19 Nov Really Big God | Part 1 “The Fear that Fuels Your Future” – All Locations
Announcements:
ALL LOCATIONS:
IN 3 WEEKENDS WE WILL BE TAKING OUR REALLY BIG THINGS OFFERING. THIS IS THE THIRTY WEEK MARK!
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NEW ENGLAND LOCATIONS:
WOONSOCKET
**NEW This Christmas, we’re enlarging our dinner table and hosting a Christmas Dinner for our community.
We will have a home-cooked menu and a fun night of activities for all ages. Help us make this a great time for our guests by registering to serve!
Click below to register!
Join us for the 2nd Annual Pie Party!
This will be pie-tastic!
Bring grandma’s best pie, bake your best pie, or buy a pie to share!
Join us on Sunday, November 12th, from 6 to 8 PM for a delicious and fun PIE PARTY! Invite a friend, enjoy all the different pies to share, and spend time with great people.
This is an event for the whole family.
Register today!
Woonsocket Pie Party Registration
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Reminder: Please check your planning center profiles for requests to join and also remove members from the list that no longer attend as well as add members not listed. Thank you.
LEADERS: WE HAVE CHANGED UP THE DISCOVER CLASS WHICH USED TO BE GROWTH TRACK AND ARE ASKING ALL LEADERS TO RE-TAKE THIS A SOME POINT. BELOW IS THE 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
IMPORTANT***** Please add
Go to your email, add no-reply@churchcenter.com to your contacts (PLEASE ASK ME IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND) THANKS!
no-reply@churchcenter.com to your email contacts so that you do not miss an email from Planning Center and have your members add it as well. This will ensure you do not miss a member request or any emails that come from the Planning Center site.
All announcements and the Waters Event Calendar can be found at: waterschurch.org/events)
Location Text Alerts:
| North Attleboro | Text “subscribe” to 508 695-1300 | |
| Norwood | Text “subscribe” to 781 762-3357 | |
| Apollo Beach | Text “subscribe” to 813 642-6979 | |
| Woonsocket | Text “subscribe” to 833 241-4837 | |
| Southcoast | Text “subscribe” to 508 809-3490 | |
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Key Verse: Luke 12
Ice Breaker: If you had to change your name, what would you change it to and why?
Proverbs 10:27
Fear that fuels our future is the fear of the Lord.
“Your life is defined by what you fear.” – Seth Godin
“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” Franklin D Rosevelt 1993
Be careful what you fear because what you fear will lead your life forward. Fear will paralyze you.
Worldly FEAR is the opposing force of your FUTURE.
Fear will stop you from doing certain things like having children or getting baptized, etc.
To produce fruit in our future we need to have the right fear.
Q. How does fear influence our life decisions, like having children or pursuing significant life changes? How has fear of the Lord, as opposed to worldly fear, positively or negatively impacted these decisions?
Luke 12:1 (ESV)
Countless people were following Jesus. The crowd was so thick they were trampling over each other.
The Pharisees were another crowd in Jesus’ day. They were strict religious zealots. The Pharisees were a dominant controlling culture.
In every stage of my life, there will be a DOMINANT CULTURE trying to CONTROL me.
In Luke 12, leaven is a picture of sin. On the outside, The Pharisees are not really what they look like on the inside.
The dominant culture we are facing right now is not what it appears. It looks good but it is not really, it looks attractive but it is empty. We can be lured by what might be fake. This is why we need to get our hearts right with God.
Four questions to fuel our future:
- Do I HEAR His VOICE?
In my stage of life, do I hear God? You need to ask yourself who you are listening to. Are you listening to family, friends, and the news, or are you listening to the Lord?
We need to listen to the word of God because the world will freak us out. God is our Shepherd who will lead us with His voice into His pastures.
Luke 12:4 ESV
God wants to speak to us now and where we are everywhere and in every moment of our day.
John 15:13–15 (ESV)
Jesus wants to tell us who the Father is and show us how the Father acts. He wants to reveal who our Father is.
We need to fill ourselves up with the word.
Psalm 82:5–7 (ESV)
One movement cannot be stopped, The Church of Jesus Christ! When He gets a hold of our hearts we listen to His voice!
(Leader: select one or both of the following questions):
Q. In your current stage of life, how do you discern whether you are listening to God’s voice, as opposed to the voices of family, friends, or media?
Q. Can you share experiences where you’ve felt particularly attuned to, or challenged in, hearing God’s guidance?
Four questions to fuel our future:
2. Do I FEAR God’s JUDGMENT?
Luke 12:4–5 (ESV)
We need to Fear God the Father. We need to fear Hell. We are missing this in the Church world. We need a healthy fear of Hell to keep us from the things that will lead to Hell.
Everyone wants Jesus to be their buddy but not their judge. But he is our Judge. He has the power over our lives. He is in charge of our eternal future.
We need to give God our fear. People can kill you but only God is in charge of what comes after death.
Proverbs 29:25 (ESV) and (MSG) and (NCV)
We are either going to fear man or fear God. If you are in Christ, then the Devil is defeated! You don’t need to fear the Devil because Jesus has set us above every enemy!
Jeremiah 17:5-7 (ESV)
Q. Discuss the contrast between fearing God and fearing man. How does this distinction impact your choices, especially when they are influenced by societal or peer pressures?
Four questions to fuel our future:
3. Do I REALIZE God’s CONCERN for me?
Luke 12:6 (ESV)
Pennies were the smallest coin. They were, in those days, one-sixteenth of days pay. Sparrows were cheap food for poor people.
Luke 12:7 (ESV)
We are far more valuable than cheap food for poor people. God pays attention to them, how much more does He pay attention to us?! He even knows the number of hairs we have on our heads. God is caring for us!
God knows EVERY DETAIL of my LIFE.
He knows us better than we know ourselves, which is why He sometimes says no to us.
We are to fear Him. He should be the One we honor and respect. He knows exactly who we really are and will lead us where we need to go.
Psalm 46:1–3
Q. Discuss the idea that God knows every detail of our lives, even down to the number of hairs on our heads. How does this intimate knowledge by God influence your trust in His guidance, especially when His answers to your prayers are not what you expected?
Four questions to fuel our future:
4. Do I HAVE the HOLY SPIRIT?
The Power of the Holy Spirit did not stop when the Apostles died!
Luke 12:8–10 (ESV)
If we fear people we will be tempted to hide our faith. We need to live with confidence. We have nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to be shy about.
Luke 12:10 (ESV); John 15:26 (ESV)
Acts 2:41 ESV
You blaspheme when you reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
When you receive the Gospel, you have the Holy Spirit in you.
If the Holy Spirit WORKED in me to BELIEVE, He is STILL WORKING in me to BECOME like JESUS.
Challenge: Challenge yourself to openly express your faith in a situation where you might usually hesitate. This could be through a conversation, a social media post, or an act of kindness inspired by your beliefs. Remember, the focus is not on grand gestures but on genuine expressions of faith. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you, direct you, and give you the words.
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