Message Title: Omnipresence:  The God Who Is There

Series Title: Knowing God

Key verses:

Psalms 139:1-24

 

Sermon Notes:

• 1. God is present everywhere at the same time vs.7-11
  2. God is timeless. v.16, Rev. 22:13
  3. God is accessible to you all the time because He cares for you. vs.1-6, 13-18
  4. Because God is present with you, He will guide you and help you do what’s right. vs. 7-10
  5. We struggle with God’s omnipresence when we can’t feel Him.
  6. Because God is holy and cannot stand evil, man’s relationship with God was severed.
  7. Even though God is omnipresent, man still tries to hide from Him. vs. 11-12
  8. Man not only hides but also hates one another. vs. 19-22
     It’s when we see God’s holiness and Omni-qualities in contrast to our brokenness, do we see our need for redemption
  9. Even if we can’t feel God, we can still trust Him. vs.23-24

   

  Follow-up Questions from Sunday:

  Getting to Know You:
  What was the biggest crisis that you have gone through in recent times? How did you handle it?

  Or – What was the biggest crisis someone had confided in you about? How did you advise and help that person?

  Quick Review:
  Looking back at your notes from this week’s teaching, was there anything you heard for the first time or that caught your attention, challenged, or confused you?

   

  Digging Deeper: A study of Psalm 139

   

  1. What do you worry about the most? Why?
  2. Read vs. 1-6. If God knows your every thought, every action, every word, and If God is watching out for you (v.5), why do Christians still experience fear and anxiety? Where does it come from?
  3. When a Christian backslides, the common response is to hide from God, especially if there’s a sin that’s hard to give up. In what ways do Christians try to hide from God? Read vs. 7-12. Why is hiding pointless according to King David?
  4. Read vs. 13-16. King David saw God’s creative design and purpose upon his life, even when he was a fetus in his mother’s womb. How do these verses prove that life begins at conception?
  5. Read vs. 17-18. King David’s worship and meditations on God’s attributes left him in awe and wonder of God greatness. How has this message series on God’s attributes drawn you closer to God?
  6. Read vs. 19-22. King David had an emotional episode that made him vent his most hateful feelings on God, and he did not see that as inappropriate. Why? What happens when we vent on people? Why is God a safe place to vent?
  7. Our emotions can be our biggest enemy when our negative emotions overwhelm us. It can also be our best friend when our positive emotions dominate our lives. The challenge is how to remain positive when bad things happen to us. Read vs. 22-24. How did King David remain positive despite suffering from all the traumas he has experienced? What spiritual disciplines do you practice that helps you to let God into your deepest emotional traumas? How has emotional healing taken place in your life?

  
  Taking it Home: What is one thing you can apply to your life from last Sunday’s message and how can this group remember you in prayer this week?

Message Title: The Unchanging God In A Changing World

Series Title: Knowing God

Key verses:

Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13: 8; James 1:17; Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29

 

Sermon Notes:

1. . His {person} and {essence} never changes
   1. i) his {holiness} never changes
   2. ii) his {love, mercy and compassion} never changes

   iii) his {justice) never changes

   2. His {purposes} never change
   3. His {promises} never change
   4. The God who {never changes} is always {effecting change}

    

   Follow-up Questions from Sunday:

   Getting to Know You:

   When did you have the most dirt or mud on you and how did it happen?  If you were a kid what did your parents have you do?

    

   Quick Review:
   Looking back at your notes from this week’s teaching, was there anything you heard for the first time or that caught your attention, challenged, or confused you?

    

   Digging Deeper:
   1. Have you ever been in a relationship when the person changed from better to worse? How did you cope with that? Would you trust them again?

   2. How do you feel being in a relationship with a God Who does not change?
   3. Have you ever experienced a time when it appeared that God had changed His mind? How did you explain that?
   4. In what ways has God been changing you to be more like Jesus? Is there any evidence of that in your life?
   5. Do you believe that God keeps His promises? Has God ever failed you? If so, when?
   6. What is your favorite promise in the Bible? Why?
   7. In John 16:33 God makes a promise. What does that mean to you?
   8. What does the promises in Joshua 1:5 and Romans 8:38 really mean to you? How does that make you feel?

   Taking it Home:
   What is one thing you can apply to your life from this message and how can this group remember you in prayer this week?

Message Title: Knowing God

Series Title: Knowing God

Key verses:

Jeremiah 9:23-24, John 17:3

 

Sermon Notes:

1. 1. God wants you to know (Jeremiah 9:23-24)
   2. Knowing God is eternal (John 17:3)
   3. Knowing God is a matter of personal (Psalms 34:8)
   4. The more complex the object, the more complex is the journey of knowing that object.
   5. God is one in essence and yet there is a plurality of the Godhead in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Gen 1:26-27, Matthew 28:18-20)
   6. They are in perfect harmony and unity of relationship.  (John 14:8-21)

Follow-up Questions from Sunday:

Getting to Know You:

Are you more of a dog or cat person and why?

 

Quick Review:
Looking back at your notes from this week’s teaching, was there anything you heard for the first time or that caught your attention, challenged, or confused you?

 

Digging Deeper:

 

1. Read Jeremiah 9:23-24. What relationships in your life are you most proud of?  What type of effort did you put into these relationships to make this happen?  How do you think the Lord God Almighty would answer this question?
2. Read John 17:1-3. What do you think it is about knowing God that brings eternal life?  What do you think Jesus meant by His words?
3. Have you ever let someone in to your confidence or your “circle of family trust” and was later wounded by that person? If so what happened and how did that make you feel?
4. Do you think God can relate to your feelings? Can you think of a time in the Scriptures when this happened to God? After some discussion on this read Isaiah 65:1-3, Luke 22:47-48.
5. If God is the expert of getting betrayed by people, why do you think He still opens Himself up to others?
6. Trinity Quiz: Read Revelation 1:8. Who is the Alpha and Omega?  Read Revelation 22:12-16.  Who is the Alpha and Omega?  Compare this to Isaiah 48:12-16.  Who is speaking?  Can you identify the Trinity in these verses?  Welcome to the complexity of the mystery of the oneness of the Godhead. Refer back to sermon note 4 for an explanation.

 

Extra Credit Homework:

Read John 14:8-21.  Go through this passage carefully and try to see how the different persons of the Trinity relate to one another, both in who they are and what they do.

 

Taking it Home:

What is one thing you can apply to your life from this message and how can this group remember you in prayer this week?

Message Title: The Power of Prayer

Key verses:

Acts 12:1-19

 

Sermon Notes:

 

1. Regardless of the situation, nothing is impossible with God!

 

“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is there anything too difficult for Me?”  [Jer 32:27 NASB]

 

2. Prayer should be our first response to tragedy and trials!

 

“The righteous cry and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.”  [Ps 34:17 NASB]

 

3. Pray for others, and ask other believers to pray for you!

“Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you;”

[1 Sam 12:23 NASB]

 

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.’ ‘The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”  [James 5:16 NASB]

 

4. Prayer moves the hand of God!

 

”The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them.”   [Ps 34:7 NASB]

 

5. Prayer should never be a substitute for work!

 

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men;”        [Col 3:23 NASB]

 

6. Pray expecting results; don’t doubt – not ever!

 

“And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.”  [Matt 21:22 NASB]

 

²⁰ Now he was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; and with one accord they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king’s chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because their country was fed by the king’s country. ²¹ On an

appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. ²² The people kept crying out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” ²³ And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.

 

7. God’s answer to our prayers can surpass our expectations.

 

“Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,”   [Eph 3:20 NASB]

 

 

Follow-up Questions from Sunday:

 

Getting to Know You:

Who was the most surprising person to ever show up at your door?

 

Quick Review:
Looking back at your notes from this week’s teaching, was there anything you heard for the first time or that caught your attention, challenged, or confused you?

 

Digging Deeper:

 

1. Read Acts 12:1-19. When you read these verses what do they teach you about prayer?  When did you first discover the power of prayer in your spiritual journey with Jesus?
2. Read Acts 12:5,11-15. Do you find anything amusing in these verses?  When Rhonda announced who was at the door, what do you think you would have said if you had been there?
3. If you had been present at this prayer meeting, what do you think this miracle would have done for you?
4. If someone was to ask you to define prayer and the purpose of prayer, what would you say?
5. What do you think is the greatest mystery of prayer?

 

Taking it Home:

What is one thing you can apply to your life from this message and how can this group remember you in prayer this week?

Message Title: Conquerors That Are Still Fighting

 

 

 

Key verses:

Eph 6:10-17

 

Sermon Notes

1. The “spiritual armor” for victory.
   1. Courage is the attitude of spiritual victory.

    

   2. The “belt of truth”:
      1. Truth of salvation (Eph 1:13)
      2. Truth that comes from following (Eph 4:41)

    

   3. The “breastplate of righteousness”:
      1. This stands for an uprightness of integrity of character.
      2. This flows from Christ’s righteousness in us.
   4. “Shoes of good news”
   5. The shield of

    

    

   Follow-up Questions from Sunday:

   Getting to Know You:

   When you were growing up, what were some of your favorite dress up costumes?

    

   Quick Review:
   Looking back at your notes from this week’s teaching, was there anything you heard for the first time or that caught your attention, challenged, or confused you?

    

   Digging Deeper:

    

   1. Read Eph 6:10-17. What piece of spiritual armor do you do you need the most in your life right now and why?
   2. How many times does Paul use the word “stand” in this section of Scripture? Why do you think he does this?  When was the last time you had to take the courage to stand as a follower of Jesus?
   3. Paul describes the belt as truth. How important do you think truth is in your faith in Jesus? Please share? How important do you think truth is in living your daily life? Please share.
   4. There is an old saying, “If Satan can get you to believe a lie, he can control your life”. Do you believe this is true?  How have you seen this happen in a person’s life?  Your life?
   5. How would you describe your “breastplate of righteousness” in your life right now?
   6. Who was the one that wore the “shoes of the gospel of peace” that brought you to Jesus?
   7. How do you utilize the “shield of faith”? Describe some fiery darts from the evil one that could weaken your faith.
   8. The shield was used to lock with others to form a wall of protection. Who have been some of the most meaningful people you have locked your shield of faith with?

   Taking it Home:

   What is one thing you can apply to your life from this message and how can this group remember you in prayer this week?