New Day Christian Church - Weston, WI

Adulting Part 1

Growing older is not the same as growing up. While physical maturity happens automatically, emotional and spiritual maturity take both time and intention. In the Adulting series we’ll look at the problem of immaturity in the lives of disciples, how it affects our families, our churches, and our witness to the world. Then we’ll discover the paths God has given us to truly grow up in our faith, to become more like Christ.

KEY VERSE:  Hebrews 5:12 (NLT) You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.

Push Notifications: Love God

Jesus says that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Is this reasonable? Is this worth it? What does it look like to be desperate for God?

Push Notifications: Go and Multiply

How should a church measure success? The conventional “scorecard” measures addition: How much is being added in terms of bodies (attendance), budget, and building? A more biblical scorecard would measure multiplication: How many disciples are we making who then go and make more disciples? How many churches are we planting that are then planting more churches? Each of us has a role in God’s plan for multiplication.

Genesis 1:22a (NLT)  Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply…”

Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT) 18  Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19  Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Acts 1:8 (NLT)  “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

 

Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=676TpKq_6Ok

PUSH Notifications: Pray Like This

We know that prayer is an important part of discipleship, so let’s break down some of the barriers that keep us from heartfelt, refreshing conversations with God.

Matthew 6:9-13 (NLT) 9  Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. 10  May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. 11  Give us today the food we need, 12  and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. 13  And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.

1.  PRAISE.  I BEGIN BY EXPRESSING MY LOVE TO GOD.  
2.  PURPOSE:  I COMMIT MYSELF TO GOD'S PURPOSE AND WILL FOR MY LIFE.
3.  PROVISION:  I ASK GOD TO PROVIDE FOR MY NEEDS.
4.  PARDON:  I ASK GOD TO FORGIVE MY SINS.
5.  PEOPLE:  I PRAY FOR OTHER PEOPLE.
6.  PROTECTION:  I ASK FOR SPIRITUAL PROTECTION FROM GOD.

Push Notification--Operating System Update

As we begin a new year, we’re going to update our operating system. New Day has undergone a number of assessments recently to help us stay on mission and clarify God’s vision for our future. In week one of Push Notification, Pastor Aaron will highlight New Day’s greatest strengths and weaknesses. He’ll also announce updates designed to de-bug our operating system.

KEY VERSES:

Romans 12:1 (NASB)  Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual [GR, logikos: “reasonable,” “rational”] service of worship.

Romans 12:1 (MSG)  So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.

Levi’s Gospel Revisited: Persecution

Levi was a tax collector who became a disciple of Jesus. We know him better as Matthew, one of the Gospel writers. In his record of Jesus’ teaching, Levi made sure that future disciples were fully warned that there would be persecution. That is still true today, even though we are insulated from it.

KEY TEXTS:

Matthew 5:10 (NLT)  God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

Hebrews 13:3 (NLT)  Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.

ADVENTising 4: Heaven on Earth

God’s messengers, the angels, ripped through the sky with light and music to announce the arrival of Jesus, the newborn King. Heaven invaded Earth in a dramatic way. Heaven still invades Earth in large and small ways today. We look forward to a time when Jesus returns to set all things right, to make all things new, on earth as it is in heaven.

KEY TEXT: Luke 2:13-14 (NLT) 13  Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, 14  “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

ADVENTising 3: You’re Invited!

God works in unexpected ways. The Messiah could have been born in a palace where powerful people from all around would have been invited to celebrate His birth. Instead, He was born in an underdog village, and simple shepherds were invited to the celebration. You might not get invited to parties where you socialize with the elite, but you are invited to the event of the season!

KEY TEXT: Luke 2:20 (NLT)  The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

Link to the video: https://youtu.be/kdzhbv2eGxk

ADVENTising 2: Bethlehem Inn (Underdogs)

At Christmastime we celebrate Jesus being born in Bethlehem. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the bigness of the holiday that we miss the rich significance of Jesus’ small-town heritage. Take some time this Advent season to clear out the clutter of Christmas advertising make room in your heart Christ Himself.  

KEY TEXT: Micah 5:2 (NLT)  But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past.

ADVENTising: Arriving Soon!

Advertising is cleverly planned to stir up discontentment in us, with the promise that three easy payments one little pill will ease our aching hearts. “Advent” on the other hand is the season of celebrating the gift God already gave us when He sent His Son, and looking forward to the return of Christ. It’s a joyful, hopeful outlook. It’s ADVENTising!

KEY TEXT: 2 Peter 3:9 (NLT)  The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

 

BIG IDEA: Even as the world falls farther away from God, we are SETTING the STAGE for Christ to return.

Further Reading:

Before Christ, Isaiah Predicts a Suffering Savior: Isaiah 53

A Glimpse Into the End and a New Beginning: Matthew 24; 2 Peter 3; Revelation 20-22

 

**NOTE**

There was a technical issue with the recording this week.  Around the 11:00 minute mark, the audio quality will change.