Parents

And parents are the pride of their children.

Proverbs 17:6  

Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.

You will be betrayed even by parents

Luke 21:16  

You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death.

Left home or wife or brothers or parents

Luke 18:29  

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God

They disobey their parents; they are

Romans 1:30  

Slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;

For their parents but parents for their children

2 Corinthians 12:14  

Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you. After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.

Obey your parents in everything

Colossians 3:20  

Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

Children obey your parents in the Lord

Ephesians 6:1  

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

Disobedient to their parents ungrateful

2 Timothy 3:2  

People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

He will rise up against parents

Matthew 10:21  

“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.

Praise and Thanksgiving

By Billy Graham

As that young man wrote, “God already knows what I want”—but if all we do is ask God for things we want, our prayers quickly become selfish. Although the thought might shock us, we begin to think of God as little more than a glorified Santa Claus to whom we turn only when we want something. But God is far greater than this. Remember: God isn’t our servant; we are His servants.

True prayer begins with seeing God as He really is—and that is why praise should be a regular part of our prayers. When we praise God, our focus is on Him, not on ourselves. Many of the psalms are actually prayers of praise, and it is no accident that the word “praise” occurs in the book of Psalms over two hundred times. The Lord’s Prayer begins with praise” “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name” (Matthew 6:9). Paul began one of his letters “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).

A second dimension of prayer which helps us focus on God is thanksgiving, which is closely related to praise. The Bible says, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name” (Psalm 100:4).

Why should we give thanks? One reason is because everything we have comes from God: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father” (James 1:17). We can’t take credit for anything—even our successes. God gave us our abilities; He arranged our circumstances; He blessed our efforts. Therefore, the Bible says, “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever” (Psalm 106:1). We also are to “give thanks in all circumstances, for this God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). How long has it been since you paused to thank God for all He has done for you?

Praise Him Praise Him

Praise Him in the morning,

Praise Him in the noontime

Praise Him, praise Him,

Praise Him when the sun goes down.

God Says You Are Capable

By Rick Warren

It is he who saved us and chose us for his holy work not because we deserved it but because that was his plan long before the world began—to show his love and kindness to us through Christ. 2 Timothy 1:9 (TLB)

You have a right now to go directly to God; you have direct access. You don't have to pray through anybody else.  You don't have to confess through anybody else.  You don't have to go through anyone else to have fellowship with God. The Bible teaches that you have a direct line now.

In addition, God says you have been gifted for ministry to serve other people.  Every Christian is a minister. That doesn’t mean every Christian is a pastor, rather minister. Anytime you're using your talents and gifts to help others you're ministering.

Notice the Bible verse above says, “He saved us for His holy work.” You are saved to serve. Why did God save you?  So you could serve Him.

You may be thinking, “How do I know what my ministry is?” You look at your talents, your gifts, and your abilities. You look at how God shaped you. God wants you to use those talents and gifts to help other people. Every time you do that, that's called ministry: nothing fancy, scary or supernatural about it.  It's just helping others.

Can you minister in a sales office?  Yes, you can. Can you minister as an accountant? Yes, you can. Can you minister driving a truck?  Sure! Anytime you're helping other people in His name, you're ministering.

In fact, God says you're necessary in the church. You're a necessary part of this family. Look at it this way, if I don't use my talents -- you get cheated.  If you don't use your talents – I get cheated. Everybody else in the congregation gets cheated.

We're all important; we're all necessary to do our part as we fit together.

ONE

God may speak into one way

Job 33:14  

For God does speak—now one way, now another— though man may not perceive it.

Two are better than one

Ecclesiastes 4:9  

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:

You will be gathered one

Isaiah 27:12  

In that day the LORD will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, O Israelites, will be gathered up one by one.

One thing you lack

Mark 10:21  

Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

One thing is needed

Luke 10:42  

But only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

I and My Father are one

John 10:30  

“I and the Father are one.”

Me, that they may be one

John 17:11  

I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one.

One accord in the temple

Acts 2:46  

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,

For you are all one

Galatians 3:28  

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Tell God You Love Him by Committing to Him

By Rick Warren

"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him" (Romans 12:1 MSG).

One way you can express your love for God is by being committed to Him. This is what love is really all about: commitment. You don't really love somebody unless you're committed to their best.

Nothing significant ever happens in life without commitment. Your commitments determine your future. You are becoming whatever you are committed to, so choose your commitments carefully. If you're committed to the wrong thing, you're going to become the wrong thing.

You can't lose by being committed to God. The Bible tells us in 2 Chronicles 16:9 that God is looking for people whose hearts are fully committed to Him so that He can bless and use them.

What does it mean to be fully committed to God?

• Giving my life to Jesus Christ.

• Committing my life to His family—the body of Christ, which is the church—and joining a church family.

• Choosing to grow spiritually and become more and more like Jesus Christ everyday in my character.

• Using my talents and gifts to help others.

• Sharing the good news with other people and fulfilling the mission and purpose God put me on this earth to do.

These commitments show that worship is not just something that happens in the four walls of a church building. Worship can happen anywhere as you "take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering" (Romans 12:1b MSG).

“Be’s”—be

Exceeding glad

Matthew 5:12  

Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Reconciled to a brother

Matthew 5:24  

Leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

Perfect

Matthew 5:48  

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

2 Corinthians 13:11  

Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

Wise as serpent’s

Matthew 10:16  

I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

Harmless as doves

Matthew 10:16  

I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

Ready for Christ’s coming

Matthew 24:44  

So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Luke 12:40  

You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

Tell God You Love Him by Telling Others You Belong to Him

By Rick Warren

"When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land! That's what baptism into the life of Jesus means" (Romans 6:3).

 Baptism makes three powerful, public statements, expressing how we belong to God:

The first reason you need to be baptized is to say, "I believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus." And you give a picture of that by going under the water and coming up. And when we come up out of the water, we enter into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land! (Based on Romans 6:3).

Second, baptism is a picture of what happens to you: "Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as He did Christ" (Colossians 2:12 MSG). When you're baptized you're saying, "I'm dying to all my old sins. They're forgiven, they're forgotten, and they're out of my life. I'm beginning a brand new life in Christ."

Third, it symbolizes your new life in Jesus Christ: "And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes" (Galatians 3:27).

God’s Promises

"Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him." Romans 6:8

Evangelism:

"God never denied that soul anything that went as far as heaven to ask for it." - John Trapp

Faith’s true meaning

Meditate on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Look at the ways in the Bible that men and women came to faith in Christ. Jesus always dealt with those he met on a personal level, extending a hand of compassion, calling them by name. “Mary,” he said to a forgiven woman. “Lazarus! He called out to a dead man. Jesus still calls us by name and wants us to reach out in faith to him.

Spend time alone with God in prayer. While we are not saved by our praying. Jesus does promise not to turn away anyone who comes to him. Our prayers need not be sophisticated or long-winded. When we are not sure what to say, something as simple as “Jesus, have mercy on me!” will do.

Ask a Christian friend to tell you how he or she became a believer in Jesus. Here is my story, briefly told. When I was eleven years old, I knew that I needed to believe in Jesus and that I had never taken that step. After hearing a message from the Bible on Psalm 116, I went home that night and knelt beside my bed. I said a very simple prayer, something like this: “Oh, Jesus forgives my sins. Come into my life. I want to know you and follow you,” This was not a dramatic experience but a simple surrender of a young boy to the living Christ. From that day until now, my life has been different and though I have failed Christ many times, he has never failed me. My confidence today, and for all time, is in him alone. …Timothy George

* "God isn't looking for people of great faith, but for individuals ready to follow Him" -- Hudson Taylor

* "God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply" -- Hudson Taylor

 There is no greater honor than to be the instrument in God’s hands of leading one person out of the kingdom of Satan into the glorious light of heaven…. D.L. Moody