The Quest – Discovery 5 October 29, 2006
Posted by Bill in Christlikeness, Discovery, Holy Spirit, How To Have Spiritual Growth, Podcast Post, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Life, The Quest, character, transformation.add a comment
Click here for the recording of the presentation of Discovery 5
About 20 years ago my wife and I met an elderly couple, the Millers, who became friends of ours. The husband was a retired minister who kind of became my mentor as I was in school preparing to become a minister. We loved spending time with them. They had been married for 50-60 years and loved each other dearly. One of the things I noticed was that they kind of looked like each other. I thought it was kind of amazing!
Not long ago I came across an article on MSNBC’s website that talks about this phenomenon. “Why some longtime lovers look alike.” The researchers concluded that…
To find out what they discovered, listen to this week’s podcast.
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If you would like to view the Powerpoint show for this presentation, click here.
Click here for the note taking guide for this presentation.
The Quest – Discovery 4 October 22, 2006
Posted by Bill in Discovery, Holy Spirit, Podcast Post, Power, Spirit of Jesus Christ, The Quest.add a comment
(To hear this week’s podcast recording, click here.)
In Hurricane Alley it is a good idea to keep a flashlight handy. You know that sooner or later a storm is going to knock the power out! But have you ever had to stumble around the house in the dark, finding furniture with your shins and toes, looking for the flashlight?
I’ve got several tools I use when I need to see in the dark. Sometimes I use the light from my cellphone screen, but it doesn’t offer much light. When I need more light I use the mini Maglight that lets me “dial” from a floodlight beam to a spotlight beam. But sometimes I need to see farther in the dark than the mini Maglight can illuminate. So I use a 9 volt lantern with the BIG 9 volt battery. It stands up to abuse and keeps on shining for hours on end. But when I really want to light up the neighborhood, I pull out the flashlight that I got for Christmas last year. It puts out 10 million candlepower! It is so powerful you can almost hear it hum! It could give you a suntan! Power is Better!
So what do we mean by power? What does the Bible mean when it talks about power? Listen to our podcast this week to find out!
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If you would like to view the PowerPoint Show from this morning’s message, click here.
For the Note Taking Guide for Discovery 4, click here.
The Quest – Discovery 3 October 15, 2006
Posted by Bill in Discovery, Holy Spirit, Podcast Post, Purity, Spiritual Life, The Quest, spinach.add a comment
Had any spinach lately?
Late last month we began to see pictures in the news of fields of great looking green crops, ready for harvesting. Bundles of green leafy vegetables headed to market.
Green, lush, healthy looking.
So why should I be concerned about purity? (Click here for podcast)
On Thursday of this past week the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention read – E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak from Fresh Spinach
As of Oct 6, 199 people had been infected with E. Coli from infected spinach in 26 states with at least 3 deaths due to people eating impure spinach. The result was a ban on the sale of fresh spinach.
Thankfully, there was no indication of any intentional contamination. This was bad enough just as an accident. How much worse it could have been.
However, there is an even worse epidemic out there…and it is an intentional infection spread by our worst enemy.
That’s why we’re focusing on “Purity, an Idea whose time has come!”
James (4:8) wrote, “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” God calls us to purity of heart.
Why on earth would you settle for anything less?
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If you would like to view the PowerPoint Show from this morning’s message, click here.
For the Note Taking Guide for Discovery 3, click here.
The Quest – Discovery 2 October 8, 2006
Posted by Bill in Holy Spirit, Love, Podcast Post, Spirit of Jesus Christ, The Quest.add a comment
A popular song asked the question, “What’s love got to do with it?” Is there an answer to that question? I believe there is. Love has everything to do with it.
This week we will discover love for the life we have longed for. Two important themes will surface in our Quest:
1. God loves us more than we can possibly know.
2. God’s love will transform us in more ways than we can imagine.
I challenge you to open your heart to the love of God and surrender your life to be transformed by His love. Our Guide, the Holy Spirit, will help us begin to comprehend the love of God. Ephesians 3:16-19 is a prayer that we might be filled with the Holy Spirit in such a way that we will be given the power to “grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
Why on earth would you settle for anything less?
Click here for the Note Taking Guide
Click here for the Powerpoint Show (runs even if you don’t have PowerPoint on your computer)
The Quest – Discovery 1 October 1, 2006
Posted by Bill in Companion, Discovery, Friend, Guide, Holy Spirit, Podcast Post, Spirit of Jesus Christ, Spiritual Life, The Quest, leader, teach.add a comment
The Quest – Discovery 1 (Click here to listen) – “We have a Guide”
This week I visited a friend in the hospital. I checked in at the front desk and was given directions to the unit where my friend was. However, once I got there, I learned that he had been moved. But an orderly said, “I’ll take you to his new unit.” We walked down the hall, and he said, “Do you want to take the stairs?” I said, “Sure.” So he turned right, walked to the next hallway intersection, turned right and then right again and then turned right at the staircase. We went up two flights of stairs, exited the staircase and into the hallway. He said, “We turn left.” We walked down the hall to the nurses’ station. The orderly said, “They will tell you which room he is in.” I introduced myself at the nurses station, told the nurse whom I was looking for and she came out from behind the counter and walked me down the hall to the doorway of my friend’s room.
I was impressed that the workers at the Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune went out of their way to guide me to the right room!
Many of us don’t really know where we need to go at this point in our spiritual journey. The good news for this week is that we have a Guide to lead us into the life we have always longed for.
Why would on earth would you settle for anything less?
The podcast of our service for Discovery 1 of The Quest reminds us that “We have a Guide.” Thanks for joining us on these 40 Days of Discovery! (Click here for the NoteTaking Guide for the Service.)
