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Topic: Transformation
Escaping the Matrix Conference
The Escaping The Matrix Conference took place on December 9-10, 2005, at Woodland Hills Church. The conference was based on the book Escaping the Matrix, by Greg Boyd and Al Larson, and was led by Greg, Mike Davis, from Ontario, CA and Bobby Bodenhamer, from Gastonia, NC. Outline Manual Introduction to the Matrix (pt 1) | Audio Greg Boyd | … Read More
Your Thoughts, Your Destiny
Mary’s song praises God because He scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. God’s is incredibly concerned about how we think because what we do is a product of how we think. Inmost thoughts steer all of life. Our quality of life is determined by our thought lives. Read More
From the Old to the New
The story recorded in Luke 1:39-45 highlights Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth who was pregnant with John the Baptist. Elizabeth and John represent the old, while Mary and Jesus represent the new, the new things that God is doing in the world. Elizabeth and John are not in competition with Mary and Jesus; instead they acknowledge, submit and rejoice in the new that is coming. Read More
The Enemy Within
Jesus gives us the greatest commandment, to love God, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We’ve all heard this command, but we tend to resist the basis for loving our neighbors — loving ourselves. The “small story” we often live in focuses on what we’ve done, what was done to us, and what we dislike about ourselves. The Big Story is the eternal perspective. It includes not only us, but what God has done, is doing, and will do through us. In Christ, we are to see our story as part of the Big Story. With God’s help we can embrace this process to overcome the evil within. Read More
Neil Anderson, 11:00 a.m. Service
**Please note, this study guide is only applicable to the 11:00 a.m. service. Unfortunately, we did not anticipate that Neil would give three different sermons for each service! Though very generous on his part, it was a surprise to us!** This message challenged us to be content as children of God, walking freely in the Spirit, and it warned us of the two things that might prevent us from experiencing the freedom we have: legalism and license. Read More
Kingdom Centeredness
Drawing from Luke 9:23 and 14:25-27 & 33, Greg talked about dying to the flesh so that we might have true life in Christ. Life in the “flesh” means that we cling to life outside the center (Jesus Christ), which results in our lives enslaving us, something God never intended! Jesus speaks strongly about this because he knows that when we finally let go and “die” to ourselves, we will find life in the center where there is peace and a whole new perspective on the world! Read More
Congruence with God
This week Jim led us in a communion service. The sermon focused on the tension between the Spirit and the Flesh and how Jesus Christ makes it possible for us to be united with God in spirit. In communion we participate with our whole body as we obey Christ’s command to “do this in remembrance of me.” In this way, we submit our flesh to God’s Spirit. Read More
Mission Impossible
Brenda reissued the challenge of serving a radical savior. If we feel God has called us to do the impossible, then we are indeed following the radical God of the Bible! However, if our faith doesn’t inspire us, we need to take another look at Jesus to see how far from dull and boring he really is. Brenda helped us do this using Isaiah 6 and many vivid analogies. Read More
Jesus is a 3-D Radical
The typical Sunday school, felt-board Jesus (often with blue eyes) does little to inspire people to change their lives much less alter their ways of thinking. The real Jesus is much bigger and more radical than that. Using the New Testament, Sandra reminded us of just how big and revolutionary Jesus was and still is. Read More
