August 16th  (Eighth Sunday after Pentecost)

Title:             Talking With God: “Honestly”

Scripture:     Job 13:20-28

Theme:         Life is messy.  Unfortunately, most of us believe that our prayers shouldn’t                   be.  We’re talking to God after all… We can’t be mad at Him, right?  How                          can we be truly and completely honest with God, if we limit our                                      conversations to just the “nice and happy” things?  God may be bigger                              than all of our problems, but He desires an open and honest relationship                          which requires us to talk about the “ugly” with Him.

 

August 16th  (Eighth Sunday after Pentecost)

Title:             Talking With God: “Honestly”

Scripture:     Job 13:20-28

Theme:         Life is messy.  Unfortunately, most of us believe that our prayers shouldn’t                   be.  We’re talking to God after all… We can’t be mad at Him, right?  How                          can we be truly and completely honest with God, if we limit our                                      conversations to just the “nice and happy” things?  God may be bigger                              than all of our problems, but He desires an open and honest relationship                          which requires us to talk about the “ugly” with Him.

August 9th     (Seventh Sunday after Pentecost)

Title:            Talking With God:  “Is a 2-Way Street”

Scripture:     1 Kings 19:11-13

Theme:         We seem to forget a lot that praying is supposed to be a time for not only                             our problems and requests, but for us to see and bear witness to God’s                       ultimate plan.  How do we find that special voice of God so that we can                          balance our prayer life to bring us peace AND direction?

August 9th     (Seventh Sunday after Pentecost)

Title:            Talking With God:  “Is a 2-Way Street”

Scripture:     1 Kings 19:11-13

Theme:         We seem to forget a lot that praying is supposed to be a time for not only                             our problems and requests, but for us to see and bear witness to God’s                       ultimate plan.  How do we find that special voice of God so that we can                          balance our prayer life to bring us peace AND direction?

 

August 2nd     (Sixth Sunday after Pentecost)

Title:            Talking With God:  “I’m Not Being Heard!”

Scripture:     2 Corinthians 12:7b-10

Theme:         It is so frustrating when we spend time praying with no results to show                       for our effort.  We can get so angry with God for ignoring our requests                             that we simply want to throw our hands up and stop praying for anything                      all together.  But, is there a purpose for God’s seemingly lack of                                    responsiveness to our requests?  Also, what does it mean when God tells                           us “No”?  We’re not asking for outrageous things...

August 2nd     (Sixth Sunday after Pentecost)

Title:            Talking With God:  “I’m Not Being Heard!”

Scripture:     2 Corinthians 12:7b-10

Theme:         It is so frustrating when we spend time praying with no results to show                       for our effort.  We can get so angry with God for ignoring our requests                             that we simply want to throw our hands up and stop praying for anything                      all together.  But, is there a purpose for God’s seemingly lack of                                    responsiveness to our requests?  Also, what does it mean when God tells                           us “No”?  We’re not asking for outrageous things...

July 26               (Fifth Sunday after Pentecost)

Title:            What’s the Point of Talking with God?

Scripture:     Matthew 26:39-42

Theme:         Why do we need to pray?  In our culture of have to prioritize everything                       because of so many different options of things to do, why should we                           waste our time sitting in silence for what seems to be a waste of time?                              When we make decisions about what to do with the limited amount of                            time we have in a day, the key question to answer is always “What’s the                             purpose of this activity”.  So… what’s the purpose of spending our most                         valuable resource (time) on sitting in a corner and praying?

July 26               (Fifth Sunday after Pentecost)

Title:            What’s the Point of Talking with God?

Scripture:     Matthew 26:39-42

Theme:         Why do we need to pray?  In our culture of have to prioritize everything                       because of so many different options of things to do, why should we                           waste our time sitting in silence for what seems to be a waste of time?                              When we make decisions about what to do with the limited amount of                            time we have in a day, the key question to answer is always “What’s the                             purpose of this activity”.  So… what’s the purpose of spending our most                         valuable resource (time) on sitting in a corner and praying?

July 19                   (Eighth Sunday after Pentecost)

Text:                      John 6:1-15

Title:                      What Kind of Church Are We: “How Do We Measure Success?”

Theme:                   Success in Church is measured in many ways; finances, numbers, new and             bigger buildings and facilities.  But Jesus never measured his success with any of these things. We want to grow in numbers, finances and buildings, but if we’re    not truly presenting Jesus in a way that changes people’s lives are we really           successful?

July 19                   (Eighth Sunday after Pentecost)

Text:                      John 6:1-15

Title:                      What Kind of Church Are We: “How Do We Measure Success?”

Theme:                   Success in Church is measured in many ways; finances, numbers, new and             bigger buildings and facilities.  But Jesus never measured his success with any of these things. We want to grow in numbers, finances and buildings, but if we’re   not truly presenting Jesus in a way that changes people’s lives are we really           successful?