Thrive.Church Weekly Message

[Matthew 15.21-22] Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. [22] A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”

[John 3:1] There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee.

He had wealth and wisdom but found it all to be ________________.

Three Things that Contributed to Solomon's Downfall.

1. Solomon craved ________________.

Deuteronomy 17:16-17 “The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the Lord has told you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’ 17 The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord. And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.

1 Kings 10:28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Cilicia; the king’s traders acquired them from Cilicia at the standard price.

1 Kings 10:14-15; 21 Each year Solomon received about 25 tons of gold. 15 This did not include the additional revenue he received from merchants and traders, all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the land. 21 All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were solid gold, as were all the utensils in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. They were not made of silver, for silver was considered worthless in Solomon’s day!

2. Solomon ________________ after many women.

1 Kings 11:1-3 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. 2 The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, “You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.” Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. 3 He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord.

3. Solomon ________________ foreign gods.

1 Kings 11:4-9 In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David, had been. 5 Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6 In this way, Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s sight; he refused to follow the Lord completely, as his father, David, had done. 7 On the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, he even built a pagan shrine for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. 8 Solomon built such shrines for all his foreign wives to use for burning incense and sacrificing to their gods. 9 The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.

Solomon overlooked the fact that disobedience to God brings ________________ consequences.

Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. 11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.

The world is full of people who are making a ________________ living but living ________________ lives.

Deuteronomy 17:18-20 “When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19 He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. 20 This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel.

Important we stay ________________ in God's Word.

[John 9:1-3] As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. [2] “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” [3] “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.

We are _________________________________.

[1 Corinthians 2:1-2] When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn't use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God's secret plan. [2] For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified.

At the core of our faith is __________________ and His work on the __________________.

[Matthew 22:35-40] One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: [36] "Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?" [37] Jesus replied, "'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' [38] This is the first and greatest commandment. [39] A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' [40] The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments."

Jesus calls us to focus on what matters most: loving __________________ and loving __________________.

[Ephesians 4:3-6] Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. [4] For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. [5] There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, [6] and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all.

When we __________________ around Jesus, we become a powerful force for the __________________.

[Romans 14:1] Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don't argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.

We should hold onto what __________________ us rather than what __________________ us.

[Matthew 28:19-20] Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. [20] Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Jesus' final command to His disciples was to _____________ and __________________.

[Luke 19:1-2] Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. [2] There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich.

We're not into ____________________________________; we want heart transformation.

Heart transformation is a process that relies on the _______ _________________ to rebuild us from the inside out.

[1 Samuel 16:7] But the LORD said to Samuel, "Don't judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

God is more concerned with the _______________ than appearances.

[Romans 12:2] Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

When we let the Holy Spirit change our heart, the good behaviors ____________________ follow.

[Matthew 23:25-26] "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy--full of greed and self-indulgence! [26] You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.

Jesus didn’t come to give us more _______________ to _______________.

[Galatians 5:22-23] But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

The Fruit of spirit is _______________________ of God working on the inside.

[2 Corinthians 7:10] For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There's no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.

Life change often happens in the _____________ moments.

Every person who comes to church is a _________________ coming home.

[Luke 15:1-2] Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. [2] This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people--even eating with them!

Each person truly _________________ to Jesus.

[Luke 15:11] To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: "A man had two sons.

[Luke 15:17-19] "When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, 'At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! [18] I will go home to my father and say, "Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, [19] and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant."'

Never ______________________ what a person went through to get to church.

[Luke 15:20-24] "So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. [21] His son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.' [22] "But his father said to the servants, 'Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. [23] And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, [24] for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.' So the party began.

God is always ready to _____________________ us home.

[Ephesians 1:5] God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

The Father runs toward us even when we feel _____________________.

[Luke 15:28-30] "The older brother was angry and wouldn't go in. His father came out and begged him, [29] but he replied, 'All these years I've slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. [30] Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!'

We can't __________________________ when God brings people to our door.

[John 12:12-15] The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors [13] took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hail to the King of Israel!” [14] Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said: [15] “Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem. Look, your King is coming, riding on a donkey’s colt.”