Selah

Habukkuk 2:20

Psalm 131:1

Silence in worship contains elements of revelation and response.

Revelations 8:1

Absolute silence is the greatest act of worship.

1 kings 19

God met Elijah in the stillness and quietness.

John Wesley's Worship Encounter

John Wesley's journal entry (1 Jan 1739):

Mr Hall, Hinching, Whitefield, Hutching, and my brother Charles were present at our love feast in Fetter Lane with about 60 of our brethren. About three in the morning as we were continuing instant in prayer, the power of God came mightily upon us, insomuch that many cried out for exulting joy & many fell to the ground. As soon as we were recovered a little from the awe & amazement at the presence of His majesty, we broke out with one voice, "We praise Thee O Lord, we acknowledge Thee to be Lord."

These awed and amazed worshipers went on to change the spiritual climate of a nation.

Jonathan Edwards' Encounter with God

"Once as I rode out into the woods for my health, in 1737, having alighted from my horse in a retired place, as my manner commonly had been to walk for divine contemplation and prayer, I had a view that for me was extraordinary, of the glory of the Son of God. As near as I can judge, this continued about an hour; and kept me the greater part of the time in a flood of tears and weeping aloud. I felt an ardency of soul to be what I know not otherwise how to express, emptied and annihilated; to love Him with a pure and holy love; to serve and follow Him; to be perfectly sanctified and made pure with a divine and heavenly purity.

"Joy to the world! The Lord is Come!"

As we look to Him this Christmas Day, let's enjoy not only fellowship, fun & food of family & friends, but also

The contentment of His provision.
The companionship of His presence.
The confidence of His promise.
The comfort of His protection.

"O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

Emmanuel, God with us!

Inspired by Isaiah 40

Powerful & just,
yet tender in His mercy.
He is Almighty Creator, Gentle Shepherd.
Omnipotent Lord,Loving Leader, Lifter of the lowly.

Mighty Ruler, Sympathising Provider, Strengthener of the Weak,
Straightener of Paths, Smoothener of Rough Places, Source of Good News.

He reassures,
releases,
renews,
restores,
rewards.

Eternal, Infinite, Infallible,
there is
NONE
besides

HIM.

hp note 23 (RM - law of grace)

Matthew 5:17-19 - the law has the following purposes:

1. Law as Master.
It shows us we are imperfect. Salvation from God is the transfer from being under the law to under grace. A good example will be from a transfer from a class with a punitive teacher focused only on discipline to a nurturing teacher focused on developing.

2. Law as Moral Standard of God.
James 1:22
Romans 7:7
The law reflects the parameter of God's desire for His people but does not reflect the extent of His Love.

3. Law as Map
Psalm 119:105 - The Word of God shows us the direction to take in life.
God never intended for us to choose between right and wrong. He forbade Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of knowledge of good and evil.
The law shows us what is good and evil.
The main question or focus should be on what is life and death, and through Jesus, full of grace, we now have the ability to choose LIFE!

4. Law as Measure
The law measures our progress. The Word of God shows us where we are. We should not use it to judge or measure others. The word of God is not a machete we use to cut others down.
We are punished with consequences, but grace is not condemnation. Instead His grace gives us His grade for the test of life.

what Jesus is all about (excerpted from JL Grady)

What Jesus Is All About?, is a classic book written more than 50 years ago by Henrietta Mears, a Bible teacher who helped mentor both Billy Graham and Bill Bright in the 1940s.

Mears explains in her book how each of the four gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—give us a unique, four-dimensional portrait of the Savior.

According to Mears:

• Matthew was written to Jews to tell of a Promised Savior who is also a King—and it uses the word “kingdom” 55 times.

• Mark was written to Gentiles to tell of a Powerful Savior—and it reports more miracles than any other gospel.

• Luke was written by a Gentile to tell of a Perfect Savior—and it has the most references to Jesus’ humanity.

• John was written by “the disciple whom Jesus loved” to tell of a Personal Savior—and it has the most references to Jesus’ divine nature.

The Holy Spirit who inspired the Bible knew we needed more than a one-, two- or three-dimensional look at Jesus. The Spirit gave us a four-dimensional view so that we could gaze at Him from all sides and become captivated by His magnificence—His supreme kingship, His compassionate mercy, His supernatural power, His perfect justice, His amazing humility and His love for sinners like you and me.

prayer school series 2010 - part 14 (the word as our map and manual in prayer)

-Knowing our position in Christ (spiritually we sit at the right hand of Christ in heavenly places) changes our prayer life.

-Knowing that God has already placed His power in us (as we know His power more and more, we will talk, walk and pray differently)

- 2 Corinthians 4:7-12

-The bible is our prayer manual that gives instructions on how to do/approach things. It is also a map that gives direction for our lives and pointing us in the right directions; what steps to take.

-Psalm 119:105

-Isaiah 50:11

-Jeremiah 10:23

-We are not to direct our own paths but to allow God’s word to do so.

-Ephesians 2:6

-Proverbs 18:21

-We renew our minds by reading the word and as we are being guided by the Holy Spirit

-John 6:63

-Matthew 12:34b-37

-Colossians 4:16

-We trust in the word, we trust in God. We don’t look for steps but instead we seek God.

-It is about relationships with our heavenly Father, beyond rules and regulations; it is dynamic rather than static.

-John 14:15

-1 John 5:1-5

-Because of God’s love, we respond to His love and obey Him.

-John 14:10-14

Students went into a time of worship

-Amazing Love

-Here I am to Worship

hp note 22 (RM - blessed life)

Generosity and stewardship are two legs of a blessed life

1. Extreme Stewardship
Matthew 25:14 - all given by God
Only our sin is ours.
We are born with talent.
Skill is what we do with is.
Stewardship is developing our talent.

2. Extravagant generosity
Matthew 26:4
Frugal to be generous.

3. Extraordinary sacrifice.

hp note 21 (AG - influence)

Influence - shape life
Disciple - from a senior to a junior.
His last command is my first concern - the great commission.

Mentor - greek origin.
- coaching
- change process
- who is the change agent - Holy Spirit!
- the key is what God wants to do in this person