The beginning of Joseph's story was terrible. After being his father's favorite son, he was betrayed and sold into slavery by his brothers. It doesn't get much worse than that. But for Joseph, this was just the beginning of the roller coaster of his life.
As we pick back up this week in Genesis chapters 38 and 39, things get a lot better. Then a lot worse. Then a lot better. Then, well, you get the picture. It's a pattern we probably understand. Ups and downs. Highs and lows. Mountains and valleys. No matter what words you use the idea is the same, and the hard questions that come along with it are, too.
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We were made to worship God. There's nothing more fundamental than that, but what does that mean? For most of us we probably think about music, singing, lifting hands, or other things along those lines. We talk about "worship" as if it's music, but that's complicated. What if we don't like the style? What if we don't like raising our hands? What if we really don't like singing at all? And, if worship is about singing, how can we even know if we're doing it "right"?
This week we'll explore the fundamental reason God made us – to worship Him, but more importantly we'll look to the words of Paul to learn what that looks like practically. And for each of us, when we fulfill our most basic God-given purpose in the way God intended, our relationship with Him grows, but, according to Paul, we are also able to follow Him more closely as well.
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Sometimes Jesus says things that are really hard to understand. Like when he says to "store up treasure in heaven". That sounds great in theory, but in reality, there's no "heaven bank" we can drive to and put our money in. So even if we want to do it, what does it actually look like?
In part two of "Mastered" we'll start where we left off last week. Last week we learned that to escape the money trap we have to obey the giver with our treasure. So this week we'll take the next step and explore just what that means. We'll come up with a working definition of "storing up treasure in Heaven", and we'll also discover a practical step we can take to begin doing just that.
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If we're going to be people who pray prayers that move the heart of God we have to dream big, but we also have to pray hard. We can't phone it in, and we can't pray just because we're supposed to. There has to be something more, something deeper that drives us to go to God.
This week we'll look at a parable Jesus told, and also at a story of one of the geatest prophets in Israel's history – sometone Honi the Circle Maker was likely inspired by. As we do we'll learn what it really means to pray hard, and we'll also talk about what it looks like in a practical way.
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What kinds of prayers move the heart of God? That's a question many of us have never thought about, but, if we're going to pray prayers that move God's heart, it's an important one for us to ask. Unfortunately for many of us the reality is we don't see God move because we don't pray prayers that require Him to move.
In other words, for many of us, our prayers aren't God-sized prayers. They're "safe". They don't require any risk on our part, which means they don't require God at all. And if our prayers don't require God they aren't going to move God's heart. It's as simple as that.
This week we'll look to three short stories in the Bible of people dreaming God-sized dreams and moving the heart of Jesus to respond in miraculous ways. Plus, packed into the third story is a question at the very center of our faith, and a question that, if we don't settle it in our hearts, will prevent us from ever praying the kinds of prayers that move the heart of God.
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Have you ever been wrong about anything? Because we all have, but sometimes it’s hard to admit. Today we’re looking at a story from Jesus’ life that we can’t all totally agree on. There’s wells and mountains and husbands and metaphors about living water and food. And Samaritans! What is so controversial about this unnamed woman? Do the things we disagree about change anything? How does having humility when we are approaching Scripture set us up for a better understanding? Can humility about our own story, other people’s stories, or even God’s story help us connect better? Thankfully one thing remains the same - Jesus is still the source of new life and new changes.
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Changes can be good and they can be bad, but they can't be stopped. This week we'll learn how to make sure change works for our benefit by looking in the Bible at the life of a man named Paul who went through some major changes of his own.
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We all just want to raise kind, selfless kids, right? Is that too much to ask? Yet for every moment our kids act selflessly it seems they turn back around and just act selfish. It's like it's built into their DNA. So how do we raise kids that are kind and selfless when, well, our kids don't always want to act kind and selfless?
The Bible helps us understand how to give ourselves the best possible chance at this outcome, and it does it through one of the most problematic and challenging passages in the whole Bible. As we explore that passage we'll learn a principle we all know, but maybe didn't know was in the Bible, get some answers to a major challenge and take one more step toward raising great kids. Oh, and we'll also un-learn a physics principle we were taught wrong in school.
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Conflict. It's a word most of us really hate, and would do anything to avoid. It's the cause of all our broken relationships, and, on a first glance, seems like a very, very bad thing.
But what if we have conflict all wrong? What if our avoidance of conflict doesn't make things better, but can actually create the problems we're trying to avoid? What if conflict could be a good thing?
This week we'll look to the Bible and learn why healthy conflict isn't just a good thing, but why it's actually a necessary thing for our relationships to grow and thrive.
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In any battle it's critical to know who the enemy is. Unfortunately for a lot of us, we're aiming at the wrong enemy day in and day out, and we're left wondering why we can't ever seem to win.
In part two of "This Is War" we'll look to the Bible to identify who our real enemy is in spiritual battle we're fighting. And perhaps more importantly, we'll learn who our enemy is not.
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Wait On The Lord in the message series “Uncertain” at City North Church in Sunbury Ohio
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How To Be Content in the message series “Get Healthy” at City North Church in Sunbury Ohio.
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‘What Is My Role In The Church?’ in the message series “The Body” at City North Church.
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