LAST POST EVER

This is the last post that will ever be on this site. I've moved everything over to Word Press. My new site is.... http://www.rodnod.wordpress.com

HABAKKUK SERIES THIS WEEK!!!!

• 
  This 3 week series starts this Sunday.

1. Why does bad things happen to good people?
3. Where is God when I need Him most?

Check Real Life Church out on Sunday's at 9:45am and 11:15am

Breakthrough 2009

This is the outline from the worship teams devotion Thursday night. I believe we are going to see God's people move to a different level this year in relationship with Jesus Christ.

We all have spirits that we battle with. God says despite what we fight with we have the victory in Christ. Rom 8: 36-37

1 John 5:3-5 Loving God means keeping his commandments. His commandments are not burdensome. For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

• Deut 30:15-18
  
  
  BREAKTHROUGH: (1)AN ACT OR INSTANCE OF BREAKING THROUGH AN OBSTRUCTION OR DEFENSIVE LINE; (2) A SUDDEN ADVANCE IN KNOWLEDGE OR TECHNIQUE. (Football illustration)
  
  
• We all have walls that have been built over the years that keep us from reaching the potential God knows we have.
  
  
  Some WALLS we need to breakthrough:
  
• Pride(Prov 13:10) “Its more about ME than GOD or ANYONE ELSE”
  The desire to be more attractive or important than others.
  
• Lust “My heart and mind is wrapped around ________”
  1. Excessive love or desire for someone or something else, to the point that God is rendered second in your heart.
  
• Fear (Heb 13:6) “They will hurt me”
  
• Envy “I want what he has”
  2. Desiring what someone else has. A perversion of this desire to the point that you have sorrow when other people experience good.
  
• Laziness “ Someone else will do it”
  3. An unwillingness to care. Apathy. The opposite of zeal, and this can be seen in the way we care about things that matter to God- basically an unwillingness to act.
  (Prov 13:4, 12:27, 18:9, 20:4 Rom 12:11)
  
  
  
  
  Jeremiah 29:11-14, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for Me wholeheartedly, you will find Me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.”
  
  
  Two ways that I can breakthrough is:
  
• Pray(29:12)
  
• Seek(29:13)
  

God will….

• Restore to me what was taken from me (John 10:10)
  
• Set me free

Guest Blog: Craig Groeschel

Reaching the Next Generation
To reach the next generation for Christ, we must be three things:
Conversational.
Missional.
Generational.

Let’s start today with conversational. This generation craves intimacy in relationships. They want to know and be known.

Too many Western Christians are turned off (or intimidated by) the young, tech savvy, tattooed, and pierced young adults.

Some churches preach against these outward appearances. Others are striving full-time to be “cool” and “relevant” believing the right environment, best light show, or hot sermon series will win the young adults to Christ.

Both these strategies miss a key ingredient. This generation wants to talk. Conversation matters. Relationships matter. Intimacy matters.

Here are some rules of conversation:

• Before they listen to you, they want to know if you’re listening to them. If you’ll get to know them, they will listen to you.
• If you’re quick to judge, don’t bother trying to connect.
  
• It doesn’t matter if you’re cool or relevant. It matters if you bring the real you. Fake is the worst thing you can bring.
  
• The fifth conversation might be the difference maker. In my “Christian Witness Training” course at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, we were trained to knock on doors, present the gospel, and ask people to pray the sinners’ prayer. While this might occasionally still work, it isn’t a likely path to life change. This generation builds trust slowly. If you don’t plan on having a third, fourth, or fifth conversation, you might not want to spend a lot of time on the first.
  
• They want to be loved. My most consistent conversations with 20-somethings happens in the gym. After getting to know some young men, I genuinely care for them and believe in them. I try to tell them often, “I’m proud of you… I’m pulling for you… I believe in you… I love you.” They seem hungry for acceptance and affirmation and respond well to sincere Christian love.

Lifechurch.tv

Good Connection??

I started reading the book SEX GOD again by Rob Bell and finished up the first chapter and this paragraph really spoke to me and how I am connected to God and others who surround me. I wanted to share it with you because it seriously struck a chord in me. I don't know who needs to hear this today but my prayer is that this challenges you to go deeper into your relationship with God.


You can't be connected with God until you're at peace with who you are. If you're still upset that God gave you this body or this life or this family or these circumstances, you will never be able to connect with God in a healthy, thriving, sustainable sort of way. You'll be at odds with your maker. And if you can't come to terms with who you are and the life you've been given, you'll never be able to accept others and how they were made and the lives they've been given. And until you're at peace with God and those around you, you will continue to struggle with your role on the planet, your part to play in the ongoing creation of the universe. You will continue to struggle and resist and fail and connect.

Rob Bell
SEX GOD

You Gotta Get This Cd!!!!

This is an amazing cd! WOW!

You Don't Want To Miss This Sunday!!!

Come and join us at Real Life Church this Sunday! We have two services 9:45am and 11:15am
Come and grab a cup of coffee and a bite to eat and lets get ready for some high energy worship and praise as Pastor Darrell brings a relevant message that will break down the walls in your life that have been holding you back from reaching the potential in your life.

Real Life Church
1994 Ray Rd
Spring Lake, 28390

HOSTAGE Starts This Week!!!!!

Whats the Big Deal About Obedience?

Jesus says in John 14:15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command."

What's the big deal with obeying God other than the fact that Jesus said if you love me you will obey me. I mean it's my life, right? I obey somethings that He says, but some just don't fit well with who I am. What if I did this certain thing I felt He was wanting me to do?

Like, picking up something that another person dropped in the grocery store, just to give it back to them. Or going to pray with someone that God has put on my heart. What if GOD tells me I need to give money to a random person that I see or even give over the 10% that He has commanded me to give.

People might think I'm crazy. Heck I might think I'm crazy. My friends may not want to hang around me as much. It just seems like I might loose everything if I get too close. How do I even know it is even God who is speaking to me?

But WHAT IF this is GOD? What is God commanding us to do? This might be new to some but Jesus tells us that the greatest of all commandment are summed up like this, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Over the next few days we are going to look at how we can know what God is actually commanding us to do. How do I know if it's God speaking softly to me? How do I discern His voice from other voices?

I've Got A Question Pt 2

Can God do anything? This is the question I wanted you to really think about. I wanted you to rack your mind and really ponder this question. So what do you think? Do you think He can do anything?

The natural response to this question would most likely be, " Of course. God is all powerful, the creator of the universe, the Savior of the world. I agree with all of these answers. But there is one thing that God can not do. Well there is two things that He can't do. He can not lie. He also can not make you love Him. He can not make you choose Him over your own interest.

Have you ever asked someone on a date? Not knowing what their response would be. You put your heart out on a chopping block. You gave them a choice to make. To say, "Yes" or "No". You can't control that. You can't make someone love you. It's their choice.

God has put His heart on a chopping block (the cross) He loves you! He wants you to love Him and nothing else. He has given you the power to choose! How will you respond?

I've Got a Question

I've got a question that I want you to really think about. Here it goes...

Do you think God can do anything?

Think about,

Pray about it,

Tell me what you think.

I'll be back and share my thoughts.

Happy New Year by the way!!!