"What if..." Prayer

Acts 4:18-34
1. Bold means opening your mouth at some point. We should be talking about Jesus to others. v29
2. There's a difference between being bold and being weird. Don't be weird. :-)
3. Bold is outward focused. Focus on speaking to people who don't know Christ.
4. Bold is God-centered, not self-centered. v32 God-centered prayers bring unity.
5. Bold is bigger than us. v30 Prayer to point to Almighty God.
6. Bold is a prayer that was answered immediately. v31 Pray for God to make us bold.
*Don't settle for only what we can do - be BOLD through God's presence and power.

"What if..." Mission

Living your life on mission everyday.
Lk 14:25-35
-v26 Your relationship with Jesus must come before your relationships with everyone else. Mt 10:37
-v27 Be willing to lay down your life to follow Jesus. Heb 12:1-3. Die to yourself and your desires.
-v33 There is a cost to following Jesus. Count the cost, can you give/do what it takes? You must be willing to give up everything to be a true follower of Jesus.

"What if ...?" Worship

-We are all worshipers - of something. We so often worship the created instead of the creator. We are called to worship God. John 4:23-24
-Worship is a matter of the heart. Mt 15:8, Eccl 5:1-2
1. Be in the Word of God everyday. Have a heart of worship everyday.
2. Pray.
3. Get rest, so you are ready to worship.
4. Be on time to worship.
5. Participate in worship.
6. Worship no matter what your circumstances are. Job 1:21
1 Cor 14:24-25

Do this in remembrance of me: Communion

1 Cor 11:17-34
-The Lord's Supper calls us to unity. v17-19, 1 Cor 10:14-17, 12:12-21
-The Lord's Supper reminds us of what Jesus did - gave his body and blood for us. v23-26
-The Lord's Supper is a proclamation of his death. v26
-The Lord's Supper is a time of anticipation. v26, Jesus is coming back! Rev 19:1-9, the wedding feast of the Lamb.
-The Lord's Supper provides an opportunity for self examination. v27-28

Godly Growth

Luke 2:41-52
-When you lose something important and valuable, you will search long and hard for it. The value of something in your life can be seen by how much you search for it.
-We should not move forward in our lives without Jesus. Jer 29:13-14, Heb 11:6
1. Growing in stature. v45-52
2. Growing in wisdom. Am I wiser than I was a year ago? v47-48, wisdom includes knowing when to listen and ask questions, Prov 1:7, 2 Tim 3:14-17
3. Growing in favor with God and others. One of the ways Jesus grew in favor with God and man was by spending time with and talking about God. The temple was important in the life of Jesus. By following and identifying with the Lord, Jesus found favor with God and man.
4. Growing in understanding.  Jesus grew in understanding of the timing of God. 1 Pet 5:6-7. I need to wait on the Lord and step out in faith. How patient and faithful am I when God's time frame is different than mine.
5. Growing in obedience. v51, Phil 2:7-8, Heb 5:7-8. Surrender and obey.

Peace

Luke 2:14 On earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.
1. Peace with God. It's available to us through Jesus' gift of salvation. Rom 5:1, Jn 3:16-17
2. Peace with yourself. We live in a broken world full of chaos. That can easily cause anxiety and fear within us. We can have peace within when we trust in and look to Jesus and our heavenly Father. Phil 4:6-7, take all of your worries and fears to Him. Heb 13:8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."
3. Peace with others. Rom 12:18, Eph 4:31-32, Col 3:15

Ephesians 3:14-21

Ephesians 3:14-21
A prayer for strength. v16-17, Dwell=to be right at home v14
A prayer for love. v17, We need to be full of God.
1. He is able to do! v20, There's nothing that he can't do. Ps 115:1-8
2. He is able to do more than we ask, think, or imagine. v20, Jas 4:3 We need to ask with the right motives.
3. He is able to do immeasurably more. v20, God wants to do more, we need to ask!
4. All glory to Him! v21, This is all about God's glory.