"JESUS CAME TO STRAIGHTEN IT OUT. HOW 'BOUT YOU?"

"JESUS CAME TO STRAIGHTEN IT OUT. HOW 'BOUT YOU?"

PRETEXT:

Jesus came during an emotionally fraught religious time. Because of Israels sin and their neglect in obeying Gods word, God allowed them to be exiled by the Babylonians. Upon several hundreds of years later upon their return to Israel, the Jewish leaders of the day vowed to make sure that everyone in Israel obeyed the commands of God so that Gods wrath would not come upon them ever again. What started out as a noble conviction quickly turned into a legalistic society. For Example:

• God gave Moses 10 commandments and the Jewish leaders turned them into 613 laws.... 613! 

1. 33 related to work
2. 27 on what and how to eat
3. 23 on giving 
4. 101 on sacrifice

• Times then were intense and chaotic. The Jews had 'schools of thought,' as we do today.
  

• 9 basic sets of theology existed during that time - ultra conservative to highly liberal

1. Shumei was the ultra conservative 
2. Hillel was far more liberal

Paul was from Hillel - even though he was radical as a Jew and persecuted the Christians - he was on the liberal side of the spectrum. Hillel believed Gentiles could, at some point, be saved.

• There were 8 controversial topics during Jesus time by the Jewish leaders

1. What was greatest command
2. Divorce  
3. Washing of hands
4. Purpose of Sabbath
5. Who is my neighbor
6. Healing on the Sabbath
7. The afterlife
8. Salvation for the Gentiles

Jesus came to seek and save the lost! He also came to straighten things out! No surprise that he confronted the Jewish leaders daily and was not afraid to debate with them on these highly sensitive and controversial topics of that day. He spoke with authority and with major impact!

• Galilee was more Hillel. Jerusalem was Shumei.
  

1. In the scriptures we read that, 'the Jews from Jerusalem...' the conservatives did not play around. When Jesus went to Jerusalem the others assumed he could die - it was a BIG DEAL!

THE LESSON:

The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone and said, "Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?" (John 8:3-5 MSG)

The question was a trap-

They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, "The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone." Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt. Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. "Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?" "No one, Master." "Neither do I," said Jesus. "Go on your way. From now on, don't sin." You're Missing God in All This (John 8:7-11 MSG)

The leaders were not attempting to be more righteous. They were trying to hurt Jesus and his teachings. They hoped to find an excuse to have the Romans execute Jesus.

Where did the law of Moses come from? From God - from Mt. Sinai

They come to question Jesus about the laws HE WROTE!! How could they possibly figure they would win?!!?

He actually had an obligation to see that she WAS stoned! However, according to the law, she needed to have witnesses and accusers and a host of other protocols - see Deuteronomy - but they were not able to produce this and, thus, she was able to keep her life. Don't forget - God hates son and sinful acts, but he is just and fair... Not a teddy bear.

We must make a difference and make Jesus known to them ... Like Jesus did.

Lots of garbage out there - repentance is not some fuzzy feeling - we don't want to offend folks - etc... 

Pray Jesus into your heart... Bogus claim. "they accepted Jesus" ... Where is that in the bible???? The practice of praying Jesus into your heart started in the 1800's... 2 thousand years later. 

I have gotten away from straightening things out... A meaningful and powerful discourse.

A 5 week series ... Using first principles. Be real and let people pick their own fate and path.

Preaching is what we were made to do. Invitations to church are nice... Not what we were meant to do. 



Make no mistake - God NEEDS AND WANTS us to preach

Jesus once again addressed them: "I am the world's Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in." The Pharisees objected, "All we have is your word on this. We need more than this to go on." Jesus replied, "You're right that you only have my word. But you can depend on it being true. I know where I've come from and where I go next. You don't know where I'm from or where I'm headed. You decide according to what you can see and touch. I don't make judgments like that. But even if I did, my judgment would be true because I wouldn't make it out of the narrowness of my experience but in the largeness of the One who sent me, the Father. (John 8:12-16MSG)

That fulfills the conditions set down in God's Law: that you can count on the testimony of two witnesses. And that is what you have: You have my word and you have the word of the Father who sent me." They said, "Where is this so-called Father of yours?" Jesus said, "You're looking right at me and you don't see me. How do you expect to see the Father? If you knew me, you would at the same time know the Father." He gave this speech in the Treasury while teaching in the Temple. No one arrested him because his time wasn't yet up. Then he went over the same ground again. "I'm leaving and you are going to look for me, but you're missing God in this and are headed for a dead end. There is no way you can come with me." The Jews said, "So, is he going to kill himself? Is that what he means by 'You can't come with me'?" Jesus said, "You're tied down to the mundane; I'm in touch with what is beyond your horizons. You live in terms of what you see and touch. I'm living on other terms. I told you that you were missing God in all this. You're at a dead end. If you won't believe I am who I say I am, you're at the dead end of sins. You're missing God in your lives." (John 8:17-24 MSG)

They said to him, "Just who are you anyway?" I have so many things to say that concern you, judgments to make that affect you, but if you don't accept the trustworthiness of the One who commanded my words and acts, none of it matters. That is who you are questioning-not me but the One who sent me." They still didn't get it, didn't realize that he was referring to the Father. So Jesus tried again. "When you raise up the Son of Man, then you will know who I am-that I'm not making this up, but speaking only what the Father taught me. The One who sent me stays with me. He doesn't abandon me. He sees how much joy I take in pleasing him." When he put it in these terms, many people decided to believe. (John 8:25-30 MSG)

God forgives and God loves us 100% completely. However, the world needs us to saturate our neighborhoods with the word of God. It must be heard. We need to do this. It is not some extra, a sticky note, or something trivial... We need to do it all the time and with obvious passion.

Being Transformed

Bible Talk Lesson - Are You Being Transformed?

Opening Question: Name a memorable time/event (non-religious) in your past, and tell us how it has changed your life.

 

That time/event affected your life from then on, didn't it? It changed you. Let's look at Hebrews 1:3, which reads:

 

The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

 

 

Question: Can anyone guess, at first glance, how this passage relates to being transformed? (Field a few answers, and then say:) Because the word translated as "exact representation" is the Greek word charakter. According to The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament:

 

"[Charakter] originally denoted an engraver or engraving tool. Later it meant the impression itself, ususally something engraven, cut in, or stamped, a character, letter, mark, [or] sign. This impression with its particular features was considered as the exact representation of the object whose image it bore."

 

                Jesus is referred to as the "express image" of God. He totally expressed the nature of God through his life. Let's look at II Corinthians 3:16-18, which reads:

 

"But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

 

Question: What do you see in this passage? (Field more answers. Looking for: "Veil taken away," "Transformed into His likeness," "Reflecting God's glory,"etc.)

 

Question: Are these changes on the outside only? NO! It can be so easy to look good and sound good on the outside. Let's look at II Corinthians 11:13-15:

 

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

 

 

But sometimes it can be so confusing; how can you know for sure? Here's an analogy that just might help:

 

Mr. O'Neal is the nicest teacher around. All of the students really like him, because he really cares about the students. So, you decide to take his Calculus class for the fall semester.

          The first day of class, Mr. O'Neal addresses the class:

 

"Welcome to Calculus 1301! I enjoy teaching and want to see each and every one of you succeed in my class. And I don't wish to see anyone fail.

This class will consist of lectures and the periodic pop quiz. However, your total grade will be based on your final exam; and to help you with that, I am handing out your final exams now."

 

And Mr. O'Neal proceeds to hand out the final examwith the answers. You go through the semester half-listening to the lectures, confident that you have plenty of time ("I can always look over the answers before I take the final," you think to yourself).

The night before your exam, a few of your friends ask you to come hang out. You rationalize to yourself: "I can go out with them for a few hours. I only need to look at the answers right before the exam." So, you go out with your friends.

The next morning arrives and…you've overslept! You rush to get dressed, dash out of the dorm and get to the lecture hall just in time to start your final.

Needless to say you fail your final. But you're angry. "Mr. O'Neal said he wanted everyone to succeed. He didn't want anyone to fail!"

Should you have failed?

 

John 12:47-48 says:

 

As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.

 

Have you come into contact with Jesus? Has your character changed? Do you look good on the outside but still need to make some changes on the inside? Are you not sure exactly where you stand? (Hold up the Bible) This is your final exam. All of the answers are right here. I ask that everyone get with the person that invited them and study the Bible to know for sure. Don't wait until it's time for the final exam and you've overslept.

 

True or False

Bible Talk Lesson - Pop Quiz and a Warning

Opening Question: Have you acted or made a decision thinking you had all the correct information, when in fact you didn't? How did you feel when you found you were missing information?

 

Ice Breaker:  Let's start today's Bible Talk with a little pop quiz:

1)            Do they have a 4^th of July in England? Yes, right after July 3^rd

2)            How many birth days does the average man have? 1. When he's born

3)            Some months have 31 days, how many have 28? All of them

4)            In baseball, how many outs are there in an inning? 6. Three for each team

5)            In Texas, can a man legally marry his widow's sister? No, if she's his widow, he's dead

6)            Divide 30 by ½ and add 10. What is the answer? 70. If you divide 30 by ½, you get 60.

7)            If there are 3 apples and you take away 2, how many do you have? 2. You took away 2

8)            Your doctor gives you three pills and tells you to take one every half hour. How many minutes will the pills last? 60. Example: You take one pill at 6:00, one pill at 6:30 and the last at 7:30.

9)            A farmer has 9 sheep standing in a field and all but 8 drop down and die. How many are left standing? 8. All but 8 drop

10)        A clerk in the butcher shop is 5'10" tall. What does he weigh? Meat

11)     How many two-cent stamps are in a dozen? Twelve

 

How did you do? Here's a second chance to redeem yourself:

 

1)            What fruit did Adam and Eve eat in the Garden of Eden? The Bible does not say.

2)            How many of each animal was Noah to bring into the ark? Seven of each unclean, two of each clean. (Gen. 7:2)

3)            How many spies did Joshua send into the land of Canaan before entering? Two(Jos. 2:1)

4)            How many times did the Israelites march around Jericho? Thirteen (Jos. 6:3-4)

5)            Who were the five women mentioned in Jesus' genealogy?  Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary(Matt. 1:1-16)

6)            True or False – Money is the root of all kinds of evil. False. The LOVE of money(I Tim. 6:10)

7)            What Biblical incident does this symbol (see below) represent? Israelites attacked by snakes in the desert (Jn. 3:14, Nm. 21:8-9)

8)            True or False – The woman who poured perfume on Jesus' feet was related to Lazarus. True, his sister.(Jn. 11:2)

 

So, how did you do this time?  Most of these questions we probably heard growing up and just assumed we knew them. In fact, if we came across these passages in the Bible, we may have even just skimmed over them. But for most of us, this quiz is a reminder that we can't rely on the things we've heard from TV, our parents, our pastors or anyone else. Let's look at II Timothy 2:15, which says:

 

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

 

The Greek word that is translated "do your best" is spoudazo which means to do (give) diligence, be diligent (forward), endeavor, labor, study.  I like the King James Version of this passage, which says:

 

Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

 

            I prefer the KJV's use of spoudazo. The NIV's version of this passage seems to me a little vague; whereas, the KJV's version is written a bit more practically. If I want to present myself to God as one approved, how should I go about it? Study the Word.

            Before we end, let's look at Hebrews 2:1-3, which says:

 

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.

 

As we end tonight, I would like to invite you all to get with the person who invited and take the time to study the Bible.

Who Do You Love

Bible Talk Lesson - Who do you Love?

Opening Question:  Have you ever done something… anything just to be part of a group? (Allow group to share)

 

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the cravings of the sinful man, the lust of the eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

I John 2:15-17

 

Question: What does John mean by "world"? (Allow group to share)

1.      The inhabited earth, human beings (John 3:16)

2.      Age or time period with a beginning or an end (Matthew 13:22)

 

Question: What does John mean by "Love"? (Allow group to share)

He is referring to a fondness and affection for an object because of it value, an appetite, a desire, something that you take pleasure in, something that you set your heart upon; what you are emotionally, physically, spiritually invested in; where you get your comfort, hope, and security. We're not talking about things in and of themselves but our attitude toward things. What is the ruling principle, in other words, of your life? What drives you from the deepest part of your heart? Those of you who are familiar with the Lord of the Rings movies remember that dangerous little word when anyone was tempted by the ring? Precious. What do you find precious? What drives us in what direction?

 

To love the world is to seek our life and IDENTITY in the world – to still believe that there's something out there that is going to give us our meaning, purpose, identity and life.

 

Obviously, John isn't speaking of enjoying the earth and the beauty of God's creation. He isn't speaking against music and art that can be enjoyed and reflected upon. In verse 16, he clarifies what he is warning us about: "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life."

 

Question: Why do we lust? (Allow group to share)

A lustful person is usually not convinced that what God is giving is truly enough.

 

The lust of the flesh. What are your appetites? How are you directing them? It's the one small taste that leads to being controlled by this lust, that leads to an idol, making an idol out of it, that leads to even ordinary pleasures being destroyed, that leads to an willingness to betray even my closest friends and family for this idol, whatever it happens to be. And we can go on and on about "misdirected appetites" or "appetites gone wrong" – drugs, alcohol, sex, money, power – you can fill in the blanks yourself. Appetites gone wrong – John is saying you can't live like that and be a Christian. You can't live like that and claim to love the Father. Some people are being controlled by desires, by appetites, by what they see as precious and these things will eventually destroy them. Here's something to think about: What does what you have an appetite for reveal about who you are and what you love?

 

The lust of the eyes. The lust of the eyes, what a persons sees – lusts that are triggered by sight, triggered by what a person sees, the seductive lure of things. We are taken in by what C.S. Lewis called "the sweet poison of the false infinite." It looks so good but it'll kill you. It looks eternal; it looks as though it will last…It will end; it will pass away. Leading to the "needing-things-I-don't-need" syndrome.

            And the saddest manifestation of this lust is our response to the material wellbeing of our closest friends and relatives. What's our first response? "Why them? Why not me?" Typically, often, that is our first response. We can go on and on. Ultimate examples of this we see in the media. Surfing through TV channels and not stopping when we should. Pornography, those lusts, those characteristics of the world that are triggered by sight that are always, always fundamentally deceptive and they can never produce what they offer. And yet we see everywhere people abusing, finding security in them. Again, let me ask you: What does what you look at and how you look at it reveal about who you are and what you love?

 

The pride of life. The pride of life – outward show, outward display as my security. I take my security in my name – what I own, my power, my gifts, my talents and how I look to others. It's a desire to be well thought of by others. Again, this means that some caught up in the Pride of Life are not trusting that they are already empowered and "famous" with God, so they seek these things elsewhere. What does what you find security in reveal about who you are and what you love?

 

So, before we leave tonight, I just want to ask you a few more questions:

What is really important? What do you have an appetite for? What do you desire? What do you look at? How do you look at it? Where do you find your security? Do you love things that are hurting you? Do you have an appetite for things that are destroying you? Do you love the world? "This world is passing away. The one who does the will of God abides forever." If you don't realize that now and learn to get your security from above…you may be literally "Dying to fit in."

 

If you want to learn how to have a secure relationship with God, I invite you to get with the person who invited you tonight and ask them to study the Bible with you.

Trading your passion for glory

"Trading Your Passion For Glory"

Ice Breaker: Short Karaoke competition singing the lyrics to "The Eye of The Tiger"

Risin' up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance
Now I'm back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive

So many times, it happens too fast
You trade your passion for glory
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive

Opening Questions:

• In the movie Rocky III, how did Rocky trade his passion for glory?

1. He forgot where he came from
2. He stopped training.
3. He started focusing on all the fame, money and glory.

• Spiritually speaking, how can we trade our passion for glory?

1. Stop trying to please God
2. Trying to please men
3. Not keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus
4. Obeying Gods word with the wrong motives

• What happens to us spiritually when we loose our passion for God?

1. We stop reading and praying.
2. Things become a burden rather than a joy.
3. We fall out of love with God

*Lets look at a group of Christians in the bible that traded their passion for glory:

Revelations 2:2-5

2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

• What words did Jesus use to describe this church in Ephesus?

1. Hard workers
2. Perseverers
3. Can't tolerate wickedness
4. They've studied the scriptures in order to test false apostles.
5. They've endured hardship for Jesus name
6. Not grown weary or giving up.

• What did Jesus hold against them?

1. They had forsaken their first love!
2. They had forgot to what extent God had saved them.

• What was at stake?... their salvation!

*In Jeremiah 17:10 the bible says that the Lord examines the hearts and minds of man. We need to examine our lives daily to make sure that we are not trading our passion for glory.

Titus 2:11-14

11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

• Where should our passion and desire to obey Gods word come from?

• What is Gods grace and the offer of Salvation teaching you to say no to?

Closing Question: Are you willing to seek after God with complete passion. With all your heart and in every aspect of your life? Any other closing comments?

Spiritual Identity Theft; Bible Talk Lesson

Spiritual Identity Theft

• Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States and around the world.
  • 10 million Americans become victims every year.
  • Identity Theft costs almost $53 billion annually.
  • Americans spent 300 million hours resolving issues related to identity theft.
  • If you do not take steps to protect your personal information, you too can be a victim.
• Just as each person has a physical identity, God has created a spiritual identity for all people.
  • We can learn what God intends our identity to be in his scripture
  • Reference 1 Peter 2:9 and Ephesians 2:10 (or assign two readers ahead of time to get through them quick without turning).
    • A chosen people and royal priesthood.
    • A holy nation, a people belonging to God, declaring his praises.
    • God's workmanship, created in Christ to do good works.
  • God wants every person to take their place in his kingdom and fulfill their destiny!
• However, many people are ignorant of God's ultimate plan for them and that their spiritual identity is being destroyed.
• Your spiritual identity can be stolen through ignorance of God's word.
  • II Corinthians 4:1-4
  • This passage speaks of deceptions and distortions of the word of God. What is the difference between a distortion and a deception?
  • Distortion=to twist or mis-represent. VS. Deception=an illusion or fraud
  • What are some examples of distortions and deceptions about God's word that mislead people?
  • In verse 4, the scripture refers to mental blindness preventing the truth of God from being seen. Why is "blindness" to God's word so dangerous?
  • Who is the "god of this age"? What tricks does the "god of this age" use to deceive unbelievers about their spiritual identity?
• Your spiritual identity can be destroyed by Sin.
  • I Corinthians 6: 9-11
  • Paul, the writer of I Corinthians, makes it clear that the "wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God". He goes on to name a number of sinful acts that make it impossible to be a Christian.
  • Why did Paul get so specific about what wickedness is?
    • These sins destroy our identity as Christians (they start to define who we are)
    • What sins do people commit today that define or "label" them? How do these labels affect their lives?
  • Fortunately for these Corinthian Christians, God took away their transgressions and sins and gave them their true identity. God erased the old evil person and made them into justified, sanctified, and holy people
    • God wants to do the same with us.
• Conclusion:
  • Study God's word to find salvation and truth and avoid the deceptions of the devil.
  • And lets choose God's identity for us and stop letting sin define who we are.
  • Don't let spiritual identity theft happen to you.

Getting To Know God; Bible Talk Lesson

Getting to Know God

• Introduction: Name and What your favorite type of movie or TV show is
  • Does anyone here like mystery or crime stories/movies/Shows?
  • Why? What do you enjoy most about mysteries? (figuring out who did it)
  • How does a mystery hold our attention? [Giving us clues to the answer, keeping us searching and thinking, holding back the whole truth until the end]
• Let's all be detectives tonight.
• But usually we're searching for who the bad guy is. This time we'll be searching for who God is.

Psalm 118 [Read the whole psalm, right through.]

What does this scripture tell us about our God? What clues does it give us about his nature, his characteristics?

• God is good, unchanging, he always loves us … vs. 1-4 and 29.
• He answers our prayers … vs. 5 and 21.
• He frees us from fear … vs. 6.
• He is with us all the time … vs. 7
• He supports us, he helps us succeed … vs. 11, 12.
• He protects us from harm … vs. 11, 12.
• He strengthens us … vs. 14.
• He frees us from death, he is our salvation … vs. 14 and 21.
• He is all-powerful, in control, amazing … vs. 15, 16 and 23.
• He tests us, disciplines us … vs. 18.
• He blesses us, he gives us a great life … vs. 26.
• He shows us the way to live our lives … vs. 27.
• Our God is certainly an amazing God. How should we respond to him?

What does Psalm 118 say about what God expects of us? What should we do?

• We should give thanks … vs. 1 and 21.
• We should fear God, fear displeasing him, disappointing him … vs. 4.
• We should call on him, pray for his support … vs. 5, 12, and 25.
• But we should take action, not just wait for God to do it for us … vs. 10 -12
• We should trust him, rely on him, not on ourselves or on promises … vs. 8.
• We should be joyful always, however tough it may seem … vs. 15 and 24.
• We should speak out about him, share our faith with others … vs. 17.
• We should choose the narrow road, gate ... vs. 19, 20. (See Matt. 7: 13, 14)
• We should praise him, honour him … vs. 27, 28.

So, what have you learned from this discussion?

What must you do to get to know God better?

What will you do differently this week? (Try to set a good example, love and support one another, help those who are struggling, invite others to join our Bible Talk!)

Conclusion: Get deeper in the Bible with each other and individually to bring about a deeper knowledge of God!

The Devil Made Me Do It; Bible Talk Lesson

The Devil Made Me Do it

• What is the best excuse you have ever heard?
• What is an excuse you give when you have done something wrong?
  • He or she made me; if they hadn't . . . then I wouldn't have . . .
• Sometimes many of us can act this way about our sin, like it's not our fault. Almost like the devil made us do it.
  • Why do we want to make excuses and blame something/someone else when we sin?
    • Don't want to take responsibility
    • What will people think/How will I look if they know what I'm like.
    • Etc…
• But we are going to look at the Bible and see what it says about our sin and what's really behind it.

• The Heart determines behavior
• Luke 6:43-45
  • From this parable- How do we know if someone is bad or good?
  • By their fruit
  • Like a receipt from the ATM shows the balance in our account, the fruit of our lives shows what's really in there
  • What does Jesus mean by fruit here?
    • whatever someone produces- their actions or words
  • What are some lessons that can be learned from this simple parable?
    • Bad cannot produce good
    • Sin will hinder us from doing good
    • Good cannot produce bad
    • Ex.- If you had a dog that would viciously attack you and others; it bit you and your friends repeated times. So you decide to put a muzzle on the dog to keep it from biting. Problem solved? Did you change the dog from a bad dog to a good one? It would be a good dog as long as you had the muzzle on. But what if the muzzle came off? Did the muzzle change the character of the dog?
  • The heart is the most important part of truly changing behavior

• If the Heart determines behavior, we must change our heart.
  • How can we change our heart?
• Joel 2:12-13
  • What does Joel mean by rend your heart?
    • Tear your heart instead of your clothes
  • How do people just "tear their clothes" instead of really changing?
    • Just act religious, know all the songs
  • How do we truly rend our heart or change our heart?
    • By seeing the consequences of sin and letting it break your heart
    • Look inward to see what's causing the sin
  • Then Clean out the inside

• Don't make excuses and try to look good on the outside, be good in your heart and you won't need any excuses.

Change The World; Bible Talk Lesson

Change the World

• Opening Question: Who do you think of when you think of People who changed the world?
  • (answers from everyone)
  • How did these people Change the world?
  • How does the world treat people who want to shake things up and change the world?
  • Why don't more people try to change the World?
• Opening Statement: God is always looking for men and women who will help him change the world. And when we look at the Bible, we see he has always been looking.
  • Open your Bible to Acts 13

• Introduce the Scripture.
  • In Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas are in Psidian Antioch on the first missionary journey. They are going to new places trying to help people become Christians, and we are going to read a scripture that really shows us what it would have been like to be with them.
• Acts 13:42-49
  • What qualities about Paul and Barnabas made them world changers?
    • They are going around the world for what they believe (radical)
    • They were getting people to change the way they think
    • They didn't give up when people were negative
    • They were bold
  • How did Paul and Barnabas go about changing the whole world?
    • By changing the people right around them.
    • Changing the world starts with changing our nation, state, city, community, school, job, circle of friends, family, self, etc…
    • Changing lives spreads (Acts 13:49)
  • Who are the people around you?
  • Are you impacting them?
  • In what way are you impacting them? Are you a positive or a negative influence?
• God has a plan for all of our lives, and he wants us all to change the world.

• Mark 16:15-16
  • Jesus is calling for everyone of us to change the world by changing our lives and then changing the people around us?
  • Will you change the world?