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- How NOT to find a wife (George Whitefield),
- ‘Fleeces’ the good, the bad & the ugly,
- and three things we can mean by ‘God’s will’.
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- Some fundamental principles of guidance,
- with examples from the Bible and recent times
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- The goal of this message is to look at how Jesus and the apostles made decisions together with New Testament teachings,
- and come up with a clear framework for how to find guidance in our lives.
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- When and how does God gives us supernatural direction, and how do we avoid some major pitfalls?
- Lots of stories from Scripture and from people today.
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- We conclude our series by looking at the role of unusual events or coincidences in guidance.
- These are sometimes called signs and can be useful but are highly dangerous if misused.
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- Few truths will bring more peace and joy in this life than the connection between Jesus and the Sabbath.
- This is essential teaching for all Christians, and is the gospel for unbelievers.
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- The story of the man of God, Hudson Taylor is that although he was living an extraordinary life of service, he had a deep feeling of his own sin and failure.
- When the Spirit opened his eyes to the Scriptures about being united with Jesus, in an instant he received a joy which lasted the rest of his life.
- What was this truth?
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- As humans we live our of our identity—our concept of who we are shapes our behaviour, decisions, attitudes and goals.
- Here is a selection from the New Testament that have the power to change us deeply if we make them ours.
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- There are Scriptures that speak of transcendent experiences of Jesus in the life of a believer.
- What are these? and is there anything we can do in order to have them ourselves?
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- Most of us have an inner voice that is constantly telling us that we should be doing better.
- This has been called “the inner bully”.
- There is an answer in Matthew 11
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- Jesus became a man, in part, so that we could have a deep relationship with him
- The challenge today is, how can we deepen that relationship?
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- The most amazing promises of God being with people run through the Bible.
- If we can truly get hold of these promises and allow them to sink deeply into us, they will be a huge strength for us as we go into the New Year
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- It’s wonderful to live under Grace and not Law, but sometimes it can leave us with a level of confusion.
- Is God pleased with me right now?
- Does it matter what I do?
- What God actually wants from us is not what most of us think!
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- The practice of “raising up stones” is a powerful one that we should be doing to grow in our faith.
- Here are some stories to get you started.
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- What God loves to do is to undo the work of Satan, turning the most broken and damaged people into the strongest and beautiful members of his Kingdom.
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- A method for daily Bible readings that you can try out for yourself, which will help you to more clearly hear God speak to you through the Bible.
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- Let Mark’s presentation of Jesus engage you, captivate you, and change your life!
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- Does God deliberately harden people’s hearts to stop them repenting?
- Why did Jesus frequently accuse the disciples of unbelief?
- These are some of the questions that come up as we read through Mark, and lead to some powerful opportunities of hearing Jesus speak to us.
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- The center of Mark holds the core of Jesus’ teachings, but it is not what anyone was expecting.
- Even today there are many who think they are followers of Jesus but don’t understand this idea.
- First and foremost the challenge is to us, to follow Jesus in this surprising way.
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- Most of Mark’s Gospel is very easy to understand, but here are a couple of passages that give people problems:
- Jesus’ instructions about praying in faith seem confusing,
- and his predictions about the end of the age are hard to make sense of.
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- Let us read the last three chapters,
- and feel what it was like for Jesus, the one who paid our ransom,
- and be filled with love and adoration for him.
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- All the Bible is God’s Word, and is beneficial, but different parts have different purposes.
- Some parts are more suitable for study than devotional reading and we can get discouraged if we make this mistake.
- Here is a way of deciding where to read.
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- The resurrection of Jesus was not simply coming back to life, but the start of a new kind of humanity.
- It gives us access to a new kind of life within us—empowered for victory.
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- Through stories of how God relates to humans we learn of a different kind of love that is at the core of who God is.
- Chesed is utterly faithful, loyal to the very end, a love that will never let you go.
- When you understand it, there is no word that is more beautiful.
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- The truth behind baptism is deeply empowering and encouraging, and can explain some of the tensions we experience as we try to live the Christian life.
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- What does it mean to bless someone?
- Does it actually do anything?
- How can a human bless God?
- We need a firm Biblical foundation for answering these questions.
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- We already knew that God is a
- God of power yet compassion,
- purity yet forgiveness,
- high above all but utterly faithful as a friend.
- But Jesus revealed something new, something shocking, something almost unbelievable, at the very core of the supreme being.
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- This psalm is beautifully constructed, and designed to stir our hearts to praise God by painting a picture of how he cares for us so deeply. What encouragement!
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