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Highlights from the Close Encounters Series
This summer, Bridge Church has been studying through a few of Jesus’ one one one conversations with people in the Gospels. We’ve had Close
encounters with people in the Shadows (the woman at the well), with the Wealthy Fringe (Zaccheus), people with Rough Edges (Peter), with those in Crisis (Lazarus’ family), with those who are Caught (the woman caught in adultery), and with the Religious Crowd. Here are a few highlights from the series:
- Reminder: Every person has a name, a story, and great value to God.
- Don’t worry about dumping your gospel load and engage people as friends.
- God is able to make preachers out of prostitutes.
- When confronted with truth, what you do next demonstrates what you believe and if its real to you.
- Jesus has a vision for what you could be and will be through Him. He has you in the oven, He’s working on you.
- If any of us had the power to clean ourselves up, Jesus would not have had to die on the cross.
- Jesus didn’t say, “Peter, go get cleaned up, get you act together, quit being so undependable and mule headed and then maybe you can come and follow me.”
- God’s goal for us is CHRISTLIKENESS. NOT COMFORT AND PLEASURE.
- Death and disaster may seem like the end to us, but it’s not to God.
- We can demonstrate to a doubting world and to doubting, skeptic friends the reality of who Jesus is when we live out his ways.
- “People may doubt what you say, but they’ll always believe what you do.” – Unknown
- Truth is not a club to be used on people, but a mirror to show us our sin and our need for Christ.
- If you say, “Well, that person will never change” – You are saying more about your belief in God than your belief in that person.
- Religion is man’s way to get to God. Christianity is the story of how God made a way to get to man.
Listen to the series here, or find us on Itunes.
Product of the Spirit
Finishing up our Galatians series in a few weeks. This weekend spent some time talking fruit bearing.
“the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, self-control” – Galatians 5:22-23
Do you find it hard to love those who won’t or can’t love you in return? Are you often overwhelmed by life’s circumstances and unable to see God’s goodness in life? Do you give up on people easily or often write people off as unchangeable? Are you unmoved by the needs of others? Do you seldom put your faith to action by serving? Do you jump in an out of commitments and struggle to stick with people and projects? Do you feel the need to have control of situations no matter the cost? Are you easily overcome by temptation?
If you have wisdom enough to see and admit that any of these are true then you’re seeing the gap between what your life is producing and what God’s Spirit will produce in you if you yield to him.
The spirit of God produces “whatever it takes” and “I don’t care who you are kinda love,” inward joy and belief that is unchanged by outward circumstances, a willingness to stick with things and people at all costs, a heart of irrational generosity and compassion that drives a response to the needs of other no matter who they are, a loyalty and dependability that has the end in mind, submission to God over emotions and selfish desires.
Digital Discipleship Tools
Here are a few things I’m using regularly that are helping me merge my life as a disciple with technological advance. Still nothing better than an open Bible and journal, but wanted to share a few of my favorite resources.
ESV Bible Reading Plans – Nine different Bible reading plans that can be accessed in six different formats. I’ve downloaded the plan directly into my iCal and I get the RSS Feed to my phone each morning. The RSS Feed includes a link to audio files, so if I miss a passage in my morning devotional time, I can listen to it on my way to work. Currently doing the Outreach Bible Plan. Probably going to switch to the Chronological plan in January.
YouVersion.com – Using this resource as an iPhone App as well as the website. Great for Bible Reading online, searching Bible verses, cutting and pasting Bible verses, looking up verses in other translations, and more. Developed by LifeChurch.tv, totally free, and by far the best digital Bible out there.
Verse Card Maker – If scripture memory is important to you, you’ll love this tool. Type in the verse references you want to memorize and it makes the cards for you to print and cut. Developed by a computer programmer turned Seminary student. Verses are only in English Standard Version at this time.
Please send others that you’ve found helpful. So many resources out there. There’s no excuse for not interacting with the Bible daily.
