This past Sunday as we talked about the key ingredient of “vision” for our families we saw from Genesis how God’s vision for human beings needs to get inside us and become our own.
I found this article, which is available for download online, searching “finding your child’s calling”. I thought it had some very helpful insight I wanted to pass along:
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Discover Your Child’s Calling
by Jayna Petterson
“I’ve had it!” My dad blew up in resignation after the home buyer’s financing went sour. “I’ve spent all month nursing this deal and then the mortgage broker chokes it for me. How am I going to tell my buyers?” He reeled at the thought of confrontation and became agitated, mentally rehearsing any other move he could make to salvage this sale. He was out of his game. Even the satisfaction of winning “Realtor of the Year,” earning over one hundred thousand dollars a year and parking his first brand new car in our garage, was eclipsed by his stress in a job that forced him into the wrong mold. He was over fifty when he finally decided to inventory his strongest skills, gifts, and passions and make a drastic life change. Ultimately, my parents sold their ocean-view home and car, bought an RV, and now thrive on traveling and doing volunteer construction projects for Christian camps, churches, and outreach ministries. My dad’s joy has returned, and he beams with enthusiasm recounting the numerous practical ways he has touched others’ lives.
Continue reading ‘10 Clues To Your Child’s Calling’
I hope everyone takes the challenge to read through 1 Chronicles 13 – 16. You can take things to a whole new place in your life if you do. Below are the points we’ve been addressing out of those passage in our study of worship. Worship is so fundamental to our calling and identity as a church, learning and developing ourselves on a deeper level from the Bible can lead to greater fruit, greater connection with God and greater impact in the world.
Worship is:
(There are not definitions but principles surrounding it)
Deciding – not feeling
Celebrating – reverence can be expressed in shouts, dancing, instruments, enthusiasm.
Continue reading ‘Defining Worship:’
Thrill
One of the greatest thrills of my life is standing in our services and being overwhelmed by the music coming from both stage and the congregation. The intensity levels have always been high but it looks like they keep going up. Sometimes I stand and just give thanks because I know I am standing in the middle of answered prayers. There was a day several years back when we only longed for and prayed for what we now experience every Sunday — a sense of free, passionate, give-it-all-you’ve-got worship. I love having a place where I can sing at the top of my lungs, shout until I’m hoarse, and clap until my hands hurt. What a rush.
And, when those times strike me, I often sense the inevitable nudge from the Holy Spirit that says: “Build on this. Take it deeper. Fan the flame”.
Continue reading ‘Gearing Up for the Worship Series’
Understanding Romans:
The essence of other religious systems is DO
The essence of Christianity is DONE
Doing never equals DESERVING
Doing is RESPONDING
We are NOT righteous
Continue reading ‘No More Mullets: Romans Notes (Part 2)’
I cannot stress enough how important and rewarding it is for all of us to become conversant with the content of Romans. My challenge is to have all of us read the entire book over the next three weeks. It’s not really THAT long. I would encourage anyone who can to take the time to read it all in one sitting. It takes less than an hour. Then, go back through it piece by piece each day. If you can’t take that kind of time then do what you can, however small. I have included my sermon notes because the sheer volume of material can be a little overwhelming. I can’t wait to see what God does through our study of this amazing book.
Romans
1:17 = Summary statement of whole book
UNDERSTANDING ROMANS
1) We are not righteous
Continue reading ‘No More Mullets: Romans Notes (Part 1)’
http://www.vimeo.com/5698454
During our “Fact or Fairytale?” Series it was suggested we make notes available since there is a lot of material and a lot to think about. I hope you will continue to pursue your own encouragement and equipping as we all face a society which is extremely skeptical with a faith that is extremely defensible. From our talk on Creation and Evolution:
How do we answer the challenge of evolution?
Romans 1:18-22
Understand
Understand Biblical Creation:
1. An artist made the art
Continue reading ‘Fact or Fairytale – Notes’
While many know my story about deliverance from the drug lifestyle, I don’t think I have ever slowed down and taught (in depth) about what I learned and the process of how to be free. I am reminded regularly of how epidemic the problem of substance abuse is. I have met SO MANY who struggle in that area. So, over the next few weeks we’re going to set the subject on the table.
The preparation has been a fascinating journey for me. I walked through a lot of memories and asked myself a lot of questions. But, most importantly, I am dedicated to trying my best to make sure we focus on God’s Word and let the answers rise out of studying it. It was interesting to try to walk the balance between being autobiographical and purely biblical. So, I looked back to find some of the most meaningful things from the Bible I learned through the time of walking away from drugs. I also have tried to develop a pattern of “owning” books on Sunday’s – so people can achieve some kind of understanding of individual books. Putting those ideas together, I decided to link it all to a look at the book of Ecclesiastes. Read it. It’s a trip (to use drug phraseology). That book actually helped me tremendously in the early days of my walk and was fundamental to giving me a sense of truly never wanting to go back to the old way of doing things again. For a time the old life looked appealing – now it doesn’t at all. I would love to see God instill in all of us that His ways are not just right – but BEST, on every level. I think Ecclesiastes, in all its weirdness, will do that. So, even if drugs haven’t been your struggle, I’ll bet you’ll have a good time looking into one of the Bible’s most unusual books.
See you this Sunday.
This Sunday we’ll begin the “Sex” segment of the “Free” series. As I look forward to and prepare for it I’m surprised at the direction I found myself going. First: the whole series is based out of what scholars call the “wisdom literature” in the Bible (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes). Song of Songs is the book of choice for the sex segment and I am being revolutionized. I’ve studied Song of Songs off and on through the years but decided to really dive in this time around. From the first read in the new study I have been amped in new ways.
Continue reading ‘Starting a new Sexual Revolution’
