| CHRISTIAN ATHEISM |
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SUNDAY,
13 November 2011
Am I a Christian Atheist? |
| Q: What is a CHRISTIAN ATHEIST? |
| A: Someone who claims to have faith in God, but lives as though He doesn't exist. |
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In Mt.
7:23-27 Jesus told the parable of the wise man
who built his house on rock vs. the foolish man who built his house on sand. The difference was how they responded to the Word... Key Issue: Do we really KNOW God or do we just KNOW ABOUT GOD? Knowing God means that we have a personal, vital growing relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. Key passages: John 15:1-11 and Philippians 3:7-15 3 important truths about KNOWING GOD in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ... #1 – Nothing in all of life can compare to the greatness of knowing God in Christ. #2 – Knowing God in Christ is a lifelong, never fully realized pursuit/commitment. #3 – Knowing God in Christ should be the goal of every believer, not the super spiritual. |
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SUNDAY, 27 November2011 Am I Living Under Grace, or Under Law?
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INTRO: Story
of two persons who grew up in Christian
families... #1 - Became a "model Christian" by conforming and performing... the outcome was a PHARISEE... #2 - Became just the opposite by rebelling against his upbringing... the outcome was a PUBLICAN a la Luke 18:9-14 What both need: the GRACE of GOD... i.e. God's unmerited and undeserved favor, a concept found in 115 verses of the New Testament... 4 GREAT TRUTHS about GRACE: #1 - Jesus Christ is GRACE PERSONIFIED... you want to know what grace is, look to JESUS! John 1:14-18 #2 - Salvation is by GRACE ALONE... Ephesians 2:1-9 and Titus 3:3-7 #3 - Sanctification is by GRACE ALONG through the power of the HOLY SPIRIT... Galatians 5:1-18 #4 - Because we have a Savior who embodies GRACE, Because we have a Salvation that is by GRACE ALONE, Because we are Sanctified by GRACE, OUR LIVES SHOULD BE GRACE-FILLED Matthew 18:21-35 and Romans 14:1-4 |
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SUNDAY, 4 December 2011 When You Believe in God, but not in Prayer |
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INTRO:
Some EXCUSES for prayerlessness #1 – I don’t see any answers when you pray... Others do, but I don’t... #2 – I find prayer boring and feel like I'm getting nowhere... #3 – I don’t feel I'm good enough for God to hear and answer me... #4 – I don’t want to bother God with my small concerns... #5 – I doubt whether my prayers really matter... #6 – If God is sovereign and has ordained everything ahead of time, why pray? HINDRANCES to Praying: Hindrance #1 (Ps. 66:18-19) Unconfessed Sin Hindrance #2 (Mt. 6:12, 14-15) an Unforgiving Heart Hindrance #3 (Lk. 18:1) Giving Up too soon Hindrance #4 (Psalm 139) Misunderstanding the Purpose of Prayer, not to simply ask for things but to build a relationship with God... Hindrance #5 (Luke 18:9-14) Pride Hindrance #6 (James 4:1-10) Selfishness James 4:1-10 gives us an overview of praying effectively: I. Diagnosis of the problem and the sins involved (4:1-4) II. KEY PRINCIPLE: God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble... (4:5) III. The Remedy: submit to God and come to him with humility... (4:6-10) |
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SUNDAY, 11 December 2011 When You Believe in God, but Worry a lot |
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INTRO:
WORRY - from the German word WURGEN which means
“to strangle, constrict, or choke” i.e. MENTAL STRANGULATION Definition: the sin of distrusting the promises and the power of God. We worry about so many things: health/finances/relationships/career/the future Good verses for those who worry: Matthew 6:25-34 Jesus' command not to worry, but to trust God with everything... Philippians 4:4-9 Paul's encouragement to turn our worries into prayers 1 Peter 5:7 Peter's encouragement to cast all our cares upon Him... Psalm 37 David's testimony of trusting everything into God's hands... From Rick Warren's PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE: Meditation is simply focused thinking - a skill anyone can learn and use anywhere. When you think about a problem over and over in your mind, that’s called worry. When you think about God’s Word over and over in your mind, that’s meditation. If you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate. You just need to switch your attention from your problems to God’s promises. The more you meditate on Scripture and pray God’s Word back to Him, the less you’ll have to worry about.` |
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SUNDAY,
1 January 201
When You Believe in God, but Don't Think |
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INTRO:
On this New Year's Day, is there one thing you
would like to see change in your life during the coming year? In John 5:1-11, Jesus, in healing the man who had been waiting for 38 years at the pool of Bethesda. asked him a probing question: "Do you want to get well?" I believe He would ask each of us the same question: "Do you want to change?" The KEY to CHANGE is LETTING GOD CHANGE ME... #1 - Admit you have a problem that needs changing... #2 - Confess this as sin to the Lord with a sense of your helplessness to change what's wrong. #3 - Sincerely ask God to work in your life by the power of the Holy Spirit... #4 - Cut the ties to anything that is holding you back: friends/places/habits... #5 - Share your desire with someone close to you who will pray for you and with you... Keep on reading scriptures like 2 Corinthians 3:16,17; Colossians 1:9-12; 3:1-10 |
