Reboot–Notes

Last week was the last in a month-long series of sermons at my church dealing with the issue of renewal.

We used the analogy of when your computer stops working and it crashes. Nothing you do can make it alright again. The only solution left is to reboot. This is what we need to do in life too.

1. Don’t despair when your life unravels and gets out of control. Because this needs to happen first before you can become the instrument of God. The only people God can use are broken people.

2. There is a beautiful analogy in the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32). When, after his resurrection, Jesus met two disciples and walked with them on their way to Emmaus. He was invited for supper, took the bread, blessed it (gave thanks for it), broke it, and gave it to them. This is a metaphor for whAt Jesus does to us.

• Jesus takes you
• Blesses you — Do you remember when you first converted and accepted Jesus that great, happy time when you felt so connected to Him? Do you remember how you felt so joyful to be alive, and all around you saw evidences of his love and care for you? Maybe you began writing a blog, or composed happy music to share with others what Jesus has done for you? Yes. That is the blessing stage.
• Breaks you — Your happy life begins to unravel. God reveals his glory to you and you see how you really are. Sinful, weak, inept. You’ve always been broken, it’s only now that you realize it. You lose your self-sufficiency.
• Gives you a calling to serve others — Peter’s calling and Isaiah’s calling are just a few examples of this truth. Both were called to serve immediately they recognized how human they were.

3. God uses our messes to reach other people. He uses those things in the past that we had no control over, and those things we willingly walked into, to reach other people. Our scars and old wounds become channels for his grace to touch people whose lives we would not have been able to touch if we had been pristine. Satan’s plans are frustrated because he can’t knock you down.

4. Never forget that it is when you are weak that you are strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

God’s grace is enough; it’s all you need.
His strength comes into its own in your weakness.

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Notes from Sermon by Pastor Ritchie Pruehs (1/25/14)

Video by Yours Truly 🙂

Universal Majority–Notes

Today was the first in a month-long series of sermons at my church dealing with an issue that sometimes we as Christians have to face.

Haven’t you ever felt that you are the only one that is standing for God? You feel like you are in a losing battle and that no one seems to care or matter what you do and you are not making a difference in this huge world?

1.You MUST reframe your way of looking at life. Don’t focus on only the discouraging parts, focus on what God has done in your life already. Elijah in 1 Kings 19 felt like he wanted to die. Was so discouraged! Yet a little while ago he had prayed to have fire come down from heaven, had slain Baal’s prophets, had prayed to have it rain in Israel and had began reform and revival. Remember the Mountaintop Moments!!!

2. God is worth it all by himself. If you have God, and everything else you have no more than if you have God alone. God is enough for you –even if you were alone, just the fact that God is with you should be enough for you to continue committed and faithful. The Lord is My Shepherd, I shall not want.

3. You are the Majority. You are not alone. 1 Kings 19:18 “I have 7,000 other who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed him!” We look around, it looks like God is losing, that we’re the only ones. But think that outside of the world are the millions and millions of holy angels and beings which far outnumber the number of Satan’s demons. and God who is–remember, always remember–more than enough.

Don’t you ever say “I am alone” You are not the only one on earth who is trying to be faithful. You are not part of a little pathetic group, you are part of a Universal Majority.

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Notes from Sermon by Pastor Dan (10/5)

Video by Yours Truly 🙂