Category Archives: Sermon Notes

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Sex, Marriage, Intimacy and Screwtape Letters: chapters 18-19

Key Scriptures:
Genesis 2:25, Ephesians 5:25, 1 John 4:18
Key Teaching points:
Sex is a spiritual discipline
Brokenness
Confession
Cross
Key Quote:
“Submit to my wife’s version of intimacy.”
Key Quotes from The Love Dare:
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The Love Dare (Alex Kendrick)
– Highlight Loc. 42-46 | Added on Sunday, May 24, 2009, 07:03 AM

The Love Dare journey is not a process of trying to change your spouse to be the person you want them to be. You’ve no doubt already discovered that efforts to change your husband or wife have ended in failure and frustration. Rather, this is a journey of exploring and demonstrating genuine love, even when your desire is dry and your motives are low. The truth is, love is a decision and not just a feeling. It is selfless, sacrificial, and transformational. And when love is truly demonstrated as it was intended, your relationship is more likely to change for the better.
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The Love Dare (Alex Kendrick)
– Highlight Loc. 930-35 | Added on Sunday, May 24, 2009, 07:10 AM

Yet this great blessing is also the site of its greatest danger. Someone who knows us this intimately can either love us at depths we never imagined, or can wound us in ways we may never fully recover from. It’s both the fire and the fear of marriage. Which of these are you experiencing the most in your home right now? Are the secrets your spouse knows about you reasons for shame, or reasons for drawing you closer? If your spouse were to answer this same question, would they say you make them feel safe, or scared? If home is not considered a place of safety, you will both be tempted to seek it somewhere else.
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The Love Dare (Alex Kendrick)
– Highlight Loc. 938-47 | Added on Sunday, May 24, 2009, 07:12 AM

The Bible says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). The atmosphere in your marriage should be one of freedom. Like Adam and Eve in the garden, your closeness should only intensify your intimacy. Being “naked” and “not ashamed” (Genesis 2:25) should exist in the same sentence, right in your marriage?physically and emotionally. Admittedly, this is tender territory. Marriage has unloaded another person’s baggage into your life, and yours into theirs. Both of you have reason to feel embarrassed that this much has been revealed about you to another living soul. But this is your opportunity to wrap all this private information about them in the protective embrace of your love, and promise to be the one who can best help him or her deal with it. Some of these secrets may need correcting. Therefore, you can be an agent of healing and repair?not by lecturing, not by criticizing, but by listening in love and offering support. Some of these secrets just need to be accepted. They are part of this person’s make-up and history. And though these issues may not be very pleasant to deal with, they will always require a gentle touch.
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The Love Dare (Alex Kendrick)
– Highlight Loc. 953-55 | Added on Sunday, May 24, 2009, 07:13 AM

(Psalm 139:2?4). And yet God, who knows secrets about us that we even hide from ourselves, loves us at a depth we cannot begin to fathom. How much more should we?as imperfect people?reach out to our spouse in grace and understanding, accepting them for who they are and assuring them that their secrets are safe with us?
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The Love Dare (Alex Kendrick)
– Highlight Loc. 1689-90 | Added on Sunday, May 24, 2009, 07:15 AM

Even its boundaries and restrictions are God’s ways of keeping our sexual experiences at a level far beyond any of those advertised on television or in the movies.
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The Love Dare (Alex Kendrick)
– Highlight Loc. 1699-1701 | Added on Sunday, May 24, 2009, 07:16 AM

This same oneness is a hallmark of every marriage. In the act of romance, we join our hearts to each other in an expression of love that no other form of communication can match. That’s why “the marriage bed is to be undefiled” (Hebrews 13:4). We are not to share this same experience with anyone else.
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Journal Time:
What would you want your wife to know about you and sex and intimacy?
What are some ways that you can show your wife that you love her?
Is your marriage both physically and emotionally in line with Genesis 2:25 image of marriage? why or why not?  How can you make it that way?
Group Time:
Is marriage only good when you are ‘in love’?  Can we fall ‘in’ and ‘out’ of love? explain.
“…persuading the humans that a curious, and usually shortlived, experience which they call ‘being in love’ is the only respectable ground for marriage…”
How can we keep the ‘excitement permanent’?
“…that marriage can, and ought to, render this excitement permanent; and that a marriage which does not do so is no longer binding…”
Is marriage about happiness or holiness? explain.
“…Now comes the joke. The Enemy described a married couple as ‘one flesh’. He did not say ‘a happily married couple’ or ‘a couple who married because they were in love’, but you can make the humans ignore that….humans can be made to infer the false belief that the blend of affection, fear, and desire which they call ‘being in love’ is the only thing that makes marriage either happy or holy…”  (see 1 John 4:18)
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Men’s Group: Fellowship from Calvary Road, May 13, 2009

The progression of the chapters in Calvary Road is significant.  We started with brokenness, then went to confession/cleaning our lives (cups) up so we can fill them with the Holy Spirit, and now we turn to fellowship.

Years ago I kept secrets from my wife, and one day I finally ‘confessed’ and ‘cleaned’ out ALL the skeletons in my closet (cup).  It was a scary, crazy, and bold move that kept us up talking until 3am.  I was scared of her not forgiving me and not understanding me.  She did both.

Shortly after my cup was clean 2 things happened.  My marriage went from great to amazing.  The comfort in KNOWING that there was nothing to hide freed us up to have a depth and peace and intimacy that I would have never dreamed of.  

The second thing that happened is that I learned to share my dirty cup with other men.  I found several men who were willing and that I felt save enough with to share my deepest fears and struggles.  I talk and meet with these men weekly.  This has transformed my relationship with my wife, with Christ, and with everyone around me.  A very large weight has been lifted from my soul, and I have a place to run and hide when things get overwhelming.

Hession in chapter 3-The Way of Fellowship outlines the importance of fellowship in shaping our lives and our relationships with our spouses, our friends, and our God.

Through the years, I have continued to try and coach and encourage other men to ‘date’ each other.  There is a richness to life that is sorely lacking without this process.  But it takes men SO LONG and most NEVER are able or willing to get there.  

The only way to do it is by finding a guy that you feel comfortable with and you take a few baby steps by sharing some private struggles or sins.  See how they respond, If they respond in kind and with understanding then dig deeper and continue to share more.  As you trust more and learn to share more, you will find that your marriage is better, your walk with Christ is deeper, and your life is richer.

Any questions?

Calvary Road, Chapter 3, Fellowship quotes:

But if we have not been brought into vital fellowship with our brother, it is a proof that to that extent we have not been brought into vital fellowship with God
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Sin always involves us in being unreal, pretending, duplicity, window dressing, excusing ourselves and blaming others–and we can do all that as much by our silence as by saying or doing something.
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The only basis for real fellowship with God and man is to live out in the open with both.
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Spurgeon defines it in one of his sermons as “the willingness to know and be known.”
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We must be willing not only to know, but to be known by him for what we really are. That means we are not going to hide our inner selves from those with whom we ought to be in fellowship; we are not going to window dress and put on appearances; nor are we going to whitewash and excuse ourselves. We are going to be honest about ourselves with them. We are willing to give up our spiritual privacy, pocket our pride and risk our reputations for the sake of being open and transparent with our brethren in Christ.
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We have not necessarily got to tell everybody everything about ourselves. The fundamental thing is our attitude of walking in the light, rather than the act. Are we willing to be in the open with our brother–and be so in word when God tells us to?
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When the barriers are down and the masks are off, God has a chance of making us really one. But there is also the added joy of knowing that in such a fellowship we are “safe.”
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Jesus wants you to begin walking in the light with Him in a new way today. Join with one other–your Christian friend, the person you live with, your wife, your husband. Drop the mask.

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Married Life Live, Session 2: Only Jesus can heal wounds.

Enjoy the notes and the brief audio teaching from our second Married Life Live session.
MEN’s ANSWERS:
What is your wound?
  • performance wound
  • not enough wound
  • distand dad and/or mom
  • not sensitive (family of origin-distant-did not express feelings)
  • non-emotional-grow up afraid of emotions/expression of emotions
  • self sufficient wound (can do life on own)
How does your wife help that wound?
  • acts of service
  • words of affirmation
  • touch
  • quality time
  • gifts
What role does Jesus play in your marriage?
  • put Jesus first–then marriage will follow
  • let Him rule, submit to Him otherwise it doesn’t work
  • Jesus is the glue.
  • example of forgiveness & grace
  • unconditional
  • grow closer to Him by prayer, reading Bible, fellowship
WOMEN’S ANSWERS:
What is your wound?
  • avoid conflict
  • perfection
  • inadequate
  • feeling valued/desirable
  • not loved
  • lack confidence
  • favoritism/suppressed feelings
How does your husband hurt that wound?  
  • expectation
  • criticism: this is a BIG one.  It is NEVER worth it! You WILL NOT change him/her by criticism.
  • trying to fix a problem
  • feeling not valued or under valued and undesirable
How does your husband help that wound?
  • open and share
  • healthy disagreement
  • acceptance
  • speaking truth
  • gentleness
  • support/encoragement
  • perspective
What role does Jesus play in your marriage?
  • unconditional love
  • Jesus loves us/rejoices in us
*KEY is to identify the wounds/issue because that helps to heal, recognize when they pop up, and focus on Christ to heal them.  Spouse can’t fix/heal the wound, but we can minister to the wound as Jesus heals it.
*CRITICISM:  It is NEVER worth it! You WILL NOT change him/her by criticism. My wife used to try this–ex. ‘you really should…find some friends that would be good for you etc…only when she gave up the criticism and started to pray did I start to make some of the changes that she desired.  We have to remember that criticism is painful, counter productive, and never works to change us so DON’T DO IT.  Love him/her just the way they are!
*DON’T try and fix it…it is usually the husband who wants to ‘fix’ the problem but whoever it is DON’T do it.  LISTEN and only fix if asked to.
*AFFIRM, AFFIRM, AFFIRM: in all discussions/arguments, lead with affirmation and don’t stonewall or run away…meet the problem head on by talking and listening.  A woman who stonewalls or runs from conflict with a husband who is from a stoic or non-emotional upbringing is very hurtful.  A man from such a family of origin needs empathy and support not stonewalling.
*Allow Jesus to delight in YOU!
“…the LORD takes delight in his people…”-Psalm 149:4.
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Did you know? The early church had a choice not to be persecuted.

In Mike Erre’s newest book: Death by Church he points out that the early church had a choice not to undergo persection.  “…if the early church had wanted itself and its purpose to be construed in privatistic and individualistic terms, there were abundant cultal and legal resources at hand for them to do just that.  The early church could have easily escaped Roman persecution by suing for status as a cultus privatus, or ‘private cult’ dedicated to ‘the pursuit of a purely personal and otherworldly salvation for its members’ like many other religious groups in that world.  yet instead of adopting the language of the privatized mystery religions, the church confronted Caesar, not exactly on his own terms but with his own terms.”-Clapp, Peculiar People, pg 81

This is amazing.  The early church chose to rebel and go defiantly up against Caesar because of their confidence and faith that Christ was the only true king!

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Men’s Group April 22, 2009: Calvary Road

Men on the Path will be starting one of the most impactual books that I have done: Calvary Road by Roy Hession

We have ordered copies for anyone who doesn’t have a copy yet.  There is also a great study guide/work book which you will enjoy to augment Calvary Road book.

Join us for this life changing book on the TRUE message of the cross: brokenness & belovedness.

Our first meeting today was a review of the Preface & Introduction.  You can review the questions and teaching points, and thought provoking teaching and discussion time.  We wrestled with our hearts that are both broken and beloved.  

We would LOVE your thoughts on the mystery of Scripture stating that our hearts are ‘wicked’ but as Christians, Jesus dwells within our hearts….

Further resources:

Holiness by J.C. Ryle

Waking the Dead by John Eldgridge

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Passover and the Cross

I missed yet another ‘God moment’ when I was listening in to a discussion between 2 families about passover and the cross.  Lacking the courage and/or energy to speak up, I listened as the Jewish family and the Catholic family had this dialogue with the conclusions that the passover and the cross are stories that shared from each other and just happen to fall on the same days this year.  I proceeded to try and share with my sister the incredible parallel’s between the passover and the cross during our Good Friday dinner discussions.

We have lost sight of the incredible and miraculous design of the Bible: “The old testament is the new testament concealed and the new testament is the old testament revealed.”-Chuck Missler

One historical event that is truly miraculous and shows us the overwhelming design of the Bible message is the passover and its foretelling of Jesus and his ministry.

Enjoy Mike’s great message as he points out some of the incredible connectedness between the passover and the cross.

  • I have always thought that the plagues in Exodus were just random and honestly very bizarre choices for God to make–locust, frogs, etc…BUT Mike points out that each plague represented God’s very specific and intential counter to each of the major Egyptian false gods.  Once again our western minds and education miss the point and see the choice of plagues as funny and random to satisfy our desire to make fun at the Bible and it’s ‘God’; when in reality, the God of the Bible is VERY real and chose each plague carefully to point out to the Egyptian people that they were worshipping false gods/idols!
  • The Jewish slaves had 2 problems–slavery and the wrath of God just as we have the same 2 problems today (as Paul points out in Ephesians 2)–slavery to sin and the wrath of God.
  • wrath of God:  1. God’s wrath is used to do all that can be done to eliminate sin and 2. again our western mind set now is fixated on God’s love and ignore His Holiness.  But the new testament teaches a different covenant but NOT a different God–the entire Bible teaches of God’s Holiness (His only attribute that is emphasized in the Old Testament by Isaiah’s statement: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord…).  With His holiness comes His wrath against anything that is not holy–i.e. our sin! 3. When we sin and God allows it to continue–that is His judgment; when we sin and we get caught–now that is His mercy… 4. God’s wrath and love merge at the cross.

Enjoy Mike’s sermon and please share your thoughts.

Here is a GREAT summary of the passover and the cross–the golden thread of redemption and the incredible design proven by prophecy and foreshadowing in the Bible is AMAZING!

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Luke 18: The rich young ruler & all of His homes

Greg Boyd hits 2 homeruns in a row with these 2 sermons.  The first discusses that age old challenge of the rich young ruler who approaches Jesus and asks Him what must he do to inherit eternal life, and the second discusses Jesus’ comments later on in Luke 18 regarding who is your mother, brother etc….  Both are powerful and moving.

  • The die to stuff exercise at the end of the first is really revealing and powerful
  • The community of Christ teaching that can truly transform our communities throughout the second is inspiring and challenging.

As always share with us your comments.

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A ‘kingdom of God’ prayer!

Bill has written an incredible prayer of love, submission to His will, and living in the Kingdom NOW! Please enjoy it and let us know your comments. (check out more of Bill’s wisdom)

I love you Jesus!  I love you Father!  I love you Holy Spirit!  Lord, today I want to live my life as your apprentice – teach me what you want me to learn and help me to accept whatever circumstance you allow in my life as an opportunity to be mentored by you.  Today I devote my whole self to you – my heart, my mind, my body, my relationships, my soul, all of me. Today I ask you to live through me in all that I think and desire and in all that I say and do. Today I submit myself and my life to you and your kingdom purposes.  Today want to live in the reality of and from the resources of your kingdom of the heavens in my midst.  Today as I walk the path of life with you I want to share your love with whoever I meet.

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What is the Trinity?

There has been much controversy over the concept of the Trinity. It has been tried to be explained in many ways using many analogies that ALL fall short. It has been said that philosophically God is ‘one what’ and ‘three whos’.

It is clear that throughout Scripture God is 3 and 1 at the same time held in a paradoxical tension never to be fully understood this side of heaven.

Much of the recent controversy has been from the depiction of the Trinity by Paul Young in his book The Shack despite the fact that Paul Young has made it very clear that it is a work of fiction and an allegory. In The Shack, Paul Young describes the Trinity as: “I am one God and I am three persons, and each of the three is fully and entirely the one.” God or ‘Papa’ in the story goes on to say: “Love and relationship. All love and relationship is possible for you only because it already exists within Me, within God myself. Love is not the limitation; love is the flying. I am love.”

Here is a pictorial representation of the Trinity:

I don’t think we will every fully grasp nor understand the Trinity this side of heaven. I love what A.W. Tozer has said: “The doctrine of the Trinity…is truth for the heart. The fact that it cannot be satisfactorily explained, instead of being against it, is in its favor. Such a truth had to be revealed; no one could imagine it.” This quote from a GREAT book explaining basic tenets of Christianity: Without a Doubt by Samples

I have added this brief video clip of my 2 cents from a scientific and theoretical perspective to help us get our mind around the concept. (see also Beyond the Cosmos by Hugh Ross) As always please leave your comments!

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Men’s Topic #8: Superhero’s

I had an ‘aha’ moment several weeks ago.  Most of the successful men that I know are superheros.  Yes men of steel.  These men are able to detach in a moment’s notice, disengage from wives and family, and ‘puff up’ and plow through any situation.

These men come from wounded back grounds.  Family of origin nightmares.  A distant father and an overbearing mother.  At least one of their parents is inevitably an alcoholic or worse.  At a VERY early age these men hide behind perfection.  When the drunk mom and the distant dad become too much, they amp up and shut off ANY emotions from the outside world and OVER achieve, over and over again.

Over and over again, I hear the same story–abandoned by dad and living with a crazy mom who must spend all her energy raising the prodigal younger brother so the eldest son emerges to save the day: captain of the football, track, AND wrestling team….and did I mention validictorian?  abandoned by a distant dad and living with a drunk mom too spent to supervise the youngest and last kid in the house so this son rises up to MVP of the water polo team, etc.  SAME story different details!

When these men grow up it is no surprise that they live Thoreau’s ‘quiet lives of desperation’ sealed off from any emotions from any chance of intimacy and deep meaningful relationships.

I was amazed by listening to the author of “The Shack” (a MUST read) who described himselft as just such a man hiding his baggage-his “shack”, as he called it, behind him while he hid his true brokenness from the world by perfectionism.

Please enjoy this presentation regarding so many men’s hidden secret: They are superhero’s.

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If you had ONE word to describe Jesus what would it be?

During this CRAZY financial time, this is a GREAT message from my friend Bill’s newsletter:

One Word

Christian Soul Care Devotional

Bill Gaultiere

Some time ago I was meeting with Dallas Willard and in the course of our conversation he asked me, “If you had one word to describe Jesus what would it be?”

How would you answer that question?  Close your eyes for a moment and consider this.  Write down the first words that come to mind. If you could only use one word to describe Jesus what would it be?

Have you stopped reading this devotional so you can give your own answer?!  Go ahead take a moment now….

Jesus is the Word of all words!   His is the name above all names.  He is so magnificent and multi-faceted how could we pin him down to just one word!  And yet, I found this to be a very meaningful exercise.  The words we pick and the ones we don’t pick may have something to say about our relationship with him.

Here are the words I thought of…  Jesus is… Love… Holy… Lord… Teacher… Risen… Healer…  (These areall good words to describe Jesus.)

Then Dallas looked into my eyes and shared with me his word.  You need to know that this was a special moment for me.  He’s my key mentor.  I’ve read every book he’s written more than once.  I’ve listened (many times) to every audio teaching series of his I can find.  In the last six years he has discipled me to Jesus in ways that have impacted all that I am and everything that I do as a Christian, husband, father, friend, psychologist, minister, writer…

What one word would Dallas Willard use to describe Jesus?  “Relaxed.”

Relaxed? 

I would have never thought of that word!  But ever since that conversation I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Jesus being relaxed.  

Think about it.  Jesus had far and away the most important and dangerous mission that any human being has ever had or ever will have.  He had to wait 18 years to begin working on his calling and then he had just three years of public ministry to fulfill it.  And yet Jesus was relaxed!

Jesus needed to convince a large number people that although he was merely a man he was also the unique Son of God.  And his followers needed to be so confident in him as their Lord and Savior that they would give their lives to lead other people to know him – even to the point of torture and death. And yet Jesus was relaxed! 

Jesus could only be in one location at a time.  And when he left one city to go to another he left behind people that hadn’t been healed or discipled (Matthew 13:58).  Most people – even his own family at first – rejected him and his message (Luke 4:28-30, Mark 3:20, 31-34).  Many of the people he discipled deserted him (John 6:66).  And even his faithful disciples didn’t understand who he was until after he rose from the dead (Mark 8:31-33)!  And yet Jesus was relaxed!

The fate of all humankind – past, present, and future – depended on Jesus successfully completing his gospel mission!  And yet Jesus remained relaxed! 

When I have big responsibilities I start to feel overwhelmed… When I am stressed by situations anxious feelings rise up within me… When I am criticized or rejected I am tempted to react by feeling bad about myself or getting angry… When I have lots to do I tend to hurry… 

How did Jesus remain at peace when he was under pressures much, much harder than I face?  He practiced what he preached!  He lived in the same “easy yoke” that he offers to us.  Jesus was the first disciple: he apprenticed himself to the Father, learning to live out the things he would later teach (think of Jesus’ 18 hidden years from ages 12 to 30 as his discipleship training program). 

Our sinless Lord “grew” (Luke 2:52); he “learned” (Hebrews 5:8) how to…

·        Maintain moment-by-moment submission to God’s will, never saying or doing anything except as the Father directed him (John 6:38, 12:50). 

·        Pray without ceasing (John 11:42, 1 Thessalonians 5:17)

·        Be so dependent upon the Holy Spirit as to be filled with his presence and power without limit (John 3:34).

·        Bless those that cursed him (Luke 22:34). 

In my discipleship to Jesus I am learning how to follow his example and walk with him in his “easy yoke,” his “unforced rhythms of grace” (Matthew 11:28, MSG).  And so more and more I too am relaxed!

If Kristi or I can offer you counseling or spiritual direction call us at 949-262-3699.

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Spiritual Secret

The famous missionary to inland China wrote a book titled: Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret.

Hudson Taylor had a difficult and amazing life.  At one point in his life, he had become very depressed, even contemplating suicide due to so many frustrations in the mission field of China.  He shared his frustrations and concerns with a friend who wrote to him in 1869 the words that forever transformed Hudson Taylor.  Here are the words that describe Hudson Taylor’s spiritual ‘secret’:

“I seem as if the first glimmers of the dawn of a glorious day has risen upon me…I seem to have supped only that which can fully satisfy…To let my loving Saviour work in me His will…abiding, not striving or struggling; looking off unto Him; trusting Him for present power…resting in the love of an almighty Saviour in the joy of a complete salvation…Not striving to have faith, or to increase my faith but a looking at the faithful one seems all we need.  A resting in the Loved One entirely, for time, for eternity.  It does not appear to me as anything new, only formerly misunderstood.”-John McCarthy

Hudson Taylor had found his spiritual secret.  It was the exchanged life–no longer I but Christ living in me.The One Year Christian History devotional, pg 497

“I have been crucified with Christ.  I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”-Galatians 2:19-20

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Men’s Topic #5: PRAYER

Here are the notes from Dave on Men’s Group Topic #5: Prayer  

On Wednesday we reviewed Luke 11:5-13 and Luke 18:1-7 (please read, or re-read them before continuing). 

Bucky makes so many great points each week it is a challenge to write about just one or two.  I selfishly get to pick the ones that touch my heart and pray they will touch yours, too.

We all know where Bucky’s heart is on the subject of prayer because he stated on Wednesday, “the best thing we could do is pray.”  I’ve been blessed to be able to attend a few events with Bucky and one thing he makes sure happens is that prayer is part of the event.  For example, after serving those in need at the City of Hope shelter a couple of months ago we stood in front of the door and Bucky led us in prayer.  Bucky often says how he walks around the Northwood neighborhood and prays before service.  So it did not surprise me when our discussion this week focused on prayer. When all is said and done if we do not become men of prayer we will never know God.  We can “study” His word all we want but we will never know Him.  Prayer is nothing more than talking to God; it is not ceremonial or ritualistic; it is a conversation with our Lord and Savior.  Bucky said we can go through the routine of prayer but if it is just rote that is disconnected from your heart it will not accomplish anything.  Prayer needs a willing and wanting heart.  Getting on your knees at the beginning and/or end of each day and praying is something to be done not out of “duty” but out of desire.  How else can you get to know God if you do not talk to Him? Another point Bucky made was that each morning when the disciples awoke they usually found Jesus out alone, praying.  He was talking to His Abba.  Jesus’ Abba is our Abba, too.  The point of Luke 11:5-13, is to show us God isn’t a grouchy Father, but a Good Neighbor; the One we can talk to anytime, anywhere.  If we knock, He will answer.  God is always there for us.  A little while back Bill Gaultiere had Cynthia and me demonstrate the “prayer hug” we do almost every morning.  It is amazing how Cynthia looks forward to starting her day knowing I’ve cared enough to embrace her and whisper my prayer to God in her ear.  As men, God wants us to be the spiritual heads of our households.  The best thing we can do for our families doesn’t involve anything in this world (no college funds, hedge funds, mutual funds, etc.); it is prayer.  Try it, and like the woman in Luke 18:1-7, do not give up; continue to pray.  Remember it is in His timing not ours. 
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Men’s Topic #2: Are you enough?

Topic #2 is based on the story of the prodigal son from Luke 15.  This brief audio is about a LIFE CHANGING concept that will improve your marriage and relationships.  We are all walking around with the ‘I am not enough’ wound that society and our parents have given us.  This wound can only truly be healed by God, but our wives/s.o./friends can help heal this wound.  Please add your thoughts, questions, and comments below this post!

 

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Paul Young speaks and preaches AGAIN

This is the 1 of 4 teachings from July 2008 at Mariners Church when the author of the amazing book: The Shack spoke.  (There are 4 separate podcasts that you can listen from Mariners Church podcast; these 2 are the best of the 4.)

As always please share with us your thoughts by leaving a comment.

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Men’s Topic #1: Where is your treasure?

Here is a GREAT email from Dave summarizing Men’s Topic #1 (and I have added 2 audio’s–Bucky’s teaching points and the debrief insights time): Where is your treasure?

The passages from Matthew that we talked about Wednesday are among my all time favorites. (For those unable to attend we covered Matthew 6: 19-34. You may wish to take a moment and read it before going further.)

Bucky covered so much this morning as he talked about Jesus’ Life Investment Strategy:

  1. One of the key words in these passages is “treasure.”  When we hear that word most of us think in terms of physical things – material possessions; but Jesus meant it as the order of the heart.
  2. We all have a treasure box – our hearts. What do you have in your treasure box? (“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”)
  3. We tend to organize our lives around our investment strategy. We need to organize it around God’s Kingdom and all else will follow. (“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all of these things will be given to you as well.”)
  4. It is impossible to treasure two things equally. We cannot have one foot in the world and one foot in the Kingdom. It does not work; one will eventually dominate. (“There shall be no other gods before me.”)
  5. The treasure isn’t something we get when we die (like some prize); it is here and now. The Book of Matthew is the Gospel of the Kingdom and it tells us the Kingdom of Heaven is here and now. We can have the eternal, abundant life today. Something Cynthia and I do each morning is pray together and one of the prayers we use is the one Dr. Bill G. gave us a few months back.  Ask Bill or me if you’d like a copy.

So, what does God treasure? He treasures people, relationships and the creative order of things. As you re-read these passages look for how God tells us about how He takes care of all things that honor Him. Don’t be afraid to take that step. Tell God you want to turn your life over to Him (“thy will be done”). “You will find rest for your soul.”

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Paul Young SPEAKS about The Shack etc.

This is the 1 of 4 teaching sessions from Mariners Church by Paul Young author of the amazing, must read book: The Shack.  In this session he shares some of his life’s experiences and answers some of the common questions people have about the book. (There are 4 separate podcasts that you can listen from Mariners Church podcast; these 2 are the best of the 4.)

Please share your thoughts with us here at UBERLUMEN by posting a comment.

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Love your Enemies

I recently had a conversation with a friend at work who mentioned that a skeptic friend of his pointed out that the God of the Old Testament seems to be a different God from the New Testament using the classic example: O.T.=eye for an eye; N.T.=turn the other cheek.

Here is a classic Mike Erre sermon from the sermon on the mount in which he explains this supposed contradiction.

Take home: eye for an eye laws were VERY progressive at the time and were created by God to promote societal justice whereas turn the other cheek teaching of Jesus was what we as individuals should continue to strive to do.

Here is another great summary of eye for an eye laws vs. turning the other cheek

As always, please share with us your thoughts!

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God Questions Part 4

This is 4 of 4 in the God Questions series. Save the best for last? This is the age old question: Is Christianity the only way? Don’t all roads lead to God?

I LOVE what Paul Young points out in his amazing book:The ShacKAs the main character, Mack, is talking to Jesus, Mack asks, “Does that mean that all roads will lead to you?”  And Jesus replies, “Not at all, most roads don’t lead anywhere. What it does mean is that I will travel any road to find you.”-pg 182

YES!!!!