I want to talk about what it takes to make your marriage really shine. I want to highlight some of the little things that can make your marriage stand out. You know what I’m talking about. You’ve seen these couples. They look like enjoy being together even after 50 years. When they’re near each other they’re finding subtle ways to let the other know, “I’m glad you’re here.” It’s a glance. It’s a little touch. It’s a smile and a sparkle in the eye.
Today, I want to talk about God’s call for a wife to submit to her husband and how doing so helps fulfill a husband’s deepest value. So follow along while I read Ephesians 5:22-24 and 33.
I want to continue exploring this theme of mutual submission by looking at a specific illustration that focuses on a husband and wife. I realize that not everyone here is married, but I believe the overarching themes in this text can help every relationship between a man and a woman.
What if we’ve completely missed the point of relationships? What if God gives us our relationships not just to make us happy but to make us holy? What if God doesn’t care about enhancing your self-image as much as conforming you into His image?
The Bible is our owner's manual for life. And the Bible tells you what you can and can't do with your life. If you ignore the owner's manual, you're going to run out of gas. And all over our nation, people are emotionally running out of gas, relationships are dying, careers are dying, dreams are dying because they're not paying attention to the owner's manual.
Today, I want to continue in our series on living with a margin by looking at the keys of a productive life. That's the goal for living with margin…we want to maintain or even increase effectiveness while lowering stress and pressure. Most people really want their lives to count; we want our lives to matter. We want to feel useful; we want to make a difference. We don't want to waste our lives; instead, we want our lives to be productive.
The fast pace of our culture, especially here in California, is so pervasive that anthropologists are now studying how it is actually damaging the human race. They're actually studying its effect on the brain and other systems in our bodies. Obviously, studies can provide some important data, but the Bible is very clear about how hurried and busy lifestyles affect our lives. Let me share a few of what the Bible indicates are the many damaging effects of a life without margin—how living in a hurr...
Now in this series we're going to look at many of the benefits of living with a margin, but in this introductory message let me just mention a couple things. During the rest of this series, you're going to learn the biblical basis of living with margin.
Gratefully, at Christmastime, we have the opportunity—if we’ll take it—to remember that, because of Jesus, the One who came at Christmas, we can be free: Yes! Free from our past. Free in our present. Amen! AND free in the future. Your future is secure because of the One who came at Christmas. And that’s what I want to talk about with you today.
Not only did Jesus come in the flesh to forgive, heal, and free us from the consequences of our past. He came to journey with us through all the challenges and opportunities of our todays.
Today, I want to take a peek at Scrooge’s past and use that as a springboard to think about our lives. And then I want to see what God has to say about all that. What does Jesus, the Spirit of Christmas, have to say about your past? What does He think about it? What does He want to do with it?
Today and over the next 4 weeks we’re going to spring board off of the Christmas classic A Christmas Carol and review how the Spirit of Christmas—Jesus come in the flesh—came to free, restore, and transform you life and your eternity. When you embrace and journey with Jesus—the Spirit of Christmas—your life can be more meaningful and rewarding than you ever imagined it could be.
A humble posture is critical for connection with God.
Join us as we celebrate the men and women who have fought for our freedom.
The fact is, whatever we have in our lives, and all aspects of our lives—our energy, our time, our dreams, our relationships, our jobs, our church, our world and the environment—everything we have around us, God has given it to us! He says, “Here, I want you to enjoy this.” And each of us is given the opportunity to manage it, take care of it, nurture it, and develop it. As Christians, each of us is called to faithful, healthy stewardship of all that we interact with around us.
The two saddest words in the English language have often been described as “if only.” Statements like “if only I graduated with a different degree…” or “if only I would have married later in life…” or “if only I would have listened…” have wreaked havoc over many of us. And “if we only” are honest (pun intended), these statements have turned into regrets—painful points of our past that have control over our lives today. Understanding and renouncing regret is the pathway of seeing the heart of God...
Some may wonder; why is God so obsessed about how I manage my money? The reason God cares so much about how you manage your money, is because it is the leading indicator of where you are resting the weight of your trust in life. If you want to know where a person is placing the bulk of their trust in order to experience safety, security and maybe even meaning or purpose in life—just follow the money!
Are you aware that one of the leading indicators of your spiritual condition is the way you care for your money? And are you aware that how you care for your money can both shut God out of your life, and restrict his activity, or it can work to unleash your spiritual growth?
If you are a Christian here today, I want to remind you of a central calling that God has placed on your life. And because this is a series called Life Care—stewarding or caring well for key areas of your life, I want to talk about how you can best steward or care-well for this calling God has given us.
If you are a Christian here today, I want to remind you of a central calling that God has placed on your life as a Christian. And because this is a series called Life Care—stewarding or caring well for key areas of your life, I want to talk about how you and I can best steward or care-well for this calling God has given us.
Today we are going to shift gears a little bit and talk about what it means to be good stewards of God’s creation, the earth. God actually has a lot to say about the earth and our place in it. So this morning we are going to take a look at a few samples of what the scriptures have to say about creation, stewardship, and Gods plan for the earth.
We are called to manage our lives, take care of it, nurture it, and develop it. As Christians, each of us is called to faithful, healthy stewardship of all that is ours. Today we are going to focus on our management and care of the relationships God has given us.
Today, I want to start by raising our awareness of the importance of self-leadership. In other words, the stewardship or care of our lives. This is the logical starting place for a series on LIFE CARE because in many ways the other areas of life care flow out of this starting place—you. So much of how you care for the things around you, starts inside you.
Today we come, literally, to the last few lines of John’s letter. Several times in the 9 verses he uses to close his book John uses the words “know” or “confident.” Basically John is saying… “Christian…allow my last few thoughts of my letter to keep you from ever lacking confidence in your standing with God again. For the first “certainty,” look at verse 13.
In our section for today to reinforce the truth about Jesus…John takes the false teachers into the courtroom and brings forward key witnesses to the truth of Jesus’ real identity. Look with me at 1 John 5:6a.
Today…before we look at the next section of John’s letter, I want to take a step back and bring into view a couple of overall strategies John seems to be using in order to impact our lives and strengthen our confidence. John encourages them with some key reminders about how a person becomes a Christian, the kinds of character and attitudes Christians display in their lives, and what it looks like to live like one of God’s kids.
Statistics show that there is an increase in anxiety, depression and those who struggle with identity. Unfortunately, many miss-place their confidence by rooting it in their vocation or retirement portfolio or even in their relationships with others like their spouse or kids. Since the beginning of this series we have learned that confidence is not found in our strengths, abilities, or possessions but rooted in Christ.
So here we are. And we are blessed to be here. This morning in our Confident Living series, John will give us some specific examples of what it looks like to live confidently in Christ. Before we jump in to the text, I wanted to ask a question. Have you ever had an experience that really shook up your confidence? Maybe a girlfriend broke up with your, or you lost your job, or you made a few decisions that really did not work out as you expected. You know, the kind of experience that left you won...
Today in our Confident Living text, John encourages us by reminding us that those who believe in Jesus become God’s kids. Let his words affirm and encourage you today.
This week in our text John pulls back the curtain a bit more on who these folks were. We learn more about them and how John feels about them than we have so far in our series. John doesn’t mince any words. Notice how he calls out the confidence crushers.
