Sunday Sermon // 10,000 Reasons :: My Mind

May 19th, 2013 No Comments

10,000 Reasons // My Mind : What Do I Believe?

[ECC Lead Pastor, Scott Moore, Covington Campus]

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (Mark 12:30 NIV)

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1, 2 NIV)
The better (more accurately) we know God through His Word, the more genuine our worship will be.
We can't do the will of God without knowing the Word of God which is the heart of God.
The moment we veer from the truth of who God is, we are participating in idolatry. There is no authentic worship of God without a right understanding of God (which is revealed to us through His Word.)
He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. (Titus 1:9 NIV)
Theology – study of God
Doctrine – what is taught about God
 
1. We need to know what God says about God.
Think about how you view God.
  • Is God the old wise man who is gentle and soft spoken?
  • Is God the white-haired judge wearing a linen flowing robe with a booming voice and strength discipline?
  • Or is God somewhere in between.
It is important that we have an accurate view of God.
You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:22-24 NIV)
Truth is vital to our worship as a lifestyle.
 
2. We need to learn from others.
When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments. (2 Timothy 4:13 NIV)
Did you see that? Paul, who wrote 2/3 of the New Testament, asks his buddies to bring him his “books”. He wanted to learn more..study more..
If Paul found it beneficial to keep learning from other sources, so shoud we.
When you love something, you'll learn it..study it..even memorize it.
If we refuse to study and learn..then what we're saying is, “we want a different God, a designer God, a God we have fashioned based on the parts we like about Him.”
 
Common Misconceptions:
Studying this stuff shouldn't be so hard. (Of course it's hard. Anything worth knowing and learning is going to take effort. But it's worth it.)
Theology and doctrine cause division. (Theology can draw us together with a common belief system. Usually it is the personalities that teach doctrine that can cause division.)
 
Bottom line:
Knowing Him more will help me love Him more.
 
Possible action steps:
1. Begin the daily reading plan (download the three year plan here). Or if you're new to the Bible,or reading the Bible, you might want to start here.
2. Click the link to sign up for a Summer Growth Group or discipleship group (iron/iron, accountability)
3. Begin a study of doctrine. This is a good start, Adrian Rogers “What Every Christian Ought To Know”.

 

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Sunday Sermon // 10,000 Reasons :: My Soul

May 13th, 2013 No Comments

10,000 Reasons // My Soul : What Do I Model?

[ECC Lead Pastor, Scott Moore, Covington Campus]

And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ (Mark 12:30 NLT)

 

CS Lewis says, “We do not have a soul..we ARE a soul. We have a body.”

 

So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. (2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT)

 

Here are three predominant ways to love God with all our soul:

 

1. Love The Lord with all your soul by making Godly choices.

We make around 35,000 decisions every day.

What are our decisions saying about what/who we serve/worship?

“Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8 NLT)

But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run (flee) from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. (1 Timothy 6:11 NLT)

Flee/run – not a suggestion to avoid but rather a strong word that says GET AWAY QUICK!

Pursue – run toward and chase after right living and choices God would want us to make (godly)

 

2. Love The Lord with all your soul by pursuing obedience to His Word.

“If you love me, obey my commandments. (John 14:15 NLT)

Our actions prove our love.

The Lord your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 26:16 NIV)

True love is accompanied by devotion.

When we obey God we are showing Him our worship.

 

3. Love The Lord with all your soul by pursuing a life of humility in attitudes and speech.

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. (Matthew 12:34 ESV)

If we are in awe of God..completely humbled..then our words will reflect that awe of God everything we speak.

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21 NIV)

When we lift each other up, like Jesus did, then we will worship.

 

Bottom line:

Our lives should reflect the life of Christ.

 

If love from the heart = affection.. then love from the soul = devotion.

 

Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. (Philippians 2:12-15 NLT)

 

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Sunday Sermon // 10,000 Reasons :: My Heart

May 5th, 2013 No Comments

10,000 Reasons // My Heart : What Do I Love?

[Associate Pastor Greg Miller, ECC Covington Campus]


You're rich in love and You're slow to anger,

Your name is great

and Your heart is kind,

for all Your goodness I will keep on singing,

10,000 REASONS for my heart to find..
 

Love is a choice..

So, what do you love?

And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ (Mark 12:30 NLT)

 

“Worship is about what we love. What we live for. It's about who we are before God.” – Bob Kauflin, Worship Matters

My choices say something about what/who I love?


1. You will worship something.

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. (Romans 1:21-23 NLT)

“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind, or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. (Deuteronomy 5:8 NLT)

What are some idols we have?

Idol = anything that gets my love, focus, attention, affection, resources, time, etc.

  • material comforts
  • financial security
  • sensual pleasures
  • reputation, power, control

What do my choices say about what/who I love?

 

For many of us, we are worshiping a god that is shaped by our greatest wound/hurt. This becomes a fake god to us. This becomes our idol. If it is insecurity that has scarred us, then we will put the need to feel safe and secure above God himself. We all worship idols.

 

2. You must choose to worship God.

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. (1 Peter 3:15 NLT)

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:1, 2 NLT)

In view of God's mercy..we OFFER ourselves..we choose to worship or not.

Every choice we make that reflects the heart of God is an act of worship.

When our choices, actions and our affections line up with the words we sing on Sunday..then THAT will be worshiping with ALL of our heart.

If we are not worshiping six days a week, then it won't make any sense to worship him on the seventh day.

 

How do I make God the main affection of my heart?

1. A right knowledge of who He really is.

2. And an honest understanding of exactly what He has done for us.

BE IN THE WORD!!

 

Bottom Line ::

Fall in love with God and give Him my full affection..my choices will authenticate my love.

 

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