Storyside Church

My family puts the fun in dysfunctional. 

There are no perfect families. 

Genesis 5:1 — This is the written account of Adam’s family line. 

Genesis 6:9 — This is the account of Noah and his family. 

Genesis 11:10 — This is the account of Shem’s family line.

Genesis 11:27 — This is the account of Terah’s family line.

Genesis 25:12 — This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Ishmael…

Genesis 25:19 — This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac.

Genesis 36:1 — This is the account of the family line of Esau (that is, Edom).

Genesis 37:2 — This is the account of Jacob’s family line.

What will be the account of my family?

May our family live in the love of the Lord. 

Psalm 103:17 — But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children. 

Teach your children to walk with God, and they will never walk alone.

May we be remembered as a forgiving family. 

Colossians 3:13 — Don’t be angry with each other, but forgive each other. If you feel someone has wronged you, forgive them. Forgive others because the Lord forgave you.

Every time we forgive, we declare that the cross is enough — not just for us, but for them too.

May we be remembered as a praying family. 

Acts 10:2 — He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.

May our family be a God-centered and faith-focused family. 

Chick-fil-A likely loses out on more than one billion dollars in sales every year by closing on Sundays. 

— Business Insider 

Closing our business on Sunday, the Lord's Day, is our way of honoring God and showing our loyalty to Him. 

— Truett Cathy

Joshua 24:15 — If serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.

As for the ___________________ family…

May we be remembered as a comeback kind of family. 

Luke 15

“While the son was still a long way off, his father saw him coming and felt sorry for him. So he ran to him and hugged and kissed him. The son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against God and have done wrong to you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father…”

A Loving Family

A Praying Family

A Faith Focused Family

A Forgiving Family

A Comeback Family

Luke 2:48 — His parents didn’t know what to think. “Son,” his mother said to him, “why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere.”

Luke 2:49 — And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?

Luke 2:49 — Jesus said to them, “Why did you have to look for me? You should have known that I must be where my Father’s work is.”

"The solitary floweret out of the enclosed garden of thirty years."

We see what will ultimately sway the Savior. 

MUST

Luke 4:43 — But Jesus said, “People in other towns must hear the good news about God's kingdom. This is why I was sent.”

John 9:4 — While it is still day, we must continue to work. God has sent me and we must do his work. We must work now because it will be night soon. Then nobody can work.

Luke 19:5 — When Jesus came to where Zacchaeus was, he looked up and saw him in the tree. Jesus said, “Zacchaeus, hurry! Come down! I must stay at your house today.”

John 4:4 — And he (Jesus) must needs go through Samaria.

Mark 8:31 — Then Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things. He taught that the Son of Man would not be accepted by the Jewish elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of the law. He taught that the Son of Man must be killed and then rise from death after three days.

Mark 13:10 — Before the end comes, the Good News must be told to all nations.

What is a MUST in my life? 

John 3 

3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.

6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.

7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ 

Acts 16:30-31

Then he brought them outside and said, “Men, what must I do to be saved?” They said to him, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved—you and all who live in your house.”

Acts 4:12 — Jesus is the only one who can save people. His name is the only power in the world that has been given to save anyone. We must be saved through him!

John 3:30 — He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

Matthew 16

22 But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!”

23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.

John 4:24 — For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.

Hebrews 11:6 — Without faith no one can please God. Anyone who comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who truly want to find him.

2 Corinthians 5:10 

We must all stand before Christ to be judged. Everyone will get what they should. They will be paid for whatever they did—good or bad—when they lived in this earthly body.

What is the MUST that God is speaking to you in this moment?

The difference between the Apostle Paul and the modern church is that the Apostle Paul never tried to adjust his message to the world, but rather he adjusted his life to the message. 

— Leonard Ravenhill  

I must…

Let Go

Let God 

Anger is a violent emotion, vindictive, and as dangerous to he who is driven by it as to anyone on whom it is turned.

Colossians 3:8-9

But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds.

Ephesians 4:31-32 

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.

Vindictiveness usually comes from anger, low self-esteem, trust issues, or an inability to forgive.

Malice: A desire to cause hurt or pain to someone. A desire to see ill-will come to someone. 

50,000

Spitefulness attempts to even the score through retaliation. 

I’ve never seen anyone carry around a grudge like that for 30 yrs…it’s bizarre. 

— Law Enforcement Investigation 

Spitefulness is like a spiritual cancer. 

1 Peter 3:9 — Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.

How have I been spiteful?

Am I being spiteful? 

Revenge is the most worthless of causes.

Ephesians 4:30-32

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Let Go 

We need the Holy Spirit. 

Lord I forgive ________________ for _______________ which made me feel _______________. 

Romans 12:19 — Never take vengeance into your own hands, my dear friends: stand back and let God punish if he will. For it is written: ‘Vengeance is mine. I will repay’.

Let God 

Matthew 5:43-44

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you…

Titus 3

3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, and wrong. We were slaves to passions and pleasures of all kinds. We spent our lives in malice and envy; others hated us and we hated them. 

4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior was revealed, 

5 he saved us. It was not because of any good deeds that we ourselves had done, but because of his own mercy that he saved us, through the Holy Spirit, who gives us new birth and new life by washing us. 

6 God poured out the Holy Spirit abundantly on us through Jesus Christ our Savior, 

7 so that by his grace we might be put right with God and come into possession of the eternal life we hope for.

But God 

Anger is one letter short of danger. 

Proverbs 19:3 — People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord.

1 Timothy 2:8 — In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.

Did I lift my hands free from anger today?

When you experience anger, your prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for decision-making and logical thinking, can become impaired. In fact, research has shown that your IQ can drop by up to 15 points when you’re in a fit of rage.

Proverbs 22:24-25

Don’t befriend angry people or associate with hot-tempered people, or you will learn to be like them and endanger your soul.

It’s ok to get mad: If you have been wronged, treated unfairly, or provoked, you should get angry, but express it assertively instead of aggressively.

Diet 

Food

Humor 

Walking 

Sleeping

Distance 

Breathing 

Relaxation 

Activity/Exercise 

Conflict Resolution 

Matthew 5:22 — But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.

Matthew 5:23-24 

So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.

Genesis 4:6 — “Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? 

Why am I angry?  

We will often find that what was said or done was affecting our ego, our pride, or our self-esteem.

— Author Tim Keller 

Anger becomes fear and shame’s bodyguard. 

— Dr. Caparelli 

Jonah 4

1 This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. 

2 So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people.

3 Just kill me now, Lord! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”

4 The Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?”

Is it right for me to angry?  

Is it beneficial/good for me to angry?  

If anger is not managed effectively, it can lead to long-term health problems. The human body is not built to handle prolonged or regular exposure to high levels of adrenaline and cortisol.

Erosive 

Explosive 

Genesis 45

4 “Please, come closer,” he said to them. So they came closer. And he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. 

5 But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives.

Revealing 

Releasing

Reframing 

Venting to reduce anger is like using gasoline to put out a fire — it only feeds the flame. By venting, you keep angry feelings alive and you end up angrier, not less angry.

— Dr. Brad Bushman 

Instead of venting, try validating your anger and then letting it go. This means acknowledging that your angry feelings are normal and understandable, but also recognizing that dwelling on them is not productive.

Ephesians 4:26-27 

Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.

Ephesians 4:26-27 

And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

Anger 

Wrath  

What is building up? 

What am I tucking away?  

Am I amassing anger?  

Do I have a portfolio of pain?  

Ephesians 4:31 — Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.