Friday, October 30, 2009
October 30, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
October 29, 2009
October 28, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
October 27, 2009
October 26, 2009
October 25, 2009
October 24, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
October 23, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
October 22, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
October 21, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
October 20, 2009
In this Scripture passage we see the eleven who came to the mountain to meet Jesus according to His request. Did you take notice who wasn’t included in that number? If not, take a quick mental roll call.
Yeah, you’re right, Judas!
Why?
He had hardened his heart. His heart had become so hardened that he became insensitive to Jesus’ voice and immune to His will.
How does that happen? How does someone who walked with Jesus daily for almost three years end up with a hard heart?
There is a one-word answer, disobedience.
If you don’t intend to obey Jesus or to heed God’s Word, the worst thing you can do is hang around God’s Word or His people. Does that sound funny coming from a preacher telling you to stay away from church?
Why would you say that, Brad?
It has everything to do with the power of His Word. The Bible tells us that His Word never returns void. That means every time the Word is spoken or taught, something happens as a result. When you hear the truth of God’s Word you are responsible to obey it. When you hear it and obey the truth it brings you closer to Jesus Who Is the Truth. When you draw closer to Jesus you become more like Him. But disobedience separates you from Jesus and desensitized you to the truth.
The eleven show the value of obeying Jesus, Judas shows us the perils of serial disobedience. Hear the Word, heed the Word, and become holy by the Word. Hear the Word, don’t heed the Word and become hardened.
Obedience matters. It makes a difference - an eternal difference – the difference between Heaven and Hell.
Monday, October 19, 2009
October 19, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
October 18, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
October 17, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
October 16, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
October 15, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
October 14, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
October 13, 2009
You can't go where you haven't been and you can't teach what you haven't learned.
Jesus called out the disciples to know Him and grow in Him so that they could go for Him. That is what I mean by growing from the inside out!
If you don't truly know Jesus, you won't grow in Him and you certainly won't go in His name.
Reach out to those closest to you in your areas of influence:
INTERCEED
IDENTIFY
INVITE
Aslo, participate in missions trips, missions giving, and church outreaches. That is what it means to GO FOR GOD. Sometimes it may be going across the room, or to the next office, or across the street. It doesn’t have to be far, but we must be willing to go to share the Gospel.
That is what makes a healthy church - disciples who know God, and are growing in God and therefore, are going for God into a lost world.
How well do you know Him?
What evidence is there that you know Him?
When was the last time you shared Him with someone else?
Monday, October 12, 2009
October 12, 2009
Jesus is calling you out to grow in Him. Growing in God is a result of what you do after you get to know Him.
Jesus called these 11 disciples to this meeting because they had grown in Him. There was one missing who didn’t grow in Him.
Jesus gave them authority to do what He was asking them to do – live out their faith!
Jesus is calling you out! He is calling to know Him and grow in Him.
HOW?
YOU MIGHT HAVE TO GIVE UP
YOU MIGHT HAVE TO GIVE IN
YOU MIGHT HAVE TO GET
How do I know when I am growing? You live and look more like Jesus than before. You see life-change happening in you and through you. You break habits. You live with less fear and more authority. Is there evidence of growth?
Sunday, October 11, 2009
October 11, 2009
Things grow when they're healthy.
My responsibility in leading the church is to lead it into health so that God can cause it to grow.
One way that can happen is to be true to the vision had for His Church.
Know God
Healthy believers know God! How well do you know Him? What are you doing to get to know Him better?
Jesus called the remaining disciples, minus Judas, to meet Him at a familiar place. Do you have a familiar place where you meet Jesus? If not, do you really know Him? If church is the only place where you meet Jesus, do you really know Him.
How do we do that?
Pursue Him
Spiritually, we will only be as healthy as our knowledge of God. And we won’t know God unless we spend time with Him. We spend time with Him through prayer and through the Word and through worship. We get to know Him by walking with Him in faith and obedience.
You never REALLY know someone until you live with them! I do premarital counseling with couples who have know each other for awhile and they assure me that they know one another well. But then they get married and live together and discover that first year is a struggle because - you never REALLY know someone until you live with them! That is true of God as well!
JESUS IS CALLING YOU OUT TODAY TO HELP BUILD A HEALTHY CHURCH BY GETTING TO KNOW HIM!
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO?
Saturday, October 10, 2009
October 10, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
October 9, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
October 8, 2009
In yesterday's post I began laying out the vision for FredWes.
Today, I want to build on and show you where the vision originated.
My vision for FredWes is to become a healthy church by growing from the inside out.
How do you grow from the inside out? Isn't church growth about adding outsiders and making them into insiders?
Absolutely, but I am talking about the growth that needs to happen inside the hearts of the people in the church that will motivate them to reach outsiders. I am talking about making a spiritual commitment to live the Great Commission every day.
How does that happen?
First, Know God
"Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted." Vv. 16-17
Jesus called the remaining disciples, minus Judas, to meet Him at a familiar place. Do you have a familiar place where you meet Jesus? If not, do you really know Him?
Jesus wanted to be with His beloved followers one more time before He ascended to the Father so He called them to be with Him.
The word "church" comes from the Greek word "ekklesia" meaning "called out ones". Jesus was calling out His disciples to be with Him so they could know Him better and understand His will for them.
Jesus' vision for the Church was that believers would be called out of the world to know Him so that through them the world could come to know Him.
I share that vision.
Second, Grow In God
"Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." V. 18
Growth is about what you do after you get to know Jesus. Just having knowledge and information and facts doesn't automatically translate into growth. It takes strength and power.
When Jesus called them out, and when they answered the call, He empowered them to grow. The power to obey what He calls them to do. The power to throw off bad attitudes and habits. The power to resist temptation and take authority over evil.
In the three years that these men had known Jesus they had grown inwardly, but now it was time to demonstrate that growth to the world.
We are called out to grow in God.
Third, Go In God
"Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Vv. 19-20
You can't go where you haven't been and you can't teach what you haven't learned.
Jesus called out the disciples to know Him and grow in Him so that they could go for Him. That is what I mean by growing from the inside out!
If you don't truly know Jesus, you won't grow in Him and you certainly won't go in His name.
That is what makes a healthy church - disciples who know God, and are growing in God and therefore, are going for God into a lost world.
How well do you know Him?
What evidence is there that you know Him?
When was the last time you shared Him with someone else?
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
October 7, 2009
“Knowing God – Growing People”
At Fredericksburg Wesleyan Church Our Vision Is To BECOME A HEALTHY CHURCH BY GROWING FROM THE INSIDE OUT!
INSIDE
3D VISION – Love In Three Dimensions
Based On The Great Commandment
LOVE GOD
LOVE OTHERS
LOVE SELF
OUT
HD VISION – Life In One Direction
Based On The Great Commission
SEEKING LOST PEOPLE
SHAPING LIVES
It is no longer about what the church will do for you. It is about learning to love God together and living out His love in your world.