Living as Devoted Servants

 
June 24, 2012
Dave Marttunen

 Audio / Questions / Leaders

God never asks anything from us until he has given everything he has to us. He serves us, and then invites us into his mission. God never says serve me and I will reward you. It is this—God for us—that sets religion on its head.  Religion is finding a way to God. Christ is God finding his way to us. It is the story of grace. It is a message of mercy. As we grow in grace, as we understand how we have been mercied by God in Christ, we are transformed. We, (our lives, community, actions) become the message. The call in this text is not to serve so that God will love you, but because God loves you, devote your life to Him. When we surrender ourselves to his love, we can risk ourselves to his glory

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Shaped by Legacy

 
June 17, 2012 
Dave Marttunen

 Audio / Questions / Leaders

Paul stated the principle of mentoring clearly in his second letter to his protégé. He tells Timothy how to ‘pay it forward’. “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Tim 2:2). Mentoring starts with what you want… or what someone else wants from you. The key is to invest in realistic potential, not wishful thinking. One of my favourite Texan lines is “that dog ain’t gonna hunt”. No matter what the owner of the dog does, it’s not in him to chase the rabbit. Elisha had it in him, God knew it and Elijah discovered it. God wants us to find others who are ready for the investment. Our job is to find them, select them and pour into them, all that God has given us. Or… it’s our job, knowing what we want, to link with others who can help us get it

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Shaped by Disappointment

June 10, 2012
Dave Marttunen

Audio / Questions / Leaders

The deepest wounds we will experience in life threaten to make us less. The wounds hit our competency, integrity, belonging and identity. These wounds are often unexpected, and therefore we can know about their reality but not avoid them or defend ourselves effectively against them. While being wounded is a certainty, so is the prescription that God gives all of us for them. Elijah was a man just like us. He was wounded, and he recovered. Today we will study the cause and cure of discouragement in Elijah's life in 1 Kings 19.

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Shaped by Contest

June 3, 2012
Dave Marttunen

Audio / Questions / Leaders

The exclusive claim of the gospel is hard for many to hear, and hard for many to follow. The claim of Jesus Christ is an exclusive claim. He alone is the Son of God. The gospel message throughout the Bible is a message of uncompromising loyalty. If Jesus is God, then follow him. In Elijah’s words it sounds like this; “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him;…” 1 Kings 18:21. What happens in the life and through the life of Elijah in I Kings 18, becomes a pattern for every follower of Jesus. In time and place all of us are challenged to move decisively from being a fan (that is believing that God is good) to being a follower, which requires that we take up our cross daily and follow him. The place where this change happens is often in the context of a contest. Who will you follow?

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