Sermons About Focus
Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus
"Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down! ..." -Isaiah 64:1 The distinctive characteristic of the Christian religion is the person Jesus Christ. Indeed, all authority under heaven and earth has been given to Him, and at His Name every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord! He is the Lover of our souls and the Lifter of our heads. Upon His work our very salvation finds its substance in His substitutionary death; our hope of glory is in His indwelling righteousness, our promise of heaven is in His resurrection from the grave! He is the central post upon which our religion is built. It is therefore also the purpose of the devil by any and every means to deceive all of mankind, and specifically to deceive them concerning the person of Jesus. Delusions of every sort all serve the purpose of detracting from the centrality of Jesus Christ in the lives of men. The very purpose of deception is to cloud the mind and keep men from following after Him with everything they are. Contrarily, the cure for deception is Jesus Christ. Knowing and obeying His commands is a salve to blind eyes. Drawing near to Him is the cure for deaf ears. Fixing our eyes on Him will keep us from being bogged down in distraction and busyness. If we will set Him in the proper place (as King of Kings and Lord of Lords) in our lives, all other details will fall into place as a result. "...As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil-- To make Your name known to Your adversaries, That the nations may tremble at Your presence!" -Isaiah 64:2
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Enjoy Your Things, But Don't Make Things Your Joy
Lead Pastor Jeff Lawrence's son, Mike, had an accident while they were vacationing in La Jolla, California. On Sunday morning, October 5th, he fell out a window onto a concrete walkway nearly three stories below. Amazingly, Mike's life was spared, and in time he should see a full recovery. Jeff and family remained with Mike in California while he was recovering. This traumatic experience combined with several weeks in a beautiful place created space for some intense reflection. Jeff will be sharing some of what he's been learning in a new sermon series called "Living in La Jolla: Field Notes from Heaven-on-Earth."
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How Quickly We Forget
The Apostle Paul was speaking of his focus when he said, Philippians 3:12-14 (NIV) 12b…I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13b… Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. In our text, Israel loses focus, quickly forgets what God has done, and takes their eyes off the prize, that is the relationship He has established
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Two Days
Learning to not grow weary through our struggles and learning to drop everything we are doing in the heat of the moment to do what is most important, which is seeking a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and fixing our eyes on Him. It is not our circumstances that need to be changed, but rather our focus on Jesus Christ.
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Easily Distracted
We human beings are often easily distracted, even from the things that matter most. The good news is that we don't have to be. Listen in as we discuss Jesus, his mission, and how to maintain our focus in the midst of all of the distractions of life.
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Distractions...Breaking Through To God
Lucy, the youngest of the four Pavensic children, upon their return to the world of Narnia, tries to convince her siblings that Aslan (God) is there amongst them. The problem is that everybody around her is focused in on the task at hand, defeating the evil Telmarines. After much persistence, Lucy convinces the others of the urgent need to break through to Aslan (God) and seek Him out for help and victory over the enemy. Finally, Lucy makes the great breakthrough (prayer) to Aslan (God), and the events and outcome quickly begin to change as Aslan (God) demonstrates His amazing and mighty power.
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He Has First Place
So many of us live our lives out of focus. We have blurry ideas. We’re confused about what we should do. And we have fuzzy beliefs about God. If your beliefs are a little off, then you life and actions will be way off. In the book of Colossians, we learn that when you get a clear view of who Jesus is, then the rest of your live will sharpen and you will find great clarity and focus. Are you ready to see clearly?
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It's not about Trying but Dying
So many of us live our lives out of focus. We have blurry ideas. We’re confused about what we should do. And we have fuzzy beliefs about God. If your beliefs are a little off, then you life and actions will be way off. In the book of Colossians, we learn that when you get a clear view of who Jesus is, then the rest of your live will sharpen and you will find great clarity and focus. Are you ready to see clearly?
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Philosophy
The Ridge Church lives to glorify God – loving Jesus, loving people and seeing lives transformed to live for Jesus. We have been called to live this out globally and locally (the mission) and we have essential beliefs as we move down the highway of life, that we hold dear to, so we do not get off focus and fall away. To help us stay focused and on mission we must have a system of values and principles by which we live and function by as a church, a philosophy - in ministry it is important to have the right mindset and attitude toward how things should be done.
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