Alive Wesleyan

ALIVE will become a multiplying movement. In order to become a multiplying movement, we have to get intentional about raising up leaders, men and women who understand that God has gifted them and God has called all of us to be part of advancing His kingdom in our neighborhoods There are four main strategies we are establishing to build up leaders.

Vision Submission must be part of any group that believes it is being led by God-given vision. Tom, the daily responsibilities for the ministry have lessened for you but the responsibility of charting the course of all that is ALIVE has risen in importance and need. God honors movement. Judges 2:6–10 (NIV84) 6 After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance. 7 The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel. 10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.

This lawyer has lived his life in his bubble. But, his bubble was not about personal space thing. Because, from his perspective, eternal life - the good life - a life that would honor God means staying away from everything that would make him dirty. It means following all the rules, staying clean, and trying to convince everyone else to live like him. This is why walking by on the other side would make sense to him. His bubble was meant to keep bloody, beat up, dying people outside. His bubble was meant to keep him focused on keeping things clean.

We can never be good enough. We can never earn what we do not deserve. And what the lawyer didn’t understand is what some of us do not understand. The answer to his problem was standing right in front of him. God loves his creation and he sent Jesus to do what we could not do for ourselves. Luke 10:29 (NRSV) 29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Luke 10:30–37 (NRSV) 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34 He went to him (literally means, came down upon him) and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, br

I pay my own way. I am all that. The two great cliffs people who follow God frequently make the mistake of jumping off of. And you know what, people who do not believe find these two schools of thought repulsive and they detest any gathering that espouses these two ideas. And if that is you, you are just like Jesus. He too detests these religious ideas.

He talked about how we can be like the religious lawyer and get stuck thinking  I’ve earned it and I pay my own way.  How can we be a people who give mercy away? The story is in Luke 10:25-37. If you have a bible Luke is about 3/4ths of the way through. In this passage Jesus is talking to the religious lawyer. And he has just had this conversation with the lawyer about what must I do to inherit eternal life, Jesus has tried to tell him he can’t earn it and he’s not all that, and here is the follow up response from the religious lawyer: But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 

Let me share the two mistakes the lawyer makes and perhaps some of us make, as we relate to God. “Pay my own way.” Another more boring term would be to over-moralize. “God blesses me because I am good. The “good-er” I am, the more blessings I achieve.   The second mistake is “I am all that.” A more boring term for this would be to over spiritualize. “I am at the head of class when it comes to God. God and I are good, in fact we are probably better than anybody else, certainly better than anybody else at church. 

We all have a personal code we live by. Last week, we discovered the code of Jesus. First, he tries to appeal to the physical desires and physical appetites. When the temptation to his physical desires doesn’t work, he appeals to the possibility of personal gain. Satan plays his biggest card and tempts with power and personal glory. And we all get this because every temptation in our lives is this temptation.

What is the code that moves us from regret to redemption? If the only things that change are time and circumstances resulting in less opportunity to build regret, then we haven’t really changed. Circumstances do not build solid character. Circumstances reveal character.   

Last week we began this series called back to the future.  This idea that looking back we see a series of events that lead us to this moment.  If one thing had been changed the outcome could have been completely different and you may not be sitting here.   When we look back, we do so knowing the outcome of the story, and this is the case in the incredible story we are going to be diving into.   

Speaker: Matt Irvine Ruth 1:1 "In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion."

The issue is not how big this moment seemed to be but rather how small and insignificant we label the miracles God does in our lives every day What matters is our anticipation of them and our response to them. This requires anticipation. This requires belief. This requires hope. This requires action. So what is our part?

Since the beginning of time, God has been doing completely impossible things in the hearts of completely average people like us. He won’t stop now. 

What do you do when you don’t feel like God is with you? Heat Series: Wrestling through trusting God when life is painful, confusing and doesn’t make sense.Speaker: Tom Harding

God doesn't "need" a person like you. You need a God like Him. Speaker: Tom Harding Heat Series: Wrestling through trusting God when life is painful, confusing and doesn’t make sense.

The most important thing that a church will ever do is announce that it is possible to be saved by grace through faith in Jesus. After that, all things are now possible. Speaker: Tom Harding Heat Series: Wrestling through trusting God when life is painful, confusing and doesn’t make sense.

The most important thing that a church will ever do is announce that it is possible to be saved by grace through faith in Jesus. After that, all things are now possible. Speaker: Tom Harding Pieces Series: Under the headship of Jesus, all of the most important pieces of our lives are brought back into a right relationship with one another.

There are two primary threats to our marriages: what we bring in from before we are married and what we allow in after we are married. Speaker: Tom Harding Pieces Series: Under the headship of Jesus, all of the most important pieces of our lives are brought back into a right relationship with one another.

Happy Mother's Day! Join us as we take a deeper look at what the Bible says about parenting. Speaker: Tom Harding Pieces Series: Under the headship of Jesus, all of the most important pieces of our lives are brought back into a right relationship with one another.

There are two primary threats to our marriages: what we bring in from before we are married and what we allow in after we are married. Speaker: Tom Harding Pieces Series: Under the headship of Jesus, all of the most important pieces of our lives are brought back into a right relationship with one another.