2024 Wk 22

AFTER THE BREAK: Memorial Day Recognition

Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans —known as the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared it should be May 30.

This federal holiday in the United States was designed for honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

From 1868 to 1970, it was observed on May 30.

Since 1971, it is observed on the last Monday of May.

The holiday has evolved over the years to commemorate ALL U.S. military personnel who have died in service, but the core message remains the same:

we owe a debt of gratitude to those who have fought and died for our freedoms.

Likewise, we come today to celebrate that freedom, but also to celebrate the freedom that has been purchased for us through the BLOOD OF JESUS!

Let’s lift up our voices like never before as we express our love, appreciation, and gratitude to our Victor—JESUS CHRIST!!

GENEROSITY

THANK YOU…

for giving

for serving

for caring

for your obedience to God’s Word thus align yourself towards His Blessings!

Giving is the antidote

to narcissistic living (93 Million per Day)

to our culture’s materialism

the preoccupation or emphasis on material objects, comforts, and considerations

Obedient Giving is a faith filled expression of God’s love flowing out of you towards others and it is rooted at the foot of the cross!!

ps. 37.34-40

Psalm 37:34–40 NLT

34 Put your hope in the Lord. Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you by giving you the land. You will see the wicked destroyed. 35 I have seen wicked and ruthless people flourishing like a tree in its native soil. 36 But when I looked again, they were gone! Though I searched for them, I could not find them! 37 Look at those who are honest and good, for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace. 38 But the rebellious will be destroyed; they have no future. 39 The Lord rescues the godly; he is their fortress in times of trouble. 40 The Lord helps them, rescuing them from the wicked. He saves them, and they find shelter in him.

UPDATE

Tomorrow is Memorial Day

Cafe Hope, doors open at 10am on Sundays.

Finance Small Group is paused for the summer. But do stay connected for some Fireside Evenings this summer.

Hispanic Church Today 2pm?

Look to your neighbor and say, “Invite Invite Invite”

June is around the corner along with Summer Solstice June the 20th!

CF will be Celebrating

Sundays in June

2nd outdoor service with watermelon (bring lawn chairs)

9th Ice Cream Social

16th Manhood Celebration

Father’s Day Picnic

We are foursquare

Grab your life card— taking notes grabs your heart ♥️

Current JESUS series: Storyteller- Words of Jesus

Intro

MINISTRY FOLLOWS CONNECTION

and connection often follows words that are put into action.

Jesus often connected by the use of stories and he became one of the greatest storytellers.

So what are some of the words of Jesus?

THE WORDS OF JESUS

HE SAID…

“This is how you should pray…”

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.

Ask, Seek, and Knock

Luke 11:9 (NLT)

9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

I am the Way, Truth, Life

John 14:6 (NLT)

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

God’s WAY

Psalm 18:30 (NLT)

30 God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.

God’s TRUTH

John 8:32 (NLT)

32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

God’s LIFE

John 10:10 (NLT)

10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

The LIFE that GOD has is like none other—it is

satisfying!

worth living

and eternal

Jesus went on to say...

DO TO OTHERS LIKE YOU DO

Matthew 7:12 (NLT)

12 “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

Last week… JESUS SAID!

YOU ARE MY FRIENDS NOT SLAVES

John 15:15 (NLT)

15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.

WE HAVE FOCUSED ON WHAT JESUS HAS SAID…

SO TODAY LET’S FLIP THE PLAYBOOK AND LOOK AT

5 THINGS JESUS DID NOT SAY! — That people believe...

1. Never said

Follow your heart — follow me because the heart is deceitful

Jeremiah 17:9 (NLT)

9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

Mark 7:21–23 NLT

21 For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”

Proverbs 4:23 (NLT)

23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

JESUS SAID…

Matthew 4:19 NLT

19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”

Jesus says “Follow Me” 21 times, in 12 difference conversations.

All of them are meaningful— the opposite of this phrase we hope to never here comes from

Matthew 7:22–23 NLT

22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

FOLLOW ME or I NEVER KNEW YOU?

2. Never said

Be true to yourself —

The World Says...

Staying true to yourself is a matter of personal integrity and self-respect.

Staying true to yourself involves standing up for your own values and not caving into the demands or expectations of others.

you set your compass in life and change it over time as needed.

You check in with yourself regularly to be sure you’re living a life that doesn’t just look good on paper but also feels good in your heart.

JESUS SAID...

Luke 9:23 NLT

23 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.

Disciples must deny themselves and follow me

Jesus was saying, die to yourself, your ambitions, your comforts, and this world.

Jesus was giving a call to live true joy and find true happiness in following Him.

BE REBORN AND FIND TRUE LIFE, STOP LIVING IN DEATH.

3. Never said

Believe in yourselves —

Believing in yourself sounds good as it includes things like self-worth, self-confidence, self-trust, and autonomy

Autonomy comes from the Greek roots

auto meaning "self" and

nomos meaning "custom" or "law."

That is the RUB— “Self”

JESUS SAID...

Believe in me, Trust me

John 14:6 NLT

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

I am the WAY

I am the TRUTH

I am the LIFE

no one comes to the father but through me

John 14:1 NLT

1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.

Trusting in ourselves— is what got us in this place—separated from God.

BELIEVE IN JESUS: HIS WAY HIS TRUTH HIS LIFE

4. Never said

Live your truth —

This phrase follows after Ralph Waldo Emerson quote,

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment”

Living Your Truth has it’s roots in self-awareness, self-impowerment filled with developing one’s own values, motives, and beliefs.

for the most part this is the AMERICAN WAY however if we do this apart from God, His Spirit, and His Word we aim to look like many of the kings in the Old Testament.

Full of themselves and grazing grass in the field.

JESUS SAID...

I am the truth and you will know the truth and I will set you free

John 8:31–32 NLT

31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Romans 8:5–10 (NLT)

5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.

6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.

8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)

10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God.

“Ford had a Better Idea”

Man will always have ideas, ambitions, desires, but every thought must be submitted to Christ and balanced by His Word.

2 Corinthians 10:3–5 MSG

3 The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. 4 The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. 5 We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.

5. Never said

As long as I am happy that is all that matters —

Being part of a feel good generation myself I know the temptations and testings in living in this materialistic world.

It has been filled with songs, teachings, campaigns, movies, inventions,and so much more to support being comfortable and happy.

The line is so thin— between need and want!

JESUS SAID...

I

Matthew 16:26 NLT

26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?

Cultures before us started strong, but then lost their way.

What measures do you have to not loose your way?

Are we busy gaining the whole that the texture of our soul is more important than God’s Direction?

Have we begun to exchange our soul for the dollar, the view, the freedom, the recognition, the number of LIKES on a post?

Knowing the Word is huge to navigate the course God has for our lives.

We can make lists all day long, but we know that it is about application—right?

Don’t you hate people who look one way but act another?

Political figures and movie stars deal with this all the time?

But right here in Okmulgee there might be people who look like that too…

...maybe you and even me at times?

Let’s turn to God this week and rekindle our desire to turn to Him, Kneel at the Cross, and let His Word renew our faith to trust Him at every turn.

TO TRUST THE WORDS OF JESUS

Read the Word

wRite the Word

Reread the Word

Rehearse the Word

Repeat the Word

Resolve to do the Word from the inside out!

CLOSING