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Reaching Out In 2007

Church, Life, Message / By Pastor Dan Walker / January 2, 2007

Well, it’s the last day of 2006. Another year has come and gone. Life is a journey and the years, months and days are the stepping stones of that journey. Your life’s journey is not meant to be random meanderings, God intends for you to go somewhere in your life. His purpose is for you to accomplish things that will last for eternity. You will only accomplish God’s purpose for your life in the context of a church family that has a vision, a church family that is going somewhere with God.

Let’s talk about where Life Church is going as a church. The year of 2006 was an important year for us as a church. Our theme for the year was focused on the purpose-driven life. We looked at God’s five purposes for our lives, purposes that give us direction in keeping in step with God’s will. I believe that during 2006 our church family grew stronger in many ways, as we continued to grow numerically.

So what’s ahead in 2007? My message today is entitled “Reaching Out in 2007.” I believe the theme that God has for Life Church in 2007 is “Reaching Out.” What does it mean to Reach Out? To reach out means to stretch beyond the comfortable circle of our church family to those who are outside. God has blessed us as believers, but the blessing of God comes with an obligation. Here is God’s promise to Abraham, our father in the faith. NIV Genesis 12:2 … I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. God blessed Abraham for a purpose, so that He would be a blessing to others. God has blessed you as well. Why? So that you would be a blessing.

Who does God want us to reach out to? God desires us to reach out to those who are lost. Many people are lost from a relationship with God. They wouldn’t think of themselves as lost, yet they don’t have a living faith in Jesus Christ. So, what’s in it for you? The Bible says, NIV Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. Your most precious possession is your faith in Jesus Christ. As you give it away to those who are lost, you will receive from God all that you need. Wouldn’t it be great if all your relatives and friends were believers, living for God, active and growing in the church family at Life Church?

Today, we’re going to look at a passage from Luke 15 where Jesus teaches on the importance of reaching out to the lost. The story begins in NIV Luke 15:1-3 Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable: The important point here is that Jesus told the following story about a lost sheep because He was being criticized for being around lost people. Those who reach out to the lost will always be criticized by others, but Jesus told this story to encourage us to continue to reach out. So, what does Jesus want to teach us today about reaching out to the lost?

To hear more about this topic, listen to my December 31, 2006 message entitled Reaching Out In 2007

Experience God’s Love In Jesus

God, Message / By Pastor Dan Walker / December 26, 2006

If you’ve had to opportunity to watch children, I’m sure you’ve noticed that they live in a world of their own. Children aren’t interested in how much money is left in the check book at the end of month. They simply expect food on the table when it’s time to eat. Children aren’t interested in the difficulties you had with your boss this week. They want you to come and play with them. You see, children can’t come into your world, they don’t really understand it. So, we as parents must come into our children’s world to show them our love.

Even as adults, we too are children of our heavenly Father and we really can’t understand everything about God who dwells in heaven. NIV Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. Yet as children, we need to experience our Father’s love. As children, we’ve been disobedient and become estranged from our Father. And as children, there’s nothing that we can do to make things right

So, at Christmas, 2000 years ago, God the Father took the first step toward His disobedient children. He sent His only Son Jesus into the world of His children. And Jesus was sent, not simply as a divine being, but fully human as well. For us to understand Him, He came as a baby who grew into adulthood. The story is so familiar that we don’t appreciate the how mind-blowing it all is. God Himself became a human baby.

Why did Jesus come to earth this way? So that you and I could experience God’s love. Today, my Christmas message is entitled “Experience God’s Love In Jesus.” God wants you to experience His love in Jesus. Although Jesus came for everyone, not everyone experiences His love. Experiencing God’s love is the greatest thing in life, it’s the greatest thing in eternity. NIV 1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. God sent His Son Jesus to be born into our world and ultimately to be put to death by the people He came to love. Jesus came into our world, knowing that He would experience death on a cross. Yet, through that death, He would make it possible for God’s disobedient children to be brought back into the Father’s house.

So today, we’re going to take a little time out of the busyness of the season. We’re going to reflect on how God showed His love to us at Christmas. As we do, my prayer is that each one of us would experience for ourselves, God’s love in Jesus in a fresh way.

To hear more about this topic, listen to my December 24, 2006 message entitled Experience God’s Love In Jesus

Discover Hope For Your Life

God, Message / By Pastor Dan Walker / December 18, 2006

Christmas is a season of hope. Children are hoping that it snows. Adults are hoping that it doesn’t snow. Some people are hoping they’ll get a certain gift. Others are hoping that their relatives won’t fight on Christmas Eve. All kinds of hopes. These kinds of hope are wishes that something good will happen. Sometimes these kinds of hopes come true, sometimes they don’t. These kinds of hope are based on people’s wishes, a very uncertain foundation for hope.

The Bible talks about a different kind of hope, a hope that is not centered within yourself and your situation, but a hope that is centered on God. The hope of the Bible is centered on the person of Jesus Christ NIV Romans 15:12 … Isaiah says, “The Root of Jesse [Jesus] will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him.” The prophet Isaiah prophesied in the Old Testament that a Messiah, a King of Kings, would one day come. This King, who was to rule over the nations, would not be just for the nation of Israel, but the rest of the world. The Gentiles would put their hope in Him.

The kind of hope that is centered in Jesus is not just a wish. The hope that is centered in Jesus is a certainty. Hope in Jesus provides stability for your life and your eternity. This Christmas, what are you hoping for? Perhaps you are hoping that next year will be better than 2006. Perhaps you are hoping that you will get that pay raise. Perhaps you are hoping that someone you love will be healed from a sickness. Most people’s hopes have no object, they are simply hope in hope.

The hope I am going to talk about today is a hope with an object, a hope centered in the person of Jesus Christ. My message today is entitled “Discover Hope For Your Life.” In this message, we are going to be taking a look at the wise men or magi that came to worship Jesus. How can those magi be an example to you and I in our quest for hope? If there are situations in your life that appear hopeless, if there is someone you know who has little hope in life, than this message is for you.

To hear more about this topic, listen to my December 17, 2006 message entitled Discover Hope For Your Life

Grow Into A Woman Of Faith

Life, Message / By Pastor Dan Walker / December 12, 2006

Christmas in coming closer everyday, it’s only fifteen days away now. Christmas is a wonderful season of the year and a busy season. Each of us needs to be careful, that in the midst of gift buying, decorating and cookie baking, we give some thought to the true meaning of Christmas. Do your part to keep Christ in Christmas.

Use the word Christmas, don’t follow the crowd and use Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings. If your work has dropped Christmas, give them a little flack. Why is it that suddenly everyone has become so careful to not offend anyone except Christians? I’m offended when people or businesses refuse to use the Christmas. Speak up, send an email, write a letter, make a phone call. Make a difference.

Christmas is about Jesus coming to this earth to teach us about faith, hope and love. NIV 1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. Faith, hope and love are qualities that you can develop in this life with God’s help Faith, hope and love and going to last forever. Christmas is about looking beyond the hustle and bustle of daily life, looking beyond work and play, family and fun. Christmas is about God breaking into the lives of ordinary people.

Christmas is about God sending His Son Jesus to become one of us. Because of Christmas 2000 years ago, the world has never been the same. That’s why we celebrate Christmas. Do you believe in the miracle of Christmas? NLT Hebrews 11:6 It is impossible to please God without faith. Faith is essential to please God, faith is essential to know God. Not just any kind of faith, but faith in God and what He has said.

Today, my message is entitled “Grow Into A Woman Of Faith.” We are going to be looking at the life of Mary, a woman of faith. Mary was chosen by God to bring Jesus into the world. Why did God choose Mary? What it just random chance? Did God see qualities in Mary that pleased Him? What can you and I learn from Mary’s experience? How can you as a woman learn from Mary’s example?

Today, we’re going to look at a passage of the Bible in Luke 1 which begins NIV Luke 1:26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. What happened next was supernatural. An angel appeared to Mary and spoke God’s Word to her. We’re going to look at God’s Word and Mary’s response to learn some lessons for our own lives. God is still speaking today, do you believe it?

To hear more about this topic, listen to my December 10, 2006 message entitled Grow Into A Woman Of Faith

Become A Man Of Courage

Life, Message / By Pastor Dan Walker / December 5, 2006

Courage is in short supply these days. Here’s my definition of courage, “Doing the right thing in the face of opposition.” Why do I think that courage is in short supply? I see a lot of people just going along with the flow and doing the wrong thing. It takes courage to go against the flow and do the right things in life. The opposite of courage is simply going with the flow, doing what everybody around you is doing. The opposite of courage is cowardice, being so afraid of what other people think that you simply take a poll and follow the majority.

Today I am going to talk about the topic “Become A Man Of Courage.” Of course, this also applies to women, but today I’m going to focus on the men. Next Sunday, I’ll have a message for the women. NIV 1 Corinthians 16:13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Men, God is commanding you to be a man of courage, to be strong. God isn’t interested in any wimps following Him, in fact, the Bible tells us that there will be no cowardly people in heaven (Revelation 21:8 if you want to look it up).

There is a relationship between being courageous and strong. The phrase “Be strong and courageous” occurs ten times in the Bible. Men of courage don’t just sit around watching television, men of courage are following their commander, Jesus Christ. Men of courage are making things happen for the Kingdom of God. So, how can you become a man of courage?

Today, I am beginning a new series of messages called “Lessons From The Nativity Story.” In this series, we are going to look at how God used some ordinary people to transform the history of the world. Today, we’re going to focus on the person of Joseph, the husband of Mary, the earthly father of Jesus Christ. God chose a strong and courageous man to be the earthly father of His Son and I believe we can learn a lot from Joseph that will help each of us become men of courage.

From studying the history of the time we learn that Mary was probably in her teens when she was betrothed to Joseph. Joseph on the other hand was probably well established in his trade and in his thirties or older. The betrothal usually occurred a year before the finalization of the marriage and of course there was to be no intimacy before that time was over. Our story begins in NIV Matthew 1:18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

Joseph had found a nice girl to marry, the families were agreeable and they were engaged, but before the marriage happened, Mary was found to be pregnant. Now the Bible tells us that this was through the Holy Spirit and an angel had told Mary, but Joseph didn’t know what was going on. Talk about some adversity, his fiancee was pregnant and Joseph knew that he didn’t have anything to do with it. How should he respond? How would you respond?

To hear more about this topic, listen to my December 3, 2006 message entitled Become A Man Of Courage

Life’s Greatest Questions

Life, Message / By Pastor Dan Walker / November 27, 2006

Today, I’m going to be talking about “Life’s Greatest Questions.” Your life and your eternal destiny are determined by the decisions that you make in life. As you and I go through life, we are faced with an ongoing series of choices or questions.

Life is kind of like the game shows where the contestant is offered the choice of door number one, number two or number three. The contestant’s choice will make the difference between going home with something of great value or something of no worth. The difference between the game shows choices and our choices in life is that in the game show, the contestant has no idea which choice to make. In life, our choices should be much easier, because we have a guide which tells us which choice to make. The guide that we have to tell us what choice to make is the Bible. So, when we’re faced with a choice between three different doors, we take a look at the Bible and it shows us which choice to make.

In life there are five fundamental questions that everyone must answer, whether they recognize the questions or not. These five questions are interrelated and your answer to each one influences your answers to the other ones. The five questions relate to the five biblical purposes that God has for your life. NIV Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. You can choose all kinds of plans for your life, but unless you choose the Lord’s purpose, your life will not succeed.

Not only are these five questions and purposes important for your life, they are also important as you reach out to others who are not yet believers. Most people around you are not believers, they are going through life trying to fulfill their own purposes. The answers they give to the five questions we are going to talk about today, are based on what they perceive will bring them enjoyment in life. When you begin to understand these questions, you can use them to cause people to think more deeply about this life and eternity.

The whole year of 2006, I have been preaching on God’s five biblical purposes for your life, based on concepts from the book “The Purpose Driven Life.” If you have never read the book, I encourage you to read it, as it will give you a sound biblical basis for understanding and carrying out those purposes in your own life. All of my messages from this year are available in audio form on our website, if you’d like to listen to them. So, let’s take a look at Life’s Greatest Questions

To hear more about this topic, listen to my November 26, 2006 message entitled Life’s Greatest Questions