This week, it was not quite as easy to get up when my 5:30am alarm went off. But my desire to spend time with Jesus won over my body’s desire for an extra half hour of sleep. And every day I was so thankful that I did.
THIS WEEK’S FOCUS WAS: God’s work in us
With that in mind, here is the second week’s mini-message notes.
{scripture is from The NIV Bible unless otherwise noted}
Day 8 – Chris Hodges
This was a Sunday message, and the second instalment of the series “Breaking Free” where Pastor Chris spoke about addictions. You can watch the whole message anytime by clicking here. Like last week, I’ll let you download the message notes for yourself.
Day 9 – Chris Hodges
Word of the day: freedom
Isaiah 58:5-6 – “Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?”
We can go through a fast and not get all we can out of it.
“Forgiveness is the Christian weapon against worldly injustice.” -Martin Luther King, JR
Matthew 5:43-44 – ““You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. ’But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”
Is there any area in my life where I am holding onto unforgiveness?
Ask God every morning to help me forgive those I haven’t forgiven and to forgive in advance those who might offend me.
Day 10 - Hamp Greene
Word of the day: relationships
2 Corinthians 5:19-20 – “ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
You have been commissioned by God to show his love to others.
- See with faith – seeing things the way God sees them
God uses relationships to build his kingdom.
- Speak with love – you carry the message of Jesus
- Lead with love – God + me + others
Ask God to fill you with his love so it can flow into others.
Day 11
Due to an “ice storm,” prayer was cancelled to keep people off the roads. They replayed Saturday’s prayer service, so if you missed those notes, you can check them out by clicking here.
Day 12 – Chris Hodges
Word of the day: growth
Luke 2:52 – “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”
Ephesians 4:11-16 – “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
There is a part of Jesus that has not been obtained by you and it is very obtainable.
God’s greatest gift to us is potential and our greatest gift back is developing it.
You have to have a vision for it.
Day 13 – Dino Rizzo
Word of the day: victory
Definition: having overcome an enemy
1 Corinthians 15:57 – “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The battle Jesus went through is our victory.
What it teaches us:
- Victory is a gift
- You can’t earn it
- Victory is a good thing
- Don’t celebrate your defeat
- Victory is yours
Day 14 – Chris Hodges
Word of the day: blessing
Genesis 12:2-3 – ““I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.””
You don’t need what you need, you need more then you need so you can be a blessing to others.
Galatians 3:13-14 – “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”
You gotta see that God is not a withholding God, he wants to bless you!
Psalm 103:1-5 – “Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
What does God want to give you?
- Salvation
- Healing (emotional and physical)
- Redemption (living in your calling)
- Transformation
- Provision