Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Decaff 14
Welcome!
There is a power that moves us all on a daily basis. Some say it is fear, others say it is faith!
What do you say?
Today’s Special
Fear vs Faith
"What if I had to give it all away? What if lost my family, or I lost my health, or I lost my ability to make a living? What if due to an unexpected storm in my life, it was all taken away? These and other anxieties form the backdrop for the postmodern world in which we live. There are a lot of fears in this life and today we will talk about the unexpected storms that come upon us, those that we might not have anticipated, those that we would not have predicted but they come upon us anyway and we find ourselves in the midst of those storms struggling with fear." Maybe you’ve experienced a storm in your life. And maybe it’s caused you to question its purpose, “Why is this happening to me now?” Maybe it’s caused you to question God’s place in it, “God where are you at in the midst of this storm?” These unexpected storms in our life raise two questions, one that we ask and one that God asks.
There is a power that moves us all on a daily basis. Some say it is fear, others say it is faith!
What do you say?
Today’s Special
Fear vs Faith
"What if I had to give it all away? What if lost my family, or I lost my health, or I lost my ability to make a living? What if due to an unexpected storm in my life, it was all taken away? These and other anxieties form the backdrop for the postmodern world in which we live. There are a lot of fears in this life and today we will talk about the unexpected storms that come upon us, those that we might not have anticipated, those that we would not have predicted but they come upon us anyway and we find ourselves in the midst of those storms struggling with fear." Maybe you’ve experienced a storm in your life. And maybe it’s caused you to question its purpose, “Why is this happening to me now?” Maybe it’s caused you to question God’s place in it, “God where are you at in the midst of this storm?” These unexpected storms in our life raise two questions, one that we ask and one that God asks.
Our questions is, "Why?" and God's question is, "Don't you have any faith?"
Many people today say that their childhood fear of God was not a reverent awe, it wasn’t something that inspired respect from them, rather it was something that was an absolute terror.
I hear statements like these:“God keeps a permanent record of my sins.”“God is going to punish me for every single mistake that I make.”“If things are going badly, then I must be being punished for some sin.”“If I did let myself feel good about something, then God would get me for being prideful.”
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” Pv9:10
It’s easy to project onto our view of God characteristics of authority figures in our past. Those authority figures in our past have shaped our view of God in the present, in fact, they’ve distorted our view of God in the present and so when we hear this phrase, the fear of God, we cower or we’re repulsed by that phrase. we want to face down this unhealthy fear of God. We want to examine just a bit of the biblical record, the biblical truth, about our view of God. "May you love God so much that you’ll love nothing else too much. May you love God enough that you’ll fear nothing else at all."
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See you next Tuesday @ 7p17th St @ Union Sq Starbucks
Friday, January 9, 2009
Welcome!
A Brand New Year has come and so many resolutions pop up. How many of them will we stick to until the end of this year.
Today’s Special
I think resolutions should be made. But what’s the secret of keeping them? That’s what we’ll talk about tonight!
I believe all resolutions should be based in principles because that way they can grow strong and resist changing moods, circumstances and whatever environmental factors. Therefore, instead of discussing about resolutions to be made, lets talk about the principles that should base them.
GRATITUDE
Has anyone ever told you - you ought to be thankful? Well, being told we ought to be thankful rarely causes us to be more thankful. Gratitude happens best when we keep our eyes open to spot real gifts that come our way. Let’s learn how to open your eyes to the real gifts that surround you by taking a look at 4 characteristics of a real gift.
A real gift comes with a giver attached
A real gift cost something to give but nothing to get
Giving is a gamble
Real gifts take us by surprise
TRANSPARENCY
In any area of life you cannot lead someone where you’ve never been. And to try to do so is not living a life of integrity, of transparency. Transparency means owning your own story, not pretending to be someone else and not spinning your story to be smarter than you are or dumber than you are, poorer than you are, richer than you are, better than you are or worse than you are. Integrity is owning the story God has given us to write.
We own the hand we’ve been dealtWe have not all been born with an equal set of gifts, talents, or opportunities. Integrity begins with owning the hand that we’ve been dealt.
We own our woundsSomewhere in our story, we are bound to get hurt. Most of us are wounded forever and to disown our wound is to be untrue to ourselves. The wounds can be forgiven, and you can move past them, but the scars remain.
We own our dark sideIf we are going to write an honest story, we have to factor in the dark side. Don’t pretend we don’t have that chapter. When we own our dark side we free ourselves from the constant energy drain of trying to be someone that we are not.
PROACTIVENESS
God grants to us responsibility for our life. He is still in control. He is still leading things, He is still opening and closing doors and windows of opportunity, but we are responsible. True spirituality, which includes self-control, accepts this truth - that God grants to me responsibility for my life and the things that happen in my life. I am responsible for my life. What I am not, is a victim. Any problem that I've got in my life, with my job, with my marriage, with my physical condition, my intellectual capacity, or my spiritual condition, is not the fault of the weather, the government, the church, my relatives, God or anyone else. I am responsible. Period.
A Brand New Year has come and so many resolutions pop up. How many of them will we stick to until the end of this year.
Today’s Special
I think resolutions should be made. But what’s the secret of keeping them? That’s what we’ll talk about tonight!
I believe all resolutions should be based in principles because that way they can grow strong and resist changing moods, circumstances and whatever environmental factors. Therefore, instead of discussing about resolutions to be made, lets talk about the principles that should base them.
GRATITUDE
Has anyone ever told you - you ought to be thankful? Well, being told we ought to be thankful rarely causes us to be more thankful. Gratitude happens best when we keep our eyes open to spot real gifts that come our way. Let’s learn how to open your eyes to the real gifts that surround you by taking a look at 4 characteristics of a real gift.
A real gift comes with a giver attached
A real gift cost something to give but nothing to get
Giving is a gamble
Real gifts take us by surprise
TRANSPARENCY
In any area of life you cannot lead someone where you’ve never been. And to try to do so is not living a life of integrity, of transparency. Transparency means owning your own story, not pretending to be someone else and not spinning your story to be smarter than you are or dumber than you are, poorer than you are, richer than you are, better than you are or worse than you are. Integrity is owning the story God has given us to write.
We own the hand we’ve been dealtWe have not all been born with an equal set of gifts, talents, or opportunities. Integrity begins with owning the hand that we’ve been dealt.
We own our woundsSomewhere in our story, we are bound to get hurt. Most of us are wounded forever and to disown our wound is to be untrue to ourselves. The wounds can be forgiven, and you can move past them, but the scars remain.
We own our dark sideIf we are going to write an honest story, we have to factor in the dark side. Don’t pretend we don’t have that chapter. When we own our dark side we free ourselves from the constant energy drain of trying to be someone that we are not.
PROACTIVENESS
God grants to us responsibility for our life. He is still in control. He is still leading things, He is still opening and closing doors and windows of opportunity, but we are responsible. True spirituality, which includes self-control, accepts this truth - that God grants to me responsibility for my life and the things that happen in my life. I am responsible for my life. What I am not, is a victim. Any problem that I've got in my life, with my job, with my marriage, with my physical condition, my intellectual capacity, or my spiritual condition, is not the fault of the weather, the government, the church, my relatives, God or anyone else. I am responsible. Period.
We gain control by surrendering the need to win the approval of other people.
We surrender by
letting go of the unfair wounds that we did not deserve.
We surrender by
letting go of the unfair wounds that we did not deserve.
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