Everyone has a next step to take:

• Say Yes to The Holy Spirit
  • A life directed by the Holy Spirit benefits you and the Mission to save the lost.

The Elephant in the Room:

I believe in the Holy Spirit, but I’m not sure how I feel about his role in Christian’s lives today and the function of Spiritual Gifts.

JESUS EMBOIES LIFE IN THE SPIRIT Isaiah 11:1-5 NLT

GOD’S SPIRIT GIVES US FULLNESS OF LIFE AND POWER Ephesians 3:16-20 NLT

The Elephant in the Room:

Are the Gifts of the Spirit for us today or did they cease once the Church was fully established? 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 ESV

The Fruit of the Spirit:

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, and Self-Control.

The Gifts of the Spirit:

Wisdom, Knowledge, Special Faith, Healing, Miracles, Prophecy, Discernment, Tongues, Interpretation, Serving, Teaching, Encouraging, Giving, Leadership & Mercy

THE SPIRIT GIVES US REBIRTH AND RENEWAL THROUGH JESUS Titus 3:4-7 NLT

Everyone has a next step to take:

• Gather with the family
• Get in a GROUP
• Grow your faith
• Give to the Mission
• Go to those in NEED
• Say YES to Jesus
  • Surrendering your Life to Jesus is a commitment to deny yourself daily.

The “I Am” Statements:

• Bread of Life – John 6
• Light of the World – John 8
• Gate & Good Shepherd – John 10
• Resurrection & Life – John 11
• Way, Truth & Life – John 14
• True Vine – John 15

ACKNOWLEDGING GOD IS AN ACTION NOT A THOUGHT John 8:23-30 NLT

“Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.” -C.S. Lewis

JESUS’ MINISTRY SAVES FOLLOWERS NOT FANS Matthew 16:24-26 NLT

ETERNAL JOY AND SORROW ARE ONLY 18 INCHES APART Matthew 7:21-23 NLT

Everyone has a next step to take:

• Gather with the family
• get in a GROUP
• Grow your faith
• Give to the Mission
• Go to those in Need

WE ARE CALLED TO THE ELEVATION OF OTHERS OVER SELF Matthew 20:24-28 NLT

THE CHURCH IS A MOVEMENT NOT A LOCATION Luke 9:1-6 NLT

Missional Creeds:

• Unashamed Gospel - Rom 1:16
• Never Hearing – Rom 10:13-15
• All Things to All – 1 Cor 9:19-23
• Compelled by Love – 2 Cor 5:14
• Christ’s Ambassadors – 2 Cor 5:18-20
• Missional Readiness – Eph 6:15

THE HOLY SPIRIT EMPOWERS US TO BE A CHURCH ON MISSION Matt 28:18-20; NLT

THE SPIRIT OF THE SOVEREIGN LORD IS UPON YOU Isaiah 61:1-3 NLT

GO TO THOSE IN NEED Expressing the Love of Jesus locally and around the world stretches your Faith.

Everyone has a next step to take:

• Gather with the FAMILY
• Get in a GROUP
• Grow your FAITH
• Give to the MISSION

The New Testament and the early Church creeds do not contain a specific command to tithe. Does it apply to God’s people today?

GENEROSITY IS A HEART ISSUE Matthew 25:41-46 NLT

LIFE IS NOT ABOUT GAINING WEALTH. IT’S ABOUT GIVING GENEROUSLY. Ecclesiastes 2:18-20 NLT

NT Generosity Principles:

• Everything in Common – Acts 2:45
• End of Poverty – Acts 4:32-35
• Tested by Fire – 1 Cor 3:12-15
• Realistic Generosity – 2 Cor 8:12-15
• Cheerful Generosity – 2 Cor 9:7-15
• Purposeful Wealth – 1 Tim 6:17-19
• Pleasing Generosity – Heb 13:16

You cannot take your wealth and possessions into eternity with you; only your generosity.

SACRIFICIAL GENEROSITY PROVES WE HAVE THE HEART OF JESUS Hebrews 13:14-16 NLT

GIVE TO THE MISSION. Challenging yourself to be generous aligns your heart with God’s Mission

Everyone has a next step to take:

• GATHER with the family
• Get in a GROUP
• Grow your FAITH

Learning happens when experience changes what you know, how you think, or how you act—and that change sticks.

INFORMATION WITHOUT ACTION IS NOT EDUCATION James 1:21-25 NLT

WHEN CHURCH ENTERTAINS US, THE GOSPEL IS POWERLESS Ezekiel 33:30-31 NLT

“I have read through the Bible and found many errors, all of which were in me.” - UNKNOWN

TRUE CHRISTIANITY MEANS WE ACT & SOUND LIKE JESUS James 1:26-27, 3:6-9 NLT

Everyone has a next step to take: Get in a Group

COMMUNITY IS FOUND IN A CROWD. RELATIONSHIP IS BUILT IN A GROUP. Luke 6:12-17 NLT

TIME IS THE CURRENCY OF RELATIONSHIP. Acts 2:42-37 NLT

LOVE FOR GOD & EACH OTHER BINDS US TOGETHER. Colossians 3:12-15 NLT

CONNECTION IS NOT COMMUNITY. Genesis 2:18 NLT

COMMUNITY IS IN OUR DNA. Genesis 1:1-2, 26-27; Matthew 26:38 NLT

“Communities are constituted by physical proximity, shared concerns, real consequences, and common responsibilities.”-Sherry Turkle, Social Scientist

Your shadow is the accumulation of untamed emotions, less-than-pure motives and thoughts that, while largely unconscious, strongly influence and shape your behaviors. It is the damaged but mostly hidden version of who you are. -Peter Scazzaro, Emotionally Healthy Leader

COMMUNITY MEETS OUR DEEPEST NEED FOR BELONGING.

YOU ARE DESIGNED TO THRIVE IN COMMUNITY.

NEXT STEP: GATHER WITH THE FAMILY.

Why are we here?

The church exists to help CHRISTIANS become more like Jesus. Ephesians 4:11-16

How can I be MORE like Jesus?John 8:5-8 NLT

The Parable Explained:

• Seed: God’s Word (the Gospel)
• Footpath: message hidden by the enemy
• Rocks: faith without roots that withers
• Thorns: concern for riches & pleasures
• Fertile Soil: honest or good people who make room for the message to grow

The Gospel is ineffective when the enemy hides God’s plan from our hearts, when we fail to root ourselves in Godliness, or when we allow the pursuit of worldly pleasure and riches to overtake our desire for the things of God.

Noursih the seed that God planted in your HEART.