Spiritual Battle (May 18, 2008)

Hi Bloggers of Shalom,

I hope you've enjoyed our blog. I have enjoyed reading your thoughts. I've also had some people comment to me that they have been reading but not leave a message; another mentioned she had difficulty actually signing in. So I'm curious to know how many of you out there have been reading but not signing in. Maybe this week you could just say "hi". Also, if you could let me know what helped you grow during these messages that would be very helpful feedback. And, here's the weekly thoughts/challenges.

Becoming a Family of Purpose

1. Do we/I have a balanced spirituality that does not exclude the concept of spiritual battle but also does not exaggerate the idea of spiritual battle?
2. Are there anger issues that need to be dealt with?
3. Pray for spiritual protection.


May God form us into the amazing people He intends us to be. May God grant us a heart for all generations (Malachi 4:6).

Pastor Rick



To listen to Pastor Rick's sermon from Sunday, May 18, 2008 click here.

To read the PDF transcript of the sermon click here.

Family Altar (May 11, 2008)

Hi everyone,

As we wind down our series on the "Elephant" we made the call to worship God in our homes; to seek the reward of worshipping God! I hope that you were encouraged this week to re-prioritize God in your personal and family lives. I look forward to reading your thoughts. God wants to shape our families into something extraordinary but we cannot do that without the delight of personally experiencing God. So here are the “family of purpose” challenges and thoughts for this week.

Pastor Rick

1. Are you individually and as a family asking, “What sacrifice can we/I make to express our worship to God?”
2. Are you bringing offerings to God and teaching your children to bring offerings to God?
3. Do you talk about how you are doing in your relationship with Jesus? Do you pray for each other?
4. Family Project: Pray for each other that God will be your greatest treasure!


To listen to Pastor Rick's sermon from Sunday, May 11, 2008 click here.

To read the PDF transcript of the sermon click here.

Rule Over You (May 4, 2008)

Well, here we are at the beginning of May. I had a sense that God was speaking to us on Sunday in ways that seemed deeper than words. I look forward to reading your thoughts. Here's the "Becoming a Family of Purpose" ideas I mentioned in the message.

Pastor Rick

Becoming a Family of Purpose

1. How do people respond when someone tries to control them?
2. How do people respond when someone loves them and speaks honestly with them?
3. What needs to change in our family?
4. Reflect on this passage this week ­ Ephesians 4-5.


To listen to Pastor Rick's sermon from Sunday, May 4, 2008 click here.

To read the PDF transcript of the sermon click here.

I Hear Footsteps (April 27, 2008)

Hi everyone,

When I think of this message I think of the old song, "Amazing Grace"! Wow, God is so good to us!

Here are my questions to prime the pump of dialogue for this week. Hope you have a great week of living in the freedom of Christ and His grace!

Pastor Rick

Becoming a Family of Purpose

1. How do I need to grow in my understanding of God's grace? How can I help my family in better understanding God's grace? How does this come out in how we disciple and discipline one another?

2. How do we help children and youth understand God's holiness and God's mercy? How does this affect how we discipline our children? How do we avoid teaching our young people that Jesus and His grace is to be taken advantage of and at the same time teach them how to be confident in the grace of God? (See 1 John 2:1-2; Romans 6:1-14.)

3. Verse to memorize: Psalm 23:6



To listen to Pastor Rick's sermon from Sunday, April 27, 2008 click here.

To read the PDF transcript of the sermon click here.

Truth & Honesty (April 20, 2008)

Hi everyone, As we think about "Becoming a Family of Purpose" I want to put these challenges before you. I'm curious to hear your thoughts.

Pastor Rick

Here are this week's challenges.

1. Create a family activity that can build a bridge to your neighbors. Perhaps you could bake some cookies, rake their lawn, invite them over for a game night. The idea here is that we are building relationships in a way that intentionally pursues people with God's love ­ just like God pursued Adam and Eve.

2. Memorize 1 John 1:8-9; Ephesians 4:32.

3. In a lifestyle where we have little time to connect with each other it's often difficult to work through issues in our families. This means that it's even more difficult to build a context of truthfulness in our families and our youth often do not see our faith and zeal for God. What can we do about this problem?

4. Is there ever a time of 'tmi' ­ 'too much information'? Should we share everything with our kids or are there things that need to be kept to those who are parents?


To listen to Pastor Rick's sermon from Sunday, April 20, 2008 click here.

To read the PDF transcript of the sermon click here.

The Shriveling Center (April 13, 2008)

Hi everyone! I enjoyed reading your thoughts last week. Here’s the ideas for the “Family of Purpose” from Sunday. In my message “The Shriveling Center” we reflected on how Eve was tempted by Satan to be “like God”--in effect to take God’s place or at least to be a peer of God. We talked of how we self-destruct when we try to be God and we find life when Jesus is at the center of our lives! This is what real faith is and if we are to see it transfer to the next generation we need to have this real faith; this experience of having Jesus at the center! Here are some of the questions that I put out there in the “Family of Purpose” section. I’m curious to hear your thoughts!

1.What makes one family able to get along and close to each other while another family seems so distant from each other?

2. What family do we know that seems to be transferring the faith from generation to generation? What is it about them that could help our family?

3. Memorize verses like: Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Proverbs 4:23; 1 Corinthians 10:31.

4. How can we help our kids understand that Jesus really is the center of our lives?

Do all to the glory of God!

Pastor Rick


To listen to Pastor Rick's sermon from Sunday, April 13, 2008 click here.

To read the PDF transcript of the sermon click here.

"Putting the Squeeze on God" (April 6, 2008)

Hi everyone!

I'm glad you made it to the blog! It's intended to be an open discussion of Sunday's message so that we can shape each other with God's Word. On Sunday I said that the "elephant" in our homes is that we're not listening to God's advice; to God's Word. This happens for several reasons. First, parents are not fulfilling their role of teaching their children. Second, we live in a culture where youth are supposed to challenge authority (this happens for a number of reasons).

So if you would like to be a part of this discussion here are the points that I mentioned at the end of the message.

Becoming a Family of Purpose.

• 1. How can we be a family of the Word?
• 2. Give an example of how the Bible helps us when we face the choice between God's advice and the world's advice.
• 3. Is my child learning to obey his/her parents in preparation for later obedience to God?
• 4. How is Satan currently challenging us/me to doubt God's wisdom?
• 5. How can we/I encourage others to open up to God's wisdom?
  

I'll check in this week and interact with you.

Pastor Rick

To listen to Pastor Rick's sermon from Sunday, April 6, 2008 click here.

To read the PDF transcript of the sermon click here.