Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness

The Declaration of Independence guarantees 3 things. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Do you notice anything different about the last item? No one is guaranteed happiness. We only have the right to pursue it. And we pursue it. There are 2 major areas that we are told to find happiness: Culture & Religion.

Cutlure says find happiness in people, money, possessions, fame, sexuality, television, etc....
If you look at the life of Solomon, you will find a man who had all of these things. He was the wisest man of all time, had more money than any person ever, and had 1,000 women at his service. He seemed to have had everything that culture says is important. What did Solomon think of all this? He writes in the book of Ecclesiastes, "Meaningless, Meaningless, It's All Meaningless."

What???

He had it all and says it was meaningless. I did not make him happy. It can't fill your soul.

We often think that if we can achieve/obtain certain things we will be happy, such as:
If I could only get that degree, then I'd be happy.
If I could only marry that girl/boy, then I'd be happy.
If I could only get that job, then I'd be happy.
If I could only have this car, then I'd be happy.
If I could only..................

What happens when we don't get those things? Will we become bitter? Or question God?

Or what happens when you do get that thing and it doesn't make you happy?


Religion: We are also told to find happiness in religion.

Some look to Oprah and her form of spiritualism.

Some look to "Christian" leaders for happiness. And where do we find the happiest preachers? Is it on Christian television? Is it the televangelist? Who's the happiest preacher? That would be Joel Osteen. The problem with many of these preachers, and Joel, is that they say happiness is found in the same place as the culture. They say that Christians will not be poor, will not be sick, will not have strained relations. They say that everyone will like you. Everything will be great. The problem with this view is that it excludes the God we worship. Jesus was poor, homeless, victimized, and had strained relationships. We worhsip a man that was murdered.

For those of us living in the real world, we know that life can be hard. People die, people are starving, and life is hard. We know that happiness can not be found in culture or spiritualism. It must be found in Jesus.

If you read the first two verses from Ch. 1 of Philippians, you will notice 2 important words. Servants & Saints. Everyone who is a Christian is a saint. It doesn't take much for me to convince you that you want to be a saint. The other word is a little harder to commit to. The word servant litterally means slave. Paul is telling us that our joy comes not from culture and is not of ourselves. Rather, happiness comes from Jesus, the cross, and in serving Him. I am joyful because I am His. I am joyful not because of what I have done, but because of what He has done for me.

PS.....Thanks for all the plaid. It looke like we were filming a Western!

To make Him famous,

Daniel

Philippians

The day is finally upon us! We start the book of Philippians this week. We want to encourage all of you to read Philippians as we study it on Wed. nights. Read ahead, dig deep, ask yourself the tough questions, find out what the Word is saying. I know that God has something for us in this series. We've all asked the tough questions: "Why is there suffering?" "Why did this happen to me?" "Are you there God?" We all want to know the answers to these questions. I feel the Bible has the answer and Philippians will begin our attempt to answer the questions that we have. No question is too hard, not question too tought. God is a big boy and he can handle our questions. We want to encourage you to dig into this series. Listen to God speak as you read his words. We also want you to tell us what you're learning. If you discover something for the first time, if you read something encouraging, if you hear God speak to you throught he text, let us know. If you read something and can't understand it, let us know. If you have any questions, let us know. You can reply to this post, or, you can post on our Facebook page . I'll use what you say to create a lesson that answers all the questions and highlights all the points you're interested in.

Parents: We would also like to encourage you to study allong with us. Ask your youth questions concerning the lesson, discuss the passage on your drive to school, around the dinner table, or in the car. Your youth will benefit from your interest in God's Word and their lives.

PS............This Wed. night will be plaid night. So join my lead and break out those plaid shirts, shorts, skirts, or whateva' you got in the form of plaid.

Praise His Holy Name!!
Daniel

Crash Course Evangelism

Here are a few verses that are excellent for sharing the gospel. These verses can be used as an outline for sharing the good news.

Joh 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Rom 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Rom 10:9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Act 3:19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out,


Romans Road To Salvation
1. Man's Problem
-Rom 3:23, Rom 6:23
2. God's Answer
-Rom 5:8, John 3:16
3. Man's Response
-Rom 10:9, Acts 3:19

Way of the Master

Here is a link to a promo video by Way of the Master
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SmEu8DaM58

and here is a link to the Way of the Master website and other free resources
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SmEu8DaM58

"Easy Start Questions"

These are a few examples of questions that I use to start a conversation and lead into the gospel.

1. "In the gospels, Jesus asked the disciples who they thought he was. So, who would you say Jesus is?"

2. "If you could ask God any question and you knew he would answer, what would you ask Him?"

3. "Do you think Jesus was sinless?"

"5 Step Questions"

1. Do you have any kind of spiritual belief?
2. Who do you think Jesus is?
3. Do you think there is a heaven?
4. Why would God let you in heaven?
5. If what you believe wasn't true, would you want to know?
Then lead into the gospel

Important Questions Before The Decision

1. are you a sinner?
2. do you want forgiveness of sins?
3. do you believe Jesus died on the cross and rose again?
4. are you willing to surrender your life to Christ?
5. are you ready to invite Jesus into your life?

The Bridge Illustration

Here is a link of Pastor Pete Briscoe showing us how to use this tool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LA6GgPlxes

Daniel
danielbeckworth@gmail.com