Heading to Oregon for a 15 mile hike near Mt. Jefferson. Here’s the area, if you want to view it:
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Author Archives: admin
Etched: Whats’ Written on Your Heart?
What's Written on Your Heart
This week we began our series “Etched”, which is a fresh look at the most well known social law system in history: The Ten Commandments. (Exodus 20:1-17) {Listen if you want}
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The 10 Commandments aren’t meant to break our backs with rules, but to break our hearts for relationships. If we were to identify one ‘big idea’ for these set of commandments it would look like this: “Together…let’s enjoy our REAL, RELATIONAL, REDEEMER.”
The 10 Commandments are designed to help us enjoy God…together, with other people. So, the first 4 are vertical – they teach us how to fully enjoy (love) God. The last 6 are horizontal – they teach us how to enjoy (love) others.
Remember…the Ten Commandments were written by a REAL God, who has loyally pursued a RELATIONSHIP with us, and has even gone to great extents to REDEEM us from our sins. With that as a back drop, God has every right to demand from us these ten basic pinciples for life in community.
But, here’s the brutal truth: if we don’t like God…we definitely won’t like His commandments. We will never receive the message of the Ten Commandments until we first fall in love with the God who spoke them!
This week, I challenge you to put the Ten Commandments to memory. ETCH THEM ON YOUR HEART and learn to ENJOY your REAL, RELATIONAL REDEEMER!
For further study of the Ten Commandments, here are some great books I encourage you to buy:
Jar Stories
Hard Times are defining moments. They will either make us trust God more, or they will make us trust God less.
That’s really all we have to know about Hard Times. This is a moment that will change me. No matter the outcome of this moment – I will either trust God more in the process, or I will trust Him less.
The question is: How do I learn to trust Him more in Hard Times?
This week, we discovered that God takes great pleasure in watching us learn to trust Him more. We learned from a mom in 2 Kings 4 who was facing a very hard time. Using empty jars, God met her need in a UNIQUE way. He COLLABORATED with a lot of people, and His miraculous provision was PROPORTIONATE to her faith.
Listen to this week’s message and then answer these questions for yourself:
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- What’s Your Jar Story?
- Who will God collaborate with in your Jar Story ( OR How will God use YOU in someone else’s Jar Story?)
- How big will your jar story be?
Feel free to share your “Jar Story” below
Throwing in the Towel…
Most of us have a few ‘towels’ in our hands that we are just about ready to throw in. Marriage. Kids. Jobs. Self. There are all kinds of things that we get discouraged about and want to quit. But…should we? Don’t throw in the towel. Not here. Not now. It’s too soon to quit.
Before you quit…listen to this sermon on Perseverance.
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A Life Well Lived…Examining Noah’s Legacy
What will you do when God invites you to be what nobody else is willing to be?
Noah was a nobody. Not famous. Not well known. Just an ordinary guy with an extraordinary story.
Listen to my sermon about Noah and discover what God can do when we listen to the heart of God…
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Bitterness
Bitterness is a cycle. It starts as a root, then it becomes FRUIT. It starts underground where no one can see it, but it eventually grows outside the ground and starts producing fruit – and it CAUSES TROUBLE for others.
Imagine bitterness as a house.
We’ve all stayed in the house of bitterness. Some of us are long term residents. When we stay at the House of Bitterness…we take on all the characteristics of the other house guests: we begin to bear the fruit of other bitter people and suddenly we find ourselves hurting people in ways that are worse than the offenses that made us bitter.
The only way out of the house of bitterness is through the doorway of forgiveness.
To learn more about getting rid of the toxin of bitterness…listen to my message on this topic…
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Common Sense and Creation: Can They Co-Exist?
Where did we come from? A cosmic explosion? An evolutionary process? Or, are we the result of intelligent design?
The Bible says that God created us. But, is that really plausible scientifically? Listen to this talk with an open mind as I examine whether the Genesis account is really possible.
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Generosity
What does it mean to be generous and why should I care?
- Generosity is SACRIFICE that changes our STATUS QUO
- Generosity reminds us of the truth:
WE ARE RICH, compared to 90% of the world’s population - We will not take our wealth with us when we die…so we should invest it in helping people have eternal life
Listen to my sermon about this:
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Abandoned by God?
Have you ever felt like you are all alone – like God disappeared overnight and left you to sort out the big questions in life? If you haven’t…one day you will.
The book of Exodus is a story of PRESENCE….God’s presence. We discover that even when we *think* we have been abandoned, God is watching and working all the time….
Listen to my message on this subject:
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