Five Appointments with God Peace Real peace does not come from mankind, it never will – when we seek it in our own strength we
will always be disappointed. Manufactured peace is nothing but an illusion – we may sign treaties
and put away instruments of war but this does not erase old hostilities or smooth conflicts.
Biblical peace does not depend upon outward circumstances; in fact real peace is often found in
spite of outward circumstances.
July 26 - 30, 2010
The most common greeting in Israel is Shalom which is the Hebrew word for peace. It is used
for both hello and goodbye; with the turmoil of conflict that surrounds this region can it be
any surprise that the word peace is spoken so often? But peace is much more than the
absence of conflict, in scripture, the term peace refers to a personal sense of well-being,
wholeness, harmony, and security through a proper relationship with God and fellow men.
Where does peace really come from? Who is the true source of peace?
Tuesday - “Peace with God” Col 1:20-22, Rom 5:1, Eph 2:13-17, Heb 12:14
The key to peace of any kind is reconciliation with God. The world can seek peace through
treaties, diplomacy, prosperity or politics but none of these will ever result in the peace these
verses speak of. Read these passages and consider the act of reconciliation. What does it mean
to be reconciled to God? How does reconciliation apply to peace in other areas of our lives?
Wednesday - “Peace from God” Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, Phil. 4:6-7
The end result of the Holy Spirit's work in our life is deep and lasting peace. Unlike worldly
peace, which is usually defined as the absence of conflict, this peace is confident assurance in
any circumstance. With Christ's peace, we have no need to fear the present or the future, if
your life is full of stress, allow the Holy Spirit to fill you with Christ's peace.
Thursday - “Peace of God” Philippians 4:6-7, Isaiah 26:3, John 14:27
Sin, fear, uncertainty, doubt, and numerous other forces are at war within us. The peace of
God moves into our heart and life to restrain these hostile forces and offer comfort in place of
conflict. Jesus says he will give us that peace if we are willing to accept it from him.
Friday - Christ is properly called “our peace” Eph 2:14, 16, Rom 12:18, Mat 10:34-37
Jesus has broken down the barrier of legal commandments between Jews and Gentiles so that
believers from both groups are reconciled “in one Body to God through the cross”. We are to
live as peaceably as possible with all people but not at the expense of compromising loyalty to
Christ and His truth. World-wide peace will not occur until Christ establishes His earthly
kingdom at His second advent (Psalms 72:7; Isaiah 2:4; Matthew 10:34).
Five Appointments with God
July 18 - 22, 2010
Joy
How come Joy seems so elusive in our modern world full of comfort and accommodation? One would think we have nothing to be concerned about. However, amidst the comforts of home, people are still plagued by fear, worry and discontentment. I pray that, as you spend time with the Lord this week, He will set your heart free to experience the joy that comes from serving and loving Him. Pastor Paul
Monday - Provision – Matthew 6:25, 31-32; Philippians 4:9When you think about life and what it takes to live, who comes to mind as being the person responsible to provide for all those needs? Is it you? Perhaps you are the man in your home and you believe it is your job to work and “bring home the bacon.” Yes, it is true that God tells us to work and provide for our families, but where does the provision of a job come from? How about the strength to work? Where does that come from? How about when you lose your job? What then? God, in His Word, makes it clear that He is our provider and will provide for us…all that we need…and many times what we want.
Tuesday - Value – Matthew 6:26; Psalm 139:13-14
Our society tells us that outward beauty is all that matters and there is a certain “magazine look” that describes that beauty. Further, our enemy reinforces that message with lies about how you might compare to the looks and gifts of others. God’s Word does not say any of that. God tells us that He created us in His image, unique to His purpose for our life and that His work to form us was good and wonderful. Who do you believe? Our enemy or our God?
Wednesday - Longevity – Matthew 6:27; James 4:14
There are a few certain things in life. One…life is short. Two…someday, we will meet God. Are you spending too much time worrying about staying alive or are you making the most of the time that you have? Scripture tells us that God has a specific length for our life and specific things that He has for us while on earth. Resting in God’s plan will produce freedom and joy rather than worry.
Thursday - Stress – Matthew 6:34, Romans 8:28
Doctors tell us that much of our health problems come from stress…from worry about things that we can’t control. How do you respond to the things in life that you do not like or don’t agree with? Does your response reflect a calm, confidence in God’s control? How is your health? Stress and Joy have a hard time living together.
Friday - Serving – Matthew 6:20-21
Is your most valuable possession something you can ride, drive or wash? Is it sitting in your driveway? Are your treasures invested in things that you can take to heaven? What we value the most is usually reflected in how we spend our money and our time. God’s Word tells us that we were created to bring glory to God by serving Him. How is it going? Serving the Lord will result God’s blessing of joy.
Five Appointments with God
July 12 - 16, 2010
What’s Love Got to Do With It?
Love is a word so often thrown around with very little knowledge of what it really means. Ask someone to give you a definition of this word and many draw a blank. Why? Our culture has attached ‘feelings’ as the primary meaning of love. Feelings do play a part in genuine love but will soon disintegrate if this is the basis of love. True love involves self sacrifice. This is the kind of love that Jesus demonstrated to us. It’s the kind of fruit, when squeezed, comes out sweet!
- Pastor Barry
Read Galatians 5:16-23. Why is there such a contrast in this passage? How do these two list conflict with each other? How is selfishness the contributing factor in the first list? How is sacrifice the contributing factor in the second list? What list more reflects your life?
Tuesday - Response!
Read John 14:15, 21; 2 John 6. Does love have conditions? Does our love for God demand a response from us? What do these verses tell us about our response if we truly love God? Do you love God? How does it show?
Wednesday - Rejection!
John 18:15-18; 25-27. Jesus predicted that Peter would deny him three times. How did Peter do this? What was Peter’s reaction when he did? Peter loved what Jesus did for him and what Peter received in return. Do you think Peter truly loved Jesus yet? Do believers who cower in the face of adversity truly love Jesus? Do they really understand what love is?
Thursday - Restored!
Read John 21:1-23. How was Peter restored by Jesus? Why did Jesus ask him the same question three times? The kind of love Jesus was asking Peter was if he loved him “deeply”. The word for love Peter used was a “friend” kind of love. How does this indicate that Peter’s love for Jesus had not yet matured? How might this suggest that Peter was not yet confident of the genuine state of his love for Jesus due to his recent rejection of Christ? Is your love for Christ mature or immature? Why?
Friday - Sacrificial!
Read I Corinthians 13:1-8a. If true love is a sacrificial love instead of a selfish one, how is each definition in this passage a sacrifice? Describe your love: is it more sacrificial or more self based? Is the fruit of love a regular part of your life, attitude, and expression to others? How?
Five Appointments with God
July 5 - 9, 2010
Self-Evident Truths!
Our Founding Fathers did not all have the same theology. But they did agree on one central truth: our country was accountable to God. This viewpoint showed up in our Declaration of Independence and in our US Constitution. A cursory look at the writings of our founders and at many of our National Monuments gives proof to this truth. Sadly, over the course of time we have seen an erosion of our dependence on the divine. Removing God from our culture has and will come at our peril.
- Pastor Barry
Read Romans 2:14-15. What is Paul saying about the conscience of Gentiles who never grew up with the Jewish Law? Where does our conscience come from? Why? What happens when we ignore our conscience over the course of time? What happens as a result? Describe our national conscience today? How in line is it with God’s truth?
Tuesday - Arrogance!
Read Proverbs 30:8-9. How has the affluence in our country hindered our dependence upon God? How have we, in recent years, said, “Who is the Lord?” Are we a better nation for it? Why? In America today, who would the average American give credit to for our wealth and prosperity? Who do you give credit for your success?
Wednesday - Founders Faith!
Do some online research about the faith of our founding fathers. Find out how the Bible influenced their thinking and writings in setting up our government. Find quotes of their views on God and the Bible. Find out where the “separation of church and state” came from and what its original meaning meant
Thursday - Don’t Forget!
Read Deuteronomy 8:6-14. How can these principles help our nation today? What can we learn from this? How has God blessed our country in our past? Why? As a country, where have we gone wrong? In your opinion, what are the biggest problems our country is facing today? What is the solution to fixing these problems?
Friday - Chilling Warning!
Read Deuteronomy 8:14-20. Our motto has secretly changed from “In God we trust” to “In us we trust”. How have we done this? What have been the consequences in doing this? What is God’s promise to countries who have forgotten the Lord? Is this happening today? If so, how? What can we do to change the course of our country?
Five Appointments with God
June 28 - July 2, 2010
Nobody’s Perfect!
There is a word we rarely use anymore. The mention of this one word often causes all kinds of pushback. The word: SIN. Sadly, many churches have stopped using this word because they don’t want to offend anyone today. Jesus made quite clear where He stood with sin and the remedy for it. The twist Satan puts on “sin” has a more lasting effect than on suffering and sex. In fact, this twist could last for eternity!
- Pastor Barry
Read Matthew 5:17-20. In the first sermon Jesus preached he made it clear what he did not come to do. What was that? How was Jesus setting the bar for breaking God’s law high in this passage? How do you think the people reacted to hearing that they had to be better than the religious rulers of their day?
Tuesday - Guilty!
Read Matthew 5:21-22; 27-28. How was Jesus driving home the point that sin is an inward condition and not just an outward action? What two illustrations does he give to make this point? How many people would these two illustrations implicate? Would you be guilty? Why? How is our standard for sin different than God’s standard for sin?
Wednesday - Do What?
Read Matthew 5:31-32; 43-44. What two illustrations does Jesus use here? How is this different than our culture’s standard today? What point is Jesus driving home in this sermon? Why do we often believe that we are not that bad of a person? Why do we often compare our actions to those around us instead of against God’s standard? What happens when we do this?
Thursday - Call it what it is!
Read Luke 15:11-24. In this famous parable, who does the father represent? Who does the son represent? What did the son call his actions upon returning home: a mistake or sin? Why did he chose that word instead of the other? Why do we want to call our actions a mistake instead of calling it sin? What was the father’s reaction once confession came? How is that like our Heavenly Father?
Friday - Freely!
Read Romans 3:23-26; 6:23. We all have done what? What has God given to us freely? Why? How do we block grace and forgiveness when we don’t acknowledge our sin? How are these verses complimentary to this statement from Andy Stanley: “You are worst than you thought but God loves you more than you imagined”?
Five Appointments with God
June 21 - 25, 2010
Let’s Talk About Sex…
The topic of sex is often taboo in many churches in spite of the fact that God’s Word has plenty to say about it. For those who are married, God wants you to enjoy this amazing gift with passion and zeal. For those who are not married God wants you to run from sexual immorality. Fast! Not because He is amped up against sex but rather for what it will do to us outside the guardrails of marriage. In fact, God is attempting to protect us from much pain, heartache, and sorrow. Why? Because He loves us!
- Pastor Barry
Read I Corinthians 6:18a. What does the word “flee” indicate? How emphatic is this word? Why should we flee? What makes us not want to flee? What does our sinful nature want to do instead? What is the definition of “sexual immorality”? Why is this admonition out of step with our culture’s values? On the flip side, how does our culture react when a pastor, sports star, or politician is caught in immorality? What does this indicate?
Tuesday - Sexual Pain!
Read I Corinthians 6:18b. How is sexual sin in a different category than other sins? Why? How does sexual immorality hurt us? What are examples in your life or family where sexual sin reached way beyond what was originally thought? How has it hurt you personally? Why is God attempting to protect us from this pain?
Wednesday - Glue!
Read I Corinthians 6:15. In the Corinthian culture, sex was just an activity, an event, something they did. What does “do you not know” signify? How are our bodies a testimony about Christ? “Unite” means: to fasten, to glue, to permanently attach. How is sex a permanent glue? How is this glue great inside a marriage? What does this glue cause outside a marriage relationship?
Thursday - Cannot Un-one Oneness!
Read I Corinthians 6:16. Can one ever be un-oned? Why not? How does sexual immorality leave a part of you with them and a part of them with you? When it says, “For it is said…” where is this quote found in scripture? (Hint: See Genesis 2) Why would God explain the unique intimacy of oneness of sex in marriage right at the start of human relationships? What does this say about God’s view of sex?
Friday - Honor!
Read I Corinthians 6:20. Why should we honor God with our bodies? What does honor mean? How do we honor God with our body? When a believer doesn’t do this, what are the results, consequences, and/or damages of their testimony? What is your history regarding sexual immorality? Is your life better or is it more complicated when it comes to sex? Why?
