18
Jun '17

Trust in the Lord

Posted on Jun 18, 2017 by admin in Family in the Bible, Love in the Bible, Prayers, Reading the Bible, Sermons | Tags: ,

18
Jun '17
In a world where most of us get beat up to one degree or another, many people come out of these beatings with a problem in being able to trust anyone else – ever again!

All you have to do is watch the daily news and it is one tragic story after another.

Our neighborhoods are no longer as safe as they used to be. Bizarre, random, and senseless type crimes seem to be on the increase with all of the shootings that have occurred at our high schools, and now in our churches and in the courthouses themselves with the latest round of senseless tragedies that have just occurred.

All of us, to one degree or another, have been wronged in some way throughout the course of our lives.

And for some, these wrongs have been vicious, nasty, and sometimes extremely traumatic – especially those who have been victims of crimes such as assaults, robberies, and actual murders of close friends or family.


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11
Jun '17

It’s Time for a Comeback, next Sunday at Church!

Posted on Jun 11, 2017 by admin in Family in the Bible, Love in the Bible, Prayers, Reading the Bible, Sermons | Tags: ,

11
Jun '17
If you or someone you know is in a season of setback, or you are climbing out of a setback, I’ve got a word from the Lord for you that will accelerate your comeback….
A setback is an unexpected change from better to worse, a disappointment, a reversal.
Have you recently experienced a setback in your family, or in your personal life, in your physical body, at work, in a relationship, loss of a loved one, in your finances, in your relationship with God — and it’s begun to make you worry and wonder where God is – and if you will ever recover…
I have a word for you.
Your setback is not God setting you aside…
And it’s not God’s setting you down…
Your setback is God’s set up for your comeback!
 
It is time for you to see your setback as God’s opportunity and even as His setup for your comeback!
Isaiah 61:3 says He gives you “… beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness – that you might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified!”
What does God call you? God doesn’t call you failure. He sees more in you than your best friend, than your family, even more than you do – even in your setback, He calls you righteous!
Your mess can become your message; your test will become your testimony!
A divine exchange is about to take place in your life.
There’s no condemnation if you find yourself in a setback, in an unexpected change from better to worse, a disappointment, a reversal.
 
There’s somebody that’s saying I have heard this before. This is not for me, I can’t change…
I have prayed for you, and I wrote this to tell you that this time will be different. Change is coming to you now in Jesus name because I know that your setback really is God’s setup for your comeback — and your comeback is beginning right now!
A comeback is a return. This is your time to return!
A comeback is a resurgence. Now is your time for a mighty resurgence in your life!
There’s somebody God is speaking to that is at the very brink of giving up. You are out of fuel; your tank is on empty. I want to tell you that a resurgence is coming to you now. Your comeback has already begun! It’s a resurgence. It’s a recovery.
Somebody say recovery is coming to me!
 
It’s time for your rally! Listen to this…
When a stockbroker has a stock that is plummeting and is experiencing a major setback, what a stockbroker does is they sell and they cut their losses. That’s what many people do to you and me when we fail or disappoint them in one way or another. But God said to me, “Greg, when My people begin to plummet, and when My people begin to fall and have a setback, I don’t sell. I buy more. I invest more in them!”
You see God invests more in you when you’re low so that He then gets a greater return when you rise. Just like the stockbroker that buys the troubled stock at its low point – and sees the great growth potential – is rewarded when he invests and it rises, God too gets the glory and receives a greater return when he invests in you – and you comeback!

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10
Feb '17

10 Prayers to Pray over Your Husband

Posted on Feb 10, 2017 in Family in the Bible | Tags: , , ,

10
Feb '17
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01
Feb '17

4 Questions You Should Ask When Reading the Bible

Posted on Feb 1, 2017 by admin in Family in the Bible | Tags: ,

01
Feb '17

If you’re the sort of person that likes to just flip open their Bible at random and read only a couple of verses as your “verse of the day”, than you might be saying, “Is that right? Does Jesus really want me to hate my parents?”.

I trust Jesus. I trust what he says. Jesus said this. It must be true.

But maybe that’s not what Jesus is saying, and maybe there is a more helpful way of reading the Bible.

Reading the Bible is good. Your youth leader wants you to do it. Your parents (if they’re Christian) want you to do it. Jesus wants you to do it. The Bible is God’s way of communicating with us. It’s how he reveals what he’s like, what he values, what he’s concerned for.

But the Bible is up to 4500 years old. The newest part is at least 1900 years old. It’s fair to say that the world has changed a bit since it was originally written. So here’s 4 ways to help you read and understand the Bible for yourself.

1. What is the context?

Let’s take a look at the passage we started with. Some questions we should ask before jumping to any conclusions are:

  • Where does this book fit in the overall story of the Bible?

  • Where does this story fit into the book of Luke?
  • Does this take place before or after Jesus’ death and resurrection?
  • 
Why was this passage written? (remember what the apostle John says in John 21:25 – not everything about Jesus could be written down, so they only chose the important things to include in the gospels.)

2. What else can you observe?

Now, as we take a look at the story in it’s context, we ask more questions:

  • Is this passage part of a poem, a proverb, a letter, a story…?
  • 
Is there any exaggeration being used to help make a strong point?

  • Are there any words repeated or any patterns or themes developing?

3. What could it mean?

We are now getting closer to understanding this part of the Bible, but there’s more questions to ask!

  • What does this passage tell me about God, Jesus, God’s people, or the world?
  • 
What did this passage mean for the people who first read it? (put yourself in their shoes). 
How can I sum it up in our own words?

4. How do I apply this to my life? 

Here’s some final questions you should consider:

  • Does this passage tell me to do anything?

  • Is this passage helping me understand who God is, what he does, or how he relates to people?

  • Do I need to change some of my attitudes, start doing something I haven’t been doing, or change the way I live?

Putting it all together

So, we started with one verse, and then added a lot of questions. So after all that, do you think the passage is saying you should hate your parents? I don’t think so.

In context, Jesus is talking about the cost of being his disciple (following him). He has revealed who he is to his disciples and his mission (luke 9:18-26) – now as he heads up to Jerusalem to be crucified he wants his disciples to be ready for what lays ahead. 

As you observe what’s being said, you can see that Jesus is using exaggeration (hyperbole) to give his point some impact.

The meaning this would have had to the original disciples was that they must be prepared to put Jesus first, at all costs, even above their family – not to actively hate them (that would go against the rest of the Bible’s teaching), but to put Jesus first and foremost in their lives.

As an application, I need to put Jesus first above everything. Put aside my right to revenge. Put aside my hopes and dreams and goals to follow him into new life.

Now, why not open the Bible up and try this for yourself on another part of God’s word?

 
 

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