I Love The 90's Week 3

The Formula For Growth

In the final week of the I love the 90's series, we at Victory Hill Church have a lot to celebrate! One great thing to celebrate was that Michele, our Pastor's wife, was able to go home after open heart surgery. Another thing to celebrate is that we have had 11 salvation's in the last two Sunday Mornings!

When we are in elementary school, we begin learning about formulas and the basics of Algebra. It's so confusing, because just when you think you are getting this whole math thing figured out, they start mixing in the alphabet! Pastor Trey was able to bring back our elementary school horrors, and show us how we can apply formulas to our spiritual growth.

Passive ≠ Progress 
Many times in our lives, both spiritually and not, we find ourselves pondering things we should be doing. Maybe getting involved in ministry, losing weight, or saving more money. Just thinking about doing it will not accomplish much. Many times we have good intentions and even plans to accomplish something, but never quite get around to it. We will never get to where we want to go by continuing to be passive.

Proactive = Progress
There comes a time in your life when you must decide that you are no longer going to be passive, but that you are going to start being proactive. We can dream and think and wish something all day long, but nothing will ever change until we pursue those dreams, until we become proactive.

The enemy uses tools to keep us from becoming proactive. These tools are deception and destruction. So many people around us are being deceived. We can either continue to remain quiet (passive) or choose to share Christ (proactive).

However sometimes we as Christians get confused when it comes to being proactive. If our neighbors house is one fire it would be crazy to say "Well, I'm just going to pray for you." We would need to take action, we would call the fire department, try to see if anyone was home, we would be proactive. Then why do we do just the opposite when it comes to spiritual matters? We simply say that you are going to say a prayer, when maybe God's intention was for you to be the answer to that prayer. We have been created with so much power, the Bible even says we won't simply have the ability to do works as Jesus did, but works GREATER than he did.

It's time for us to do something.

I love the 90's Week 2

The Process of Progress

2 Peter 3:18 "But grow in the grace and knowledge or our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen."

The whole goal of this series is not to perfect the imperfect, but rather for the imperfect to simply make progress in their pursuit of Christ. But there is a process we have to go through in order to make progress. Progress doesn't just happen, we have to be intentional about making progress. 

A bad habit of many Christians is seeking inadequate sources to make progress. Someone who is looking to lose weight isn't going to ask someone even heavier to give them advice. Someone who is looking to better their financial situation and make wise investments isn't going to the individual who just filled for bankruptcy. But that is exactly what we do spiritually. We seek information and advice from people who are no further in their walk with Christ than we are. 

There is a secret to Spiritual progress, it's simply the phrase "Because you say so I will." 

Sometimes we can't see the benefits of doing what God says. God says to tithe, but if I do, I have a bill that isn't going to get paid. But because you say to do it, I will. My marriage is falling apart, and I don't want to try anymore, but because you say so, I will try again. Making progress is as simple as obeying Gods word, and doing the things he has already asked us to do. 

We all make mistakes, and we all fall short, but that doesn't mean we should stop following Christ. But many of us do. God isn't through with you simply because you messed up. He still loves you and still desires you. 

Today, make the decision to continue to move forward, regardless of the mistakes you have made. It can be scary, because following Christ will cost you. We have to get to the point where we stop depending on what we think is best, and start to follow the word of God, simply because he says so. 

1 Peter 2:21 For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.

I Love the 90's Week 1

Where Am I?

This week Mason Harris our Student Pastor brought the message, as the first in this new series.

We learned the being of follower of Jesus Christ is a process. We aren't expected to become a Christ follower today, and be prefect tomorrow. But following Christ should change us. It should change our desires, it should change how we love others, and it should change our priorities. We have a Heavenly Father who knows that we are not perfect, yet he is cheering for us every step that we make closer to Him and His will for our lives.

We are all on different journey's when it comes to our walk with Christ, and that is OK! The main goal of this series is to realize where we are, and to begin making steps forward.

We are all in one of four areas of our walk: Seeker, Receiver, Follower, or Contributor.

Now see many of us in the church community, we get the seeking and receiving part down, but then we simply stop moving forward. This is where the work begins. The gift of salvation is absolutely free, and there is nothing that you or I could do to earn it. However, to become a disciple, a true follower of Christ, it requires sacrifice.

But how do I know if I have made that step into becoming more than simply a receiver, but a follower? Here are 5 indications that you are a fully devoted follower of Christ.

1. Daily pursuit of Jesus Christ: How can we be fully devoted unless we are daily seeking Jesus? Your marriage probably wouldn't last very long if you didn't at least talk to your Husband or Wife everyday. How do you expect your relationship with Christ to flourish if you don't make spending time with him a priority. Reading your Bible daily and spending time in prayer is a sign of becoming of follower. And if you haven't mastered this yet, that is OK! Start today by making your pursuit of Christ a priority.

2. Confession and Repentance: We all mess up, may times daily. That doesn't mean that we are loved any less by God. It does mean that when we realize we have sinned, we need to beginning by confessing those sins. He already sees everything we do, but sometimes we try to live our lives as if He doesn't. And repenting is so much more than a simply "I'm sorry". Repentance is actually feeling regret and remorse over your sin, and asking God for help and strength to turn away from that sin.

3. Financial Surrender: We all have bills. We all have things we want and need. The amazing thing about Jesus is that He didn't ask us all to give $100,000 a year to the church, because I don't know about you, but there is no way I could do that. He asked us to start by giving 10%. For some people that is easy, and for some of us, that 10% is hard to let go of. God didn't ask us to give simply to be doing so. When we hold on so tightly to the little we have, we make it impossible for God to bless us with so much more.

4. Involved in Church: The bible specifically tells us not to forsake the assembling of the church. Being involved in church is so much more than just showing up on Sunday morning, getting your feel good sermon, and going on about your life. Being involved in Church is being part of a family. You make a church your family when your join small groups and ministry groups.

5. Loves other people: John 13:35 "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Some Christians can be associated with being mean, unforgiving, and unloving. This isn't what Jesus wants for his followers. The bible goes as far as to tell us that anyone who doesn't love, doesn't know God, because God is love. How can we followers if we can't love others, when love is God's very nature?

The last and final area that we might be on in our walk with Christ, is being a Contributor. We see Contributors every week. They are the people opening the doors, serving the coffee, watching the children, playing the band, and showing your to your seat.

Wherever you are, decide today to take a step forward, and to continue to grow and learn as your pursue Christ.

What happens to you when you die? Week 4

As Christians, it's important for us to realize we aren't perfect, and our sins are no better than someone who hasn't yet decided to follow Christ. 

However, it's easy for us to get caught up in our works. We start trying to measure our good Christian deeds against someone who isn't saved. 

Pastor Trey compared it to getting tickets at Chuck E. Cheese. You could literally spend $1,000 on games at Chuck E. Cheese, and win arm fulls of tickets, but what are those tickets worth? Nothing, outside of Chuck E. Cheese. You can't cash in those tickets to put a down payment on a car, or to pay your electric bill. Those tickets are worthless for anything except a cheep toy at Chuck E. Cheese. 

In the same way, we try to present our deeds and good works as something of value. Do you know what the Bible says about that? Isaiah 64:6 tells us that even our most righteous acts, are as filthy rags when presented to our Savior. Why? Because by our own actions, we will never be good enough. It is ONLY through the blood of Jesus that we can even approach God at all. Our best is worthless without Salvation. 

But then why do we act as if our best is actually something to brag about? We present our tickets (our filthy rags) as if it makes us better than those without. This is why some people feel as if they have to fix themselves before coming to Christ. 

Christ desires you, just as you are. Are you shacking up? Come to Jesus. Are you gay? Come to Jesus. Jesus didn't say whoever comes to me and is heterosexual will be saved. He simply some come. 

What if instead of pointing out peoples sins, and telling them to stop sinning, we instead simply told them to start following Jesus? 

What if instead of giving them a list of things they can't do, we start celebrating their own realizations and recognition's and steps in Christ? 

We are all saved by grace. God loves you and desires you, regardless of any mistakes. You don't have to try and fix all your mistakes, he desires you just as you are, but he loves us too much to leave us that way. 

So this week, I challenge everyone to stop presenting their tickets (filthy rags) as something worthy, and start presenting ourselves as sinners saved by grace. 

Romans 10:9 If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe God raise him you will be saved.

What happens to you when you die? Week 3

In this series we've had to to start facing reality. And the reality is, death is inevitable. Pastor Trey was able to speak to us on this topic with great insight and some added humor.

Sunday's message was focused mostly on the fathers in the audience, but the spiritual concepts were applicable to us all.

We don't know what will happen tomorrow. We may have it all written out in our day planners, but tomorrow isn't promised to us or the ones we love.

Because our life is just a vapor in comparison to our eternity. This life is temporary, but in this temporary life are we focusing on the right things? How much money we have isn't tied to our eternity. Here are a few of the main points for the sermon that you should try to apply to your life.

Time is greater than toys. As adults, we can look back and say we probably don't have all the toys our parents bought us as kids. The most important thing parents can do for their kids is to spend quality time with them.

Embracing is greater than excuses. Pastor Trey presented the idea that if men would embrace their role as men, that would could see America come back to God in one generation. If we had men who were responsible fathers, loving husbands, and spiritual leaders in the homes, we would great changes in our nation. It's easy to make excuses, but a real man embraces his role, and does his best to be the man of God he was created to be.

God's plan is greater then my mistakes. As parents, we have all screwed up. We aren't going to be perfect, but we are expected to be striving to be more Christ like. The amazing thing is that God's plan for lives accounted for our mistakes. He knew we would mess up, but just because we mess up, doesn't mean he is done with us. He loves us. He pursued us. He died for us.

Don't wait until tomorrow. When your life is just a vapor, every moment counts. Start today being the person that God has created you to be.

James 4:14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

What happens to you when you die? Week 2

Many of us have either seen the movie or read the book "Heaven is for real". But even those who haven't, it easy for us to believe in a beautiful place with streets of gold and angels singing. However, its much more difficult for us to think about the alternative.

Hell is for real. But it is so hard for us to wrap our minds around the concept. How could a loving and forgiving God send anyone to Hell? The answer is Hell wasn't meant for you.

Hell was specifically created for Satan and his angels. It was not part of God's plan  for you or I to spend eternity there. His plan was to send his son, to die for our sins, so that we could  live eternity in Heaven with him.

God could have forced us to worship him. He definitely is powerful enough to not give us the choice. But we have an amazing God, who gave us free will. He gave us the choice. But while we are free to make our own decisions, we are not free from the consequences of those decisions. We have the opportunity to choose, Heaven or Hell. Not because God isn't loving, but because he is so loving that he doesn't want to force us to love him and serve him. He want us to have free will to choose how we live this life, and to choose how we spend our eternity.

The great news is, is that we don't have to be perfect to choose eternity in Heaven. We simply have to make the decision. We need to pray to God and ask him to come into our lives, and choose to live our lives in service to him. This does not mean we will be perfect. This means that our loving savior died for our imperfections.

This series is still going on at Victory Hill Church. If you have missed out on this series so far, week one is now up on our Victory Hill Church app (which is free to download to your smart phone).

Keep inviting your lost friends and family, and if you haven't yet, please join us this coming Sunday for week 3 of What happens to you when you die?

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

What happens to you when you die? Week 1

On the last Sunday in August, we started a new series that is sure to be very eye opening. Pastor Nathan has addressed the questions of what happens when we die.

Do a google search of what people believe will happen to you when you die, and you will find a broad variety of answers, from reincarnation to absolutely nothing. But one truth remains the same no  matter what each person believes; death is inevitable and it will happen to all of us at one point or another.

Now, as Christians, we believe in what the Bible says to be true, that when we die, we will then go to one of two places... Heaven or Hell. And this isn't dependent upon how good or bad we are, but completely based on whether or not we become a follower of Christ.

Even knowing intellectually that death is inevitable, it seems that it's not something we necessarily live out every single day. Why? Because, well death isn't a fun thing to think about. We equate death with finality and sadness over losing someone we care for. We watch the news and see crazy things about death and people dying in a variety ways, but we still don't want to think about it happening to us or someone we love.

How might we live our lives differently if we woke up every morning knowing and understanding the possibility that this day could be our last?  Might we make amends more quickly, love more sincerely, and spread the gospel with less fear?

The reality is that today very well could be your last. As Pastor pointed out, tents are temporary. Tents don't last, and neither will our earthly bodies.

While all this death talk can sound rather depressing, the awesome part is that it isn't the end of the story. Because Jesus walked through death, we can too! His sacrifice for our sins, gives us the opportunity to live eternally with Him. While these earthly bodies (tents) were not made to last, our spirits were made to last forever. And as Christians, we have the exciting truth, that death isn't the end, but rather just the beginning to our eternal lives.

If you are interested in hearing more about what happens to you after you die, consider attending Victory Hill Church this coming Sunday. We have services at 9:30am and 11:00am. We would love to see you there!

"All I know is i'm not home yet, this is not where I belong. Take this world and give me Jesus, this is not where I belong." -Building 429