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WHEN SCRIPTURE BECOMES YOUR PRAYER PART 6: WHEN THE BLUEPRINT MEETS FAITH

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WHEN SCRIPTURE BECOMES YOUR PRAYER PART 6: WHEN THE BLUEPRINT MEETS FAITH Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” So far, we have been building a simple picture. Scripture is God’s written message. Scripture is God’s blueprint. Prayer is our response to the blueprint. Then we moved from reading to praying. But now we come to another important question: What happens when what God has said does not look like what we currently see? This is where faith comes in. Think again about a blueprint. A builder may look at an empty piece of land and see nothing but sand, stones and space. But when the architect looks at that same land, the architect sees something different. The architect sees the building that has been designed. The building is not physically there yet. But the blueprint reveals what is intended to be built. The builder therefore does not build according to what the land looks like. The builder builds acc...
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WHEN SCRIPTURE BECOMES YOUR PRAYER PART 3: PRAYER — RESPONDING TO THE BLUEPRINT

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WHEN SCRIPTURE BECOMES YOUR PRAYER PART 3: PRAYER — RESPONDING TO THE BLUEPRINT 1 John 5:14 (NIV) “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”   In the first two parts, we established two important things. Scripture is God's written message. And Scripture is like God's blueprint. But now comes the practical question: What do we do with the blueprint when we pray? The answer is simple: We respond to it.  Think about receiving a letter from someone you love. You read the letter, and the person tells you something important. Maybe they say, “ I will be coming to see you.”  You don't read the letter and simply put it away. You respond. You might say: “ I'm looking forward to seeing you.” Or: “ Thank you for letting me know .” The message came from them, but your response comes from you. That is one way to understand prayer. God speaks through His Word, and prayer is our response to what He h...
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WHEN SCRIPTURE BECOMES YOUR PRAYER PART 2: SCRIPTURE — GOD'S BLUEPRINT

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WHEN SCRIPTURE BECOMES YOUR PRAYER PART 2: SCRIPTURE — GOD'S BLUEPRINT PSALM 119:105 (NIV) “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”   In Part 1, we established something important: Scripture is God's written message. But if Scripture is God's message, what does that mean for the way we live and pray? Let me give you a simple picture. Imagine that you want to build a house. You have the land. You have the building materials. You have the workers. You have the money. But there is one problem.  There is no blueprint. Everyone is ready to work, but nobody knows exactly what the architect has in mind. One person says, “ Let's put the kitchen here .” Another says, “ No, let's put it over there.” Someone else says, “I think the bedroom should be bigger.” Everybody has an opinion. And eventually, you may end up with a building, but it may not be the building the architect intended. That is why the blueprint matters. The blueprint gives the bui...
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WHEN SCRIPTURE BECOMES YOUR PRAYER PART 1: SCRIPTURE — GOD'S WRITTEN MESSAGE

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WHEN SCRIPTURE BECOMES YOUR PRAYER PART 1: SCRIPTURE — GOD'S WRITTEN MESSAGE 2 TIMOTHY 3:16–17 (NIV) “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”   Have you ever thought about what the word Scripture actually means? We use the word all the time. We say, “The Scripture says…” We say, “Let's read some Scripture.” We say, “Let's pray with Scripture.” But what exactly is Scripture? Let me put it in the simplest way possible. A script is a written message prepared by an author to be spoken or acted out. An actor receives a script, studies it, understands what the writer is saying, and then speaks the words. The actor doesn't create the story. The actor doesn't change the author's message because he doesn't like it. He receives what has been written and communicates it. Now, Scripture is not a theatrical script. But the analogy helps us understand something important. Scripture is...
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WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING THE NEXT GENERATION? PART 7: WHAT WILL THE NEXT GENERATION RECEIVE FROM YOU?

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WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING THE NEXT GENERATION? PART 7: WHAT WILL THE NEXT GENERATION RECEIVE FROM YOU? Psalm 78:4 (NLT) “We will not hide these truths from our children but will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD, about his power and his mighty wonders.” THE FINAL LAP We have come to the final part of this journey. It started with a simple question. A question that came from watching a mother feed her newborn child. A question about breast milk. A question about nourishment. A question about what one generation receives from another. But that simple question became much bigger: WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING THE NEXT GENERATION? We discovered that this question is not only about food. It is about life. It is about what we consume. What we allow inside us. What we process. What we produce. What flows from us. What we pass on. And the example we leave behind. Now we arrive at the final question: What Will The Next Generation Receive From You? SOMETHING WILL BE L...
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WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING THE NEXT GENERATION?

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WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING THE NEXT GENERATION? PART 6: THE POWER OF EXAMPLE 1 Corinthians 11:1 (NLT) “And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.” In Part 1, we asked: WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING YOURSELF? In Part 2: WHAT HAPPENS INSIDE YOU? In Part 3: WHAT IS FLOWING OUT OF YOU? In Part 4: WHAT ARE YOU PRODUCING? In Part 5: WHAT ARE YOU PASSING ON? We discovered that every generation receives something from the generation before it. We also learned that we do not only pass things on through our words. We pass things on through our values, habits, attitudes, decisions and examples. Today, we take another step deeper: THE POWER OF EXAMPLE. Because sometimes the loudest message you give is not what you say. It is what you do. PEOPLE ARE WATCHING Whether you realize it or not, someone is watching you. Your children may be watching. Your spouse may be watching. Your younger siblings may be watching. Your church members may be watching. Your students may be watching....
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WHEN FOLLOWING JESUS COSTS EVERYTHING PART 7: WHAT IS YOUR “ONE THING”?

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WHEN FOLLOWING JESUS COSTS EVERYTHING PART 7: WHAT IS YOUR “ONE THING”? Luke 18:22 (NIV) When Jesus Christ heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing…” In Part 6, we encountered the rich young ruler—a man who was disciplined, moral, and sincere, yet walked away from Jesus Christ because of one thing he could not surrender. He was close to Jesus—but not surrendered to Him. Opening Thought 🌅 Sometimes, the greatest barrier between you and your next level in God is not many things—it is just one thing. Not obvious. Not loud. But deeply rooted. Key Phrase “ You still lack one thing …” Insight 🔍 This statement is both simple and profound. It means: You can be doing many things right… and still miss one thing. You can be progressing… and still be held back. You can be committed… and still be divided. The rich young ruler didn’t lack discipline. He lacked surrender in one area. And that one thing became everything. Deeper Application 🔥 Your “ one thing ” may not be money—but ...
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THE GREAT WALL: WHEN WALLS FAIL PART 2 — THE ENEMY AT THE GATE: STRONG WALLS, WEAK WATCHMEN

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THE GREAT WALL: WHEN WALLS FAIL PART 2 — THE ENEMY AT THE GATE: STRONG WALLS, WEAK WATCHMEN In Part 1, we saw that walls do not fail because they are weak; they fail when the gates are compromised. Even the mighty Great Wall of China, built with stones, sweat, and sacrifice, could not stop an enemy when its gatekeepers failed. True strength lies not in the wall itself, but in the vigilance and integrity of those who guard it. Now in Part 2, we explore how weak watchmen at the gate can undo even the strongest defenses. Every wall has two sides: the builders who raise it and the watchmen who guard it. A wall can be tall, thick, ancient, and mighty…but if the hearts of its watchmen grow tired, distracted, or compromised, the enemy does not need strength — just an opportunity. The Great Wall teaches us this: Strength is useless without vigilance. Protection is fragile without attention. A boundary is only as safe as the person standing at the gate. Let’s journey deeper. THE STORY — Part 2 ...
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JUMPSTARTING YOUR LIFE—THE POWER OF DIVINE CONNECTIONS PART 2: YOU CAN'T MOVE WITHOUT POWER

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  THE STORY: THE CAR NEEDED MORE THAN A JUMPSTART Romans 1:11-12 (NIV) "I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith." Welcome to Part 2 of our Series, Jumpstarting your life: the Power of Divine Connection. In Part 1, we learned that sometimes, like a dead car battery , our lives need a jumpstart from the right people, sources, and connections. But a jumpstart alone is not enough —you need power to keep moving! PART 2: YOU CAN’T MOVE WITHOUT POWER! THE STORY: THE CAR NEEDED MORE THAN A JUMPSTART After my landlady’s son’s car was jumpstarted, I expected him to drive off immediately. But he didn’t—he sat in the car for a while. Why? The car had power but no fuel! That moment reminded me: It’s not enough to be revived—you need power to keep going. HAVE YOU EVER FELT REVIVED BUT STILL STAGNANT? Many people experience moments of spiritual, emotional, or financial re...
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