Community Church - Edwardsburg

John 2:1-11

Following John 1 Identities Established God is eternal, personal, life-giving creator. I am created for His glory and nobody’s Savior. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and giver of His Spirit. Faithful Following Start Clear Presentation Continual Invitation Prayerful Intervention Steps Growing relationship Cultivation of gifts Ministry assigned Stability All about desir...

Give-and-take John 1 He Takes   Lamb (Gen 22) Substitute, sacrifice, sin-bearer  Sin In totality Take away Leviticus 16 – scapegoat World The Ever-Widening mercy Abraham, Passover, Day of Atonement, Jesus He Gives Holy Spirit What you are immersed in is destined to impart its very nature in you. Meet the new you Ezekiel 36:25-27

Knowing Thyself John 1 Who I’m not Wonder-worker – the channel of divine power Law-giver – the custodian of morality Savior – deliverance comes from me Who I am? Unworthy, on my best day, to do the littlest thing. I am about someone else. Consider: *I am a creation of God, who belongs to Him and exists for His glory. *I am a sinner, who deserves nothing from God, and looks to Him for mercy. *I am...

Meeting Jesus John 1 The Issue No one has seen God, so, people talk about elephants. The Responses Agnosticism - No one knows Mysticism - Everyone knows Jesusism - Thank God for a talking Elephant Eternal Personal Divine Creator Life-giving

Lasting Influence II Kings 2 Elijah’s Strong Finish Useful Fruitful Peaceful Elisha’s Smart Start Burn the Boats 19:19-21 Shred the Clothes, Shed the Tears Pick up the cloak The right response after grief is to carry on the work. One Final Picture Elijah was given safe passage. Elisha was safe too. Death is a safe passage because of Jesus.

Been There…….You’re Not Alone I Kings 19:1-18 Elijah is broken Exhausted Withdrawn Restless Defeated Disappointed Elijah is renewed Strength Presence Purpose

Melee on the Mountain I Kings 18:20-40 In this corner: 450 prophets of Baal Early round confidence Growing desperation Ultimate disaster In this corner: Elijah and…….. well, just Elijah Power of God not numbers Confident prayer, not constant activity In the crowd: Convinced, but perhaps not converted Not changed by judgement Not changed by miracles I Corinthians 1 And the winner is: THE LAMB OF GO...

Grace and Truth I Kings 18:1-21 1, Different Strokes for Different Folks (1-18) Insights for Inside Influencers Expect Trouble Expect to be misunderstood Remember the God who calls, Is the God who sustains. Caution for Cultural Warriors Be slow to judge Carefully choose the hill to die on 2. Forget point number 1. (19-21) Lose the Limp Identify the Real Issue Note the Urgency

The Journey Continues I Kings 17:17-24 The Journey in Faith Begins when you trust the promise of God enough to obey. Tested when you don’t understand what God is doing. Triumphs on resurrection day. The Journey in Love Begins in Humility Grows in Tenderness Ends in Life Everlasting (John 6:40) The Journey in Grace “Give Me Your Son” “See, Your Son Lives”

Great Sacrifice, Greater Joy I Kings 17:8-16 God does what he always does. His means will change. His provision will not. Elijah did what Jesus did. Came to people in great need. Called them to great sacrifice. Promised great reward. I need to do what Elijah did. Challenge to serve. Challenge to give. Challenge to pray.

Closed Doors and Dirty Birds I Kings 17:1-7 God Hiding Elijah The Cherith Experience – God closes a door on what you want most to do. God hides you to work on you, before He works through you. God Leading Elijah Obedience precedes leading Choose the wisest means to the noblest end. God Feeding Elijah A brook, not a river (just enough) God used ravens Unclean birds often fly high in the service of...

I Kings 17:1,2 Review Ahab’s Influence Took God Lightly Redefined god Nobody from Nowhere A Living Personal God Ahab believed religion was a part of Sociology to be manipulated by a politician. Stand in His Presence My main job is to live in deep contentment, joy, and confidence in my everyday experience with God. Everything else is job #2. Prioritize the Eternal It is better to endure any sufferi...

James 1: 19 - 27 Be __________ to hear Be __________ to speak Be slow to __________ Put off ___________________ and _________________ Receive the ____________ Word Prove yourselves ____________ of the Word Evidence of our faith: Bridle our _____________ Care for ____________ and ___________ Keep yourself _______________ from the _____________.

Influencers I Kings 16 “Leaders are people who set out on a journey and take others with them.” Ahab (29,30) None worse. Here’s why. Broke God’s Command (31) “Makes sense to me.” Invented god (32) “We all worship the same God but we do it our own way in our own place” Provoked God to anger (33) “Not how I like to think about God” Ignored God’s Word (34) “Just an old story – Not reality.”

Get Your Head in the Game I Corinthians 11 Be Mindful of the Past We Remember and Proclaim Be Mindful of Others Resolution Precedes Worship Be Mindful of Yourself Repentant Sinners Don’t let success or failures keep you away Be Mindful of Jesus The Lord’s Supper is the Lord’s. The Lord’s Supper is a supper. Bread – Body - Perfect Obedience Juice – Blood - Perfect Forgiveness

Baffling Battle Plan Judges 7 Let It Grow, Let It Grow Gideon went from cowering to the Hall of Fame. God considers our humanity. Calculate the Odds The degree of difficulty is relative to the capacity of the one doing the work. With God, one is a majority. – M Luther Quarantine Fear 2/3 walked Standard Operating Procedure Deploy Worship Reorients Courage is Contagious too.

Fleshly Weapons - our own thinking - methodology - anger - vengeance - escape Divine Weapons - truth - prayer - Word - faith - fruit Strongholds - worry - lust - negative - temporal

STAND Ephesians 6 3 Basics The battle is spiritual. The battle intensity varies. The battle’s objective is to stand. 7 Tools Truth Righteousness Gospel of Peace Faith Hope Word Lord

1 Timothy 4: 12-16

1 JOHN

Ephesians 6:10-12 By Name Devil Wicked One Original Jet-Setter Daystar By Rank Prince Ruler god By Cereal Number (just kidding, let’s talk about his strategy) Deceive Divide Destroy *You are helpless and hopeless without the strategies of the Word and power of Jesus.

Psalm 127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.

Bucket List -I Peter 4:1-11 Exercise Your Freedom - There is an obvious connection between the will of God and holy living. Get Serious About Prayer - We can do better than a minute per day. Love Deeper - Not sloppy agape, but striving to win the love Olympics. Be Stewards of God’s Grace - How does God want to use you to glorify Him?

A Life Worth Loving -I Peter 3:8-17 General Guidelines Likeminded, Compassionate, Brotherly Love Tender-hearted, Humble Minded Bless Back Distinction of Christianity – Love Your Enemies Love Life Some Hate Some Endure Some Escape We Love Develop Defense Example Explanation