April 15, 2012: Guilt

Pursuing Excellence Series message 12

Text: Selected Scriptures

This Sunday we will wrap up our Pursuing Excellence series by looking at guilt. Do you ever have a nagging sense of guilt and, at times, don't even know why? There are three basic ways we experience guilt, and the good news is it need not be an ongoing part of our lives. We will examine guilt from the perspective of Jesus' death and resurrection and who we are in Christ. We'll also look at practical ways to maintain a clear conscience in all that we do.

Guilt

April 1, 2012: Hosanna!

Text: John 12:12-19

In the picture of people celebrating Jesus there are two aspects of this scene which are noteworthy. First, God offers comfort to Israel, but it runs totally counter to what they would have perceived as real help. Second, while Jesus is being praised and celebrated, the dark cloud of spiritual opposition that would lead to Jesus' death was gaining momentum. These elements are often true in our own lives: opposition often follows our pursuit of God, and, God helps us in ways we might not expect.

Hosanna!

March 25, 2012: Stress Busters

Pursuing Excellence Series message 11

Text: Daniel 6:1-10

One study shows that between 75% - 90% of doctor office visits are for stress related concerns or ailments. Busy schedules, challenges at work, relationship issues... these all add stress in our lives. While there are many helpful ways to manage stress, too often we overlook our true source of peace and strength: our personal time with God. In this installment, we'll see how Daniel leveraged this refuge as he faced a litany of stressors each day.

Stress Busters

March 18, 2012: Displacing Worry

Pursuing Excellence Series message 10

Text:Phil. 4:4-9

Who among us does not worry about situations or people in our lives? It is a natural response to challenging circumstances. Yet, God calls us to live above worry. Remember Galatians 5:1, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." When we hold a God-ward focus and settle our mind on the fact that that HE is on the Throne, our perspective changes! In Philippians 4:4-9, the Apostle Paul helps us see what this looks like. To put it in an equation form, it looks like this:P____ + P_____ + P_____ = P______. We'll crack the code on Sunday as we pursue excellence in our walk with Christ. What a load is off our backs when He helps us not to worry!

Displacing Worry

March 4, 2012: Getting a Grip on Anger

Pursuing Excellence Series message 9

Text: Proverbs 22: 24-25

We've built a platform for our Christian lives by looking at our position in Christ and the perspective we now hold. We saw last week that we are to be diligent in slaying sin through the power of the Spirit. Anger is a powerful emotion that can lead to sinful behavior. It is mentioned over 500 times in the Bible, and you'll find it in both Genesis and Revelation. The only emotion referenced more often is... love; (aren't we glad for that!). We'll look at root causes of anger and how to prevent it from dominating our lives.

Getting a Grip on Anger

February 26, 2012: Slaying Sin

Pursuing Excellence message 8

Text: Romans 8:13

We've laid a foundation for empowered Christian living through perspective and our position in Christ. We have the privilege of considering ourselves "dead to sin" and also the responsibility of choosing not to live as we did before we knew Christ. Sometimes, the struggles we face in life are directly tied to the sin we are tolerating instead of mortifying. John Owen, my favorite theologian/pastor, said this: "Be killing sin or it will be killing you"; this is very true. Some churches never talk about sin, while others leave their people feeling beaten down and asking, "where's the grace?" A healthy perspective on sin is balanced in its approach: in light of God's wonderful love for us and our our high calling as children of God, and, out of reverence for Christ, we must not tolerate sin... period. We'll look at practical ways to address the temptations we face as we lived in a fallen world.

Slaying Sin

February 19, 2012: Pressing On with Passion

Pursuing Excellence message 7

Text: Phil. 3:4-14

Joy. Zeal. Focus. All of us are passionate about something, even if that passion wanes in different seasons of life. But our consuming passion should always be JESUS CHRIST! In Philippians 3:4-14, Paul gives a personal testimony about putting the past behind and pressing on to what God has called him to. We'll take a look at Paul's past, present and future: how he viewed his past and what he was passionate about as he considered his future. It's a great model for us today!

Pressing On with Passion

February 12, 2012: My Identity in Christ

Pursuing Excellence message 6

Text: 1 John 3:1-3

Last week we saw what Ephesians 1 has to say about our position in Christ; accepted, forgiven, chosen, predestined and adopted. Nothing in heaven or on earth can, or ever will, shake that relationship we now enjoy. Our salvation is secure and God is faithful to His promise from Jeremiah to remember our sins no more. We have been born again, and our identity is now in Christ. If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. This is how we live life and approach our challenges; totally accepted by our Heavenly Father, empowered by His Spirit, co-heirs with Jesus Christ, and citizens of heaven.

My Identity in Christ

February 5, 2012: Our Position In Christ

Pursuing Excellence message 5

Text: Ephesians 1:1-10

Through Christ's suffering and wonderful work of redemption, God has blessed us with EVERY spiritual blessing in Christ! We hold our heads up high because we are children of the KING! Understanding and believing what the Bible says here will provide a solid foundation for our lives, as we BY FAITH extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. Amen!

Our Position In Christ

January 29, 2012: Fix Your Eyes on Jesus

Pursuing Excellence message 4

Text: Hebrews 12:1-4

Paul tells us that we need to set our hearts and minds on things above; that is,on things that hold eternal value. Jesus invites us to come to Him to find rest; we find rest by trusting Christ alone for salvation and learning from Him through personal relationship. Hebrews 12:1-4 paints a picture of running the race before us with perseverance, fixing our eyes on Jesus. This is true discipleship at its core: intentionally following what God has for us by focusing on Christ and learning from Him each and every day.

Fix Your Eyes on Jesus

January 22, 2012: The Gentle Call

Pursuing Excellence message 3

Text: Matthew 11:28-30

Last week we said we need to set our affections and thoughts on things above. Now we'll be a little more specific - we need to fix our eyes on Jesus and what a wonderful Savior He is. He is majestic and yet He calls us in gentleness. He is God yet He is humble. We are to learn from Him. It is only in Him that we find true rest; rest for our souls. All good and so encouraging!

The Gentle Call

January 15, 2012: Determining Your Perspective

Pursuing Excellence message 2

Text:Colossians 3:1-4

If we are to Pursue Excellence in our lives, we have to have the right perspective. Our focus needs to be in the right place - if we set our hearts on temporal things or passing pleasures, we only set ourselves up for failure. What a joy to live life with a perspective that rises above the temporal and sees Christ, enthroned next to the Father. Paul bases his appeal about perspective on seven glorious facts that are true for every Christian.

Determining Your Perspective

January 8, 2012: When God’s Word Takes Root in Our Lives

Pursuing Excellence message 1

Text: Psalm 1:1-3

The point this Sunday as we start off a new year is to purposefully get ourselves in God's Word, so He can teach us, comfort us, convict us, build us up and strengthen us. The picture in Psalm 1 is of a tree with deep roots that thrives because it is near its life source of water. The Word is our life source and our lives are firmly established if God's Word is firmly planted in our lives.

When God’s Word Takes Root in Our Lives

December 18, 2011: The Hope of the Gospel In Our Suffering

This week we'll wrap up our series on Job. The emphasis is on how the Gospel changes our perspective on suffering and helps us bear up under it. We'll talk about Christmas as well; how God has given us the perfect provision. The themes will be our absolute need for deliverance through Christ, our longing to be free from our suffering, and how Jesus' birth was at just the right time as people longed for His advent, and the eternal perspective.

The Hope of the Gospel In Our Suffering

December 11, 2011: The Glory of God in Our Suffering

Text: Job 38:1-11

This Sunday and next will wrap up Job. Job asked for his day in court with God and he got it. God shows up in the storm and points Job to the wonders of creation and the created order, as well as His sovereignty over man in His moral universe. The big idea here is that God offers no philosophical explanation for Job's suffering, but reveals Himself in a very personal way to Job; that is all he needs. Next week we'll lay the principles of grace and he Gospel over these final chapters to finish the series.

The Glory of God in our Suffering

December 4, 2011: Jesus Christ: Full of Grace and Truth

Text: John 1:14

The Apostle John tells us that when Jesus came He was all about grace and truth. When you think about it, the prevailing "wisdom" from Job's friends was the opposite of this. They taught that we relate with God based on our performance; in doing so, they got it all wrong as they analyzed Job's trial. Not to mention adding grief in this godly man's sorrow and pain. The Gospel frees us to confront the truth about ourselves in the context of God's grace, in which He does not treat us as our sins deserve. God's grace changes everything, particularly our perspective in suffering. This Sunday we will examine the full expression of God's grace; the Advent of Jesus Christ and His suffernigs for us. It will be a wonderful foundation for wrapping up the book of Job.

December 4, 2011: Jesus Christ: Full of Grace and Truth