Did you miss a Sunday lesson (or two)? Don’t worry, we will have summary’s of each week’s lesson at Lessons for you to download and review. If we have your email address, we will email you a summary each week.
Are You Stressed?!?!
Let’s face it, everyone is stressed, some more than others. As a matter of fact, a recent poll of teens showed that more than 80% felt they were moderetly to severely stressed. So, what can you do about it?
Join us Sunday mornings in September starting September 7th at 9:15am or at 11:00am for our new series “Jesus and Stress”. Find out what Jesus has to say about worry and anxiety, how you can reduce the stress in your everyday life so you can live your life in the peace that you are meant to live in.
Choose Him
God has called you. He has chosen you. He calls you to a deeper relationship with Him! Why? Well number 1: because you’re awesome and He loves you and wants to spend time with you, number 2: because He wants you to know Him, and experience all the greatness that comes from that relationship.
1Peter 2:9
The world can become so strong around you, it’s easy to forget about the One who made you.
The hard part is that life is hard. There are good times and bad times. God knows exactly how to get you through those bad times, to make them good. He knows how to take those good times and make them great!
Romans 8:28
He can’t do any of that until we ask Him. He gives us free will so that we can choose Him.
Isaish 55:3
Once we choose Him, it opens this entire new world of opportunities. There’s so much we can learn, so much we experience, and He’ll walk you through it!
Proverbs 8:17
When we decide to choose Him, it’s simple. We pray. It doesn’t have to look any certain way. You’re just asking Him to be your God, your Father. Asking Him to come into your heart and be in relationship with you!
Matthew 6:9-13
After you pray He’ll walk you through the rest. He’s the best teacher!
Choose Him!
Hard to Trust
Right before I graduated I was praying and contemplating going to college. I knew what I wanted to do with my life involved ministry but I didn’t really have a specific leading from God about how to pursue that.
There were others around me saying I needed to go to college, and I wanted to go because I wasn’t trying to not do anything with my life. But I didn’t know what to do.
At this time in my life I was filled with doubt and confusion in every area concerning my future. My prayers often consisted of, “God what are you doing in my life? I want a dream and a passion. I want a future, and I want it right now.”
I wanted God to show up Himself and tell me what I was supposed to do with my life. It seemed like everyone around me knew what they were doing, including my younger brother… and yet I felt like I didn’t have anything.
In my life at this time my parents were caregivers to a quadriplegic minister named Howard Bell who after a month would be traveling with his good friend Eddie James and preaching at his events.
So I had a month to decide if I was going on the road with them, or what???
I put a lot of pressure on myself to find an answer, to hear from God and have a plan. I prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed. I looked up colleges, jobs, everything I could think of that would be an answer.
I didn’t get a strong no to college, jobs, etc…, but I definitely didn’t get a yes.
It felt like God was saying wait and trust Him.
This made me mad, because I wanted a future of my own I was tired of helping others with their dreams.
But God said trust me. Follow Me. Give your worries to me, and let My peace give you hope.
At the end of the month I decided I would listen to God, and I went on the road with my family and Howard Bell.
What I didn’t know was that was going to be a short season for me, less than a year… then I would meet the man that I would marry.
God did so much in that season, a lot of it wasn’t easy. But what came from it was the biggest blessing I’ve ever received.
I look back and I am so glad I chose to trust God, because in doing so I met and married the love of my life… the destiny and future I wanted was much closer than I had thought possible!
And my life is much better than if I had went off on my own to some random college.
I challenge you to look at all aspects of your life, and see how much of it you’ve given to God to lead. If you find areas you know you are in control and not Him, I pray you give them to God.
Trust me, when you trust Him it may not look like what you thought you want but it ends up being better than anything you could have dreamed!!!
Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV
For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.