’s ahead.

Fare weather faith doesn’t cut it.

2 – Prune something from you.

If you don’t stay connected to God and bear fruit, or you get cut off and thrown away

If you stay connected to God, you get cut back Either way you get cut – but I’d rather be cut back than cut off; I’d rather stay connected to Him than walk through the season without Him

Pruning isn’t pleasant but at least it has a purpose.

Some seasons are so hard that survival itself is success.

IT IS NOT ALWAYS ABOUT WINNING – BUT MANY TIMES ITS ABOUT NOT LOSING.

Just remain. Hold.

Don’t leave. And if you don’t leave, you can’t lose.

If you leave in the winter, you’re going to miss when things start blossoming in the spring.

3 – Prove something through you

God looks for people that He can use to prove to the world that His faithfulness goes beyond feelings or circumstances.

God has a point to prove….that light can shine bright in the darkness. And he uses you and I to prove that point!

Especially when we are going through our darkest nights – our darkest times and our darkest moments!

You may not know why you’re going through a particular situation. But when you allow God to prepare you and prune you, He gets to prove through you that He is glorious in you. You get to bear fruit (reveal the glory of God), showing the world what real peace and joy look like.

Prepare receive

Prune remain

Prove reveal

BE INSTANT IN YOUR SEASON.

BE PRESENT IN YOUR SEASON.

BE PERSISTENT IN YOUR SEASON.

BE EXPECTANT IN YOUR SEASON.

Framing Your Faith – Frameology Part 4

Watch the message here:

https://vimeo.com/176994392

“Fight the good fight of Faith” – 1 Timothy 6:12

Faith Through The Roof

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. ²They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. ³Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man,carried by four of them. ⁴Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. ⁵When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”…vs ¹¹“I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” ¹²He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” Mark 2:1-12

When Jesus saw their faith, Circle the words, “their faith.” This is one of the many stories where Jesus emphasized the power of faith. It wasn’t just the healed man who had faith but so did his four friends. When Jesus saw THEIR faith.

That is why we need to FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH …FOR OUR FRIENDS

Friends are important to our faith. It was not only the paralyzed man who believed but his four friends also believed. The four friends had faith. Jesus saw their faith. Often our friends encourage and enlarge the faith that we have. (That is what the story of Daniel is about, the four friends who helped each other be loyal to their faith and religious practices.)

A FRAME WORK OF FRIENDSHIPS

The ship of friends in your life.

relationships, friendships, companion-ships, kindships

Just a couple of observations about this story.

1. FRIENDS CARRY MATS.

THE MAT REPRESENTS WHAT PARALYZES US.

But, because he had four friends that were willing to pick him up and get him to Jesus everything changed for him!

That place of pain was also a place of connection and community.

That guy walked out of that house that day with NEW LEGS and a NEW IDENTITY because of the faith of his friends.

2. FRIENDS DO THE HARD WORK.

Someone else’s miracle lies on the other side of your willingness to embrace the inconvenient and the awkward.

Sweat is the stuff that waters the seeds of really great friendships.

Sweat equity builds relational equity .

3. FRIENDS CHANGE US.

FIVE KINDS OF FRIENDS WE ALL NEED.

1. SHARED VALUES FRIENDS

2. UNSELFISH LOVE FRIENDS

3. DEEP LOYALTY FRIENDS

4. TRANSEPARENT FRIENDS

5. FORGIVING FRIENDS

TWO QUESTIONS:

1. WHOSE MAT ARE YOU CARRYING?

2. WHO IS CARRYING YOUR MAT?

Dying FOR someone and dying WITH someone.

Jesus did both

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13

“Fight the good fight of Faith” – 1 Timothy 6:12

Who are you fighting FOR and who are you fighting WITH?

COMMUNION IS ABOUT COMMUNITY.

Discovery Church, Discovery Prescott

FRAMOLOGY Part 3 Framing your Fatherhood.

“I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands” – 1 Timothy 2:8 (NIV)

We need a good framework and a good frame of reference for manhood and fatherhood today.

The point should be clear…..We cannot afford to plant our manhood in the midair of current sexual politics…when we ask what is a man today? – We are not going to look to John Wayne, Clint Eastwood or Mel Gibson.

Were not going to ask Tom Hanks, Bill O’Reilly, Donald Trump, James Bond, Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton – Nope all of these will never get us to the headwaters of the issue.

We’re going to ask our Creator what He had in mind when He formed man out of the dust of terra firma.

Many people have searched for the headwaters of the origins of men but they fall too short and did not take the river to the beginning.

You have to go all the way to the headwaters to find the source of origin .

So Discovery, put on your thinking cap lace up your hiking boots because this morning we are going to hike through some history and so frameology to the headwaters of what a father is.

THE HEADWATERS OF THE HEART OF A GREAT FATHER.

A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. ¹¹The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. ¹²(The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.)¹³The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. ¹⁴The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.Genesis 2:10 – 15

THE FOUR COMPASS POINTS/THE FOUR SEASONS/THE FOUR ELEMENTS AND THE FOUR HEADWATERS OF A GREAT FATHER’S HEART..

JUST AS THERE ARE FOUR CORNERS TO THIS FRAME.

NORTH. SOUTH. EAST. WEST. 4 POINTS ON A COMPASS
SPRING. SUMMER. FALL. WINTER. 4 SEASONS IN THE YEAR.
EARTH. WIND. FIRE. WATER. 4 ELEMENTS ON THE PLANET.
KING. WARRIOR. MENTOR. FRIEND. 4 RHYTHMS IN A MAN.

4 UNDERGIRDING LIFE RHYTHMS THROB IN THE VEINS OF EVERY MALE CHILD. THEY PIPE A 4 PART CADENCE TO WHICH EVERY MAN MUST MARCH IF HE CHOOSES TO BE A COMPLETE MAN. ALWAYS INTERMINGLED, NEVER EXCLUSIVE, THEY PROVIDE THE PRIMARY COLORS OF THE MASCULINE RAINBOW FROM WHICH ALL OTHERS DRAW THEIR HUE.

BLENDING PERFECTLY WITH ONE ANOTHER, THEY REFLECT THE LIGHT OF THE ONE IN WHOSE IMAGE THEY ARE MADE.

THE FOUR HEADWATERS OF THE HEART OF A GREAT FATHER.

1. KING

The heart of a provider.

2. WARRIOR

The heart of a protector

David didn’t go out planning to fight a giant …..he went out to give his brother some bread and cheese and Goliath got in the way.

3. MENTOR

The heart of a teacher.

4. FRIEND

The heart of a giver

Conclusion: There are two questions a man must ask himself: The first is ‘Where am I going?’ and the second is ‘Who will go with me?’

“I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands” – 1 Timothy 2:8 (NIV)

Discovery Church, Discovery Prescott

FRAMING YOUR FAITH – Part 2

Here is the outline to this message.

1 Timothy 3:15, “I want you to know how people who are members of God’s family must live. God’s family is the church” (GW).

Last week: – GOD REMEMBERS WHAT WE FORGET.

“For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.” – Psalm 103:14

Ephesians 2:21 – “In whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto an holy temple in the Lord”

This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home. (the message)

Hebrews 11:3 – Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God.

Who is in God’s family photo album ?

1 Timothy 3:15, “I want you to know how people who are members of God’s family must live. God’s family is the church” (GW).

We are the family of God.

Church is not something you go to. Church is something you belong to.

1. A FRAMEWORK OF FORGIVENESS

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him (and put me in the ministry),¹³even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. ¹⁴Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus.

¹⁵This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. ¹⁶But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. ¹⁷All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen. – 1 Timothy 1:12-17

“… it is his boundless mercy that has given us the privilege of being born again so that we are now members of God’s own family” (1 Peter 1:3, LB).

God loves tying knots.

A college student came to his pastor sand said; “Pastor, Ive done terrible things in my life….I know God could never forgive me. What can I do?”

Ah, answered the pastor, “all of us are connected to God by a piece of rope, one that is the same length for everyone of us. When we sin, sadly, we cut the rope that connects us to God. But, when we repent, God is in a hurry to tie the pieces together again. Every time you tie a knot in the rope, of course, the rope gets shorter.

So, those with more knots in their rope are that much closer to God.”

2. A FRAMEWORK OF FELLOWSHIP.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12

Everyone needs a “THIRD PLACE”

First place is our HOME.
Second place is our WORK.
Third place is our COMMUNITY.

Everyone needs a “THIRD PLACE”

First place is our HOME.
Second place is our WORK.
Third place is our COMMUNITY.

HAVE FUN

LOVE FRIENDS

SHARE FAITH

Every culture has celebrations – your job as a Christian is to engage in the celebration with those people. We bring the better wine – we bring what is lacking. We ought to be known as the greatest party people on the planet – we ought to party like crazy because we actually have something to celebrate – the resurrection of Jesus!

The smells of: Compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience, transparency authenticity.
“For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” – 2 Corinthians 2:15

3. GETTING MY FRIENDS IN THE PICTURE. (No Selfies)

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, God has given you a mission in this world. You’re not here to just take up space; you’re not here to just strive after your own personal goals.

You have an assignment from God himself. Once you’re in the family, your life changes. You have a new reason for living. Your life isn’t about you anymore; it’s about God’s mission.

And your mission fits into God’s mission for all of history. God created everything in the universe because he wanted a family. He didn’t need Earth. He didn’t need the other planets. He didn’t need the stars. He created all of it because he knew some of us would willingly choose to be a part of his family.

The mission God gave Jesus he now gives to the Body of Christ — the Church. He wants us to help get other people into his family. Jesus said it like this: “In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world” (John 17:18 MSG).

Once we know Jesus, we have to go! We must tell our friends and families about him. But we can’t stop there. God has never made anyone he doesn’t want saved. He loves everyone — across the entire globe.

God wants us to live out his mission everywhere: in our families, our communities, and our world. His mission for your life is both global and local. The Bible says, “Now the Lord says to me, ‘It isn’t enough for you to be merely my servant. You must do more than lead back survivors from the tribes of Israel. I have placed you here as a light for other nations; you must take my saving power to everyone on earth’” (Isaiah 49:6 CEV).

That’s God’s plan for the world. That’s his mission for you. He wants everyone on Earth to know him. And he wants to use you to see that happen. God didn’t just say that to missionaries or pastors. If you’re in his family, he gave his mission to you!

Discovery Church, Discovery Prescott

FRAMING YOUR FAITH – Part 1

FRAMEOLOGY – Here are the bullet point to the message.

FAITH DOESN’T ALWAYS GUARANTEE THE OUTCOME BUT IT DOES ESTABLISH THE OUTLOOK.

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,

²To Timothy my true son in the faith:

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” – 1 Timothy 1:1,2 (NIV)

Ephesians 2:21 – “In whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto an holy temple in the Lord”

Hebrews 11:1-3 – “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

²For by it the elders obtained a good report.

³Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

1. WHAT’S IN YOUR FRAME?

^”But when Peter saw the wind and the waves, he became afraid and began to sink. He shouted, “Lord, save me!”

³¹Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught Peter. Jesus said,“Your faith is small. Why did you doubt?” – Matthew 14:30 (NCV)

Do you have too much wind and too many waves in your frame?

Is Jesus in your frame? – Hebrews 12:2 – “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”

Having more of Jesus in your frame keeps you from sinking.

2. WHAT IS YOUR FRAME OF REFERENCE?

What is framing your world?

Matthew 17:14-21 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. ¹⁵“Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizuresand is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. ¹⁶I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”¹⁷“You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” ¹⁸Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.

¹⁹Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁰He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

3. DO YOU NEED A FRAME CHANGE?

Change of place, + change of pace = change of perspective.

ADDITION

SUBTRACTION

EXAMINATION

1 Corinthians 11:28 “But let a man examine himself.”

GOD REMEMBERS WHAT WE FORGET.

“For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.” – Psalm 103:14

Discovery Church

ANTICIPATION – Part 3 Trying To Run In A Dream

https://vimeo.com/167669269

He ask them to pray for two specific things.

Pray first that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and triumph wherever it goes, winning converts everywhere as it did when it came to you. ²Pray, too, that we will be saved out of the clutches of evil men, for not everyone loves the Lord. – 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2 (NLT)

1. PRAY THAT THE LORD’S MESSAGE WOULD RUN FREE AND RAPIDLY.

vs. 1 – “Pray first that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and triumph wherever it goes, winning converts everywhere as it did when it came to you.”

2. PRAY THAT HE WOULD BE SAVED OUT OF THE CLUTCHES OF EVIL MEN.

vs. 2 “Pray, too, that we will be saved out of the clutches of evil men, for not everyone loves the Lord. “

Have you ever been in the “clutches” of someone or something?

3. LEAN INTO IT.

Are You Headed in the Right Direction?

Philippians 1:20 – I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body,whether by life or by death.

“apo-kara-dokia”

Paul makes up his own word – it means to stretch your head forward towards the future in eager expectation for what God has in store.

He is chained to a wall and he cannot go anywhere – the only thing he can do his “stretch his head in the direction he wants to go”.

Chained – but not chained!

Anticipation

Expectation

Leaning in the direction.

LEANING INTO IT!

Being a follower of Jesus without prayer can be like trying to run in a dream.

Conclusion – What promise do you need to circle?

No matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ 2 Corinthians 1:20.

Have Anticipation

Have Expectation

Lean in the right Direction

Philippians 1:20 – I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body,whether by life or by death.

“apo-kara-dokia”

Paul makes up his own word – it means to stretch your head forward towards the future in eager expectation for what God has in store.

Philippians 1:20 – I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body,whether by life or by death.

Stretch your head forward towards the future in eager expectation for what God has in store. (see Philippians 1:20)

Discovery Church, Discovery Prescott

Anticipation Part 2 – THE END IS NEAR AND OTHER SCARY SERMONS I SURVIVED

THE END IS NEAR AND OTHER SCARY SERMONS I SURVIVED.

2 Thessalonians 2:1 – Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him. (NLT)

Scriptures that speak about the end times.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

1 Thessalonians 5:2 – “For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

Luke 21:34 – and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.

1 Corinthians 1:8 – He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:4 – But you, brothers, are not in the darkness so that this day should overtake you like a thief.
2 Thessalonians 2:2

not to be easily disconcerted or alarmed by any spirit or message or letter presuming to be from us and alleging that the day of the Lord has already come.

2 Peter 3:10 – But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be dissolved in the fire, and the earth and its works will not be found.

Revelation 3:3 – I will come like a thief, and you will not know the hour when I will come upon you.

Revelation 16:15 – Behold, I am coming like a thief.

1 . MINISTRY MALPRACTICE

James 3:1 – Don’t be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards.

To not address this issue out of scripture would be pastoral malpractice on my part.

To over exaggerate it would be pastoral puffing…..so I need to be courageous and cautious with this talk.

Sermons of my past that that could TURN PEOPLE TO JESUS or TURN THEM OFF FROM JESUS.

2 . BEING HERE NOW

THEY WERE PREOCCUPIED WITH BEING SO HEAVENLY MINDED THAT THEY WERE NO EARTHLY GOOD.

“Occupy till I come.” Luke 19:13

2 Thessalonians 3:10 “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.”

1 Thessalonians 5:2 – “For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

3 – BEYOND THE POETS, PROPHETS AND PREACHERS

WHAT DID JESUS SAY?

Since it’s on his itinerary he has some things to say about it.

Second Coming Facts to give you an idea of how much God’s word talks about this truth:

1 out of every 30 verses in the Bible mentions the subject of the end times or of Christ’s return.

In the New Testament there are 216 chapters. In those 216 chapters there are well over 300 references to the return of Christ.

Only 4 of the 27 New Testament books fail to mention Christ’s return.

George Gallup has done a survey in which he discovered that 62% of all Americans believe that Jesus Christ will return to earth someday.

1. NOBODY KNOWS.

No one knows the day or the hour of my return.

Matthew 24:36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ”

2. THERE WILL BE SIGNS YOU WILL NOTICE.

There will be several signs, increasing in intensity, as my return draws near.

Matthew 24:6,7 – Jesus promised there would be wars and rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes in various places

“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.”

3. IT WILL SEEM LIKE ANOTHER NORMAL DAY.

Matthew 24:37-39 “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”

4. THERE WILL BE SOME SURPRISES.

Not everyone who expects to make it into the Christ’s kingdom will.

Some of the most sobering words of Jesus are about those who will not be allowed to enter the kingdom of heaven. In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

5. STAY AWAKE.

Matthew 24:42-44 – “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

DON’T MISS TO POINT OR YOU WILL WILL MISS THE PURPOSE.

what is the point?

HE HAS ALWAYS WANTED TO BE WITH US.

Jesus doesn’t just love you…. He likes you.

John 14:1-4 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

Maranatha,

Steve

books I'm reading again

Run With The Horses when your over fifty

Re Reading this one.

In Jeremiah 12:5 God says to the prophet, “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?” We all long to live life at its best―to fuse freedom and spontaneity with purpose and meaning. Why then do we often find our lives so humdrum, so unadventuresome, so routine? Or else so frantic, so full of activity, but still devoid of fulfillment? How do we learn to risk, to trust, to pursue wholeness and excellence―to run with the horses in the jungle of life? In a series of profound reflections on the life of Jeremiah the prophet, Eugene Peterson explores the heart of what it means to be fully and genuinely human. His writing is filled with humor and self-reflection, insight and wisdom, helping to set a course for others in the quest for life at its best.

Run friends.

Steve

Discovery Church, Discovery Prescott

Easter 2016

Here are a few of the talking points.

Growing up in church I heard songs and old hymns like:

“When I see the blood”.

“There is power in the blood”.

“There is a fountain filled with blood filled from Emmanuel’s veins”.

“without shedding of blood there is no remission of sin”. – Hebrews 9:22

1 John 1:7″… the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses
us from all sin.”

Revelation 1:5 “… Unto him that loved us, and washed us
from our sins in his own blood.”

Revelation 12:11 “And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood
of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony …”

Hebrews 9:14 “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God,
purge your conscience …”

Hebrews 10:19 “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²²let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Physician Horace Smith describes the importance of human blood:

Each drop of human blood contains over 5 million red cells … In an average lifetime, a person’s red cells arranged in single file would reach from the earth to the sun and back five times!

Our bodies contain approximately 60,000 miles of blood vessels … Through this delivery system, blood provides everything our cells need to live, and they take away waste that would poison us. At the cellular level, capillaries are so small that they are about the size of a single red blood cell … To connect with all the cells in the body, capillary walls cover an area of about 70,000 square feet … The circulatory system is the epitome of consistency. Every day, the heart beats 100,000 times, and over an average lifespan, this amazing machine beats 2.5 billion times, pumping 60 million gallons of blood.

During this time, the heart never takes time off. We can’t afford for it to take a break—even a few minutes without blood supply causes severe brain damage or death.

Virtually all other cells in the human body are stationary, but blood is mobile tissue, carrying nutrients to every part of the body … protecting us from harm and healing our wounds.

No wonder the Old Testament says that “The life of every creature is its blood” (Lev. 17:14).

Today, we understand the significance of this truth even more deeply. There are no cells in the human body that can live without continual contact with life-giving blood. Every type of cell, from the ones that survive only moments to those that live for many years, owes its life to the flow of blood.

All three types of cells in human blood—red cells, white cells, and platelets—perform functions that are essential to life.

LET’S Do an experiment.

LOOK AT ME CAREFULLY FOR A MOMENT!

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;” – Psalm 139:14

* Inside my body is a fluid pump.

* It weighs about 10 ounces.

* Has a life expectancy of about 75 years.

* Over an average lifespan, this amazing machine beats 2.5 billion times, pumping 60 million gallons of blood.

* There is no maintenance required if you eat health and exercise regularly.

* Every 23 seconds this mysterious fluid called blood makes its way through my entire body.

If this pump goes on the blink…..I’m in trouble.

Outline: Red Blood Cells – White blood cell and Platelets

Discovery Church, Discovery Prescott

DREAM BIG/STAY HUMBLE – Colossians part 2

Watch the sermon here:

^“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ” – Colossians 1:15-17 (NIV)

1. By looking at Jesus and what He created we discovery who God is.

vs. 15, 16 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶For in him all things were created:

2. Creation was Jesus idea.

vs. 16b all things have been created through him and for him.

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
²Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
³They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
⁴Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.

“Creation was meant to glorify God. The task of the Christian is not to worship nature, but to join nature in worshiping God,”

Psalm 148:1-5 – Praise to the Lord from Creation

148 Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord from the heavens;
Praise Him in the heights!
²Praise Him, all His angels;
Praise Him, all His hosts!
³Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all you stars of light!
⁴Praise Him, you heavens of heavens,
And you waters above the heavens!

⁵Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For He commanded and they were created.

3. – 7 Million Cars.

In America, more than seven million cars are junked every year. In New York city alone there are over 70,000 abandon cars on the streets. We throw away 40 billion metal cans, 26 billion bottles, and 65 billion bottle caps annually.

Indestructible plastic appears everywhere. Oil spills pollute our beaches and chemical rail and expanding industry destroy our forest.

4. Saving souls or saving trees?

There seems to be a conflict between those who are in the “soul winning” business and those who are in the “tree hugging/saving business.

This is ridiculous…We need saved souls who can live meaningful lives in God’s beautiful world of nature which is yearning to be free from pollution and destruction.

Romans 8:22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

5. We need to care about creation because Jesus made it!

6. We are owners of nothing and stewards of everything.

Psalm 24:1 “A Psalm of David. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.”

Genesis 2:15 “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it.”

Maybe our God is much bigger than we know! – Maybe it’s more than just about us.

For God so loved the world (cosmos) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister. – Colossians 1:23