“A city set on a hill, inescapably visible. A lit lamp brilliantly illuminating the darkest room.”   Robert Lewis, The Church of Irresistible Influence

Does anyone know we are here?

“Prayer is the greater work.”   Oswald Chambers

Does anyone know we are here?

Praying for you… FOR REAL!

“You have been assigned this mountain to show others it can be moved.”   Anonymous

Does anyone know we are here?

Praying for you… FOR REAL!

Everybody needs Good News ALL the time!

“There is a power in God's gospel beyond all description.”   Charles Spurgeon

Does anyone know we are here?

Praying for you… FOR REAL!

Everybody needs Good News ALL the time!

Shaped by God to Proclaim the Gospel.

“The more you read the Bible; and the more you meditate on it, the more you will be astonished with it.”   Charles Spurgeon

“As you read, pause frequently to meditate on the meaning of what you are reading. Absorb the Word into your system by dwelling on it, pondering it, going over it again and again in your mind, considering it from many different angles, until it becomes part of you.” 

Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Linger Longer

“We can never learn too much of His will toward us, too much of His messages and His advice. The Bible is His word and its study give at once the foundation for our faith and an inspiration to battle onward in the fight against the tempter.”   John D. Rockefeller

Linger Longer

Stand on a Secure Foundation – Security and Salvation

“Shut the world out, withdraw from all worldly thoughts and occupations, and shut yourself in alone with God, to pray to Him in secret. Let this be your chief object in prayer, to realize the presence of your heavenly Father.”   Andrew Murray

Linger Longer

Stand on a Secure Foundation– Security and Salvation

PRAY… READ… Repeat 

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”

Linger Longer

Stand on a Secure Foundation – Security and Salvation

PRAY… READ… Repeat 

Jesus is Comfort in the Age of Anxiety

John 14:1-4

1. He gives us a perfect Father

2. He gives a perfect home

3. He is coming back for us

“I believe; help my unbelief!”   Mark 9:24

“After you have made a decision that is pleasing to God, the Devil may try to make you have second thoughts. Intensify your prayer time, meditation, and good deeds. For if Satan's temptations merely cause you to increase your efforts to grow in holiness, he'll have an incentive to leave you alone.”   Ignatius of Loyola

Getting “DRESSED” Every Day

“Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped, and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.”   Dwight Eisenhower

Getting “DRESSED” Every Day

“Different” but Beautiful and Powerful Gear

“Prayer is a shelter to the soul, a sacrifice to God and a scourge to the devil. David's heart was often more out of tune than his harp. He prays, and then, in spite of the devil, cries, 'Return unto your rest, O my soul.' Prayer is the gate of heaven, a key to let us into paradise. There is nothing that renders Satan's plots fruitless like prayer; therefore, says Christ: 'Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation' (Matt. 26:41).”   Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices

Getting “DRESSED” Every Day

“Different” but Beautiful and Powerful Gear

Gazelle Intensity

“You are not fighting for victory—you are fighting from victory. This battle has already been won!”  Tony Evans

Are you prepared for the battle?

“We have been forewarned that an enemy relentlessly threatens us, an enemy who is the very embodiment of rash boldness, of military prowess, of crafty wiles, of untiring zeal and haste, of every, every conceivable weapon and of skill in the science of warfare. We must, then, bend our every effort to this goal: that we should not let ourselves be overwhelmed by carelessness or faintheartedness, but on the contrary, with courage rekindled, stand our ground in combat.” John Calvin

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”   Teddy Roosevelt

Are you prepared for the battle?

Where do we start with our preparation?

Stand on Solid Ground

Our GOAL… Advancing, not surviving!

Be imitators!

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…” (Php 2:5)

“Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.” (Php 3:17)

God empowers believers through His Spirit and He gives examples of how to live, beginning with Jesus. (cf Php 2:5ff)

Real verses Really Real

“No matter how devastating our struggles, disappointments, and troubles are, they are only temporary. No matter what happens to you, no matter the depth of tragedy or pain you face, no matter how death stalks you and your loved ones, the Resurrection promises you a future of immeasurable good.”   Josh McDowell

EUCATASTROPHE – Tears of Joy

“The New Testament writers speak as if Christ’s achievement in rising from the dead was the first event of its kind in the whole history of the universe. He is the ‘first fruits,’ the ‘pioneer of life.’ He has forced open a door that has been locked since the death of the first man. He has met, fought, and beaten the King of Death. Everything is different because He has done so.”   C.S. Lewis, Miracles

Alive is WAY BETTER

“Salt and light have a powerful influence on their environment, but for salt to stop rot it has to be rubbed into the meat. For light to shine in the darkness it has to be set upon a lamp stand and not allowed to go out.”  John Stott

Salt & Light – To see the GREATEST THING HAPPEN

“God prefers fruits of the spirit over religious nuts.”   Adrian Rogers

“The fruit of the Spirit is not what we can make ourselves do for a moment, but what God makes us to be for a lifetime.”   W. Jacobsen

9 in 1, aka A Plural in a Singular

KEEP IN STEP  (It’s just walking…)

NO LAW!!

THINKING RIGHT!

“When we love, desire, pursue, and fear the same things that the rest of the world does, we are not abiding in Christ, even though our lives may be filled with church-related activity. And, often, we don’t realize that we are living fruitless lives.”  Various

It’s JUST walking!

LOVE, JOY, PEACE - The fruit of the Spirit cannot be simulated, while gifts of the Spirit can (Matt. 7:22 “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’”)

Infused or Inflicted?