Thrive.Church Weekly Message

Grinch: an unpleasant person who spoils other people's ________ or ______________.

You can be in a _____________ and still feel alone.

[2 Timothy 4:16] The first time I was brought before the judge, no one came with me. Everyone abandoned me. May it not be counted against them.

[John 14:18] No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.

You are __________ alone.

We can know that God is right there beside us, even in our ________________ moments.

[Deuteronomy 31:8 CSB] The Lord is the one who will go before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or abandon you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.

We don't need to __________ God's presence, we need to be ______________ of His presence.

[Psalm 139:7-12] I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! [8] If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. [9] If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, [10] even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. [11] I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night— [12] but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.

[Isaiah 7:14 CSB] Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.

Immanuel: God _________ us.

God has created us to live in ________________.

[Psalm 68:6a NASB] God makes a home for the lonely;

The church should not be a _____________ but a ____________________.

[1 John 4:11 NIV] Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

God wants our relationships to be _____________ not ___________________.

You may ___________ alone, but you're _________ alone.

[Romans 8:38-39] And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. [39] No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

You don't need to be in the _________________ to be in the _________________.

[Luke 8:1-3] Soon afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples with him, [2] along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons; [3] Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's business manager; Susanna; and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples.

Don't settle for being a ___________ in the crowd when you can be part of the _________________.

[Matthew 6:21 NIV] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Joanna wasn't just a _________________, she was a _________________.

[Luke 6:38] Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full--pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back."

Faithful _________________ is never wasted.

[Luke 24:1-2, 5, 10] But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. [2] They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. [5] The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, "Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? [10] It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened.

Faithfulness is greater than _________________.

[Hebrews 6:10] For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do.

You don’t need to be known by the _________________ to be known by _________________.

You can change the world from the ___________________.

[1 John 5:12] Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.

God often does most His ________________ work through people no one ________________.

[Jeremiah 45:2-3] "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: [3] You have said, 'I am overwhelmed with trouble! Haven't I had enough pain already? And now the LORD has added more! I am worn out from sighing and can find no rest.'

You don’t need the ________________ to have significance.

[Jeremiah 36:1-4] During the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king in Judah, the LORD gave this message to Jeremiah: [2] "Get a scroll, and write down all my messages against Israel, Judah, and the other nations. Begin with the first message back in the days of Josiah, and write down every message, right up to the present time. [3] Perhaps the people of Judah will repent when they hear again all the terrible things I have planned for them. Then I will be able to forgive their sins and wrongdoings." [4] So Jeremiah sent for Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated all the prophecies that the LORD had given him, Baruch wrote them on a scroll.

Sometimes the most ________________ thing you can do is ___________ _______ and do the work no one sees.

[Jeremiah 36:5-7] Then Jeremiah said to Baruch, "I am a prisoner here and unable to go to the Temple. [6] So you go to the Temple on the next day of fasting, and read the messages from the LORD that I have had you write on this scroll. Read them so the people who are there from all over Judah will hear them. [7] Perhaps even yet they will turn from their evil ways and ask the LORD's forgiveness before it is too late. For the LORD has threatened them with his terrible anger."

[Jeremiah 36:27-28] After the king had burned the scroll on which Baruch had written Jeremiah's words, the LORD gave Jeremiah another message. He said, [28] "Get another scroll, and write everything again just as you did on the scroll King Jehoiakim burned.

________________ is staying ________________ even when you feel crushed.

[Jeremiah 45:4-5] "Baruch, this is what the LORD says: 'I will destroy this nation that I built. I will uproot what I planted. [5] Are you seeking great things for yourself? Don't do it! I will bring great disaster upon all these people; but I will give you your life as a reward wherever you go. I, the LORD, have spoken!'"

Stop chasing ________________ and start chasing _________.

[1 Corinthians 15:58] So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

[1 Samuel 17:8-11] Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites. “Why are you all coming out to fight?” he called. “I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me! [9] If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! [10] I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!” [11] When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken.

A __________________ is someone who gives their life to a __________________ cause.

[Exodus 1:15-17] Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah: [16] "When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live." [17] But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king's orders. They allowed the boys to live, too.

When you fear __________________, you won’t bow to __________________.

[Proverbs 9:10] Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.

A life of __________________ begins with the fear of God.

[Exodus 1:18-19] So the king of Egypt called for the midwives. "Why have you done this?" he demanded. "Why have you allowed the boys to live?" [19] "The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women," the midwives replied. "They are more vigorous and have their babies so quickly that we cannot get there in time."

[Hebrews 11:23] It was by faith that Moses' parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king's command.

God __________________ what no one else sees and He __________________ it.

[Exodus 1:20-21] So God was good to the midwives, and the Israelites continued to multiply, growing more and more powerful. [21] And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

There is always a __________________ for our __________________.

[Hebrews 6:10] For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do.

You don’t need a __________________ to make a __________________.

[2 Chronicles 16:9a] The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

[1 Samuel 17:8-11] Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites. “Why are you all coming out to fight?” he called. “I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me! [9] If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! [10] I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!” [11] When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken.

[2 Chronicles 5:11-14 NKJV] And it came to pass when the priests came out of the [Most] Holy [Place] (for all the priests who [were] present had sanctified themselves, without keeping to their divisions), [12] and the Levites [who were] the singers, all those of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, and with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets-- [13] indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers [were] as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, [saying]: "[For He is] good, For His mercy [endures] forever," that the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, [14] so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.

A ____________________ mentality is not the problem. It’s a symptom of the real problem: _______________ from truth.

[Matthew 11:27-29 NKJV] "All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and [the one] to whom the Son wills to reveal [Him]. [28] "Come to Me, all [you] who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Transformative Rest comes when God to reveals the __________ about ___________ in the light of the truth about ___________.

[John 21:11-17 NKJV]

[Hebrews 3:12-15; 4:8-9 NKJV] Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; [13] but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. [14] For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, [15] while it is said: "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." [4:8] For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. [9] There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.

The Promised Land of “Rest” is not a ___________ or a ___________, it’s a ___________.

[Exodus 20:18-21 NKJV]

[Hebrews 10:11-14 NKJV] And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. [12] But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, [13] from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. [14] For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

Jesus took our ___________ in the sacrifice so we could ___________ ___________ in His place of rest.

[Hebrews 4:11-13 NKJV] Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. [12] For the word of God [is] living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. [13] And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things [are] naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we [must give] account.

[Genesis 32:24-30 NKJV] 

Mind game: a psychological tactic used to ___________ or _______________.