Week of September 27 - October 3

So I couldn’t be with you all this week, I hope you had great conversations, but I have a GREAT message and assignment for you anyway!

From our Propel Curriculum:

“No matter who you know here on earth, you also have a personal invitation to know the Leader. Every day you have an opportunity to tap into the power of God and build a relationship with Him through prayer. You can’t do a networking lunch with God, but you can talk to Him while you eat. You can’t invite Him to speak at your board meeting, but you can listen for His wisdom while you plan. You can’t see God, but He is always present and always looking forward to hearing from you.

Prayer might already be a significant part of your life and leadership, or this may be a new idea for you. Wherever you find yourself, this session will offer some new insights on why we pray, how we pray, and why it matters.”

• Read Philippians 4:6-7

  • Is it freeing to know you don’t have to have the perfect words—or a perfect life—before you can pray?

  • So often we approach prayer as a shopping list of things we want. How could a focus on gratitude change the way you pray?

  • Do you think God really cares about the details of your life?

• Read Matthew 6:9-13

  • What is Jesus trying to teach you about prayer through this passage?

  • Read this passage in a different version. Anything jump out at you in a different way?

  • How could you get better at praying?

Week of September 20-26

This week, I struggled with what to present. It was a rough week for me…just personally, it was rough. And I needed something to minister to this weary, beat-up soul. I found this teaching by Steven Furtick, and it helped a lot. I hope it ministers to you too.

1. Read Matthew 13:1-9

2. Listen to the video again.

3. What speaks to you the most about this message and passage?

4. What are you learning from God right now?

Week of September 13-19

I’ve been focused a lot lately on God’s actual words. We see them throughout scripture in certain places, and I believe that they’re put there for a reason! We are meant to learn something from them, pay extra attention, and leave the interaction changed.

I’m preparing a sermon for the end of the month called “Fight Like a Christian”, and I believe that God is going to do some spectacular, miraculous things on that weekend, but that it’s going to be a fight to get there.

In Exodus, we see the nation of Israel also experiencing some spectacular, miraculous things from God, but it was definitely a fight to get there.

Read Exodus 1-15

• What can we learn from the Israelites story here?

• Write down all of God’s words to the Israelites as you read. Do you feel like God is saying any of them to you, today?

• What meant the most to you in this passage?

If you didn’t make it to Bold & Brave, watch this:

Week of September 5-12

The kind of sermon I usually preach has little to do with fear.  In fact, I spent most of my life fighting AGAINST fear and teaching myself self-confidence and boldness. 1 John 4:18, “Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.”

It’s true that God loves you...unconditionally.  But his blessings are conditional.  If you want to walk in the blessing of God--you have to be obedient.  

But just like any good parent, God does use discipline to bring us back into line, and if we aren't coming back, throughout the ages, he has used more extreme methods.  We have to trust that our creator God is the best judge of us, and give him the proper respect he's due. Healthy fear of God is a good thing.  

God is a judge.  He created heaven & earth and has all authority to do what HE deems necessary to fix it.  We need to trust Him and obey Him.
 

This week, let's study the following passages:

• Psalm 11
  • Would you say you have a healthy fear of the "fire & brimstone" that God is capable of?
  • How does this passage make you feel?
• Genesis 19:1-29
  • What lessons can we learn from the story of Sodom & Gomorrah?
  • Why do you think Lot was spared?
• Matthew 18:1-9
  • Jesus has some harsh words in this passage--who are they directed at?
  • Do they change your view of Jesus at all?
• Proverbs 9:10
  • How can you apply this verse in your life?