Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts

Monday, March 13, 2017

The No-Excuses RSVP

170312RSPV

Good. Better. Best. When it comes to making life choices, God is not satisfied with good or even better choices. He wants what is best for me. Especially when it comes to my relationship with God. So when God grants an invitation to His banquet, my RSVP must be “yes” and “now.” What keeps you from saying “yes” and “now” to God’s invitation? We study Jesus’ parable in Luke 14:15-26 and along the way consider how to make certain our RSVP is always the right one.

Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.

Monday, September 19, 2016

Two Gifts Of Prayer

160918TwoGifts

How you imagine God impacts how you pray. Is God far from you or near? Powerful or passive? Disgusted with you or in love with you? Does God care? Can God help? We turn to Jesus’ words in Luke 11:11-13 to discover our two greatest gifts of prayer.

Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.

Monday, September 12, 2016

The Audacity Of Prayer

160911Audacity

Have you ever heard someone say that you should pray with boldness? What does that mean? How did Jesus describe the way we should enter into God’s throne room? We also talk about our famous instruction to Ask, Seek and Knock. Is there more to prayer than just a conversation with God? We answer all these questions as we study Luke 11:5-10.

Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.

Monday, September 5, 2016

The Model Prayer

160904LordsPrayer

Is there a “right way” to pray? Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them how to pray. He responded with The Lord’s Prayer. Was Jesus telling them and us that we should pray with these specific words? Or was he giving them a model of prayer to follow? In this sermon we consider 6 parts to Jesus’ model prayer.

Follow along with the online sermon notes or download this PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.

Sunday, July 24, 2016

The Glory Of The Mountaintop

160724Mountaintop

We need mountaintop experiences in our Christian lives. Life is filled with the mundane, dipping often into disappointment. Every now and again we rise above ourselves and our circumstances to see the Kingdom of God and recognize our good fortune to be God’s children. In this Church Requel sermon we talk about our mountaintop experiences and why we need them.

Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Cleansed Corruption

160124Corruption

What is God’s intended good in your life that has become corrupted? Just like a computer file can become corrupted and thus unusable, our corruptions keep us from being used by God as He originally intended. In this week's sermon we study Luke 5:12-16 and see Jesus heal a man covered with leprosy. We learn 5 lessons when struggling with whatever would corrupt us.

Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.

Monday, September 28, 2015

Confident Prayer

150927ConfidentPrayer

How do we pray with boldness - and in a way that gets answers? We consider 1 John 5:14-18 to learn that God hears our prayers, answers in unlimited ways, often before we even can see the answers accomplished.

Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

How To Be Sure

150816Assurance

We can know for sure that we are one of God's children. No doubts! This past weekend I offered 6 ways we can be assured of our salvation through Christ. From 1 John 3:19-24.

Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Since The Change

150118SinceChange

God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have done so much for us as Christ-followers. So what should our response be?How do we live our lives as Christians? In this audio version of today's sermon, I talk about being filled with God's contentment, peace and approval as we mature in our Christian walk.

Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Both Feet In

141026BothFeet

Are you “both feet in” when it comes to your Christian faith? I explain that living to please God and still living in a way that doesn’t please God is a “double-minded” existence. We consider 5 heart checks of whether we’re all in with Jesus. Then we talk about 3 ways to make sure we’re both feet in with God.

Follow along with the online sermon notes or download the PDF fill-in-the-blanks sermon outline.

Monday, July 7, 2014

Adventurous Expectations

140622Expectations

What do you expect out of life? Are you hopeful about your future? The Message version of Romans 8:15 tells us that this resurrection life of the Christ-follower should be "adventurously expectant." In this Church Requel audio sermon from June 22, 2014, I talk about 7 ways we can remain adventurously expectant no matter what.

Monday, June 9, 2014

#112: Interview With Tamira Barnes / Prayer

140609Prayer2

We interview our new Interim Children's Ministry Director, Tamira Barnes, talking about children's ministry and her first day on the job. Our sermon is "Prayers That Get Things Done - Part 2" taken from the prayer of Nehemiah. Fun, enjoyable, informative and helpful podcast this week!

Monday, June 2, 2014

#111: Prayers That Get Things Done - Part 1

140602Prayer1

I catch up on the great weekend both personally and at Church Requel. In the sermon segment we talkk about prayers that get things done. We learn that effective prayers provide God's presence, strength, peace, answers and change us, our circumstances and our world.

Music for this week's podcast is "I Say A Little Prayer" by Aretha Franklin.

Monday, January 13, 2014

#91: Called To Be Loved

140113Loved

Our first calling and purpose is to be loved by God! We talk about how wide, deep, long, and high is God's love for us. We learn 5 ways knowing God's love will change our lives. This sermon was given by Pastor Mark Pierce at Church Requel on Sunday, January 12, 2014.

The two videos that I mention in the podcast are "God Loves Us No Matter What" by Soul Refinery and "God's Love For You" by CalMarc.  The two songs used in the podcast are "Because Of Your Love" by Paul Baloche and "The Love Of God" sung by MercyMe.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

#062: God's Antidote to Indecision

IndecisionPodcast

We make decisions and then our decisions make us. Every decision has a consequence in our life. We are who we are today largely because of the decisions we've made in the past. Pastor Steve Thoman shares 4 ways to get guidance from God when we are making decisions.

Music for this week's podcast is "Undecided" by The Ames Brothes.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

#049: The Sequel

SequelPodcast

This week's podcast is filled with zip-a-dee-doo-dah goodness! It was one of those Sundays when everything went even better than planned. Listen to my version of how wonderful this past weekend was and how we respond to good news. Then, about 30 minutes into the podcast, you'll hear the weekend sermon: "The Sequel: How To Share My Faith With Others."

Music for this week's podcast is "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" by Louis Armstrong.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

#032: Kiss The Rain

KissRainPodcast

How do we integrate God's Word into every area of our lives? In this week's podcast we talk about 6 ways to live a life of Biblical integrity using our 6 memory verses from the 40 Days In The Word.  I also talk about the recent decline in Apple's fortunes, about the Lord's Prayer, and question #4 - "What Is God?" - from the Westminster catechism.

Here's what I have lined up for you this week:

[9:00] Has Apple Gone Rotten? - Apple Company has been a winner both in terms of its products and its corporate and stock performance. But the last couple weeks have not gone so well.  I talk about the iPad mini and the expectations and disappointment of the recent quarter. I talk about the Saturday Night Life sketch a few week's ago.  Here's the YouTube link to the "Tech Talk" video. Here's an encouraging opinion from The Motley Fool about Apple stock price.

[22:35] The Lord's Prayer, People and Protection - We wrap up our 6-part model prayer discussion. This week - how we use the Lord's Prayer as the basis to pray for other people and for spiritual protection.

[31:17] Question 4b - "What Is God?" - We continue our theological discussion from the Westminster Confession and Catechism. Here's a link to G. I. Williamson's helpful book, "Westminster Shorter Catechism: For Study Classes."

[43:46] CR Sermon: "How To Integrate God's Word Into My Life" - This is the audio talk from Sunday night at Church Requel.  This sermon, written by Rick Warren earlier this year, wraps up our 40 Days In The Word series.

Music for this week's podcast is "Kiss The Rain" by Yiruma from his The Best Reminiscent 10th Anniversary album.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

#031: Back From The Storm

StormPodcast

How should we interpret the text of the Bible?  Pastor Steve offers some practical advice for how to study the Bible. Also Mark talks about the topic of forgiveness in prayer and the 4th question in the Westminster Confession: "What is God?"

This week's podcast is published a couple days later than normal. I'm just returning from vacation.  Here's what I have lined up for you in this week's podcast:

[0:00]  Intro. I talk about my trip to Myrtle Beach and the stormy weather on the way back.

[13:45] Forgiveness and Prayer. We continue to consider the Lord's Prayer as our model for our daily prayers. In this week's podcast we discuss the issue of forgiveness - forgiving others and forgiving ourselves.

[25:25] Question 4. What is God? That's an uncomfortable question.  We're much more comfortable talking about Who is God? We'll take 3 podcast sessions to get started on this question. This theological study comes from G.I. Williamson's book on the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

[39:55] CR Sermon: "How To Interpret A Text." Steve does an excellent job teaching for me this week.  Here are some highlights. A verse of the Bible means what it means.  There may be many applications but only one meaning. There are no secrets in the Bible.  We should look for the most obvious meaning. Steve also shares some great advice about prayer. You can't fall when you're on your knees! If God does not give you what you're asking for, he will give you something better. We're not always good at asking for what is best for us. Prayer is the passwoord to all God wants to do in our life. Prayer is not a spare tire to be taken out when things go wrong.  Prayer is the steerin wheel that guides us! Finally this valuable tidbit: Prayerlessness is practical atheism! This is a great talk! Don't miss it! Thanks so much Pastor Steve!

Music for this week's podcast is The Storm from Ray Boltz's album, Allegiance.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

#030: Godly Training

GodlyTraining

The secret to great Bible study is asking great questions. In this week's podcast we talk about the 4 key questions we should ask each time we study God's Word. Our podcast is really godly training because we also talk about meditation on Scripture, prayer, and theology.

I'm publishing the podcast a day earlier than normal so that Mary Kay and I can get away a little sooner tonight after the CR worship service for a week's R&R. Here's what I have lined up for you in this week's podcast:

[05:19]  Meditation and S.P.A.C.E.P.E.T.S. I talk about the reason we should meditate on Scripture. Then we use an acrostic to remember the application questions we should ask when we meditate.

[17:25] 6-Part Model Prayer. We continue to consider the Lord's Prayer as our model for our daily prayers.

[28:19] Question 3. What's God's Word for anyway? This two-part answer transitions us into the rest of our theological study from G.I. Williamson's book on the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

[37:26] CR Sermon: "How To Study The Bible." I've prerecorded this week's 40 Days In The Word sermon for the podcast. We consider 4 questions in every Bible study. In this podcast we use Philippians 2:19-30 as an example of a Bible passage we will study together. At first glance it doesn't appear that there is much here. However, using the 4 questions, we discover 5 marks of a godly man or woman. Many thanks to Rick Warren for writing this sermon and making it available for us to use!

Music for this week's podcast is "Gonna Fly Now (Theme From Rocky)."

Monday, October 15, 2012

#029: Seeing Clearly Now

SeeClearlyNow

When we read the Bible, how can we see clearly what God wants us to see? In this podcast we'll 4 good things that happens when God opens my eyes. We'll talk about 5 ways to prepar ourselves to see what God wants me to see.

Here's what I have lined up for you in this week's podcast:

[8:00] 4 Questions To Ask Before Posting Political on Facebook or Twitter.  The Pastors.com staff put this good advice up on Aug. 14th. It seemed most appropriate now as we are entering the final weeks of the U.S. national election.  I talk about the importance of showing perfect courtesy to all people all the time.

[20:34] The 6-Part Model Prayer. We continue our discussion about our prayer life by looking at the model prayer Jesus gave us.  Most of us know this model prayer as "The Lord's Prayer." How can we use this prayer to form our own more personal prayer life?

 [32:26] Question 3 - What's God's Word For? We continue our discussion of the Westminster Confession with the important transition question. The answer to this question sets up the next 104 questions! Listen and you'll hear why. We continue to use G.I Williamson's Shorter Catechism book.

[45:15] CR Sermon: "Seeing What God Wants Me To See" In this 4th part of the 40 Days In The Word series we consider the subject of illumination. What happens when God opens my eyes? How can I prepare myself? You can follow along with the YouVersion sermon notes.

[1:40:15] Wrap Up - Friends invited us over after church so I didn't wrap up until Monday morning. Short and sweet!

Music for this week's podcast is "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash.