June 27, 2010

REVIEW – The Following Powerful Verses

Genesis 2:16

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, `You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

Genesis 3:2-9

The woman said to the serpent, We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, `You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’  You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.  When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.  Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.  Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.  But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

Genesis 3:21

The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.

Luke 22:17-20

“After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.  In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

DISCUSSION – Discuss these questions with your group

QUESTIONS

• How was the original sin of Adam and Eve “paid for”?
• What does the term substation-ary atonement mean to you?
• Describe the new covenant that Jesus describes in Luke 22:20.
• How would your life be different if this new covenant not been created by Jesus?

RESPONSE – Decide how you can respond by discussing these thoughts with your group

• If you did not know about this covenant, would you want someone to tell you?
• Who can you tell about the new covenant?
• What is one way you can live more for Jesus this week?

PRAY

Stop and pray for specific struggles each is having…and commit to do so

throughout the week.

It’s Time

Exodus 2:1-10 (NIV)

¹ Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, ² and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. ³ But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. ⁴ His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

⁵ Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it. ⁶ She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.

⁷ Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”

⁸ “Yes, go,” she answered. And the girl went and got the baby’s mother. ⁹ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. ¹⁰ When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”

REVIEW

This scripture serves to highlight a key question:

• Who would you be willing to reach out to, if you knew God was in complete control?

In this scripture, Moses sister trusted that God was in control and she reached out to Pharaoh’s daughter instead of standing by and watching. She, Moses’ sister Miriam (we find out her name later), followed the road to God’s destination, and God’s freedom; rather than her own.

This scripture leads to a key follow up question:

• Which road do you want to take?  God’s road, or your road?

OUR RESPONSE

We know Moses became one of the greatest leaders in Scripture, and his sister played a huge role simply by taking action instead of just sitting back and watching.

• There are people who you could invite to church
• Refuse to do nothing, and trust God to reach out to someone and invite them to church

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• When is a time that you have taken your road, versus taking God’s road?  How did it go?
• When is a time that you have taken God’s road, versus taking your road?  How did it go?
• Do you trust God enough to invite someone to church?
• Write down a name of the person you are going to invite, and pray for the opportunity to do so.

PRAY

Stop and pray for specific struggles each is having…and commit to do so throughout the week.

Father’s Day

We all have an earthly father who has/had the potential to be the most influential person in our lives.  As a father and leader you do or will have the potential to be the most important person in your child’s life.

Can you imagine if the world had more good leaders?  Can you imagine the impact on the world?

Can you imagine if your child had a great leader?  Can you imagine how he/she would be affected?

REVIEW

This message contained a key verse:

• “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” – Matthew 7:13-14

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• What would the world be like if we had more good leaders?
• What makes a good leader?
• What kind of leader do you want to be?
• What would it look like to go “through the narrow gate”?
• Who do you know that goes “through the narrow gate”?  What type of leader is he/she?

FOCUS VERSE

Write this verse down, keep it close to you during the week (maybe in a pocket, maybe on your nightstand, in the cup-holder in your car), and pray about it continuously:

• “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” – Matthew 7:13-14

RESPONSE

If you want to be a better father/leader, we can respond by improving the 3 M’s

M – Modeling

M – Management

M – Memories

Ideas to help guide your actions:

M – Modeling

• It’s not what’s taught, but what’s caught

M – Management

• To invest time in your child, is how you show love.  Love is spelled T-I-M-E to children

M – Memories

• Not in a minute, but for a minute

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• What one thing could you do to be a better model?
• What is one thing that you could cut out to invest more time in children?
• How do you feel when someone says ‘in a minute’?

PRAY

Stop and pray for specific struggles each is having…and commit to do so

throughout the week.

Direction in the Storm Part 1
What Do You See?

2 Kings 6:8

2 Kings 6:8 is a story about a prophet named Elisha. During this time God provided a way to speak to His people through these prophet. This is a story when God spoke to His people to give them better vision, to SEE better and instructed his people to show love, even to their enemies.

REVIEW
This scripture contains some key verses:

• CHALLENGE (2 Kings 6:13)
o Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.” 14 Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.

• TRUST(2 Kings 6:16)
o “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

• OUR INSTINCT(2 Kings 6:21)
o When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?”

• GOD’S WAY(2 Kings 6:22)
o “Do not kill them,” he answered. “Would you kill men you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master.” 23 So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory.

OUR RESPONSE

If you want better vision in the Storm, try to SEE better

Seek the heart and mind of God.
Enlist the help of others.
Execute a plan

FOCUS VERSE

Ecclesiastes 4:9 (NIV)” Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work…”
Read this scripture and answer the following questions:

• Where in my life are two people better than one?
• Who are my mentors? In work, in life, in relationships, in faith?
• What are if your life could be better with another person to help you?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
• What is one practical step that I can take to seek the heart and mind of God.
• Is there someone that I can ask to serve as a mentor to me
• Is there anyone that I can mentor?
• What steps have taken to develop a plan?
• What practical goals can I set to help me SEE God.
o Goals should be SMART
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time based

PRAY
Stop and pray for specific struggles each is having…and commit to do so
throughout the week.

Lost and Found Part Two – The Prodigal Son
May 30, 2010

Luke 15:11

The Prodigal son is a story contrasting two brothers. One has intentionally made poor choices causing him to be physically lost from his father, and his brother who stays at home but is lost spiritually. This parable describes the younger son’s journey and his welcome home by both father and brother.

REVIEW
This parable contains five responses to circumstances:
• RESTLESSNESS (Luke 15:11-12)
o The fall of the prodigal began the moment he claimed his rights; when he separated his interests from the interests of his family–and not simply when he began to live separately and recklessly, far from home.
• REBELLION (Luke 15:13-16)
o The younger son wasn’t content with what he had, he needed more. So he left for a “distant country” where I am certain he believed the grass would be greener. He desired freedom without restraints, and ended up enslaving himself and doing for a stranger what he would not do for his father – work!
• REPENTANCE(Luke 15:17-19)
o We often meet our destiny on the road we take to avoid it…the first step in repentance comes when we realize we have a problem…that what we are doing is wrong. This usually happens when we hit rock bottom…this son does, and all he has left is to repent…
• RECONCILIATION (Luke 15:20-24)
o What the father does is a VIVID picture of GRACE…the son gets what he doesn’t deserve! It was the sons hope of mercy that brought him to repentance and forgiveness
• RESENTMENT (Luke 15:25-32)
o This guy is MAD…and he has a RIGHT to be right?? He is condemning the Fathers forgiveness…the Bible tells that the Greatest Commandments are TO LOVE the Lord your God with…and to Love you neighbor as yourself…this older brother breaks both!

OUR RESPONSE is to Realize we are not as close to home as we think, and then Return to our Heavenly Father.

“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
– Jesus (Matt 11:28)

Our way home is through being made new…look at this passage of Scripture from 2 Corinthians 5:17 –
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
Read this scripture and answer the following questions:
• Do I use the past as something to learn from, or something that defines me?
• How is my new creation different from the old creation?
• Do you feel that forgiveness needs to be earned or deserved? Are some things or some people more forgivable than others?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
• In the Prodigal Son Parable – Which brother do you most resemble? Is that different from who you want to resemble?
• Can you think of some examples where you have acted like the son?
• Can you think of some examples where you have acted like the brother?
• Can you think of some examples where you have acted like the father?
• Do you feel closer to God when you extend mercy to others?
• When you reconcile with someone, is there a benefit to you?
• Is there anyone that you should extend mercy to and offer reconciliation?

PRAY
Stop and pray for specific struggles each is having…and commit to do so
throughout the week.

Lost and Found – Part 1
Read Luke 15:1-10
The sheep is lost naturally, and the coin is lost accidentally. Take a moment and discuss this difference.
Sometimes we lose things naturally – like when a family member or friend dies. This can be expected as with old age, or unexpected like a tragic accident. Either way it is painful, very painful. This kind of loss fills us with the heaviest “out of control” feelings…the ones that come when we are faced with a loss we can do nothing about.
Has anyone ever experienced this kind of loss? You have felt the complete powerlessness of life…and maybe have looked into the window of hopelessness…or maybe felt it?
Discuss what this feels like if someone has experienced this, or what it might feel like if no one has. It raises up all kinds of helpless feelings, right?
Death can do this…makes us wonder “What is it all for?” If we live for ourselves, then at the end we lose it all when we die…so what you are living for matters, right?
“He who dies with the most toys wins!” Heard this? Lived this? What is harder – to live like this or not to live like this?
In verse 7 Jesus adds a part that is not in the parable he just told, namely that God’s joy comes from the repentance of the lost. Jesus’ statement about the “ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” is more than likely an ironical poke at the Pharisees – He is not saying that some don’t need repentance, only that some do not know they need repentance.
Other times things are lost accidentally, and these we usually figure we can “fix” or “find”. This leads us to a place of panic or frustration depending on what was lost. We are really talking about “things” here – keys, money, wallet, purse, etc. Have you ever lost something like this?
More than likely the coins the woman lost might be part of her dowry…what a man got if he married her. It could make the difference in the kind of man she married (got to marry her). This was common during the time, and men looked for what was in it for them when they were choosing a bride…sad but true. But it places a context to the lost coin that maybe we could see why she would have gone to such lengths. Also the fact that she would have lit a lamp infers she was poor because the poor houses had no windows. So she was losing a large portion of her 401K…
Again the point here is not on the object or situation by which it came to be lost…but on the effort spent finding it.
So think of a time when you lost your wallet or keys…and what did you do to get them back? Did you blow up because of the “how” (who moved my keys? etc)? Did you spend more time thinking how this happened of how to find this lost item?
You see the “how” something is lost really does not matter. The details do not matter as much as the finding! We all need to “repent”, and the act of repentance the Greek word “metanoia” was used which literally means to turn around, kind of a reversal of the way one is thinking or acting. We all do things, think things, and say some things we probably should not, and simply put should repent and try not to do them anymore.
Our Response:

Focus – On Jesus…eliminate distractions
Name three things you could do less or more of that would help this.

Find the Lost – Look for Divine Appointments, Holy Interruptions
Challenge yourself to commit to DO something. Come alongside a ministry and do a project. Or find something you can do to reach out to someone out of your comfort zone.
Pray:
Heavenly Father,
You created everything, and all Glory belongs to you…
Help me to focus on Jesus, and to not let distractions get in the way.
I am so BUSY…help me to have the strength to slow down, and to realize that less can be more.
And give me the strength to go outside my comfort zone and look for the lost,
And when I find someone that I have the strength to act…
I ask this in Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

We Gather Together Sundays @ San Juan Hills High School Gym @ 10 a.m.
What is Hope Crossing? on December 3rd, 2009 No Comments ,Edit
Every Sunday
10 a.m. @ San Juan Hills High School Gym

29211 Vista Montana?San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

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Guided Missles
Weekly Thought on November 20th, 2009 No Comments ,Edit
Are You a Guided Missile?
Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. Psalms 25:12 (ESV)
The advancement in military weapons of the last few decades is unbelievable, and very scary. All one has to do is turn on the Military Channel and you can see all the most modern weapons and how they are used. One thing that is more and more prevalent is the use of technology in combination with weapons.

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Sleepless
Weekly Thought on November 19th, 2009 No Comments ,Edit
“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” Psalms 62:1-2 (NIV)
I want to start with a simple fact that rest and specifically that sleep is so important and that without it we would die. Look at these facts:

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