Key Points for this week:

1) Anger is a SIGN of something DEEPER.

2) We ALL get Angry

3) How we RESPOND is what Matters

“Live is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent of how I respond to it.” - Charles Swindoll

Reading: Genesis 4:5-7

Ephesians 4:26-32

Proverbs 19:11, 15:1, 16:32

Proper Anger is Redemptive NOT Vindictive

Proper Anger is Short Lived

Proper Anger is Controlled NOT Controlling

“Learning most often be prodded by Unlearning.” - J.R. Briggs

If you want to hide it or keep it a secret, it’s probably based in shame.

Luke 8:40-48

JESUS PULLS US OUT OF SHAME:

1) Hearing our Story

2) Lifting our Head

3) Restoring us to Loving Community

There are people in our life who FILL US UP and those that DRAIN US EMPTY!

4 Ways Barnabas Fills Up those Around Him

1) GIVING

2) EXTENDING GRACE

3) SERVING

4) DEVELOPING OTHERS

Acts 4:32-37, 11:22-26

EVERYONE has a part in God’s kingdom and they ALL MATTER.

John 17:20-23

God has a ZERO TOLERANCE policy on PRIDE

Matthew 6:1-5

5 WAYS to BUILD HUMILITY

1) PRAY FOR IT.

2) Look FOR IT IN OTHERS.

3) FORGIVE.

4) STUDY IT.

5) WEED OUT NEGATIVE INFLUENCES

Matthew 5:8 - Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

“The heart wants what the hearts wants.” - Woody Allen

“That word "pure" is used about two dozen times in the New Testament, and it suggests two things. First of all, when we say something is pure, it means that it's free from impurities. It has no contaminants, no germs, no dirt. It's clean. Secondly, when we say something is pure, we mean it's the same through and through. It is not a mixture of things; it is all one thing. Pure gold has no trace metals in it—it is all gold, and only gold.

The pure in heart are people who are free from impurities, and the same through and through. They are about one thing, and only one thing. They are always about one pursuit, and every part of them is about one pursuit. The one pursuit they have is God. No matter where they are, no matter what they're doing, no matter who they're with, they put God first.” - Bryan Wilkerson

Matthew 15:1-2, 7-9

"When you have an undivided heart, you don't think in terms of God's money and your money, or God's time and your time, because it's all God's money, and it's all God's time. You're not torn between doing God's will or your will, seeking God's glory or your glory, because God's will becomes your will, and when you glorify him, your glorified as well. When you have an undivided heart, you don't just pray on Sundays or before meals, but you pray your way through the entire day. When you have an undivided heart, you live one life—from the inside out—and you live it for God.” - Bryan Wilkerson

How do we Seek God FIRST?

1) Ask for God’s Help

2) Avoid Distractions

3) Obey Today

4) Evaluate and Change

Matthew 11-28:30

Five ways To Find Rest:

1) Rest Begins with honesty

2) Rest is about finding your true self

3) Rest is often found in being vulnerable

4) Rest is slow

5) Above all else, Rest is found in God!