Church notes - January 2016
Church notes - January 2016
3rd January
Philippians 3:12 - 15
C. S. Lewis - 'You are never to old to set new goals'
New Year - hope that it can be different.
Romans 12: 2
Philippians 3:12- 15
Transformation is essential
Goals - more like Jesus
- Keep focus on the goal
Paul is aware of his shortcomings
If you are alive, the LORD wants growth in your life!
God has a plan for us to be better people
Jesus' death on the cross has reconcilled us to the Father.
The past is past. It is forgotten.
Paul wants us to think as he does.
Goals are statements of faith
- Believing that He wants us to accomplish something.
Goals focus my energy
- Nobody plans to fail at anything.
- Failure occurs when people drift along aimlessly without goals.
Goals help me keep going when it gets hard.
- If we have a good goal, it will motivate us to put in the work to achieve it.
Self Indulgence obstructs Spiritual Growth
- Affluence gives options
- Advertising - materialism is entrenched in Australian culture
- We need to discipline our desire
Resentment obstructs Spiritual Growth
- Forgiveness is the essence of who Jesus is and what He undertook.
- He calls us to forgive others.
- You hurt yourself with your anger.
Proverbs 29:11
3 Habits that strengthen my spirit
Make Time With God Every Day
Psalm 119:105
Psalm 1:1,2
Luke 5:16
Connect with other believers
- Encourage each other. This needs to happen regularly
Acts 5
We all have troubles and difficulties. We need to have others to encourage us when we are in need.
Give an offering (Tithe) to God.
- A deliberate act of worship.
Malachi 3:10
Blessings are not necessarily material. (It isn't a 'prosperity doctrine thing'!)
Without tithing, we're robbing God!
Put your security in God.
When we serve Him, we recieve riches in eternity.
10th January
Romans 12:2
Psalm 139:1 - 16
Transformation
15000 Brits per year undergoing liposuction.
78% of Aussies are overweight.
We need a biblical understanding of our bodies
Are we honouring God with our bodies?
- They are not for immorality
- We need to be set apart for God's purposes.
It's God's design and masterpiece
Transformation
- Proper exercise
- Sufficient rest
God paid an unimaginable price for us- Jesus went to the Cross for us!
He can fulfill the promise to change our destiny
- A 'reality' TV show cannot.
Have you accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour?
17th January
Psalm 8, Colossians 3, Romans 12:2
Matthew 6:19 - 21
Lotto in US - 1.5 Billion - way too much!
Money - it is on a collision course weith our spirituality.
'Greed is like bad breath. The person who has the problem is the last to know.'
We can never have enough money, but we will be satisfied with what God gives gives us.
# 1 God owns everything
Deuteronomy 8:18
It is all owned by God. We are the manager.
# 2 Give generouly and Remember to tithe
Deuteronomy 14:23
Malachi 3:6 - 18
By withholding tithes, we rob God.
Proverbs 3: 9, 10
# 3 Save and invest all you can
Proverbs 21:20
Proverbs 6:6 - 8
# 4 Maintain control of your finances
Proverbs 27:23, 24
You need to have knowledge of your finances
# 5 Plan your spending - Budgeting
Impulse buing - leads to problems
# 6 Enjoying what you have - Contentment
Proverbs 15:16 - 17
Philippians 4:10 - 13
Our Priority, security and contentment are found in Christ
24th January
Philippians 3:12, 4:8
2 Corinthians 10: 3 - 6
Transformation - Romans 12:2
Emotional Transformation
God's truth is important, but so are emotions
Just because we feel something doesn't mean it's true.
Proverbs 25:28
Satan can use emotions (especially fear) to limit our growth in God.
Joshua 1:6 - 9
Be courageous
Louis Zamerini - Captured by Grace
It is not by our abilities, but by God's spirit
A Stronghold - a lie that we believe. A part of our mind the Devil has power over.
eg jelousy
'Needing' to have something 'now!' - ruins finances
We can't believe everything we think. We need to have control over thoughts.
We need to be able to go away with a different point of view (if our point of view is not the one God wants us to have).
Romans 5:8
We need to feed God's word into our minds.
Psalm 1, 119:97
31st January
Psalm 51
Romans 12:2
We need to make progress in our Christian walk.
We need to be mature and have a heart knowledge of God.
1 Corinthians 3:1 - 3
Being in Christ - Denying oneself
Immaturity expresses itself in our relationships.
Psalm 51
David was confronted by Nathan after his adultery with Bathsheba.
2 Samuel 12:1 - 10
David recognised that he needed to be transformed. He was sorry that he was in a bad place and was dissatisfied with who he was.
Jeremiah 29:13
Psalm 51
v1, 2
He called out to God for mercy.
He had faith and confidence that God has unfailing love
v3 - 5
He acknowledges and confesses his sins.
Sin was deeply embedded in who David was. It is also deeply imbedded in us. We need to agree with God about sin.
vs 13 - 15
His response to where he was with God was one of worship and praise.
Transformation - Sinners to missionaries
We need to read the word every day.