13 Jan NEW YEAR HAPPY | Part 1 “Happiness Happens WHEN”
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Guatemala trip has been moved one week later to February 23 – March 2nd. If you plan on going on this trip we need your application asap.
We offer two types of classes. Please familiarize yourself with what these classes are about. Feel free to sign up for one so you can better explain what they are to your group members.
Starting Point: What is Christianity all about? Is the Bible really more than just a book? Who is Jesus? No matter where we are in life, we all have questions. Starting Point is a great place to explore the faith and have safe and open discussions about some of life’s toughest questions.
Growth Track: In this 3 part class; Discover, Deepen, & Dedicate; you will get answers to the most frequently asked questions about Waters Church and have an opportunity to ask your own. This is the perfect place to get to know the “Why” behind the “What” of who we are as a church.
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Key Verse: Psalm 122
Fasting and Prayer – 2019! Theme: “Who’s Next?”
Dates: January 27th (after lunch) – January 30 (after Breakfast)
How to make our New Year Happy.
We want to be happy. In spite of our well wishing, we are not as happy as we used to be. Our trajectory for happiness as a country is going downward, not upward.
Fast company reports: The US is just the 18th happiest country in the world because of poor health, poor economic mobility and lack of social cohesion.
Q. What are some things that you may have turned to because you were seeking to be happy and why did those thing only make you less happy?
Hoarding and getting will hurt us.
The older we get the harder it is to be happy.
Happiness does not just happen. The human condition works literally to suck the happiness out of us. We are sinful, broken and on top of that we are getting older.
Q. For those of you who are older, would you say you were generally happier when you were younger and why or why not? For those that are still quite young, do you consider yourself happy and why?
Jesus is in the happiness business. Some of us may have been told that God is only pleased with us when we are miserable. The Devil did a great job o f conning us to believe that he is ‘fun’ and Jesus does not like to have fun.
Q. Would you say that you ever felt that way and why?
We have to do things to be happy. Blessed (Makarios) means transcendent happiness. There is a happiness that goes beyond the conditions and circumstances of our life. Be happy regardless of what is happening around us. Know Him and who He is.
Be blessed. Jesus has come to make us happy. The Old Testament is the story of the First Adam and through him we were cursed. In the New Testament, we are blessed with the blessings Jesus has for us.
We have to do something, again, happiness does not just happen. In the illustration that Pastor Tim gave us we may start of crappy and to become happy we need to do something. He alluded to losing weight, getting married or being financially set that in order to get to where we want to go, we have to take steps to get there. This is true for spiritual disciplines. We are not talking about resolutions, it is beyond that. When we make an activity a habit against what we do not want to do, we create a habit automatically. Example: We may not feel like reading the bible every day, but when we do this daily, even though we do not want to, it eventually becomes a habit automatically.
THE RIGHT HABITS MAKE HAPPINESS HAPPEN.
WEEK 1: HAPPINESS HAPPENS WHEN I DRAW CLOSE TO GOD WITH HIS PEOPLE IN WEEKLY WORSHIP.
With more technology, more money, more opportunities and more freedom, we have become less devoted to the Christian faith, which makes us less happy. America has walked away from the One who is the source of joy. We need to be in church, we have got to make ourselves be in church with God’s people. We should not let the Devil tell us to take the weekend off. Especially when we are having a tough week, this is where we need to be!
Q. Have you ever taken the weekend off from church due to having a rough week and why? Do you tend to draw closer to God’s people when you are going through troubles and if not, why?
1. WHEN I MAKE WEEKLY WORSHIP A HABIT, I GET PROTECTION.
We must join ourselves to people.
The is Church is New Jerusalem. The angels are happy to be here. As David conquered the City of Jerusalem, Jesus conquered our hearts.
He gives us security in the church. He seals us and there is no leaving!
Q. What do you find most comforting about these passages?
2.WHEN I MAKE WEEKLY WORSHIP A HABIT, I GET FORTITUDE.
We are joined firmly together. It is in relationships that we are strong. Your small group has your back.
Q. What are some examples of how you have witnessed strength in relationships with God’s people?
3.WHEN I MAKE WEEKLY WORSHIP A HABIT, I GET COMMUNITY.
We have brothers, sisters, and companions.
Q. If you have been in group for a while, how has community got you through?
4.WHEN I MAKE WEEKLY WORSHIP A HABIT, I GET PURPOSE BEYOND MYSELF.
What ultimately makes us happy is when we are doing things for others. It is better to give than to receive.
Q. What is an example you can share of how you were more blessed to do something or give something than to receive it?
PRAYER FOR EACH OTHER, THE LOST, NIGHT TO SHINE – WEATHER AND HEALTH OF VOLUNTEERS ETC., WOONSOCKET AS WE COME CLOSE TO SIGNING ON A LEASE TO A PERMANENT LOCATION AND OTHER UPCOMING CAMPUSES THE ROOF AS IT HAS SEVERAL LEAKS AND WILL COST MUCH $$ TO REPLACE , THE CHURCH, THE NATION AND LEADERS AND GUATEMALA MISSION.
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