4:12 Student Ministries @ Harmonyofavon.com's Podcast

In the second parable of the series, we find a women who has lost one of her 10 silver coins, and her desperate attempt to find it. While the message is similar to the lost sheep, we need to dig into a little context as to the importance of value in these coins. God sees us as incredibly valuable and we need to understand the value of others. We do not create the value, only recognize it.

Jesus used parables 40 times in the gospels to illustrate biblical and spiritual principles. Three parables in the book of Luke describes something that went missing and the owners/families desperate attempt to get it back. Have you gone Missing in Action and is Christ desperately seeking you out?

Our motives determine our worship. When you choose to do something as a Christ follower, ask yourself a question. Why do I do what I do? If the answer is anything other than, for God's glory, you need to check your motives!

After three weeks into 2016, many of us have already lost sight of our New Year Resolutions. Maybe this year you resolved to grow closer to God, only to begin losing sight of His work in your life. Good news, you are in good company. Jesus' parent once lost sight of Him and what they did gives us a blue print of how to find Jesus and His work once again in our life.

We are living in a culture that we don't belong. Much like Daniel who uprooted from his home and forced into a completely different world, we face the same. If we have a relationship with Christ then our home is in heaven. Because of this, we need to learn how to not conform to a culture that is against what God wants from us. We need to be in the world and not of the world.

Assistance Chief of Police Brian Nugent brought us a message on how the decisions we make today can impact the rest of our lives. We make 35,000 decisions a day and we may not think that most of them are important. however, one single decision made out of 35,000 could determine the rest of your life.

In the midst of a new year we are presented with the opportunity to open a new chapter in our lives. This chapter is what allows us to turn the page on what was last year, and move into what this year can be. It is our opportunity to make 2016 the best year ever by following God's leading.

Christ is the reason for the season; and while there are so many fun things about Christmas it is imperative that we don't skip over the whole point of this time of year. Jesus stepped out of heaven and onto earth to take a punishment that we all deserve. That is why we celebrate, not just once a year, but all year long...Christmas.

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Pastor David Anderson brings us a message of the importance of communication in all relationships and especially in our relationship with Christ. You've heard of the Lords prayer but have you truly thought about the meaning behind that prayer you may recite?

Who are they? What do they believe? What is our responsibility as Christians?

We all have a group of friends that we do life with, a squad. In Jesus' day He had a group of people that He did life and ministry with as well. We want to look at some of these people and compare them to some who may be in our squads today.

We all have a group of friends that we do life with, a squad. In Jesus' day He had a group of people that He did life and ministry with as well. We want to look at some of these people and compare them to some who may be in our squads today.

If God were to describe our relationship with Him in one word, based solely on our actions today what would He say? My initial thought would all be negative words. But in order to become a completely committed follower we have to shift our mindset, from God the boss, or judge whose only our to give us rules and punish us for breaking them; into, realizing He is our Heavenly father who thought we were worthy enough to die for us. Fans usher change from the outside, so that others will see, followers understand meaningful change comes from the inside.

Switching from fandom of Christ to following Him, can seem difficult. Some of the reasons we resist doing so may even be legitimate. In the book of Luke we see three potential followers and how they responded to the invitation. Until we can recognize that we may be making the same excuses, we may be stuck in the fan-zone forever!

During a quick encounter between Jesus and a tax collector named Levi, we see a unique situation. Jesus utters the two words, "Follow Me," and we see Levi get up and leave his life behind, no questions asked. What if we did the same? What an incredible difference we could make for the kingdom of God if we were only willing.

Jesus has never asked us to be "enthusiastic admirers" of Him. He left us with a simple command, "Follow me." The problem is that we have taken the movement out of this command. We follow Him, by sitting in church, by singing worship songs, by not cursing around other Christians. Following Jesus in the American culture generally does not cost us anything. So we are challenged with this question, are you a fan or a follower of Jesus?

Zombies are almost a religion these days. It seems as if you can't turn on a tv or go to a movie without seeing the undead. But did you know that zombies are not a new fad, in fact did you know their is a zombie story in the bible? As we discover through Ezekiel, how God can restore life in the dead, we need to be aware of the Walking Dead within our lives!

Our mission in life is and has always been to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ; Yet it is something that has completely fallen by the wayside. Why is this? We don't understand the urgency to reach the lost because we don't listen to the call of God on our lives. SO our issue is selective hearing. Are you ready to remove all obstacles in your way of going all in for Christ? Are you ready to reach your tipping point?

Pride is the backbone to American culture. We take pride in our house, our cars, our families, our money, we find pride in football teams, musical abilities, and even our church buildings. Pride is a tricky beast. Once elevated above God, pride becomes an idol that we worship. We find out this week what someone who has every reason to feel pride, feels in the end; Empty and dissatisfied.

Pleasure was created by God for our benefit. However, we have skewed our view on it, and elevated it to becoming a god that we worship. When we let the god of pleasure take over we are driven to do things that we should not do, leaving us disappointed and broken. We must battle this god, and worship the One, True God!

In the old testament we find countless stories, about the worship of false gods and idols. So much so that the first of the Ten Commandments were given to battle this! Today, we don't hear as much about false gods, or idol worship. Herein lies the issue, these gods exist, and the worship is so obvious that it is disguised in our own eyes. We need to realize that we have placed false gods ahead of God, and one of the worst god that is battling for our heart is that of entertainment.

The third part of the trinity is a bit of a mystery in todays culture. The same Holy spirit that moved 3,000 souls to get saved in Acts 2, is the same power we have available to us in our everyday life, living within us! Are you tapping into this power?

This is the year, that if you were to allow God to move through you, to make a huge advance in our community schools for God!

In the book of Leviticus Moses was given specific instructions for the priests to keep the fires of the burnt offerings going. We are called in the book of Romans to present ourselves as living sacrifices. Our last part of this series discusses how becoming the living sacrifice to God will help us keep our fires continually lit!

Look at the person closest to you. Can you tell me their name? Their struggles? Fears? What makes them happy? Sad? What their family life is like? Or even, do if they have a relationship with God? In today's world we have had the idea that, "It's all about me," So far engrained into our minds that we don't even realize their are those around us who are struggling. Jesus came and lived on this earth to display what true selflessness looks like; and we are called to follow his example by loving others.

Denial isn't just a river in Egypt; It's a nasty virus that can impede our abilities to make progress. One of the fastest ways that we can lose our fire for God, is to deny that we are struggling. The first step in recovery is known to be admitting there is an issue. If we can admit we will struggle then God will use us to strengthen others!

When we are on fire or our relationship with God is going well, we want to keep that going. So how can we? How can we continually keep our walk with Christ fresh? Today we are talking about priority; If we were to make God priority in our life, we would be able to keep a firm foundation during the storms of life.

In times where topics such as homosexuality, gay marriage, abortion, and racism are at the forefront of every news report; we will look at what our responsibility is as Christians, should be when faith and culture collide.

How many times have you fallen victim to this lie, "If it doesn't hurt anyone, it's ok?" The secret sin, destroys us from within. Throughout this story we find in the book of Joshua, we see a parallel of what happens in our lives when we live by this lie.

What is our responsibility as Christians to the LGBT community? What does the bible define marriage as? What does the bible say about homosexuality? These are a couple questions we discuss in tonight's 4:12-Bridge takeover!

This week, this month, this year you will be faced with a decision. It may be a big one, or a small one; But you will have no idea what you should do. So you will seek advice from others, and may get the response, "Follow your heart." Let's talk about the issue with this TruthyLie.

Today's TruthyLie we are debunking is the concept that all suffering is bad. In the book of 1 Peter, we find encouragement during times of suffering.

Unofficial definition of "TruthyLies"- A lie that we have believed so long to be true. Our walk with Christ is constantly bombarded with TruthyLies, and it is our job to constantly source check these lies. One TruthyLie we have been told is that little white lies are ok. We discover that the father of lies is Satan himself. Check your sources!

Have you ever had something or bought something that you thought was authentic, only to realize it was not? I bet that the item lost a little bit of value in your eyes. Generally authenticity does equate value; and in this week's lesson we Paul draws a line between authentic Christians and those who are easily drawn away with myths. Are you ready to be considered authentic, and to add value to the kingdom of God?

At any crime scene there is a caution tape line. In this weeks discussion we see a line drawn, a caution tape line laid out by the Apostle Paul to Timothy. He gives us a glimpse of how awful our world will and has become, and what tools we can use to stay on the right side of the caution tape.

What do you have confidence to do? Parachute, Bungee Jump? Speak to the ladies? How about this: "Whatever God asks of me?" Confidence to do things that we cannot fathom being able to do alone is something God promises to give us. But He requires us to take the first step. Today is the day, step out of your comfort zone and do something amazing for God!

Have you ever been faced with a line in life; a line that you have to choose which side you want to be on? In our Christian walk we are faced with many lines, some good and some bad. Today's line we are talking about is a line that faces us to go all in or all out. To choose to stay comfortable or to get a little uncomfortable for God!

A stagnant puddle of water contains harmful bacteria that will cause even the healthiest of persons to become ill. A stagnant, stand-still walk with Christ can damage even the most mature Christian. *No notes were used during the lesson (electronic failure), sorry for any confusion! *our sound system is a work in progress, sorry for the BUUUZZZZZZ

How do you see yourself? Has society, your situation, or what others tell you determined how you feel about yourself? God wants you to understand that you are greater than a dead dog, but that you are fearfully and wonderfully made! That you deserve to sit as His royal table!

In our everyday lives we are constantly reminded of the things that we NEED to have. We are told that if we don't have these things then maybe we aren't as cool or as successful as anyone else. We have to get back to being thankful for what God has given us!

Fear; The one feeling that will kill our Christian potential faster than anything. As we continue in our faith, we have to learn, as Jonah did, to quit worrying about the outcome and start listening to our calling. God has placed people in our lives that need to hear about the hope of Christ. We have to overcome our fear, and give God a chance to use us to reach those who are lost.

Absolute truth is nearly extinct; replaced with the ever-so-dangerous relative truth. This podcast explores the dangers of a world void of absolute truth and where we may rediscover God's truths for our lives.

One truth regarding Christians, WE ARE ALL HYPOCRITES. It is an unfortunate aspect of our lives. Instead of embracing this fact, we should be constantly battling our own instincts; Because this does not just effect our own walk with Christ, but can effect the eternity of those around us who don't have a relationship with Christ!

In this particular story we see a series of events that escalated quickly out of control into a devastating situation. The issue was that the people did not allow God to be a part of their decision making process, but did only what was "Right in their own eyes." Our world today has found itself spiraling out of control, similarly to the event in this story. Could we see a better tomorrow if everyone chose to do what was right in God's eyes and quit living in such a selfish manner?

The next step in learning to live a 4:12 life is living a life of Christian conduct. In this story of Paul and Silas's ministry we find an example of how powerful your conduct can be, even in the midst of immense struggle.

The tongue is a vicious muscle. According to the book of James it is a small thing that can cause massive devastation. Part of living a 4:12 life is to set an example in speech. Each and every day we are called to filter out speech and text to be edifying and not destructive!

1 Timothy 4:12 gives us a great example of how we should live our everyday life as Christians. We are to set an example in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity. Today we are casting our vision on living the 4:12 life!

Each and everyday we are faced with the opportunity to 'Take the High Road.' Every time we are faced with a situation that is hurtful, or tempts us to get angry or frustrated, we can rise above it and with the help of God, overcome it. The Christian walk is one that leads us to be slow to anger, patient, forgiving; and this simple lesson gives us a quick reminder of one way to learn how to Take the High Road.

THe Holy Spirit is an amazing aspect in the Christian life. There are times in our walk with Christ that we find ourselves on the edge of doing something, or going somewhere we shouldn't and the Holy Spirit begins sending warning signs. In this crazy story from the old testament, we find God sending warning signs to Balaam to stop his perverted ways. Are you ignoring His warning signs?

In a world where we attempt to overcomplicate our walk with Christ, we need a gentle reminder that Jesus has called us to be described in two words: Salt & Light. Today we look at what Jesus meant when He called us to simplify our earthly ministry, and learn how to place a filter over everything we do, asking ourselves if we are truly being Salt & Light in the dull/dark world.