9-28-2014
"The Open Invitation"
Luke 9. 23

THE OPEN INVITATION Luke 9. 23 I. _________________  IS WELCOME                 A.  Often we think- “Yeah right, what’s the catch?”              B.  Jesus was a rabbi of his society- “a teacher.”              C.  Rabbis usually had _____________               D.  The excellence of the students reflected the excellence of the        ___________ II. ANYONE MEANS ________________              A.  Sometimes churches are filled with “Fans” who don’t always buy        into the idea that church should be for anyone.              B.  Jesus’ invitation was _____ according to people who passed a        certain list of codes and qualifications. III. NO QUALIFICATIONS MEANS “No ___________”              A.  Not only did Jesus get rid of the barriers, he also got rid of the        excuses.  “Anyone”’              B.  What’s your excuse for not following?  Jesus said,        “_________.”     IV.  THE CHURCH NEEDS TO BE FILLED WITH ___________ WHO ARE READY FOR “anyone.”                A.  If “anyone” comes, it will mess things up              B.  FOLLOWERS ARE WILLING TO help _________ Jesus’ invitation        to “anyone.”  V. ANYONE- BUT _______________               A.  When Jesus made his invitation to “anyone” he was also very        clear that choosing to follow means giving up everything.              B.  Jesus asked the same from His followers we must be willing to        leave it all behind and follow.              C.  Plus there would be self-denial, cross of suffering, and following        of One who would ultimately be crucified.               D.  Following Jesus is a ________ call…one not to be taken lightly. VI.  Jesus said, “If ANYONE would come after me, let him….              A.  What about You?  Are you ready to “follow?”               B.  The greatest ______ who ever lived invites You, to become one        of His students…no prerequisites, no excuses…              C.  Are you willing to follow?

9-21-2014
"Fan or Follower?"
Luke 9. 18-23

FAN OR FOLLOWER? Luke 9. 23 I.  DTR= Define the ____________________ A.  DTR w/ Jesus B.  Most of us need to have that talk with Jesus II.  Luke 9.23- Christ’s Invitation is to _________: “If anyone would come after me…” A.  Some may _________ the DTR talk with Jesus. you are excited about where He will lead you B.  Some are ____  _______ for a DTR with Jesus a casual relationship is fine with you III.  GOAL OF Next Few Weeks: To Define Our Relationship with Jesus By Asking the Question- _______ or Follower? A.  A fan is an enthusiastic admirer B.  We may feel pretty good about being fans…BUT _______ DIDN’T CARE MUCH FOR ________. IV.  AS WE BEGIN TO DEFINE OUR RELATIONSHIP with Jesus, THREE QUESTIONS ARE IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER:                #1- WHY ARE YOU HERE?                     #2- ARE YOU _______-_____ ?                     #3- HAVE YOU MADE IT YOUR _______ ?  · Appeasing Others can be dangerous. · You have to have YOUR OWN faith. V.  SO-  ARE YOU A FAN, OR A __________? A.  Over the next few weeks this will be the BIG QUESTION! B.  This coming week I challenge you to _____ about your relationship with Jesus. C.  Next week- ________ a friend to come with you…and encourage them to define their own Relationship with Jesus also.

9-14-2014
"What is a Friend?"
Proverbs 17.17

WHAT IS A FRIEND? PROV. 17. 17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. I.  LIFE WITHOUT FRIENDS: A.  Would be lonely B.  Would be without _____________ & purpose II.  WHAT IS A FRIEND (10  characteristics) 1) A friend ___________  you 2) A friend is someone who loves you 3) A friend has things ____  _________  with you             4) A friend _________ you             5) A friend makes you happy             6) A friend is loyal and _____________             7)  A friend is _________ with you 8) A friend brings out the ______ in you. 9) A friend helps you when you are in trouble 10) A Friend is interested in your ___________  well-being. (Talks to you about _________). III.  ARE YOU A FRIEND? A.  If you want to _______  a friend you need to ____ a friend       B.  Is God leading you to be a friend to someone? C.  Has God placed you in that job, or in that group of people                         So that you can be a friend? IV.  WHO ARE YOUR FRIENDS? A.  People who possess these traits? Or most of them?  B.  ___________  wants to be your friend

9-7-2014
"How God Looks at Things"
1 Samuel 16. 1-12

8-31-2014
"To God Be The Glory"
Matthew 6. 9-13

TO GOD BE THE GLORY Matthew 6. 9-13 I.  FOR __________ IS THE KINGDOM, AND THE POWER, AND THE GLORY FOREVER A.  Jesus’ prayer is a model prayer B.  We should absolutely give glory to Our Heavenly Father! II.  DO WE REALLY ________ THIS PART OF THE PRAYER? A.  Do we believe His is the ______ over Heaven and earth? B.  If I do my spirit will have overwhelming respect, and awe for The Father C.  Most of us are too ___________ with our own petitions and fail to truly PRAISE and GLORIFY GOD for what he has done. III.  IT IS OF UTMOST ___________ THAT WE GLOLRIFY, PRAISE, & HONOR GOD. A.  We ____________ our souls & deprive our Father in Heaven of deep delight by neglecting to praise Him B.  When we do praise & honor God we create a wonderful _____________ between us and Him.  IV.  So Today I Would Like to Close by Inviting You to Join Me As We Together GIVE GOD THE ________.   (3 ways) A.  Singing B.  __________ C.  Prayer

8-24-2014
"Deliverance"
Matthew 6. 12

DELIVERANCE Matthew 6. 12- “Deliver us from evil.” I.  ________________  IS A UNIVERSAL LONGING A.  Deliverance is needed in many ways B.  Many people have trouble ___________ they need deliverance C.  We need God’s deliverance because we ___ fail and fall. II.  DELIVERANCE FROM EVIL IS A UNIVERSAL _____ A.  Evil things and experiences from others confront us, and put us in harm’s way too often.  B.  We get _________ by our own sins and failures and bad decisions C.  We Get Ensnared by The ______ One  III.  JESUS CAME TO DELIVER US FROM EVIL- FROM _____________ DEATH TO ETERNAL LIFE A.  The wages sin is __________ B.  We become captive to sin & its consequences which capture us and make us long for better life…better land…eternal life - 2 Cor. 5. 6-10 C.  We are offered deliverance (__________)  by Jesus – John 3.16; 1 John 5. 11-12 D.  This comes by faith… IV.  JESUS TEACHES US TO PRAY ________ THE EVIL ONE… “Deliver us from evil, or the Evil One.” A.  Many here are embroiled in various types of Spiritual Battles  B.  Ephesians 6.12 tells us that our battle is not against _____ and blood…. C.  Jesus teaches us to pray: “Deliver Us”

8-17-2014
"Temptation"
Matthew 6. 13

TEMPTATION Matthew 6. 13 I.  Lead Us ______ into Temptation: a difficult concept to translate A.  God does not try to ______ us…temptations are from the Evil One. B.  God does want us to grow stronger, better, deeper- ________ is part of that. II.  Jesus Is NOT teaching us to pray that there will           be any testing/temptation. A.  An increased ________ to honor God by faithful discipleship is our goal B.  As believers in Christ sometimes we’re victorious in our spiritual walk and in our spiritual warfare…other times we learn our _________ the hard way.  C.  One of our goals is AN INCREASED ABILITY TO _________ …to resist the temptations, and handle the challenges as mature & better disciples. III.  THE              ‘s POWER OF SEDUCTION is SUBTLE, CRAFTY, AND EFFECTIVE. A.  Six ______ Leading to our defeat, our seduction                                                  i.  1st: False impression from Satan that the wrong we do isn’t that _______                                                  ii.  Second: Something pushes our button…in reality or in our emotions.                                                   iii.  Third, a deep and compelling urge is aroused in us.                                                     iv.  4th: We _______.  We proceed…do what we should NOT have done.                                                    v.  5th: We feel guilty: a wall has begun between us, God and others.                                                    vi.  6th: We _______ what we have sown.  B.  Falling & Failure:                                                  i.  The cause us pain, misery, fear                                                  ii.  We dishonor Our Father in Heaven IV.  GOAL OF GOD’S TESTING: ________/Better/Deeper/ More in love with Him.    A.  James writes- Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds… (James 1. 2-4); Hebrews 12. 1-12 B.  God doesn’t want followers who can only handle the ______ stuff, HE WANTS SAINTS WHO HAVE BEEN THROUGH THE FIRES, AND STRUGGLES, AND ARE STILL WALKING WITH HIM.  He wants us to “get back up again.”  Goal= Ability to ______ above the failures & falls to greater heights of service & love for Christ. C. So what kinds of trials have you been going through?  WHAT STORMS HAVE BATTERED YOUR SHIP? WHAT KINDS OF TEMPTATIONS?  COULD IT BE THAT HE WANTS _________ AND DEEPER FROM YOU? D. WE pray for protection- “lead us not into temptation.”  We do not wish to fall, or to fail our Savior, but we also pray with trust and confidence in God’s ability  to “keep us,” to “grow us,” and to strengthen us, through the testing and temptations