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A Message

Worship

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing. Know that the Lord is God.
It is he that made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, 
and his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him, bless his name.
For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 100 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

We Are Connection- We Value…

PEOPLE – Everyone matters to God; no one is disposable.

TRANSFORMATION – Intentional Christ-centered living that makes a difference…

TEAMWORK – Working together beats working alone.

WORSHIP – Praising God for everything God has done, is doing, and will do.

PRAISING GOD FOR EVERYTHING GOD HAS DONE, IS DOING, AND WILL DO

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Psalm 150:6

When the music fades and all is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring something that’s of worth
That will bless Your heart
I’ll bring you more than a song, for a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within through the way things appear
You’re looking into my heart
I’m coming back to the heart of worship
and it’s all about You, it’s all about You, Jesus
I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it when it’s all about You,
It’s all about You, Jesus
Michael W. Smith, The Heart of Worship

We do not worship primarily to feel moved, though warm emotions frequently arise when we worship God. We do not worship primarily to “get something out of the service,” 
though we often benefit from what happens when we gather with God’s people for worship. We do not worship primarily for anything having to do with ourselves, though worship is one of the most meaningful and transformational things we do in life.

Why do we worship?….We worship God for God and who God is. We worship because of who God is and what God has done. Our worship is a response to God, to God’s nature and activity.
Mark D. Roberts, Why Do We Worship?

 

Worship is a declaration of our weakness and God’s strength. 
I challenge you in your next point of need to make that hard choice to be a worshiper and let the breakthrough God fight your battle for you. When we worship, the invisible God is at work doing invisible and powerful things. We get realigned, refreshed and refueled; we find unspeakable joy and indescribable peace. We discover the breakthrough strength of God, which enables us to walk in the truth, live in His presence and see Him and see Him fight our battles for us. It is how we can put the beauty of the Gospel and display, receive His many blessings and at the same time be a blessing to the world.
Tommy Walker
 Understanding the Breakthrough Power of Worship
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Feb. 27, 2007

“Oh, so you’re a prophet! Well, tell me this: Our ancestors worshiped God at this mountain, but you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right?
Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither there at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. Your worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God’s way of salvation is made available through the Jews.
But the time is coming – it has, in fact, come – when what you’re called will not matter and where you go
to worship will not matter. It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself – Spirit. 
Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.”

John 4:19-24 (The Message)

Holy, holy, holy
Lord God Almighty
Early in the morning my song shall rise to thee
Holy, holy, holy
Merciful and mighty
God in three persons, blessed Trinity

Worship is a lifestyle.

Worship is living a life of love.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind, and all your strength.

Matthew 22:37

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: 
Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, 
going-to-work, and walking-around life – and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. 
Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, 
and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, 
always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, 
God brings the best out of you, 
develops well-formed maturity in you.

Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)

 

Teamwork

Teamwork: ability to work together on 
a common goal or vision.

“Talent wins games but teamwork wins championships” – Michael Jordan

Teamwork is a divine design and comes absolutely natural to us

Teamwork is about relationships

It is imperative that we work together in order for the work of God 
to be completed

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, 
where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, 
just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, 
where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, 
but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!”
And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor.
And the parts that are unpresentable are treated
with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.Now you are the body of Christ,
and each one of you is a part of it.

1 Corinthians 12: 17-27 (NIV)

God reveals to us our true selves through our relationships with others.

The Lord detests all the proud of heart.
Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.

Proverbs 16:5 (NIV)

5 Traits of a Great Team Member

HONESTY – Proverbs 24:26

SERVANT HEART – John 13 :12-17

RELIABLE – Romans 8:36

FAIR – Proverbs 2: 7-9

ENCOURAGER WITH A POSITIVE ATTITUDE – Hebrews 12:14

Are you glorifying god first?

It’s not about me!

People & Transformation

WE VALUE PEOPLE

Everyone matters to God; 
no one is disposable.

For you [LORD] created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before 
one of them came to be.

Psalm 139: 13-16 (NIV)

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.

Jeremiah 1:5a (NIV)

For I [the Lord] know the plans I have for YOU, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

God I believe these promises are for my life. 
I will take hold of them and believe.

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, 
“Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom 
of God unless they are born of water AND the Spirit. 
Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

John 3:3-6 (NIV)

The work of God is this: 
to believe in the one he has sent.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

OUR MISSION- Connecting people with Jesus and the New Life He offers! 

WE VALUE TRANSFORMATION

Intentional, Christ-centered living that makes a difference in our families, neighborhoods, communities, and world.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, 
but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know 
God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:2 – New Living Translation (NLT)

Challenge for the week

BELIEVE God.
INVITE God into our lives everyday.
LET GOD transform our thinking as we 
READ his word.
WATCH God work.

IS

Psalm 62: Rock of my Strength
Psalm 32: Hiding Place
Isaiah 42: Light to the Nations
Psalm 19: Redeemer
Psalm 144: Deliverer

Romans: Abba (Daddy)
James: Lord of Armies, Lawgiver and Judge
Colossians: Firstborn of All Creation
John: The Bread of Life, The True Vine, 
 The Way, The Truth, The Life
Revelation: The Word of God, Lion of Judah
John: Helper, Comforter, Advocate

In the beginning God created 
the heavens and the earth…

Genesis 1:1

Elohim (Hebrew): 
God, Creator, Mighty and Strong

Theos (Greek): 
God

El = Power

God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord. 
I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty [El Shaddai], 
but by my name the Lord I did not 
make myself fully known to them.

Exodus 6:3 New International Version (NIV)

El-Elyon: Most High God (Deuteronomy 26:19)
El-Roi: God of Seeing (Genesis 16:13)
El-Olam: Everlasting God (Psalm 90:1-3)
El-Gibhor: Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6)

Kyrios (Greek) 
Lord

720 times in the New Testament
Adoni – 300 times in the Old Testament

יהוה = YHWH

God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, 
‘The Lord, the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob – 
has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, 
the name you shall call me 
from generation to generation.”

Exodus 3:14-15 (NIV)

יהוה = YHWH = to be

“I will be what I will be”

God is beyond a person, place, or thing.

God is IS

Adonai – Lord

God also said to Moses, “I am the LORD. 
I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, 
and to Jacob as God Almighty,
but by my name the LORD I did not make 
myself fully known to them

Exodus 6:3 (NIV)

YHWH (Holy Tetragrammaton)- LORD

I AM // God is // God is IS

 

Great – Good

GOD is GREAT
GOD is GOOD

Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:
“Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?
Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you,
and you must answer them.
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell me, if you know so much.
Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line?
What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?”
Job 38:1-30 New Living Translation (NLT)

“Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb
and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness?
For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores.
I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
Here your proud waves must stop!’
Have you ever commanded the morning to appear
and caused the dawn to rise in the east?
Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth,
to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?”
Job 38:1-30 (NLT)

“As the light approaches, the earth takes shape
like clay pressed beneath a seal; it is robed in brilliant colors.
The light disturbs the wicked and stops the arm that is raised in violence.
Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?
Have you explored their depths?
Do you know where the gates of death are located?
Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?
Do you realize the extent of the earth?
Tell me about it if you know!”
Job 38:1-30 (NLT)

“Where does light come from, and where does darkness go?
Can you take each to its home? Do you know how to get there?
But of course you know all this!
For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!
Have you visited the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of hail?
(I have reserved them as weapons for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war.)
Where is the path to the source of light?
Where is the home of the east wind?”
Job 38:1-30 (NLT)

“Who created a channel for the torrents of rain?
Who laid out the path for the lightning?”
Who makes the rain fall on barren land, in a desert where no one lives?
Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground
and make the tender grass spring up?
Does the rain have a father? Who gives birth to the dew?
Who is the mother of the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?
For the water turns to ice as hard as rock,
and the surface of the water freezes.”
Job 38:1-30 (NLT)

God’s greatness goes beyond all reason,
beyond all imagination,
beyond all expectation.
God’s greatness is all mighty.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
Psalm 107 and Psalm 136:1 New International Version (NIV)

Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Psalm 34:8 (NIV)

Other

Homoousian – same essence/substance

Wholly Other – Karl Barth

Used in Christian theology to describe the difference between God and everything else.

Indescribable
Uncontainable
Untamable
Incomparable
Unchangeable
Indispensable
Incomprehensible

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:8-9 New International Version (NIV)

God Is:
Omnipotent
Omniscient
Omnipresent
Omnibenevolent

Omni = All

Omnipotent – God Is All Powerful

Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.

Jeremiah 32:17 (NIV)

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnessess in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Acts 1:8 NIV

Omnicient – All Knowing

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar; you discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Psalm 139:1-6 NIV

Omnipresent – Always With Us

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is a light to you.

Psalm 139:7-16 NIV

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in teh secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unfomred body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book beore one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:7-16 NIV

Omnibenevolent – God Is Good

Give thanks to the Lord, fo rhe is good; his love endures forever.

Psalm 107:1 NIV

Do you know this God who is other than you?
Who died for you?
Who loves you beyond measure?

Extravagant

Extravagant- exceeding the limits of reason or necessity; 
lacking in moderation, balance, restraint; 
spending much more than necessary.
[Merriam-Webster Dictionary]

God is Extravagant!

God’s Love is Extravagant

Luke 15:11-32

Story of the Prodigal Son
Story of the Prodigal Father

Prodigal – recklessly extravagant

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. 
Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine
was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ 
So they began to celebrate.”

Luke 15:22-24 New International Version (NIV)

“The Kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 
When he found one of great value, 
he went away and sold everything he had 
and bought it.

Matthew 13:44-46 (NIV)

God’s extravagance
Genesis 1 – 3

Who told you that?

Be Humble

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 
Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

1 Peter 5:1-4 New International Version (NIV)

In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. 
All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

1 Peter 5:5 NIV

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:6-7 NIV

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, 
standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

1 Peter 5:8-9 NIV

Do Good

Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. 
Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you blessing. For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, 
and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.”

1 Peter 3:8-12 New Living Translation (NLT)

Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 
Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is 
the word of God.

Ephesians 6:14-17 (NLT)

Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you. But remember that they will have to face God, who stands ready to judge everyone, 
both the living and the dead.

1 Peter 4:4-5 (NLT)

If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. 
If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name!

1 Peter 4:14-16 (NLT)

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Be Honoring

Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge.

1 Peter 2:11-12 (NRSV)

Honor is a biblical term for respect, esteem, high regard, and reward.
Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, p 397

For the Lord’s sake accept the authority of every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme, or of governors, as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of the foolish. As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil. Honor everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

 1 Peter 2:13-17 (NRSV)

The Punch Line: Winning Souls for God

Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge. 1 Peter 2:12 (NRSV)

Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh. For it is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that?

1 Peter 2:18-21 (NRSV)

But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.

1 Peter 2:18-21 (NRSV)

“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.

1 Peter 2:22-25 (NRSV)

He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

1 Peter 2:22-25 (NRSV)

That does not mean that God wants us to stay in abusive situations where power and authority are used unjustly. It does mean, however, in those situations, we are called to not return abuse with abuse.

Wives, in the same way, accept the authority of your husbands, so that, even if some of them do not obey the word, they may be won over without a word by their wives’ conduct, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.

1 Peter 3:1-4 (NRSV)

Do not adorn yourselves outwardly by braiding your hair, and by wearing gold ornaments or fine clothing; rather, let your adornment be the inner self with the lasting beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in God’s sight.

1 Peter 3:1-4 (NRSV)

Husbands, in the same way, show consideration for your wives in your life together, paying honor to the woman as the weaker sex, since they too are also heirs of the gracious gift of life—so that nothing may hinder your prayers.

1 Peter 3:7 (NRSV)

Challenge for the week: Follow the example of Christ. Be honoring to all.

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