You Changed My Mind

Proverbs 3:11-12, Matthew 18:15-17

Luke 24:13-35

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Romans 1:5 and 16:26

A huge problem we face is living an unexamined life. We do whatever feels right to us in the moment, but it often comes back to haunt us. What we see in the Bible is that God is longing for us to break our conformity with the world, and be transformed by the Spirit. In doing so, we gain discernment, the ability to use good judgement and wise counsel to make good decisions.

From Proverbs 1, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Instead of asking, "How close to sin can I get without it being a sin," we are learning to ask, "Lord, help me get as far away from sin and temptation as possible."

How do we grow in wisdom and skill? What kind of man or woman do we want to become? What are the things we need to do or avoid to make that a reality? These are the guiding questions as we look at Proverbs 4, where we God longing to give us wisdom for our benefit.

John 4

What does it mean to be great? Jesus teaches and models for us to be a leader rather than a boss. Where can you give your benefits, privilege, and power for someone else's good? Where can you serve? Where can you humbly accept affirmation, and pass it forward?

Jesus calls us to vigilance of His return, opportunities to share His love, and against our sin

If I only had ___, then I would be happy. God's love is better than anything we can fill in that blank with.

Matthew 15:17-20

Psalm 51 and The Crystallization of Discontent (Roy Baumeister) “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” -C.S. The Weight Of Glory

Matthew 9:9-13

As the deer pants for streams of living water, so my soul pants for you, God.

Why does it seem like the God of the Old Testament is so different than the God of the New Testament? And why does Paul seem so different than Jesus? What we see in the Scriptures is that Jesus' message and mission are finishing what He started and always intended to do beginning in Genesis.

Psalm 23

Acts 2:42-27. The church is a community we devote ourselves to, not a country club that caters to our wants and desires

Show me your friends, I'll show you your future

Jesus did not come to do away with the things of the Old Testament, He came to fulfill them. (Matthew 5:17-18) It is the sick who need a doctor, not the healthy. (Mark 2:17). Come to Jesus with your brokenness. It’s not what goes into you that makes you unclean, it’s what is in your heart. He’s less concerned with your outward religiously and more about the posture of your heart. (Matthew 15:11) T...

Jesus is not a way to God, but the way to the Father. His Word is not a buffet that we pick and choose what we want to believe and obey. It's a masterfully crafted, Michelin star level fixed menu.

This week we see the Israelites following the cloud and pillar of fire of God's presence all the way in Exodus, through the temple dedication, to the exile, and the prediction that Jesus would fulfill the ultimate restoration of God's presence dwelling in His new temple(s).

Trust the process. Those who stay will be champions

Jeremiah 29: God has not forgotten you. Expand your perspective. Flourish wherever you are. Develop spiritual discernment. Seek Jesus wholeheartedly. Joyfully hope and trust in God’s promises

We are sheep, Jesus is our good shepherd, and He is protecting us from predators and enemies. Our biggest barrier to this reality is the secret belief that God is not good and does not have good intentions for us. Yet our response Jesus' call as our shepherd is surrender, becoming familiar with His voice, and trusting His process.