They take us from one side to the next. In this next series, we'll be exploring the Old and New Testament in the Bible, and how they connect. See how some of the sayings of Jesus connect back to prophecies spoken hundreds of years earlier. Listen to the culture of the day, wow how it was SO different from ours. We sometimes see the Bible through the eyes of our culture. But, we need to see it in context of the day. The Bible is relevant for every culture and every day life, but don't you wonder sometimes how they were hearing the news that Jesus was sharing in the context of everyday life there in Israel?
We bridge from one situation to the next in our lives. Seasons come and go and situations can change on a dime! Come check out Prime in the next few weeks and let's explore some of the "AH HA" moments of the Old and New Testament. Hear it through the ears of the 1st century listener. Make sense of some of those rogue, Old testament sayings. See how the Bible continues to be the ultimate authority for life and godliness.
Make sure your relationship, your bridge, is intact.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Magnificent
I love the U2's "Magnificent", but really- could Seth and the Prime band have covered that song any better? That was ridiculous. What a fun night. It's always interesting to look at the vastness of our Creator and then to sit back and comprehend that He really does care about the needs of my heart too. Stars, galaxies, moons, solar systems are no match for the heart of a human being created in the image of God, the Creator.
If you can remember one thing this week, remember that the vastness and magnificence of nature (created by God) should drive us to be a humble people. Greatness often times produces humility, and rightly so.
Remember, if you say- like Jeremiah, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child," that God touched his mouth and put the words in them, then he said to go unafraid, He'll be with us and will rescue us. Gotten in to trouble lately for standing up for the cause of Christ? Maybe it hasn't been a priority. I hope you'll "stop, turn around" and then walk straight at the Savior. Let Him be your guiding light, your compass. Don't spend your life walking in circles. Be a World Changer, one person at a time. Then, bring them with you to a place where God can work in them (PRIME), and watch God work.
See you Monday as we celebrate the Magnificent Jesus, Easter is on the way!
Steve
If you can remember one thing this week, remember that the vastness and magnificence of nature (created by God) should drive us to be a humble people. Greatness often times produces humility, and rightly so.
Remember, if you say- like Jeremiah, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child," that God touched his mouth and put the words in them, then he said to go unafraid, He'll be with us and will rescue us. Gotten in to trouble lately for standing up for the cause of Christ? Maybe it hasn't been a priority. I hope you'll "stop, turn around" and then walk straight at the Savior. Let Him be your guiding light, your compass. Don't spend your life walking in circles. Be a World Changer, one person at a time. Then, bring them with you to a place where God can work in them (PRIME), and watch God work.
See you Monday as we celebrate the Magnificent Jesus, Easter is on the way!
Steve
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Where is your focus this week?
"We spend the majority of time in the temporal, but we'll spend the majority of time in the eternal". This was the theme of Monday's Prime. But, practically how can we do that when life around us is so complicated and busy? Our focus has to be here on the day to day.
Think of it more as "while you are going". You can practice the eternal by:
1. Setting your mind on things above (Col. 3:1-4)
2. Become daily in experience what we are in our position in Christ (Rom 6)
3. Take a journey to the eternal through the portal of the Word (John 1:1-5, 14-18)
What about this?
1. Find joy in everything, give thanks as you go.
2. Love life, live it to the full for a purpose greater than your own (the kingdom)
3. Pray as you are going in your spirit, stay connected to your Father in Heaven.
4. Ask God to help you continually make wise decisions and to avoid evil
These are just a few practical ways to practice the eternal. Remember, you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (James 4:14b), BUT you are SO valued by God. Make your life count. Be a light. Invite someone to Prime with you this week that you would not normally invite. You never know what God may do in their life. It could make an eternal difference and it will give you a whole new perspective!
Steve
Think of it more as "while you are going". You can practice the eternal by:
1. Setting your mind on things above (Col. 3:1-4)
2. Become daily in experience what we are in our position in Christ (Rom 6)
3. Take a journey to the eternal through the portal of the Word (John 1:1-5, 14-18)
What about this?
1. Find joy in everything, give thanks as you go.
2. Love life, live it to the full for a purpose greater than your own (the kingdom)
3. Pray as you are going in your spirit, stay connected to your Father in Heaven.
4. Ask God to help you continually make wise decisions and to avoid evil
These are just a few practical ways to practice the eternal. Remember, you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (James 4:14b), BUT you are SO valued by God. Make your life count. Be a light. Invite someone to Prime with you this week that you would not normally invite. You never know what God may do in their life. It could make an eternal difference and it will give you a whole new perspective!
Steve
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The Secret life.
It can be a really bad thing , it can also be a really good thing.
That was the topic of this week's message.
We learned that there are bad, isolating secrets and there are secrets that lead to reward.
Jesus told us to let these 3 things be a secret and not for the whole world to see:
(Matthew 6:1-18)
1. Your giving
2. Your praying
3. Your fasting
I challenged everyone to pick one of the three in this week and to pursue it with great passion. As it is done in secret, where only your Heavenly Father can see, it will be rewarded. And, His reward system is greater than this world's. There is not even a comparison.
Remember the Mark Twain quote, "Everyone is like a moon, each has a dark side that they don't want to be seen." We talked about how God sees all and how we will all account for what we have said and done while here on this earth. God is full of grace and forgiveness, but will still require an account of us, just like the Tiger Woods press conference- accounting for his mistakes. That could have been each of us. The difference is that we will be accounting and accumulating or forfeiting rewards for crowns to lay at the feet of Jesus, the one who made possible the way for us to recieve a full pardon from our sin. (1 Corinthians 9:25/ 2 Timothy 4:7-8) Unbelievers will be accounting for their decision to reject Jesus which will result in judgement and eternal separation from a holy and loving God. (Matthew 12:36-37/ Romans 14:10-12/Matthew 25:31-46) You ask yourself, how can a Holy and Loving God let people go to hell? That's a long answer. http://http://www.gotquestions.org/God-create-doomed-people.html Try this link for starters.
I hope you have a "quiet" week, one that connects with a great rewarder!
http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2rDrCWzCSQ (If you need encouragement)
Next week we finish up the Jekyll & Hyde series.
We will look at the Temporal and Eternal, very different.
Where do you live?
Steve
It can be a really bad thing , it can also be a really good thing.
That was the topic of this week's message.
We learned that there are bad, isolating secrets and there are secrets that lead to reward.
Jesus told us to let these 3 things be a secret and not for the whole world to see:
(Matthew 6:1-18)
1. Your giving
2. Your praying
3. Your fasting
I challenged everyone to pick one of the three in this week and to pursue it with great passion. As it is done in secret, where only your Heavenly Father can see, it will be rewarded. And, His reward system is greater than this world's. There is not even a comparison.
Remember the Mark Twain quote, "Everyone is like a moon, each has a dark side that they don't want to be seen." We talked about how God sees all and how we will all account for what we have said and done while here on this earth. God is full of grace and forgiveness, but will still require an account of us, just like the Tiger Woods press conference- accounting for his mistakes. That could have been each of us. The difference is that we will be accounting and accumulating or forfeiting rewards for crowns to lay at the feet of Jesus, the one who made possible the way for us to recieve a full pardon from our sin. (1 Corinthians 9:25/ 2 Timothy 4:7-8) Unbelievers will be accounting for their decision to reject Jesus which will result in judgement and eternal separation from a holy and loving God. (Matthew 12:36-37/ Romans 14:10-12/Matthew 25:31-46) You ask yourself, how can a Holy and Loving God let people go to hell? That's a long answer. http://http://www.gotquestions.org/God-create-doomed-people.html Try this link for starters.
I hope you have a "quiet" week, one that connects with a great rewarder!
http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2rDrCWzCSQ (If you need encouragement)
Next week we finish up the Jekyll & Hyde series.
We will look at the Temporal and Eternal, very different.
Where do you live?
Steve
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Practical ways to "guard your heart": Proverbs 4:13-17
1. Use wisdom in what you watch- don't just go the way of the crowd if the spirit of God is telling you you should not watch something...it's not playing the spoiler, it's protecting your eyes, the gateway to your soul.
2. Use wisdom in what you listen too- words do affect our minds and send us to places in our minds that are not pleasing to God if we are not careful. "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed" (James 1:14) If what you are listening too or watching begins to lead you down the road of enticement, get off the road quickly.
3. Call out to God with your requests and do it with thanksgiving. (Phil. 4:4-7) He will guard your heart as you call out to him.
4. Don't "overshare" in a new relationship. Reserve that for a close circle friend.
5. Submit to God (strengths & weaknesses) BEFORE you get into a difficult situation so that you KNOW what your response will be before you get there. And, don't walk into danger willingly. Avoid it. Unless you are purposefully sharing the gospel and have all kinds of "Green Lights" from the Lord. Even then, include others for accountability.
6. Don't put your trust in man, put your trust in God. Matthew 6:33
At the same time, don't grow bitter towards people and pretend like it's just "you and Jesus". You need people and people need you. Together, we are the church, the Body of Christ.
Well, those are just some practical steps to guarding your heart. Obviously, there are many more that could make the list. Looking forward to Monday night and talking about "secret sins". I know, these are not easy subjects to listen too, but I would rather root out the problem and deal with it than sit around and laugh and deny that anything is wrong. The truth is too important to freedom.
Live free,
Steve
1. Use wisdom in what you watch- don't just go the way of the crowd if the spirit of God is telling you you should not watch something...it's not playing the spoiler, it's protecting your eyes, the gateway to your soul.
2. Use wisdom in what you listen too- words do affect our minds and send us to places in our minds that are not pleasing to God if we are not careful. "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed" (James 1:14) If what you are listening too or watching begins to lead you down the road of enticement, get off the road quickly.
3. Call out to God with your requests and do it with thanksgiving. (Phil. 4:4-7) He will guard your heart as you call out to him.
4. Don't "overshare" in a new relationship. Reserve that for a close circle friend.
5. Submit to God (strengths & weaknesses) BEFORE you get into a difficult situation so that you KNOW what your response will be before you get there. And, don't walk into danger willingly. Avoid it. Unless you are purposefully sharing the gospel and have all kinds of "Green Lights" from the Lord. Even then, include others for accountability.
6. Don't put your trust in man, put your trust in God. Matthew 6:33
At the same time, don't grow bitter towards people and pretend like it's just "you and Jesus". You need people and people need you. Together, we are the church, the Body of Christ.
Well, those are just some practical steps to guarding your heart. Obviously, there are many more that could make the list. Looking forward to Monday night and talking about "secret sins". I know, these are not easy subjects to listen too, but I would rather root out the problem and deal with it than sit around and laugh and deny that anything is wrong. The truth is too important to freedom.
Live free,
Steve
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