Christ Church Bartlett

Encounters with Jesus — It’s Not How We Start but How We Finish that Matters • Peter at times demonstrated extraordinary faith in Jesus. [Matthew 14:22-32, 16:13-20] • Peter also was susceptible to the pitfalls of pride. [Matthew 16:21-23, John 18:1-11] • Peter eventually was publicly ashamed of Christ and failed his closest friend. [Matthew 26:69-75] • Peter ultimately was restored to Jesus and finished his race as a faithful servant of God. [John 21:15-19] As We Go … No matter how your journey of faith started or how far off track you may be, keep the faith, fight the good fight and finish well!

A Mother’s Heart — 1 John 3:1-2 * Mothers are the heart of the family, holding everyone together.  * Nothing compares to the love of a mother’s heart.  * The devil directly targets mothers by deceiving, discouraging, and destroying their hearts. * Mother … may you never forget that you first are a beloved child of God — a cherished daughter of your Heavenly Father.  As You Go ...  May we never forget that we are beloved children of God and that nothing can separate us from the love we have in Christ Jesus!

Deciding How to Decide James 1:5-7 Feelings, Faith or Circumstances I. Choices and decisions ought to be made by following God ordained priorities. 1. Put God first in your life Matthew 22:37 How to Know God’s Will for Your Life a. Study the Bible Psalms 119:66 b. Pray James 1:5-7 c. Seek Godly Counsel Proverbs 15:22 d. Follow the Holy Spirit’s Leading John 16:13 e. Circumstances Proverbs 16:1 2. Put your family second Ephesians 5:25, 28 3. Your job is third 1 Timothy 5:8 4. Your church comes 4th Galatians 6:10 Hebrews 10:25 5. Then recreation Proverbs 17:22

“. . . and Peter” (Mark 16:7) 1. JESUS’ KNOWS ABOUT OUR FAILURES • BEFORE They Happen (Mark 14:27-31) • AS They Happen “Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest’s house. But Peter followed at a distance. Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, “This man was also with Him.” But he denied Him, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.” And after a little while another saw him and said, “You also are of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, “Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are saying!” Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the

Encounters with Jesus Jesus Brings the Dead to Life — John 11 I. The Resurrection makes Jesus relevant. II. The Resurrection makes Jesus our righteousness. III. The Resurrection makes Jesus our Redeemer. IV. The Resurrection makes Jesus Ruler over all things. V. The Resurrection makes Jesus reliable. VI. The Resurrection makes Jesus relational. As We Go ... Do YOU believe this?

John the Baptist John 1:19-34 1. I AM NOT (v.19-22) • The Christ • Elijah • The Prophet 2. I AM A VESSEL (v.23-28) • INTRODUCING The Messiah • SERVING The Messiah 3. I AM THE VOICE , JESUS IS THE . . . • LAMB of God (v.29) • LORD God Eternal (v.30) • LEGITIMATE Messiah (v.31-33) • SON of God (v.34) Traits of a Christ Follower: • Self-Denial (“I am not . . .”) • Servant-Heart (“Jesus . . . is preferred before me”) • Surrendered to God’s Will (“I am the voice . . . crying”)

Living in the Spirit Acts 2:1-12 1. Living in the Spirit requires me to wait and seek 2. Living in the Spirit requires me to be filled 3. Living in the Spirit should move me to proclaim Jesus with confidence

Encounters with Jesus — A New Creation in Christ — John 3 •No one can enter the Kingdom of heaven unless he first is spiritually reborn. [John 3:1-7] •Our spiritual rebirth is just the beginning of a new life in Christ. [John 3:8-15] •Our spiritual health, growth, and strength is directly connected to our relationship with Holy Spirit. [John 3:8-15] As We Go … Ask the Holy Spirit to convict you of sin. Confess your sins, be cleansed and rekindle your spiritual fire for Christ!

Encounters with Jesus — Jesus Runs with a Rough Crowd — Luke 5:27-31 •Jesus didn’t wait for the lost to come to Him but intentionally initiated relationships with the rough crowd. [Luke 5:27-28] •Jesus sat with sinners, but He didn’t sin with them. Know the difference. [Luke 5:29-30] •Jesus spent most of His time pursuing the poor in spirit instead of wasting time on the proud and self righteous. [Luke 5:31] • As We Go … Be willing to reach the rough crowd by initiating relationships and consistently demonstrating the love of Christ in practical ways.

Encounters with Jesus — Love Changes Everything • Jesus knows everything about us and loves us anyway. [John 1:43-51] • Jesus loves us too much to leave us where we are. [Luke 5:7-11] • Jesus calls us to follow Him as fishers of men. [Luke 5:7-11] As We Go … Come to Jesus and allow His perfect love to set you free from shame and condemnation and change your life forever.

God Gave Everything Genesis 22 The Father was willing to give everything for you and me. [Genesis 22:1-5] Jesus was willing to lay down His life for sinners like you and me. [Genesis 22:6-10] We can trust the Living God to continue to provide for us both now and forevermore. [Genesis 22:11-19] As We Go… God has already given you everything. Trust Him to provide everything you need both now and forever.

Leave the World Behind and Never Look Back — Genesis 19 • Like Lot, we live in the midst of a perverse and wicked generation. • Like Lot, God is calling us to come out of this wicked world system and be set apart as His people. • God always provides a way of escape when we face the various temptations of life. • Once we choose to take hold of Christ, we must be willing to leave the world behind and never look back! As We Go… Leave the past behind, take hold of Christ today, and never look back!

Walking Through Your Valley Psalm 143 1. PAIN IN YOUR VALLEY • Darkness (v. 3) • Distress (v. 4) / • Despair (v. 7) 2. PURPOSE OF YOUR VALLEY • repentance (v. 2) • Remembrance (v. 5) • Reliance (v. 6) 3. PRAYER IN YOUR VALLEY • ATTRIBUTES of My God > Faithfulness (v. 1) > Righteousness (v. 1) > Lovingkindness (v.8) > Protection (v. 9) > Mercy (v. 12) • ATTITUDE of My Heart > Longing for my God (v. 6) > Trust in my God (v. 8) > Serving my god (v.12) > Protection (v. 9) • ASKING My God to . . . > “Deliver Me” (v. 9) > “Teach Me” (v. 10) > “Lead Me” (v. 10) > “Revive Me” (v. 11)

The Judge of All the Earth Will Do Right — Genesis 18 • All must stand before the Judge of the earth and give an account of their lives. • God is a righteous Judge who cannot allow sin to go unpunished. • Only God could find a way to punish Jesus for our sin and extend grace and mercy to those who trust in His work on the cross. As We Go… No matter what you have done or how far you have run or how hard you have fallen, your Heavenly Father is waiting to receive you back with open arms and restore you as His precious child.

Traces of the Chosen one Born in the Shadow of the Cross Isaiah 53 1. Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2. He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. 3. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. 3. Like one from whom people hide their face he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. 4. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his

Traces of the Chosen One, Part 2 Jesus our Servant King • The Chosen One would be a greater prophet than Moses. [Deut. 18:15-19, John 5:39-47, Hebrews 3:1-6] • The Chosen One would be the Lion of the tribe of Judah. [Genesis 49:8-12, Revelation 5:1-10] • The Chosen One would be the root of Jesse, the righteous Branch. [Isaiah 11:1-13, Jer. 33:14-16, Romans 15:8-12, Rev. 22:16] • The Chosen One would be the promised son of David and the servant King of Israel. [2 Samuel 7:10-16, Isaiah 9:6-7, Luke 1:26-33, Mt. 22:41-46] As We Go … Let your light shine this Christmas by serving others in the name of Jesus and bring glory to our Father in Heaven.

Traces of the Chosen One The Chosen One would be the son of man and the seed of the woman. [Genesis 3:15, Luke 1:26-35] The Chosen One would be the promised son of Abraham. [Genesis 12:1-7, Galatians 3] The Chosen One would be a Star from Jacob. [Numbers 24:15-19] As We Go … Rejoice in the coming of Christ the King and proclaim the good news of His salvation to all nations until He returns.

Gratitude in Fellowship Colossians 1 1. Prayer of Gratitude • Filled with Knowledge of God's Will (v. 9) • Fully pleasing Godl (v. 10) • Fruitful in God's work (v. 11) 2 Power of Gratitude • All might • All patience and longsuffering • With joy 3. Partakers of Gratitude • Qualified • Delivered • Conveyed • Redemption • Forgiveness 4. Person of Gratitude: Jesus • Preeminent over the Univerese (v.15,18) • Creator of the Universe (v. 16) • Sustainer of the Universe (v. 17)