Sunday, August 10, 2008

 

Announcements - Ben
Singles Service today
Col 3:5, 11 Chris is all, and in all
Seek unity in Christ
Sept 28th -- Special Contribution Sunday
Suzanne Maule getting married - shower today 2 -4 pm
SE Central Regional Volunteer project 8/16 at 8 am

 

Baptism -- Adam Philemon
Ecc 12:1-3

 

Communion -- Paul Baker,   moved from Greensboro recently, in the Singles ministry and Tanisha  
 Luke 22:19-20
Tanisha -- she heard this scripture weekly growing up - What does this mean?  What is this about? 
She went through the routine, attended church regularly
she's from Charlotte, her father raised her
she was the "woman of the house"
her heart was nowhere near where it needed to be
She stuffed her feelings
Her mom left when she was 9, her mom tried to connect with her again when she was in college.   Her mom became a disciple in St. Thomas. 
Tanisha went to Syracuse for her masters -- her mom called the church ahead of time.    The singles and marrieds in the church reached out to her.
Ten months later, her heart softened. 
1 John 4:9-10
Contribution:   Mark 12:41-44

 

Mike Dames    The Gift of Choice:  Making Wise Choices
need to build relationships across all groups
marrieds / singles / campus / teens
Valley experiences = making poor choices
can only blame himself
bad times = poor choices
good times = wise choices

 

We use the word of God as the standard for our lives
What does the word wise or wisdom mean?     To fear the Lord.
What does the word choice mean?  you have options
Where do choices come from?   Who gives us these options?   God does -- it's called free will
He could force us to do things but that's not God's way
You have to have a conviction to obey God's word
There's a difference between knowledge and wisdom
knowledge comes from the word of God
move it to your heart, obey it with trust and faith, then you have wisdom
Ps 118:23-24
Phil 4:4-6
This is a day from the Lord, even with challenges, we need to rejoice
James 1:17
Prov 2:1-5  chap 2   moral benefits of wisdom  you don't get old being dumb; teens, nothing new under the sun.  I have things as I mature that can help you.
A healthy fear of the Lord is the 1st step of wisdom. 
Prov 3:1-2  when you're walking with God and obeying His word, you'll have a long life
Mt 7:24-27  wise and foolish builders
difference between these two builders -- the choice of foundation
Jesus tells us to choose the right foundation, choose wisely
compare your life to the word of God
Is my house still built on the right foundation?
Once saved always saved is the biggest lie Satan ever told
You have to continue being faithful and obeying God's word
This is all I've got
Universal Building Inspector -- God - inspected Mike's life and shut him down
Nothing in this life worth saving, condemn it, demolish it and start over
Mike wished a true disciple had reached out to him at Adam's age - but he wasn't truly seeking then.  He wasted half his life.  
How are you valuing your resource of time?
If you're studying, wrestle with the scriptures but don't wait until it's too late
Mike went home a few months ago and wanted to look up some people.   It took ten people to find one alive, and these were people his age.
Wake up, stop wasting your time.  
Start digging into God's word.
2 Peter 1:3-11
escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires
God knows all of Satan's traps, need to be in the word to fight Satan

 

We need to not only make wise choices, but be zealous of the choices we make
God does not expect any of us to be perfect
don't prolong making a decision to be baptized until you are perfect, he will take you as you are right now
if we can put our pride aside and see it for what it is, it's a no-brainer
The Bible is written at a 7th grade reading level
It all boils down to whether or not you trust

 

Practicals:  
Every man and woman on the planet needs Jesus, whether they realize it or not
1 - be in the Word
2 - obey the Word
3 - surround yourself with good men and women who know all about you (not sin buddies); men and women who are not afraid to speak the truth in love to you
The Bible says encourage one another, some of use are very good at this, but the scripture is also used to correct, rebuke and train in righteousness
Joshua 24:15  choose who you will serve.   As for me and my house . . .
When you meet your creator, it's just between you and Him.
You'll watch the DVD called "your life"
exams - open book test - that's what your life is with God -- we have no excuse
your life -- this is not a team sport
we worship as a family at midweek and Sunday's
He's proud of Brittany Scurry, getting baptized last week.   He's watched her grow up, like his own daughter, now his own sister in Christ.
Adam is always here early and late, serving somebody. 
If you haven't made the decision, what are you waiting for?

 

There are some things we have no choice about - our parents, our genetic make-up, the environment we grew up in.   You can choose how to respond to life. 
Are you stuck on -- the devil made me do it?
Life is about daily choices
Made good choices every day, those turn into months and years
The God we serve is so full of grace and mercy, when we ask for forgiveness, he will always forgive
between stimulus and response is your choice
someone cuts you off in traffic . . .
someone calls you stupid . . .
someone charges you the wrong amount . . .
someone strikes you on the cheek . . . (don't test him on that one, he's not there yet)
parents, your kids mess up the house . . .

 

Practicals:
Rom 6:1-14
1 Cor 10:31
No matter how much of a mess you are, every day is a new day, you get a do-over, it's called repentance.
Do you hang onto bitterness or do you choose to forgive?
This is a bunch of angry Christians
you can wallow in self-pity or exercise the option of this day
you can be the best _________  (mother, son, student, worker) that you can possibly be

 

2 Cor 13:5-9   examine yourself
don't get so full of yourself that you think you've arrived
you're either part of the solution or part of the problem
on the days he has multiple challenges, it's God's way of humbling him out
He sends tests and trials
you get a testimony from taking the tests
He's proud to call himself our brother in Christ
God is good and he's good all the time