Loving God through Worship (Psalm 116)

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Today, we begin a new message series called “Four Priorities for Life.” Life in the 21st century is busy, we all have to keep a lot of plates spinning. Most of us are responsible for ourselves, our families, our homes, our work and our church. Each of those responsibilities has many components that take our time and energy each and every day. Not only are we busy in the 21st century, but we have an unprecedented number of distractions in life that can keep us from fulfilling our responsibilities.

Never before in the history of mankind have we had the ability to connect with basically unlimited information and entertainment at the click of a button, whether on the internet, via direct access television or on our smart phones. It is estimated that by 2017, 70% of the world’s population, 5 billion people, will have a mobile phone. That represents unprecedented communication opportunity and unprecedented distraction possibility. With so many distractions, many people are living unfocused lives, unsure of what they should be prioritizing in life. God’s Word has a great deal to say about what our priorities in life ought to be, in order to be successful in God’s eyes.

Psalm 90:12 (NIV)  Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

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A Blessed Father (Psalm 112)

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Happy Father’s Day! We’re glad that you have come to celebrate the day with us. Father’s Day is a day where we first of all give thanks to our heavenly Father for giving us the gift of fathers. Whether you had a great father or one who was lacking in some areas, the fact is that your father helped give you the gift of life. And that is a gift from God.

Ephesians 3:14-15 (NIV2011)  For this reason I kneel before the Father,  from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.

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How People Respond to the Gospel (Mark 4:1-25)

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This morning we’re concluding our message series “Change Your World.” In this series, we’ve looked at different ways that you and I can let our lights shine and drive back the darkness in people’s lives and our world.

Mark 4:21-23 (NIV)  He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand?  For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

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Talking with Strangers about Jesus (Acts 8:26-40)

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Today my message is called “Talking with Strangers about Jesus.” Last week our message was on talking to friends about Jesus. I trust that you’ve been looking for opportunities to talk about Jesus with your friends. Bottom line is that every believer needs to be looking for opportunities to talk to both friends and strangers about Jesus.

Where do we encounter strangers? You can encounter strangers on your job, at your school, in your neighborhood, at the mall, at the grocery store, at the hairdresser, at the doctor’s office, at a restaurant, at a friend’s house, on vacation and so on. It’s easy to just discount strangers because many of them we won’t see again. However, God may have a plan for you to let your light shine with a stranger. In some ways sharing your faith with a stranger may be easier than with a friend, because you may not see them again.

1 Peter 3:14b-15 (NIV)  “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.”  But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

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Talking with Friends about Jesus (John 1:35-51)

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Our message series Change Your World is about how we can make a difference in our world for Jesus. Obviously to change the world, you can’t just go along with what the world is doing and saying. God calls us as believers to be radically different than the world. That’s the only way that we can, with God’s help, change our world.

Today my message is called “Talking with Friends about Jesus.” There are all kinds of levels of friends. The lowest level is simply acquaintances that we see from time to time, maybe working out at the gym, in the workplace or in the neighborhood. The next level of friends are the people that you see regularly and get to know more deeply. Most people will have those type of friends in your workplace, in the church, perhaps a neighbor or relatives outside your immediate family. Finally, you have your close friends, which are people you spend quality time with, you share your heart with them. That will be those in your immediate family, some in the church family and in other areas where you’ve really gotten to know someone. As a believer, the Bible teaches that our really close friends should be other believers. However, our other friends at the lower levels can and should have people who are not yet believers.

Today, we’re going discuss how we can talk to those friends about Jesus. What is our goal in talking with friends about Jesus? It is to introduce them to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the only one who can give them purpose in this life. What are the things that hinder us from talking with our friends about Jesus? Perhaps you’re just embarrassed to talk about Jesus. It’s just not the cool thing to do. What will they think of me? I’m sure they wouldn’t be interested in talking about Jesus.

2 Timothy 1:8 (NIV)  So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,

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The Cost of Following Jesus (Luke 15:25-35)

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Today we’re back to our message series Change Your World. In this series, we’re looking at passages throughout the New Testament that give us examples and instruction on how to influence and impact our world. When we look around us, when we read the news or look at various media, the problems of our world and it’s lack of godliness is evident. We all long for a better world. Our temptation as believers is to criticize, grumble and complain about the problems in the world. Is it right for us as believers to complain or worry about the sinfulness of the world? What do you think?

I don’t think it is. God’s Word tells us not to complain or worry about anything. Not only does it not accomplish anything, it turns off the very people that God wants us to reach. Now, this is not to say that we must never point out the sin of the world, but if we do, it always must be in the context of the solution to the problem, which is Jesus. The answer to every problem of our world is Jesus. The answer for the problems of any particular person is in that person becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ. So, how do we change our world? By making disciples of Jesus of the people of the world. …

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