Nov 10-Dec 15: 11:00-12:15 1 Spending Time with God: Lesson 2 Prayer Time in the Word Fellowship Service

2 The “Things” of Life Parable of the Sower: Luke 8:4-15 –Path –Rocky Ground –Thorns –Good Soil

3 Thorns - Worries What worries you? 60 trillion droplets of fog – 7 blocks Half a glass of water

4 Worry: What Scripture Says Matthew 6:25 …do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Matthew 4:4 …man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. I Peter 5:7 Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you Exercise: Share / Pray for each other about your biggest worry

5 Thorns – Money / Possessions Luke 12:15 Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. I Corinthians 7:31 Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. I Chronicles 29:12, 14 Wealth and honor come from you alone; …everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us!

6 “Riches” may refer to…Appearance

7 “Riches” may refer to…Intelligence

8 “Riches” may refer to…Fame

9 “Riches” may refer to…Ability

10 Thorns - Pleasure …choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures –“Hedone” (Hedonism) – Sexual immorality Pleasure itself –Sacrifice: Some times it is hard to get up early in the morning for time in the Word and prayer.

11 Time Don’t try to “find” time. “Make” time! TV, exercise, sports, games, facebook, twitter, movies, reading, beach, mall, sleep, work…

12 Perseverance Time & Effort Motivation must be love for God Motivation can not be “Performance” based Oswald Chambers – “The mainspring of Paul’s service is not love for men, but love for Jesus Christ. If we are devoted to the cause of humanity, we shall soon be crushed and brokenhearted, for we shall often meet with more ingratitude from men than we would from a dog; but if our motive is to love God, no ingratitude can hinder us from serving our fellow men.”

13 Brad Lauwers Basketball & Football Amputee – Left leg Encouragement from Doctor –Can do anything Warning – pick easier sports Blisters & Calluses 58% of passes and 662 yds in 7 games What were the 2 factors in his achievement? I Timothy 4:7b-8

14 Where do I start?

15 The Word of God – Read it! Psalm 119:9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.

16 Have a plan Success – –Aim at nothing so you are sure to hit it??? First Date Blindfold Darts / Using a Playbook Services –Worship –Old Testament – Wednesday –New Testament - Weekends

17 How do I get through Numbers! Names & Genealogies God knows each of us by name. Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…” You start to recognize characters the more you read.

18 How do I choose a plan? Cover to Cover – no time limit Reading plan – read the entire thing in a year One year Bible – read a specific passage daily. Just open to today’s date and read. Chronological Bible – Read it in the order that the events happened. Which version? KJV, NIV, NLT, etc.

19 Observation & Application Don’t treat it like a checklist! Do: –Look at details –Try to see what God is trying to say –Look for ways to apply the principles to your life (James 1:22) –View the story from each characters perspective –Journal

20 Homework Challenge: Prayer – pray for God to let you see things in Scripture that you never noticed before Read Genesis 5 Spend time in the Word on a daily basis. Spend time in prayer on a daily basis.

21 Just for fun - Perspective The Israelites have just been freed from slavery. God is providing manna daily. They start to look back towards Egypt Numbers 11: 4-5 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”

22 Just for fun - Perspective “Has my arm lost it’s power?” (V23) –The God that created the universe in 6 days –The God that breathes out stars (Psalm 33:6) 600,000 men * 3 per family = ??? Homer = donkey load = 8 baskets 10 per basket * 8 baskets = ??? 80 per basket (Homer) * 10 Homers = ??? 800 quail per person * 1,800,000 people = …

23 1,440,000,000 (1.44 Billion!!!) March 31, :00 PM – 1.44 billion seconds ago

24 Next class – Dec 1 (No class next week)