July 9                    (Fifth Sunday after Pentecost)

Text:                      2 Corinthians 1:8-11

Title:                      Moving From Burnout to Balance: "Acknowledging Your Limitations"

Theme:                 We live in a culture that tells us that we can have it all and that we can do it all if only we apply ourselves.  But this is a lie. God created you and God directs what you can and can't do. There are many things in this life that we can accomplish  only with God's help.  There are things that God doesn't want us to do because doing those things will tax our minds, our bodies and our spirits to the point of burnout.

 

July 2             (Fourth Sunday after Pentecost) 

Text:                Mark 6:30-34

Title:                Moving From Burnout to Balance:  "Recharging Your Batteries"

Theme:            At the height of his ministry Jesus invites his disciples to "come away to a quiet place and get some rest". Resting is                            hard from many of us. Because we don't know how to turn it off, we don't know how to slow down. But the Bible                                        teaches the necessity of resting and the importance of recharging our batteries.

 

Scripture: John 20:24-29

Synopsis –

There is a myth that has been handed down from generation to generation in the church that says that doubt is unhealthy for a Christian.  We are taught that we must trust God with "blind faith".  Yet the Scriptures give us people like Thomas, Abraham, Moses, and even Jesus who doubt the path that they are on and doubt God.  Maybe "blind faith" isn't what God had in mind for the "jewel of creation".

 

Jonah 4:1-5; 10-11

God's final words to Jonah depict for us exactly how He operates.  He cares deeply for those that are disenfranchised and helpless.  God saves the Ship Captain and the crew, while Jonah is thrown overboard.  God saves the King and Nineveh, while letting Jonah sit in the sun.  It is interesting that while the Prophet focuses on the justice of the Law and is left out of the Grace, the Gentiles find the Grace to escape the justice of the Law.

 

June 18                  (Second Sunday after Pentecost)

Text:                      Luke 7:36-50

Title:                      Lessons on Love: "Jubilee Love"

In ancient Israel every seven years they observed "The Year of Jubilee". This was a year when all debts were cancelled.  The love of God does the same for us; it cancels our debt of sin. Since we are a people who have been forgiven so much, should not we also be a people who forgive much?

 

Jonah 3:6-10

God's Word has tremendous power to change any who hear it.  It's amazing to think that such a weak attempt of prophecy by Jonah would produce the greatest number of followers for God.

 

June 11                  (First Sunday after Pentecost)

Text:                      Hosea 11:1-11

Title:                      Lessons on Love: "Called to be Loved"

Theme:                  The entire Bible is a story of God pursuing us to love us. And God is relentless;  God's love continues to call us despite our rebellion and despite our brokenness.  We talk of being "called" to be Christian disciples.  While this is true, our calling is not just a calling to a task, a responsibility or a duty, but it is supremely a call to be loved.

 

Jonah 2:1-10

Have you ever known someone who has been in the pit of despair, wants to be saved, but still clings to the fact that they have done nothing wrong?  Jonah shows us that even if your heart isn't completely in your apology, if God has a use for you, there's not much you can do to stop it.

 

Jonah 1:1-3

The call of God on our lives can be terrifying.  Not just because of the danger it poses, but also because sometimes we just can't believe that God would even care about "those" people.  Jonah hates the Assyrians for good reason, but God tells him to go evangelize them.  What would we do if God told us to help bring people in to the fold that shouldn't be?

 

June 4                  (Day of Pentecost) 

Text:                     Luke 6:17-26

Title:                     Lessons on Love:  "Blessed Love"

Theme:                When we think of being blessed we often think of everything going perfect, life is a breeze and we have no problems. This is the wrong picture of what it means to be "Blessed".  We are blessed because God is with us and loves us. We are blessed because we are never alone, God has gifted us with the Holy Spirit.