Paul
So I came here tonight with a list of songs to do, but then I started playing them and it felt weirdo until I got to the one hymn I had on the list
So then I set it as “no song under 50 years old” night
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty
Charlie
Matt and I have both participated with VBS previously
This year we are fully signed up with kids
We still need some more volunteers (10 more)
Even a one day volunteership would be a blessing
Wednesday the 11th especially
Matt
I volunteered and then got asked to be in the skits – I was Chef Pierre
So then I could have chilled or do what Katie wanted and wander around in character
The kids loved it so much that when I went on break, the kids threw a fit when I wasn’t there to give them snack and put on paper towel mustaches and looked sad…there’s pictures somewhere
Paul
Community dinner is not next week but on Father’s day (June 17th)
Matt
Prayer for offering
Paul
'Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus
Going to do communion as part of worship today
I Need Thee Every Hour
Jesus Paid It All
The Stand (What can I say, what can I do)
Jon
I wanna talk about the work of the Holy Spirit
It’s the part of God described as the counseling ministry
We could all probably used some fixing
The scripture describes the Holy Spirit as a counselor
He acts as one who is wise but also brings us to places deep in the heart, wounds or places that need fixing
My purpose is not to give you a whole lot of answers, but to leave you with a whole lot of questions
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31, 32 ESV)
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. (Psalm 51:6 ESV)
There are things that have been said or done to us that we will never forget, good and bad
For some reason, it always boggles my mind how much more clearly we remember negative things from our past
As we grow these convictions settle themselves deep in our heart
Not just the organ, but who we are as people, our hearts and minds connected
Simply affirm what I already believe
The brain has a tendency to collect only what it already believes
What do we do when God’s spirit brings truth down into our innermost being?
When wise counsel and conviction starts to dislodge false truths that are burrowing their way deeper and deeper into our hearts
Abiding in the teachings of Jesus that allow this to happen, contradictions will occur
The lies that are residing inside of us
***** Do you believe that your heart matters to God? *****
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; (Isaiah 61:1 ESV)
Do you ever feel like the things that you at doing are just not enough
I’m a perfectionist, if you didn’t know that
*Shannon whispers “That’s why he married me”*
Everything in my office is arranged and aligned just so, in my little space
Perfectionism is actually a goal for me
Why do I have this need to be perfect?
As I seek the Lord, He’s dislodging parts of that from my heart
Was I faithful with what God’s given me?
Look back at Psalm 51:6
God desires truth in the innermost parts
Do we matter in the big picture of what’s going on?
And if we matter, why does He let us get hurt?
Why doesn’t he show up when we hurt?
At this time in my life, this is what I believe:
God does not promise us happily ever afters
He doesn’t promise that we’ll be safe, but I do believe that He promises to us that He will always be with us
Exodus 6
Ayer asher ayer – I am that I am
Shannon and I have been watching this show, Strange Addictions
It’s really easy to see people’s addictions and laugh at them
Oh look some kind of tragedy or wound, something turned and twisted and broke
Something happens in the brain, some switch flips, how do we cope with this new information coming in
*It’s easy to see “the splinter in someone else’s eyes”*
There’s something inside of each one of us that the Holy Spirit wants to fix
But sometimes we adjust and say that broken part is just me and it can’t be fixed
God gives us this 24/7 counselor to start this life long journey of fixing that
The psalmist said, “Heart is like deep water”
The Holy Spirit gives wise counsel and brings truth into the inmost parts of your being
It’s more than hearing truth and giving an intellectual nod
That’s why the Spirit longs to dispel the lies and dispense truth
“I will go before you
and level the exalted places,
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
I will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name. (Isaiah 45:2, 3 ESV)
The secret places are pinned down
It’s going to take His divine wisdom to unpin them
What is He up to in your life? What is He after?
He wants more than anything to heal the wounded parts
He’s after that complete surrender
If you don’t know the areas in your heart that He is longing to fix, that’s your assignment this week
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:16, 17 ESV)
The Holy Spirit is our permanent counselor
Because of who He is and His nature
Our lives are like a drama or a story
Different episodes and scenes and drama and comedy
It’s not about this is who I am , these are my parents (Ernie and Lorraine)
The goal of a family should be to bring what God is doing out of you and set you free
But that rarely happens
What did the scenes of life in your heart let you know?
Only the Holy Spirit can set you free
There was this young man in the Bible named Peter who had a friend named Jesus
What can you say about Peter?
He had this special ability to speak without thinking
When Jesus needs Peter, Peter is asleep or denying Him
That’s a mistake I don’t think I’m ever going to get over
There is no way I can ever get over this
Everybody has these moments
The guilt and shame becomes a part of you and you adjust it as part of who you are
Not talking about flipping out on your kids, we all do that from time to time because we’re all nut jobs
Talking about the deep ones
When Jesus comes back, He seeks Peter out before those convictions of failure settle in deep
He asks Peter three questions – “Do you love me?”
When Peter spoke against the leaders of Rome, he spoke with boldness because Jesus set him free
That’s what happens when the Holy Spirit sets us free from our burdens
The counselor is with us 24 hours a day because mistakes don’t define you
One of the ways He brings us this truth is through people
You don’t have to wait for the burning bush or a disembodied voice
The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water,
but a man of understanding will draw it out. (Proverbs 20:5 ESV)
This is what friendship, marriage, parenthood should look like
As they’re going through life we begin to see what it’s like
Our goal is to see the glory of God blow out of our children
We should be fighting for one another’s hearts
Accountability just derives into sin management 101
Where’s the glory?
This is what friends, marriage, parenthood does
I want to see your glory go forward
Being a true friend will affirm you, encourage you, committed to bringing it out of you
Parents, be committed to the hearts of your children
Do you know their hearts?
The hearts of our kids get wounded, things that are done and said to them at school
Affirming what God is doing in the innermost parts of their lives
What elaborate fig leaves have they created
No man or woman is a project
Relationships heal
A good question for us to ask ourselves about any relationship that we’re in: what am I offering this person?
What am I looking for in this relationship?
The wounds are always against the heart
We’ve made vows with these lies, saying this is who I am
The craziest part? We think we’re actually hiding our wounds under our fig leaves
Here’s the question I want to leave you with:
What are your wounds keeping us from doing?
Discover that and we may just find what we were meant to do