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Jesus Our Direction (John 8:12-30)

Our December message series is called “The Child Who Changed the World Forever.” Why is our Christmas season about a baby who was born 2000 years ago? We still remember that birth because the baby who was born was not just another human baby. The baby that was born was God in human flesh. The baby that was born on that first Christmas grew up into the man Jesus Christ. Jesus in a mere 3 years of public ministry, said and did things that turned our world upside down and changed things forever.

In this message series, we’re looking at some of the teachings of Jesus in which He claimed to be God Himself. And as God, Jesus meets the deepest needs of the human heart, including our needs today in the year 2013. Today, my message is entitled “Jesus Our Direction.” In this series, we’re looking at passages from the Gospel of John. If you’re not regularly reading the Bible, I’d encourage you to begin by reading the Gospel of John. Let’s begin today by looking at some of the introductory verses in John 1 which speak of Jesus.

John 1:4-5 (NIV)  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. …

Jesus Our Provision (John 6:25-57)

Today is the first Sunday in December and we begin looking ahead to Christmas in a few weeks. Our December message series is called “The Child Who Changed the World Forever.” The child who changed the world forever was named Jesus. Jesus was the most influential person who has ever lived on this earth bar none. I’d like to read a quote about the influence of Jesus Christ by James Hefley.

Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the Child of a peasant woman. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty, and then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness.

While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a Cross between two thieves. When He was dead He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave. Such was His human life—but He rose from the dead.

Centuries have come and gone and today He is the Centerpiece of the human race and the Leader of the column of progress. All the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever were built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that One Solitary Life.

Today, Christianity is the largest religion in the world with 2.3 billion adherents out of the earth’s 7 billion people. Not only has Jesus had an enormous influence on the entire world, that influence has transformed many individual lives. What is different about Jesus? Was He just a good teacher as so many think? Or was He something much more? To begin to answer that question, let’s look at God’s answer to Moses when Moses asked God His name.

Exodus 3:14 (NIV)  God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” …

Growing in Thanksgiving (Philippians 4:4-9)

This week is Thanksgiving, a day to remind ourselves of everything that we have to be thankful for. Many would trace back our National holiday back to a Thanksgiving celebration of the Pilgrims in 1621. They had endured much in their journey to America and establishing a home here. So they gathered to give thanksgiving to God for His help and provision after a bountiful harvest. Abraham Lincoln was the first President to fix the date as the last Thursday in November and proclaim a national holiday. Yet, the whole concept of thanksgiving has its origin in the Bible and it’s teachings.

As believers, God wants us to not just celebrate Thanksgiving one day a year. He wants us to have hearts of thanksgiving all through the year. Who do you think has more joy in their life? The person who always complains or the person who always give thanks?

So, today, my message is entitled “Growing in Thanksgiving.” Giving thanks is an activity that we can grow in. Thanksgiving is a good habit that can be learned and benefited from. Let’s look at a verse from the Old Testament about giving thanks.

Psalm 107:1 (NIV)  Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. …

God’s Dream for Life Church (Matthew 28:18-20)

Today we come to the conclusion of our message series called “Keep Your Dream Alive.” In this series, we’ve been looking at how God worked in the life of Joseph to fulfill God’s dream for his life. We’ve been applying the principles that we’ve learned from Joseph’s life to our personal lives and dreams. However, when we think more closely about Joseph and his dream, we begin to realize that Joseph’s dream was not just a personal dream. Joseph’s dream was part of a much bigger plan of God to rescue the community of Israel and to help it grow strong for the Lord.

In the same way today, the dreams that God gives to us personally are part of a larger dream that God has for your church. None of us can fulfill our dreams from God alone. We need to be part of a larger dream in our church family in order to see our dreams come to pass. In the New Testament, every believer was part of a local church family. It was inconceivable that a believer would not be part of a church. Within that church family, each believer grew and lived out their dreams in the context of the church dream.

So today, my message is entitled “God’s Dream for Life Church.” I’m going to be talking about God’s dream for His church in general and Life Church in particular. I’ll be sharing how God gave me the seed of this dream 20 years ago and how it is now coming into reality here. The Bible teaches us that God is the one who builds His church. Jesus said in …

Matthew 16:18 (NIV) … I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. …

Persevering Faith (Genesis 49:22-26)

We’re coming to the end of our message series called “Keep Your Dream Alive.” In this series, we’ve been looking at the life of Joseph. We’re learning how Joseph cooperated with God to see his dream come to pass. Just as God created Joseph with a purpose in mind for his life, so God created you and me. God created us to accomplish something for Him with our lives. However, there will be many obstacles and barriers that will need to be overcome to see your dream fulfilled.

Today, we are going to look at an overview of Joseph’s life to see how he persevered in the face of overwhelming obstacles to his dream. We want to learn how we can have the same kind of persevering faith. So today, my message is entitled “Persevering Faith.” Persevering faith is a faith that does not give up when the going gets tough. Persevering faith keeps on believing, even when outward circumstances don’t look promising. Persevering faith has a confidence in God and His plan that keeps on going. Let’s look at what the book of Hebrews has to say about persevering faith.

Hebrews 3:12-14 (NIV) See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. …

Learning Forgiveness (Genesis 45:1-15)

We’re in a message series called “Keep Your Dream Alive.” God wants you to have His dream for your life. He wants you to have hope for a great future, both in this life and the life to come. Yet, there are many things that will try to squelch or kill your dream. Many people give up on God’s dream for their lives and live with little to look forward to. Others become angry and bitter at people or even God Himself, when things don’t seem to work out for their dream. Anger and bitterness come from unforgiveness, which will kill God’s dream for your life. Each one of us will need to learn forgiveness in order to keep our dreams alive.

Today, my message is entitled “Learning Forgiveness.” When do we need to learn forgiveness? We need to learn to forgive when someone hurts us or seems to do damage to the dream for the future that we have for our lives. When a person doesn’t forgive, then anger and bitterness creep into and begin to destroy our lives.

Hebrews 12:14-15 (NIV) Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. …

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