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Message: Living Out Scripture
Alright, Our most recent message needs your help. Read through these portions of scripture, as well as the key points from the passage on Sunday. LETS GET TALKING about these points and questions.
Questions For Us To Discuss:
Titus 3:8
“This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.”
Temperate
Worthy of Respect
Sound in Faith, Love and Endurance
Reverant
No Slandering
Teach What Is Good
Mentoring
Love Family & Children
Busy At Home
Self Controlled
Questions For Us To Discuss:
- What makes it difficult to have these attributes evident in our lives?
- Why do we have such a hard time with the "submission" word in our families and spouse relationships?
- What about these other words, what can we do or seek to have these more readily seen to those around us?
- Paul said our beliefs and actions need to match up. Are there some attributes we believe, but are not matched up in our actions?
Titus 3:8
“This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.”
Temperate
Worthy of Respect
Sound in Faith, Love and Endurance
Reverant
No Slandering
Teach What Is Good
Mentoring
Love Family & Children
Busy At Home
Self Controlled
Titus 3:14
“Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.”
Take Off The Mask - Excerpts From Message
Psalm 119 Verses
“You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.” “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee your presence?”
We have put on a mask, afraid of what people might say if they saw our true self, we hide what we don’t like. We have put on a mask, thinking this is what people think I need to be, we hide and pretend we are somebody else that God did not design us to be. We have put on a mask and we hide and cover what we don’t want people to see, our sin. We hide and pretend that with this mask it is not there and I don’t have to deal with it! I think it is about time we take off the masks, and become the men and women of God that we are designed, created, meant to be.
We hide and pretend who we are and what we don’t like - Self Image
We hide what we don’t want people to see - Sin
We hide and pretend that it is not there - Unconfessed Sin
“There is always a sharp painful disillusionment to go through before we do relinquish. When a man really sees himself as the Lord sees him, it is not the abominable sins of the flesh that shock him, but the awful nature of the pride of his own heart against Jesus Christ. When he see himself in the light of the Lord, the shame and the horror and the desperate conviction come home.” – Oswald Chambers
Questions To Think Through and Comment On: How much are Christians putting on masks, for whatever reason? Does this help or hurt Christianity? Why is Sunday such a popular “mask wearing” day? What do you think about Oswald Chambers quote? How can Christians overcome mask wearing and become more like Christ? If able, explain your answers and why.
“You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.” “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee your presence?”
We have put on a mask, afraid of what people might say if they saw our true self, we hide what we don’t like. We have put on a mask, thinking this is what people think I need to be, we hide and pretend we are somebody else that God did not design us to be. We have put on a mask and we hide and cover what we don’t want people to see, our sin. We hide and pretend that with this mask it is not there and I don’t have to deal with it! I think it is about time we take off the masks, and become the men and women of God that we are designed, created, meant to be.
We hide and pretend who we are and what we don’t like - Self Image
We hide what we don’t want people to see - Sin
We hide and pretend that it is not there - Unconfessed Sin
“There is always a sharp painful disillusionment to go through before we do relinquish. When a man really sees himself as the Lord sees him, it is not the abominable sins of the flesh that shock him, but the awful nature of the pride of his own heart against Jesus Christ. When he see himself in the light of the Lord, the shame and the horror and the desperate conviction come home.” – Oswald Chambers
Questions To Think Through and Comment On: How much are Christians putting on masks, for whatever reason? Does this help or hurt Christianity? Why is Sunday such a popular “mask wearing” day? What do you think about Oswald Chambers quote? How can Christians overcome mask wearing and become more like Christ? If able, explain your answers and why.
Gluttonous Christians - November Article
WARNING! Reading this article may be harmful to your way of living! Thanksgiving is hastily on its way. If you celebrate Thanksgiving like so many people, it will be spent eating vast amounts of food, visiting with our friends and loved ones and perhaps watching parades, floats and football. During this time, we get together; we talk about how thankful we are, grateful for what the Lord is doing and we leave feeling good and encouraged about what we have. We may even think about how there are people who are not as well off as we are, who will not spend thanksgiving like us. We may even be moved to a sort of sympathy for their situation. We will go to bed that evening, stuffed like the turkey we just ate.
As I reflected upon this holiday celebration, I began to think; “Is this any different than how most Christians live their everyday lives”. Think about it. We get together at church; we spend time with people we already know and love. We tell each other how grateful and thankful we are. This may be the one time during the week we actually express thanks. We fellowship and enjoy the programs and ministries that give us joy as we sit with one another. And then we eat. We eat up the sermon, the prayer time, the Sunday school lesson, the evening worship, the bible study and the cranberry sauce called worship. We walk out the church doors, stuffed. We perhaps go to bed that evening stuffed. We may have been moved to sympathy for those who do not know Christ personally, but that is about it. We don’t do anything about it! How many of us (me included) drive by, walk by, work with, talk with, interact with people who do not know Jesus Christ personally? We make excuses about time, priorities or agendas and it becomes the last thing on our thoughts.
I don’t want you or the church to start some type of Evangelism Program, or an outreach night, because most likely it will be a flash in the pan when we get bored with it. No, what we need to have happen is a change in our way of living. I heard a person say that Thanksgiving is the one day, soup kitchens do not need help, it is the other days of the year that feeding those in need goes unnoticed. We don’t need people to be moved to a one time outreach effort, we need a change in lifestyle.
In regards to the Gospel: Yes, we need to eat, but we also need to share the food with those who never ate. Share the Gospel with your life, let us ALL stop being Gluttonous Christians!
As I reflected upon this holiday celebration, I began to think; “Is this any different than how most Christians live their everyday lives”. Think about it. We get together at church; we spend time with people we already know and love. We tell each other how grateful and thankful we are. This may be the one time during the week we actually express thanks. We fellowship and enjoy the programs and ministries that give us joy as we sit with one another. And then we eat. We eat up the sermon, the prayer time, the Sunday school lesson, the evening worship, the bible study and the cranberry sauce called worship. We walk out the church doors, stuffed. We perhaps go to bed that evening stuffed. We may have been moved to sympathy for those who do not know Christ personally, but that is about it. We don’t do anything about it! How many of us (me included) drive by, walk by, work with, talk with, interact with people who do not know Jesus Christ personally? We make excuses about time, priorities or agendas and it becomes the last thing on our thoughts.
I don’t want you or the church to start some type of Evangelism Program, or an outreach night, because most likely it will be a flash in the pan when we get bored with it. No, what we need to have happen is a change in our way of living. I heard a person say that Thanksgiving is the one day, soup kitchens do not need help, it is the other days of the year that feeding those in need goes unnoticed. We don’t need people to be moved to a one time outreach effort, we need a change in lifestyle.
In regards to the Gospel: Yes, we need to eat, but we also need to share the food with those who never ate. Share the Gospel with your life, let us ALL stop being Gluttonous Christians!
Thoughts On Christian Discipleship
I have been having different conversations with people regarding discipleship. What does it look like? How should we engage in it? Who does it involve? As I thought about this subject for a little while, I start to see that discipleship is personal as well as public, when it comes to our relationship with Jesus Christ. It is personal in the sense, that this is affecting our individual self. Growing, maturing, learning and developing as people in Christ. It affects the public relationship as well because of our personal impact in the community of believers. Discipleship is one thing that Christians need to engage in. We grow, when we find ourselves in a discipling relationship, both being discipled as well as discipling. Is discipleship really something that we must have a program for, or is it different for each individual? Meaning, are we more concerned with the people going through discipleship classes, than with what we want to have happen in the process? Is discipleship to happen more outside the classroom and the church building in the everyday life? Are different generations more concerned with discipleship than others, such as emergents and genx, boomers and busters? These are more or less thoughts on Christian Discipleship. I am sure that I have left so many things out, but what are your thoughts, what does discipleship look like to you? Can you help answer or search for answers to some of these questions on Christian Discipleship?
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