Salt River Community Church

Sometimes we struggle with God - in faith, in prayer, in seeking blessings from Him - but often times what He’s battling for is our confession, and recognition of who He is

Though God may answer our prayer, it will always be for His purposes, even if it confuses us at times; so we have to trust that His plan is bigger than our prayers.

Though we may face seemingly impossible tests, we should always be looking for the way that God is using those moments to display His own Son to the world, through us - for His glory, not our praise

When we live our lives close to sin, we risk being swept into the suffering that comes with it, and then dependent on God’s mercy and the prayers of others for our deliverance.

We have the opportunity to come to God in prayer, and to plead for His mercy - on us and others - but in doing so, we’re learning how to align ourselves with his plans, rather than attempting to re-direct them.

If we respond to God’s call and become his disciples, then we have the opportunity to walk with Him into a future that He’s designed for us, but we have to listen and keep walking.

If God is sovereign over our pain and suffering, then how we respond to it will display what we really believe about Him being worthy of worship

It should push us to share our faith without reservation when we remember that God has a limit to His patience, but not to His grace, and that He will keep His Word because He is powerfully able to.

We need to keep our heart seeking God, because sin is anxious for us to give in; and if we do, it’s always worse than we thought it would be, for ourselves and others.

As we experience the reality of living in fallen world, now more than ever, we need to be learning to know God’s Word and how to trust Him completely with our lives.

When we understand our image is God’s design, to reflect Him, it makes our creation and our purpose have great meaning, and we can serve God and others without shame, domination, or disappointment.

When we shape our lives around God’s definition of Good, it changes our worldview, and empowers us to effectively share the love of Christ and the hope of the Gospel

When you realize that our beginning is not God’s beginning, it gives meaning to life and shapes our hope for whatever we deal with in life; past, present, and future.

Today I want to pause and put God’s eternal plan back in front of our eyes, so that when we walk into this new year, having already set up markers for our 2021 God-moments, we can Trust His plan as each day comes in 2022 1. What’s the plan? 2. Where’s it leading?

A memorial always faces both directions in time - it both remembers what has been and hopes for what’s to come… moving forward based on what is memorialized from the past. It’s important for us to set markers to honor times when God powerfully moves in our lives, so that it will be a reminder of His character as we head into our future.

When the Holy Spirit leads us to see the Messiah, it should bring us to celebrate Him, thanking God for answering our prayers, and then speaking about Him with everyone who seeks the hope of redemption. Especially this time of year!!

When the Holy Spirit leads us to see the Messiah, it should bring us to celebrate the Hope of Salvation, promised in God’s Word, and to proclaim Him to all people. Especially this time of year!!

We were created as human beings to serve God by ruling over His creation, animals and land, and glorifying Him through it, but when we begin to believe that creation is our triumph, He is able to set us in the stable just as easily as we set animals there. Outline • I am Human; no need for God • I am Animal; God has made me so • I am Human; God has made me so

When we let anger and hate find a place in our heart it will direct us towards irrational behavior, even at God, and it either exposes our true nature or causes us to defy it; ultimately hurting us as equally as the one being hated Outline: • Hate That’s Learned • Learning To Hate

Biblical Principles for Defeating Discontentment ● Reposition ● Re-evaluate ● Repent ● Re-engage ● Refocus

Maybe you feel hopelessly trapped in addiction, like a beast has taken control of your life, but God tells us there is hope, if we battle to please Him and not ourselves Outline: • The Beast • The Battle

Maybe, like this woman we’re looking at today, you’ve found yourself facing a hopeless situation, but there Is a path to escape and it begins with acting on your faith Outline: • The Pit of Depression [1-2] • The Path of Escape [3-7]

Though Fear is often seen as negative, a weakness, the Bible displays it as something that produces wisdom and blessing; when we put it in proper perspective and direct it towards the Lord. Outline: o Fear Gives Us Wisdom (111:10) o Fear Grants Us A Blessing (112:1)

● Are you satisfied with simply walking with Jesus? ● Would you prefer a system or set of rules? ● Are you currently being discipled by anybody? ● Are you currently discipline anyone else? ● Do you find the prospect of discipleship a challenging commitment?

Though you enter by a Relationship with Christ, God’s Church is Religion - because by definition it’s faith-based and involves acts of worship to Him... and it is also Organized because the God of the Church has always directed His corporate worship to be that way. • What is Church (14-15) • Why Church (16)