For this week’s Announcements please visit: (waterschurch.org/events):

New England Locations: May 4th Church work day in North Attleboro

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Reminders:

✳ Please regularly check your Planning Center profiles for requests to join your life groups, remove members from the list that no longer attend, or add members not listed. Please ensure that you have added no-reply@churchcenter.com to your email contacts so that you do not miss an email from Planning Center and encourage your members to do so as well.  This will ensure you do not miss a member request or any emails that come from the Planning Center site. Thank you!

Waters Class Schedule:

• 1st Sunday: Discover Waters – after 1st service
• 2nd Sunday: NO CLASSES
• 3rd Sunday: Connect Class – after 1st service
• 4th Sunday: Baptism Class – after 1st service

Waters Help: Need marriage and family care  or have a group member in need of marriage and family care?   Click here:  help resources page  or visit waterschurch.org/help

Location Text Alerts:

Ice breaker

Q.  What are some of your hobbies you have or what hobby would you like to take up if you had the time and resources?

How Does Change Happen

You may wonder when change will happen.  How do we change from broken to a heart that is healed? How do we move from listening to the voice of self-hatred, how do we move out of experiencing loneliness, hurt, and discouragement?

You may need a change of heart, from fear to faith.  The goal of this message is to give you hope.

We are all in the process of sanctification while we are still on this earth.

How does change happen?

1. ASSAULT

We are all in a war.  Whether we know it or not, whether we like it or not, or whether we fight back or not we are under assault.  There is an enemy against us.  There are circumstances impacting our lives.

Things don’t always come easy because there is an enemy against us.  If we choose not to fight, things will only get worse.

Ephesians 6:10-12

This passage tells us we have an enemy we wrestle against.

We live on a battleship, not a luxury cruise liner.  There will always be a snake in the garden not just in Genesis (refer to Genesis 3). We need to learn to be part of this battle.  Those who do not know they are in a fight will not do as well.

Many remain unhealed because they are unaware they are in a battle.

Leader: you can choose one or both questions:

Q. We are called to actively engage in spiritual warfare. What are some ways we can ‘put on the full armor of God’ and actively participate in this battle?

Q. How does understanding that we live on a “battleship” and not a “luxury cruise liner” affect our daily actions and decisions?

How does the assault come?

2. ACCUSATION

Accusations can come from satan, others, and oftentimes from ourselves.

Satan came to Jesus and found no place in him.  Sadly, when the enemy comes to us he finds a place in us.  Our insecurities can turn us toward addiction.

God created us to find love and joy.  In the world, we find insecure attachment.

There are three kinds of attachments:

Traumatic attachment

When something traumatic happens in our lives we may become insecure.  Pastor Gary told us the story of Nicky Cruz whose mother abused him as a child and then he went on to become a gang member and even president of that gang.  He eventually turned to Christianity through Gary’s father, David Wilkerson’s ministry.

God delivered him from his insecurities.

Romans 8:28

Ambivalent attachment:

This is having mixed feelings about something or someone.  Children with unstable parents can lead to insecurity, fear, and anxiety.  They may wonder if they are the cause or if it is their fault.  They may think if they were good enough then things would be good. 

The child may often wonder if they are safe and think: ‘When I…..then I will be enough.’

Avoidant attachment:

When a child’s parents are emotionally unavailable.

It is possible to feel alone and forgotten even when the child’s parents or caregivers are present. Children don’t blame their parents, they blame themselves.

Q. What are some effective strategies or biblical principles that can help individuals reject these accusations?  Can you share personal experiences or scriptural references that may have helped you in dealing with these challenges?

Accusations are not our greatest problem.  Accusations are not what derail us, demean us, or cause us to fall into despair.  It is not the accusations that do this because we have no control over the accusations. 

3. AGREEMENT

The real power does not lie in what people accuse us of, or what we accuse ourselves of, but the accusations advance by our agreement with them.

Pastor Gary gave us the passport example.  He lost it the day before he was leaving to come home.  He kept calling himself an idiot for losing it.

We need to face the accusation.  We must not agree with the voices in our head telling us that we are this or that.

There is healing, hope, deliverance, and joy if you are in Christ.

James 5:16

Healing comes through community.  Wounds are found in relationship and most of our healing will take place in relationship.

Q. Discuss times when you might have agreed with negative thoughts about yourself. How can we practically challenge and change this pattern of thinking according to Christian principles?

4. AFFIRMATION

This is not self-help.  It is the affirmation in your heart that only Jesus can bring.  The affirmation of Jesus is much stronger than any self-help affirmation.

God knows exactly what you need and He sees every accusation that comes against you.  You are not the person the accuser says you are.

God is bigger than any accusation that comes against you and it does not stand a chance!

John 4:18-19

1 John 4:4

Romans 8:15

Challenge: This week when you are feeling accused or doubtful, find scripture that counters that accusation and memorize it.