New Beginnings Church

Remain (Abide)

To be with Jesus, to learn from Him, to live like Him.

When we break away from the vine, we may be able to survive in the short term, but not eternally. 

We must intentionally practice remaining in Him. 

God doesn’t ask us to love; he commands it.

How do you remain in Him?     

What might be drawing you away from Him? 

What must be pruned away that is not bearing fruit?

How are we as New Beginnings Church remaining in Him? 

What must be pruned away that is no longer bearing fruit?

Sin and darkness overshadow our lives, and it can leave us broken

The journey to the cross can feel dark, but that is because we are living in the dark. The good news is that there is freedom in the Light… freedom in Jesus.

Our life is littered with choices, but none more important than who we call  Lord and Savior

How has your life changed since you “first believed”?  Has it?

What might the light of Jesus be revealing to you today?

We have the Good Shepherd who loves, saves, leads, and calls us by name

John 10:18 “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.”

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Cor 5:21

What is your relationship with Jesus like? 

A routine or life-changing one?

How might you begin to live more completely, more invested, into His relationship offered?

How might you describe the father’s love to sons?

Is. 49:15-16 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the child of her womb? Even if these forget, yet I will not forget you. 16 Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.”

At the heart of this parable is our calling to be like the Father

Romans 8:16-17 “16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.”

“Indeed, as son and heir I am to become successor. I am destined to step into my Father’s place and offer to others the same compassion that he has offered me. The return to the Father is ultimately the challenge to become the Father… Being in the Father’s house requires that I make the Father’s life my own and become transformed in his image.” Henri Nouwen

Grief“ - …man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.” Is 53:3

Forgiveness - Ephesians 4:32 “Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”

Generosity - 1 John 3:16 “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us.”

To become like the Father, we must look to Jesus

“Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” Matthew 5:38

“Thus, for my sake, Jesus becomes the younger son as well as the elder son in order to show me how to become the Father. Through him I can become a true son again and, as a true son, I finally can grow to become compassionate as our heavenly Father is.” Henri Nouwen

Luke 15:7 “…there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need repentance.”

Luke 15:10 “…there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”

Luke 15:32 “But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”

Our lives are transformed from: forgiven to forgiver, and from judger to blesser

Identifying with the eldest son is difficult for us to face.

“Returning from a lustful escapade seems so much easier than returning home from a cold anger that has rooted itself in the deepest corners of my being.”

How have we compared ourselves to another person, church, or business and asked why we cannot be more successful?

Do we have the capacity to not only love the ones who have come back from the lost country but also the ones who resent it?

Do we have the capability to admit and confess when that resentment is ours?

The story of the Prodigal is all humanity returning to God through Jesus.

Distant land/country - Wasted - Rock bottom

When have you hit rock bottom?

To be redeemed means you are coming back from something.

How has your story been like the son’s?

We have all walked away still wanting our inheritance.

To whom do I belong: God or the world?

Procrastinare (Latin)                                                                                                                                     Akrasia (Greek)

We procrastinate by doing something in place of what we are supposed to be doing.

Procrastination is “a way of coping with challenging emotions and negative moods induced by certain tasks—boredom, anxiety, insecurity, frustration, resentment, self-doubt and beyond….Charlotte Lieberman, New York Times, 03/25/2019

Our faith growth is affected when we put off responsibilities and obedience for something else

When was a time you told God to “wait” or “no”?

Our life in Jesus is about being changed to reflect Jesus, to grow in love..

Oftentimes, our faith is fed with fast food.

John 17:19 (NRSV) “And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.”

Sanctify: To purify internally by reformation of the soul; to be changed to reflect Jesus, to be more like Jesus.

We are being separated from our sinful selves, purified from moral evil, and conformed into the image of Christ.

Being made holy is a lifelong growth process of a believer

What spiritual disciplines are you using to feed your faith? (cultivate holiness)

Change is a part of life, and it will either bring us closer to or further from God. 

When do we procrastinate the most?      CHANGE

New life in Jesus breeds new spiritual habits through which we can see and experience the life-giving process of change as we follow Jesus.
Not many people like change, but change doesn’t care what we feel.

It's wise for us to remember that each moment we live is God-given.

Will the life changes bring me closer to God or take me further away?

GOD MOVES FIRST

John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you”

1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”

John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

God’s love is extended to the humble and lowly; He invites us in and draws us toward Himself

God entered their/our story and was inviting them into His story

Luke 2:17-18 “they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”

Encountering God’s love compels the sharing of it

Luke 2:15 The shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

How are you seeking to receive God’s love?

Are you able to identify how God’s love has changed you?

How are you pouring love into the lives of others?

Jesus is born; Jesus is Risen; Jesus will come again