//mytwocents

//fruit

This last weekend we kicked off a brand new series at Westbridge Church called "You Don't Have What It Takes!"  We will be in this series for the next 8 weeks together as we take a look at what it looks like when an individual - or a church - decides NOT to do what comes naturally, but decides to allow God's Spirit to guide and inform their behavior and their worldview!  I am really excited about this series, and here are the cliff notes from this past weekend:

• Christianity is not just about ETERNAL LIFE, but a BETTER LIFE TODAY!  When God sent his son into the world, he began to restore our relationship with himself.  Though we have not yet fully realized God's Kingdom, we do get to experience it through Jesus' death and resurrection.

• Our SINFUL nature is in direct conflict with our SPIRIT nature!  I think that we can all understand this conflict.  This conflict is the reason that we sometimes feel guilt - because God's Spirit tells us to do one thing, but we do what comes naturally instead. 

• We have created LAWS to keep our nature in check.  The reason that we have created laws in our country is to keep us from behaving in a way that is DRIVEN by our sinful nature. 

• If we are guided by God's Spirit, the result is freedom!  We don't need laws to limit love, joy, peace, patience, or kindness!  Great marriages, families, and companies have very little rules because their behavior and worldview is informed and guided by God's Spirit!

• We are RESPONSIBLE to create the environment for spiritual growth!  You cannot cause a plant to grow, but you can cause it to die by withholding certain elements.  The same is true of spiritual growth.  You cannot simply produce growth on your own, but we are each responsible to put the necessary elements in place to allow God to do what he wants to do in our lives.  Ridding yourself of influences in your life that encourage you to follow your nature, and putting yourself in situations where you are open to the teachings of Scripture and relationships with people who are moving in the same direction as you!

Over the next 8 weeks together, we will take a look at some of the "fruit" or results that take place when we allow God's Spirit to help us grow, and what that will look like in our community!  I hope that you will join us... in the meantime, enjoy this video that we showed on Father's Day!

//boldness

We wrapped up our "PRAYER" series this last weekend by taking a look at the very first prayer recorded in the Bible by the early church!  To summarize... after Jesus rose from the dead, a huge amount of people in the city of Jerusalem began to believe.  Because the Jewish leaders saw this as a threat to their religion, they arrested Peter and John, and threatened them to stop speaking about Jesus or there would be heavy consequences.  Since the early church had already experienced persecution, they took these threats seriously. 

But here's where things get really interesting for you and I living in 21st century America - the prayer that they prayed was not a prayer of protection or safety as you would have expected.  The prayer that they prayed went like this:

"And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word."  (Acts 4:29)

When was the last time in your life that you prayed for BOLDNESS?  I pray for safety all the time.  I pray for comfort and security all the time.  I prayed for the Dallas Mavericks for the last 10 days!!!  (couldn't resist!)  But I don't remember the last time I prayed, "God, make me BOLD!" 

What would it look like in your life if you began to pray a prayer for boldness?  What if your kids heard you pray for boldness?  What would it communicate to them about God?  What would it look like if our church prayed for boldness?  How could that change our community? 

Leave me a comment, and let me know where you are praying for boldness!

PS - Since our worship leader, Jesse, is from Australia, we had a lot of fun yesterday at our staff meeting trying to discern the difference between when he said the word "BALD" and the word "BOLD"! 

PPS - If you have joined a Growth Group... they start this week!

//prayer

For the last couple of weeks we have been doing a series on PRAYER at Westbridge Church, and I have personally learned a lot through this series... here are a few take home ideas that have emerged from this series.

• God expects us to pray.  Jesus didn't say IF you pray, but WHEN you pray.

• Determine a TIME and a PLACE to pray.  This might sound legalistic, but it is really just about establishing some intentionality to your prayer life that goes beyond the "bless me, help me, protect me" type prayers that we tend to pray through the motion of the day.

• Tell God how great he is!  Jesus started his prayer by saying, "Our Father in heaven, honored is your name!"  Telling God about HIS greatness reminds us of our proper perspective!

• Tell God HIS Kingdom is greater than yours, and you'll submit your kingdom to His!  Jesus prayed, "Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  In other words, "God, I have a kingdom here on earth, and I have my own thing going on, but Your kingdom is greater and I will submit mine to yours.  Let YOUR will be done in my world."

• Tell God what you need.  We tend to spend MOST of our time in prayer on this topic, but Jesus said, "Your heavenly father already knows what you need."  So just let him know that He's the owner of it all, and you are dependent on him for everything and you trust him to provide!

• Finally... when God doesn't seem to answer your prayers, Jesus said to keep asking and keep seeking and keep knocking because God is not bothered by our persistence, and when we pray for something PERSISTENTLY, 1 of 2 things happens.  Sometimes God is moved by our persistence, and gives us exactly what we were asking for, and other times it is through the process of praying for something over and over and over again that we realize that what we are praying for is not really what God wants for us.  Persistent prayer sometimes moves God's heart, and other times it changes ours!

Tomorrow, we will be talking about the very first recorded prayer that the church prayed, and I am seriously STOKED for this talk as we wrap up this series tomorrow.  I hope that you have found this series on prayer helpful and encouraging.  I hope that you have learned a few things about connecting with your heavenly Father.  I hope that it is helping you on you spiritual journey.  And I sincerely hope that you will join us tomorrow as we discover one more facet to prayer that I believe will be a HUGE GAME CHANGER for many of you in walk with God!  Hope to see ya then!