For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function. So in Christ we, though many, form one body, each member belongs to all the others. Romans 12:3-5 Do you know what you part is in the body of Christ? Do you know how to work with the other parts of the body? We…
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The Church Body
The Lord spoke to Moses . . . ‘Have the Israelites celebrate the Passover. . . ‘ So Moses told the Israelites to celebrate the Passover, and they did so. . . The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses. Numbers 9:1-5 Do you know how God speaks to the church as a whole for His will to be done? A church comes to how the will of God when they, the body, understands what Christ, the head, is telling them. Individuals come to know God through an intimate relationship with God. The Holy Spirit speaks through prayer, bible reading, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His…
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Come To Know God
I AM WHO I AM. Exodus 3:14 God reveals himself through what He does. When God works through us, we get to know Him through that experience. We also come to know God when he meets our needs. How has God revealed who he is to you? What are some names you have learned about who God is? Here are some scriptures that describe who God is: Ps. 68: 5 reveals God is defender of widows, Revelations 19:11 reveals God is faithful and true. Deut. 4:24 shows God is a consuming fire. Job 16:20 says God is our friend. In 2 Corinthians 1:3, God is of all comfort. Psalm…
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Obedience- Part 1
Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, one will obey my teaching. My Father will love hi, and we will come to him and make our home with him. John 14:23 God is at work in our world. He is at work with where you are at. God takes the initiative to invite us to join him with His work. We make the adjustments in our lives to join His work and then We get to the place of obedience. How do you feel about obedience? Is it hard for you to be obedient to God? We have to obey Him first. He then will work through us. When God does…
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Obedience Is Costly: Part 2
From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more, John 6:6-7 Have you obeyed God and that obedience was costly to those around you? Let’s take a look at Exodus 5:1-21. When Moses obeyed God and told Pharaoh to let Israel go, how did it cost the Israelites? What did it cost them? When Moses obeyed God, the work load of the children of Israel was increased and the Israelites foremen were beaten. The Israelites paid a high cost for Moses to do the will of God. We have to trust that will care for those around us. He will communicate with His people. …
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Obedience Is Costly- part 1
From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more, John 6:6-7 Do you find that being obedient to God is hard? We cannot stay where we are at and go with God at the same time. We cannot continue to do things our way and accomplish God’s will. Say these three statements out loud if possible. 1) I cannot stay where I am and go with God at the same time. 2) Obedience is costly to me and to those around me. 3) Obedience requires total dependence on God to work through me. Let’s look at statement 2. We can not know or do…
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Encounters With God Requires Faith
I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. Matthew 17:20-21 When God speaks to you, how do you respond? Do you respond with faith? When God speaks to us we must respond with faith. Faith is having confidence in Hod that he will do what he promised. Seeing what God will do is not faith. If you have to see clearly how something can be accomplished , this is more likely not to be faith. Faith is believing the God who has…
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Love God
Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. John 14:21 God is the one who takes the initiative to pursue a love relationship with you. However, this love relationship has to be two-sided. It can’t be one-sided. God wants you to know and worship Him. He does want us to truly love Him, just as we truly want to be loved. According to the verse above, Who is the one who loves Jesus? What does he have and do? How does the…
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God Speaks With A Purpose
“Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” Matthew 25:21 Do you often think or feel that when God speaks to you, that it should always make you feel good? When God spoke to His people, He usually up to something. The moment God speaks to you is the moment you need to respond to Him. When God speaks to you, this is His timing. He speaks to His servant when He is ready to move. If we want to join Him, we better be ready. God is developing…
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God’s Plans And Not Ours
I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. Psalm 81: 10-12 Do you have a hard time submitting to God’s plans? Would you rather do your plans than God’s? We all struggle with totally submitting to God’s plans. We don’t always realize that God’s ways are the best. We cause problems within the church when we move away from God’s plans and implement our own. We need to…