Rejoice Always!
This is a quick “Show Me” recording I made today after our 6th grade Sunday School class about Philippians 4:4-9.
http://www.showme.com/sh/?i=112421
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Focusing of God & Lifting Up Prayers
This was our verse for today. We discussed meditation, the need to give our concerns over to God, and how to focus on the things of God.
Philippians 4:4-9 MSG
“Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute! Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious-the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.”
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Fruits of the Spirit
Galatians 5:16-24 NLT
“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.”
See it at YouVersion.com:
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Publish the Good Works of the Lord
These verses are an exhortation to us to tell of God’s works and the ways we seem him working in our lives. Are you courageous and willing to tell others about God on YouTube? Share 3 minutes about Jesus!
http://3minutesaboutjesus.org
Psalm 96:1-4 NLT
“Sing a new song to the Lord! Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! Sing to the Lord; praise his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods.”
See it at YouVersion.com:
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Stand firm with God against temptation
These are notes from Mateen Elass’ sermon on 13 Nov 2011.
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV)
See it at YouVersion.com:
http://bible.us/1Cor10.13.NIV 1 know we are in a fight
2 3 4 pray for strength
5 flee temptation
6 Trust God’s promise and act accordingly
7 Giving into temptation = sin which always has bad consequences
8 Picture Jesus suffering on the cross as you contemplate a sin (that your sin will add to his suffering)
9 Confess your habitual temptations to another Christian you trust (and overcome the dark power of secrecy)
10 Picture the kind of person Christ is calling you to become 2 book references in this sermon: The Man from Ida Grove: A Senator’s Personal Story http://amzn.com/0912376384 Forever: Why You Can’t Live Without It http://amzn.com/0310328187 Read Mateen’s blog on:
http://mateenelass.wordpress.com/ Sent from my iPhone
http://bible.us/1Cor10.13.NIV 1 know we are in a fight
2 3 4 pray for strength
5 flee temptation
6 Trust God’s promise and act accordingly
7 Giving into temptation = sin which always has bad consequences
8 Picture Jesus suffering on the cross as you contemplate a sin (that your sin will add to his suffering)
9 Confess your habitual temptations to another Christian you trust (and overcome the dark power of secrecy)
10 Picture the kind of person Christ is calling you to become 2 book references in this sermon: The Man from Ida Grove: A Senator’s Personal Story http://amzn.com/0912376384 Forever: Why You Can’t Live Without It http://amzn.com/0310328187 Read Mateen’s blog on:
http://mateenelass.wordpress.com/ Sent from my iPhone
Live Below Your Means
Proverbs 21:20 NLT
“The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get.”
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Self Control and Discipline
Self control in the root of good discipline.
Proverbs 25:28 NLT
“A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.”
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Words Can Wound
Let us not forget the power of words, their capacity to wound as well as heal.
Proverbs 25:18 NLT
“Telling lies about others is as harmful as hitting them with an ax, wounding them with a sword, or shooting them with a sharp arrow.”
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False Prophets and Teachers
Just as God’s people faced false prophets and misleading teachers in the days of the Old and New Testaments, we face people with similarly off-target messages today. We must be knowledgeable and critical thinkers as God’s people! We should not be like stupid sheep, following anyone who claims to speak for God. We must test their words against God’s Word and the Holy Spirit.
Jeremiah 28:15-17 NLT
“Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, but the people believe your lies. Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘You must die. Your life will end this very year because you have rebelled against the Lord.’†Two months later the prophet Hananiah died.”
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1 Timothy 1:3, 4 NLT
“When I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those whose teaching is contrary to the truth. Don’t let them waste their time in endless discussion of myths and spiritual pedigrees. These things only lead to meaningless speculations, which don’t help people live a life of faith in God.”
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God Shapes Our Hearts in the Desert
Today at long last this fall I returned to my Tuesday morning men’s group. We watched another Ray Van der Laan video about the Israelites when God led them to the desert of the Sinai from the fertile fields od Egypt. He tested them asking, “How far will you go to obey me?” I can really relate to this from a financial standpoint at this point in my life. It is very challenging to have full faith in God at any time. That faith is tested most clearly, and perhaps defined most strongly, in times of testing. Ray cited these verses from the Old Testament:
Deuteronomy 8:1-5 NLT
“”Be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today. Then you will live and multiply, and you will enter and occupy the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors. Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord . For all these forty years your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t blister or swell. Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good.” See it at YouVersion.com: http://bible.us/Deut8.1.NLT Test in the East is experiential knowing. God wanted to experience what was in the hearts of His people. Ray also cited this passage from the Exodus: Exodus 15:22-27 NLT
“Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea, and they moved out into the desert of Shur. They traveled in this desert for three days without finding any water. When they came to the oasis of Marah, the water was too bitter to drink. So they called the place Marah (which means “bitter”). Then the people complained and turned against Moses. “What are we going to drink?” they demanded. So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and this made the water good to drink. It was there at Marah that the Lord set before them the following decree as a standard to test their faithfulness to him. He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.” After leaving Marah, the Israelites traveled on to the oasis of Elim, where they found twelve springs and seventy palm trees. They camped there beside the water.” See it at YouVersion.com: http://bible.us/Exod15.22.NLT God said through this experience, “I am going to show you in my actions what is in my heart.” We are all “sticks” in some way, ordinary and wonderful creations of God. In God’s hands, following God’s will, any of us (sticks) can be empowered to do remarkable things through God’s power. Sent from my iPad
“”Be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today. Then you will live and multiply, and you will enter and occupy the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors. Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord . For all these forty years your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t blister or swell. Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good.” See it at YouVersion.com: http://bible.us/Deut8.1.NLT Test in the East is experiential knowing. God wanted to experience what was in the hearts of His people. Ray also cited this passage from the Exodus: Exodus 15:22-27 NLT
“Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea, and they moved out into the desert of Shur. They traveled in this desert for three days without finding any water. When they came to the oasis of Marah, the water was too bitter to drink. So they called the place Marah (which means “bitter”). Then the people complained and turned against Moses. “What are we going to drink?” they demanded. So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and this made the water good to drink. It was there at Marah that the Lord set before them the following decree as a standard to test their faithfulness to him. He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.” After leaving Marah, the Israelites traveled on to the oasis of Elim, where they found twelve springs and seventy palm trees. They camped there beside the water.” See it at YouVersion.com: http://bible.us/Exod15.22.NLT God said through this experience, “I am going to show you in my actions what is in my heart.” We are all “sticks” in some way, ordinary and wonderful creations of God. In God’s hands, following God’s will, any of us (sticks) can be empowered to do remarkable things through God’s power. Sent from my iPad