Luke 19:1-8 1. Is it worth the work not to give up? – a lot of times we see the obstacles coming in our lives – the crowd for Zaccheaus – the crowd […]

Luke 19:1-8

1. Is it worth the work not to give up? – a lot of times we see the obstacles coming in our lives – the crowd for Zaccheaus – the crowd can hold you back – Zaccheaus was short – you cannot let your limitations keep you from where God wants you to go – Zaccheaus had a bad reputation – don’t let excuses make you miss Jesus – matthew was following Jesus and it gave Zaccheaus hope because matthew was a chief tax collector as well – THE WORLD NEEDS HOPE – It’s worth the work to see Jesus – Zaccheaus wanted to get to a better vantage point so he could see Jesus – We think we’re really seeking Jesus but Jesus is seeking US – Jesus passed through town to see Zaccheaus and even knew his name– Jesus saw something different in Zaccheaus – How many times does fear keep us in the tree? – Many times God is calling you into the unknown but we’re afraid – OBEDIENCE CAUSES BREAKTHROUGH 2. Is it worth the work to say yes? – when you say yes there are gonna be haters 3. Is it worth the work to make things right?– repentance is the first step to making things right in your life & for someone else – religion says “change and you will find god” but god says “if you seek me i will change you”

Thing You Get When You Ask Your Kids to Clean Their Room:         0.      “What mess?”         ⁃       just because you […]

Thing You Get When You Ask Your Kids to Clean Their Room:

        0.      “What mess?”         ⁃       just because you pretend it’s not there doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist matthew 23:25         ⁃       social media always tries to get you to see the best picture         ⁃       you position yourself to be in the right place         ⁃       you portray a false identity         ⁃       outside reputation is worth more than inside transformation        ⁃       transformation is messy. it’s something you don’t want to do because you have to leave the old behind 

        0.      They Put It Under The Bed or Throw it Into the Closet         ⁃       moving the stuff does NOT make it go away!         ⁃       on the outside there are things you can’t  see but the inside it’s a mess         ⁃       transferring your stuff to other parts only puts it in more places         ⁃       when you move your stuff it starts to overflow and when it overflows it starts to show         ⁃       we can’t stuff our problems in a corner and not deal with them 

How Do You Deal With It?        ⁃       you need a spiritual yard sale 

Isaiah 43:18         ⁃       God wants to take us from an old mindset to a new mindset         ⁃       a lot of times we hold onto something because of the appearance of it         ⁃       DON’T VALUE SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T WORK ANYMORE 

The enemy wants to keep reminding you of your guilt, shame, & past         ⁃       too many times we hold onto things that are no longer useful for our future        ⁃       you cannot use your past as a crutch 

The shirt (old life) doesn’t fit anymore         ⁃       so stop trying to put on your old life and have one arm in the world and the other with Christ 

Just because it works, doesn’t mean it’s working

1. Where do I belong?Mark 12:30-31 – people don’t care how much you know, they care how much you care – most people today want community because people don’t belong these days […]

1. Where do I belong?Mark 12:30-31 – people don’t care how much you know, they care how much you care – most people today want community because people don’t belong these days so they’re looking to the church for the answer – why we want to be the friendliest church in the villeHOW TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION: – You have to belong first in order to make others feel that they belong – Small groups are important – Being on a serve team – Schedule stuff outside of church – meet with people outside of the church//do life with people – Pretend that people have a sign around their neck that says “make me feel important”– it makes people feel as if they’re connected and belong in your circle 3. Does my life matter? Psalms 8:3-4 – God thinks your life matters!! – He cares for YOU – He gives us each our own individual purpose – YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN ACCOMPLISH IT 1 John 3:16 – let people know that they matter – how??– encourage people – pray for people – when God highlights someone to you pray for them & let them know

1. What is truth? THE TRUTH IS THE UNCHANGING WORD OF GOD! – the message STAYS THE SAME despite what is happening in culture John 8:32 – we can pray for people all we want but if we don’t present the truth (bible) then they will never know how to change based on the truthJohn 14:6 – people are confused today and confusion is NOT from God – GOD IS PEACE – It’s hard to preach the truth today because people think you’re hating but hating is not caring enough to confront the truth – “We (as the Church) need to stay grounded in a TRUTH based faith not an emotions based faith” – emotions are going to come & go, people are going to come and go BUT HIS WORD STANDS FIRM FOREVER.

Ephesians 4:13 – love and acceptance is not equal to agreement

“you cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today” — Abraham Lincoln Culture is Loud while the Church is Quiet – we’re allowing culture to shape us instead of […]

“you cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today” — Abraham Lincoln

Culture is Loud while the Church is Quiet – we’re allowing culture to shape us instead of the Church shape culture – we can’t expect things, people, government to change if we’re not doing something about it – culture wants us to bow our knees to it but GOD wants our knees to Him

It’s time for us to be missionaries for the next generation– start training up the next generation – ““These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” Luke‬ ‭10:2‬

Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today. — Malcom X – Today we are preparing to make the world a better place tomorrow

Based George Barna’s Research from the Barna Group– Gen X: 1961-1981– Grew up in “Apple Pie America” – Went to church on every Sunday – Idol: look good on the outside but don’t let people know the mess you are on the inside – created the spiritual mask – Key Scriptures: – 1 Samuel 16:7– Matthew 23:28– Matthew 7:20 – the average church model ONLY reaches Gen X – Millennials: 1981-1996– The bridge generation: one foot in Gen X and one foot in Gen Z – Fastest Generation leaving the church– WHY? Because they want authentic, REAL relationships with Jesus and others with messages that they able to apply to their everyday lives – Idol: own ego – Key scriptures:– James 4:10 – Jeremiah 9:23-24 – Gen Z: 1996-Present– faith is the least important thing in their lives – WHY? – The evil in the world – “if there’s a God how can there be evil in the world?” – Christians are hypocrites – 61% say they can find God somewhere else besides church – Idol: Tolerance – anything goes and anything is okay as long as they’re happy

The future of the Church is only going to be effective if we ask these three questions:1. What is truth? 2. Where do I belong? 3. Does my life matter?

The answer for the future of the Church is to be Multi-Generational

Things happen, life happens and pain hurts, but when we get in the presence of God He puts us back together. Broken is beautiful. It has a story. It’s a […]

Things happen, life happens and pain hurts, but when we get in the presence of God He puts us back together. Broken is beautiful. It has a story. It’s a mosaic.– The stuff you go through is what God uses for other people. – Your life isn’t really about you. -The ones that pay the biggest price are the ones with that biggest life.