Bring your Books on Wednesday!
Humility: by C.J. Mahaney
Friday, October 30, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Humility and the Long view
Day One: Listen to this sermon by Dr. Russell Moore. The Long Way Around: Why It May Take a Couple Billion Years to Get to Your Best Life Now (Acts 5:27-42)
Take notes on this sermon as you go, so you can refer back to them.
What is the long view?
Who takes the long view in this passage?
Wisdom and humility sits back and takes a second look in situations where your pride could take over: Can you think of a situation in your life where you were short-sighted about the outcome? What was the effect of this response? Pray for wisdom and humility for you and four other people you know.
Day Two: Think back to the sermon. Read Acts 5:27-42. The apostles were beaten.
How did they respond (verse 41)?
How did they take the long view of the situation?
Which member of the Trinity was at work in their response?
Who is at work in you when you take a long view of trials and tribulation in your life and respond in ways that honor God?
Are you ready for this?
Pray for a steadfast heart of trust in God's long-term plan to make all things right in the difficulty you face.
Day Three: Reread Acts 5:27-42 twice.
How long do you hope to live?
Do you think about those years in terms of Gospel advancement?
What is God preparing you for in eternity?
Do you expect trials or do you hope to get through life without suffering?
What is King Jesus preparing you for, for His Name's sake? And do you consider the necessary suffering that it will take to get you there, a blessing?
Pray for courage to face each new circumstance of suffering, knowing that the exaltation of Christ is everything! Pray for God to give you the long view in coming hard circumstances you don't even know about now.
Day Four: What does God promise you?
list some of those promises here and back them up with Scripture.
Jesus promises suffering. What are some wrong responses?
According to Dr. Moore's sermon toward the end, what does he say is the one thing that makes suffering meaningless?
Pray that Christ will be everything to you and ask him to help you welcome sufferings knowing that it is for His glory and your own good.
Day Five: Christ suffered for the long view. Read Phil. 2:1-11. What does this say about how Christ held the long view of suffering?
How was Jesus rewarded?
Who else benefited?
Does God command you to make sense of your suffering in the here and now (refer to your sermon notes)?
What does He command you to do?
Pray for an hour today. Follow the format given two weeks ago. Come before God's throne with a longer view of His purposes for you, for your friends, family and the church around the world. Begin to pray "us" and not "me". Ask the Spirit of God to make you worthy of the sufferings of Christ and to open your eyes to His long term plans.
Day Six: (Optional) Pick one day this week and fast all day from something (meals, media, facebook, communication with friends, reading your novel). Use this time to pray and ask God to direct your life wherever He sees fit. Tell Him that you are willing to go anywhere He sends you. Pray for missionaries you know and ask if God might have a future in missions for you.
Take notes on this sermon as you go, so you can refer back to them.
What is the long view?
Who takes the long view in this passage?
Wisdom and humility sits back and takes a second look in situations where your pride could take over: Can you think of a situation in your life where you were short-sighted about the outcome? What was the effect of this response? Pray for wisdom and humility for you and four other people you know.
Day Two: Think back to the sermon. Read Acts 5:27-42. The apostles were beaten.
How did they respond (verse 41)?
How did they take the long view of the situation?
Which member of the Trinity was at work in their response?
Who is at work in you when you take a long view of trials and tribulation in your life and respond in ways that honor God?
Are you ready for this?
Pray for a steadfast heart of trust in God's long-term plan to make all things right in the difficulty you face.
Day Three: Reread Acts 5:27-42 twice.
How long do you hope to live?
Do you think about those years in terms of Gospel advancement?
What is God preparing you for in eternity?
Do you expect trials or do you hope to get through life without suffering?
What is King Jesus preparing you for, for His Name's sake? And do you consider the necessary suffering that it will take to get you there, a blessing?
Pray for courage to face each new circumstance of suffering, knowing that the exaltation of Christ is everything! Pray for God to give you the long view in coming hard circumstances you don't even know about now.
Day Four: What does God promise you?
list some of those promises here and back them up with Scripture.
Jesus promises suffering. What are some wrong responses?
According to Dr. Moore's sermon toward the end, what does he say is the one thing that makes suffering meaningless?
Pray that Christ will be everything to you and ask him to help you welcome sufferings knowing that it is for His glory and your own good.
Day Five: Christ suffered for the long view. Read Phil. 2:1-11. What does this say about how Christ held the long view of suffering?
How was Jesus rewarded?
Who else benefited?
Does God command you to make sense of your suffering in the here and now (refer to your sermon notes)?
What does He command you to do?
Pray for an hour today. Follow the format given two weeks ago. Come before God's throne with a longer view of His purposes for you, for your friends, family and the church around the world. Begin to pray "us" and not "me". Ask the Spirit of God to make you worthy of the sufferings of Christ and to open your eyes to His long term plans.
Day Six: (Optional) Pick one day this week and fast all day from something (meals, media, facebook, communication with friends, reading your novel). Use this time to pray and ask God to direct your life wherever He sees fit. Tell Him that you are willing to go anywhere He sends you. Pray for missionaries you know and ask if God might have a future in missions for you.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Being Humble in Speech, Conduct, and "Stress"
“let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” -James 1:19
Day One:Listen to the following sermon by Francis Chan.
http://www.cornerstonesimi.com/special/media_player.html
Go to this site and select the sermon from 10/04/09 entitled “Slow Down and Show Grace”.
Take notes! Near the end of the sermon make sure you follow the instructions to JUST listen as he reads three passages of scripture. You will have time to read and reflect on these passages later in the week, but JUST listen as Francis reads them to you during the sermon. You will be so blessed by the hearing of God’s Word!
Take time to pray about your speech, conduct, and what you refer to as “stress” in your life. Stress is anxiety which is SIN! Repent in the areas where you are feeling the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Then spend time praising the Lord!
Day Two:Read the three passages that Francis Chan read to you in the sermon. Read the each three times! Then spend time meditating on these passages. Choose a short section of maybe 3-5 verses that really challenged you or made your rejoice when you read them. Write those verse down and carry them with you this week. It would be great if you could memorize the the verses that wrote down!
Ephesians 2:1-7
Romans 5:1-11
1 Peter 5:6-11
Spend time REJOICING! Do this through prayer and even singing!
Day Three:Read James 1:19. Is there someone in your life that you have not reflected grace to through your speech and your ability to listen to them? Is there some issue between you and your parents(or friend or teacher, or sibling, etc) that you can’t talk to them about without getting angry, speaking quickly or trying to defend yourself? Maybe you need to ask for forgiveness for that right now! Pray about this issue in your life and ask the Lord to help you respond with love and grace and to be QUICK TO LISTEN. Don’t use your words to defend yourself, only defend Christ.
Spend time in prayer confessing and asking the Lord to help you reflect the words in James 1:19.
Day Four: Read the following passages.
Matthew 6:25-34
1 Peter 5:7
Philippians 4:4-9
Stress is a sign of pride. Stress shows that you are lacking in your prayer life. Stress shows a lack of rejoicing.
Read the following blog post by this FAMOUS youth pastor.
http://www.danmiller730.blogspot.com/2009/10/booze-worry-and-eternity.html
Day Five: Follow the same guideline from last week on praying for an hour. It will be the best hour of your day! Keep praying all day!
Do you remember the missionary that shared at the beginning of the sermon on day one? Spend time praying for the country of Iran and also for the people who are suffering for the sake of Jesus Christ. The woman that he talked about was willing to give up her own child for the sake of the gospel. That was so powerful for me to hear. Is there something in your life that you’re not willing to give up for Christ’s sake? Surely it’s not something so great as your own child. Whatever you are holding back, surrender it to the Lord.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Humility and Prayer
Day One:
Read this blog post by C.J. Mahaney on Self-sufficiency.
"But the very act of pausing in a busy day to pray is an act of weakening pride in my life, acknowledging that I am a dependent creature. I am not self-sufficient." ~C.J. Mahaney
How is growing in the frequency of prayer an act of humility?
How have you shown self-sufficiency today? This week? Over your lifetime?
What does it mean that God's Word is sufficient for us?
Day two:
Read this passage in 1 Peter. Reread it twice. This passage of Scripture starts out as an exhortation to elders of the church. It is very instructive to us for our own spiritual growth. Underline every reference to humility you find here.
Ask yourself questions about this passage. Make observations by writing your own questions to the author:
Who? What? When, Where, How and Why?
Post three of your questions and answers in the comment section of this blog.
Day Three:
Verse five of 1Peter 5 is directly addressing young Christians. Is there a command given? Is there a challenge? Is there a reward? Is there a warning? Memorize this verse. Put into practice the humble act of persistent prayer today, for God to reveal areas of your life that you need to honor more fully from verse more.
Day Four:
Read this passage from Eph. 4. Reread it twice. We serve one God and we are to be united under that God. What part does humility play in our unity? How does maintaining a practice of constant prayer help with unity? Pray for someone in the body of Christ that you find it very difficult to be around. Pray for your own humility in relation to them.
Day Five:
Pray for one hour today. You may follow the guideline below if it helps to keep you focused and directed. The model says to start at 6 a.m. but you can start and end at any time that works for you.
Pray for an hour:
6:00-6:05:
Praise the Lord for His attributes (list them)
praise Him for his good works in your life (list them)
praise Him for answered prayers (list them)
6:05-6:10:
Thank Him for gifts, physical and spiritual (be specific)
Thank Him for people in your life (specific people by name)
Thank Him for your church family (as a whole, by the ministries you are involved in, then by name)
6:10-6:15:
Confess sin, be specific, repent of it, denounce it. Promise to not do it again, ask for help and conviction ahead of time.
6:15-6:20:
Ask the Lord to help you put on new habits of obedience
be specific
6:20-6:25:
Ask for Him to develop your character in specific areas
be specific ie: humility, patience, flexibility w/ others, teachability, diligence, love, kindness, gentleness etc.
6:25-6:35: (ten minutes)
Pray for other believers: specific requests (prayer sheet or make your own list for every day)
Pray for spiritual growth for your friends (by name and area of growth)
pray for repentance for your enemies ask God to give you love for them
(if you have no enemies, pray for those in your life who are hard to love)
6:35-6:40: Pray through a psalm or two (discover God's ways)
6:40-6:45: Pray through a chapter in proverbs or two: ask for wisdom to see where you need to grow.
6:45-6:50:
Pray for the church to have unity around the world. (unity through obedience to His word and love)
pray for RBC to continue to grow in grace and truth and numbers of new believers
Pray for women to love their roles and men to love their roles, children to honor their parents: elderly to stay strong in the spiritual battle. Pray for new ways to give of your time and money.
6:50-6:55:
Pray for the lost in Racine
pray for specific missionaries
6:55-7:00:
Praise the Lord for who He is,
how He will answer your prayers
and ask Him to help you pray without ceasing today.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Humility in God revealing Himself to us
"The smartest people in the world can't figure out who God is, unless He reveals Himself to them." ~ Wayne Grudem
Day One:
Listen to this sermon: Scroll down, looking on the left side until you see: Incommunicable attributes part 1, under Wayne Grudem. This sermon should open up in your itunes. You should take notes so you can refer back to them this week. (Be patient with this message. It is presented in a class format, so there is some stuff you won't need to hear)
Over all eternity we will be searching out who God is, and never know everything we could ever know about Him. He is far beyond what we could ever understand. How does this make you feel?
Take time to praise God for an eternity of getting to know Him.
Ask Him to give you a hunger to know Him more.
Day two:
The scripture is a product of an infinite mind. The more you study the Bible, the more you come to understand things that are infinite.
What does the word infinite mean?
What does the word finite mean?
How does this understanding effect our pride?
What is the difference between knowing facts about God and knowing God Himself?
Have you ever stopped to be amazed that God would even want you to know Him?
Pray and ask the Lord to give you a sense of amazement that an infinite God would want you to know Him personally?
Day three:
The same Holy Spirit who wrote Scripture through human vessels, also guides us to pray and understand the scriptures. Find a verse that talks about the Holy Spirit's role in helping us understand Scripture. Memorize it. Tell another RBC girl from our group this verse from memory by next week.
Day four:
What is the difference between incommunicable and communicable attributes of God?
Incommunicable: Some attributes of God are so different from us, He doesn't share them with us: Omnipresent, Omniscient etc. Name three more:
Communicable: Some attributes of God we can very imperfectly possess ourselves: Love, gentleness etc. Name three more:
In which of these attributes do you want to grow more like God in?
Day five:
God speaks to us in terms we can understand, proving He wants us to know Him.
Scripture points to creation to help us know God.
How is God like these things?
Rock: Deuteronomy 32:4
Lion: Hosea 5:14
Lamb:Revelation 13:8
Eagle:Exodus 19:4
Hen:Luke 13:34
Sun:Matthew 17:2
Light:Psalm 27:1
Torch:Genesis 15:17
Fountain:Psalm 36:9
A shadow:Psalm 36:7
Consuming fire: Hebrews 12:29
Scripture points to human relationships to reveal Himself to us.
How is God like these?
A Groom
A Husband
A Father
Judge
King
Man of War
Builder and Maker
Shepherd
God reveals Himself in human actions.
What do we learn about Him in these actions?
He...
Knows
Sees
Hears
Smells
Walking
Tastes
Look up the verses for the list above and explain How God is like those things.
If you want, find some verses for some of the other things on the lists.
Day One:
Listen to this sermon: Scroll down, looking on the left side until you see: Incommunicable attributes part 1, under Wayne Grudem. This sermon should open up in your itunes. You should take notes so you can refer back to them this week. (Be patient with this message. It is presented in a class format, so there is some stuff you won't need to hear)
Over all eternity we will be searching out who God is, and never know everything we could ever know about Him. He is far beyond what we could ever understand. How does this make you feel?
Take time to praise God for an eternity of getting to know Him.
Ask Him to give you a hunger to know Him more.
Day two:
The scripture is a product of an infinite mind. The more you study the Bible, the more you come to understand things that are infinite.
What does the word infinite mean?
What does the word finite mean?
How does this understanding effect our pride?
What is the difference between knowing facts about God and knowing God Himself?
Have you ever stopped to be amazed that God would even want you to know Him?
Pray and ask the Lord to give you a sense of amazement that an infinite God would want you to know Him personally?
Day three:
The same Holy Spirit who wrote Scripture through human vessels, also guides us to pray and understand the scriptures. Find a verse that talks about the Holy Spirit's role in helping us understand Scripture. Memorize it. Tell another RBC girl from our group this verse from memory by next week.
Day four:
What is the difference between incommunicable and communicable attributes of God?
Incommunicable: Some attributes of God are so different from us, He doesn't share them with us: Omnipresent, Omniscient etc. Name three more:
Communicable: Some attributes of God we can very imperfectly possess ourselves: Love, gentleness etc. Name three more:
In which of these attributes do you want to grow more like God in?
Day five:
God speaks to us in terms we can understand, proving He wants us to know Him.
Scripture points to creation to help us know God.
How is God like these things?
Rock: Deuteronomy 32:4
Lion: Hosea 5:14
Lamb:Revelation 13:8
Eagle:Exodus 19:4
Hen:Luke 13:34
Sun:Matthew 17:2
Light:Psalm 27:1
Torch:Genesis 15:17
Fountain:Psalm 36:9
A shadow:Psalm 36:7
Consuming fire: Hebrews 12:29
Scripture points to human relationships to reveal Himself to us.
How is God like these?
A Groom
A Husband
A Father
Judge
King
Man of War
Builder and Maker
Shepherd
God reveals Himself in human actions.
What do we learn about Him in these actions?
He...
Knows
Sees
Hears
Smells
Walking
Tastes
Look up the verses for the list above and explain How God is like those things.
If you want, find some verses for some of the other things on the lists.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
