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Got Holy Spirit Confirmation?

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Published on 9 June, 2013, by in Bible, Community, Sunday Service.

This post references Pastor Dana’s sermon on 6/9/13, which you can stream by clicking play here:

Let me start this post with two confessions.

First, I have had a habit of rolling my eyes a bit at sermons that talk about increasing offering — particularly, the first sermon on tithing that I heard PD give in 2005, when I was a non-believer.

Second, my wife and I tithe under 10% of our income (to the church and other sources).

With these confessions out of the way, if you were present at today’s service you should have noticed a few things:

(1) The theme of the music this week was largely on giving our lives completely to God — with songs like Take My Life and a new song that I was led to introduce at Offering called “Offering” by Third Day (with the lyrics, “and I will give You my life for it’s all I have to give because You gave Your life for me”). We actually did do this song at a men’s breakfast some 6 or so years ago, but not in our corporate worship ever.

(2) I was led to pray after the first song for God to break us, and to remind us that all we have and all the provision we have been given by God in our lives belongs to God.

(3) The message by PD emphasized giving up the self, with particular emphasis on our tithing habits.

If I was not the worship leader but just a visitor watching this all take place, I would certainly have concluded that the Pastor and the worship leader clearly planned it all…

…only I would have been wrong. PD and I did not confer with each other this week. I did have a prayerful revelation on my worship leading this week, however, which led to this tweet:


My not-so-coincidental tweet this week on worship leading…

That’s one of the ways God works through His kids… and if you felt He was talking to you this morning but thought the service was just some kind of clever, structured trickery, let this post witness that God was, indeed, talking loudly this morning.

Now: how do we respond?

 

Friendship Appreciation Sunday on June 16

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Published on 5 June, 2013, by in Community, Special Events, Sunday Service.

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On Sunday, June 16th, at both worship services, invite a friend to worship with you who has had a significant influence on your life. We will have a special worship celebrating friendship, with great refreshments served between services! God gives us friends and makes us friends in order to bless the world. Who is your friend? Bring him/her to a special Sunday morning celebration of friendship.
 

Daily Word

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Published on 4 June, 2013, by in Bible.

neon-bible

 

 

Wed 6/5 Psalm 72:1-11
Thu 6/6 Psalm 72:12-20
Fri 6/7 Psalm 73:1-12
Sat 6/8 Psalm 73:13-20; 1 Chronicles 11:22-24
Sun 6/9 Worship
Mon 6/10 Psalm 72:21-28
Tue 6/11 Psalm 74:1-9
Wed 6/12 Psalm 74:10-17
Thu 6/13 Psalm 74:18-23
Fri 6/14 Psalm 75
Sat 6/15 Psalm 76; Mark 8:35-36
Sun 6/16 Worship/ Friendship Appreciation Day/Father’s Day

 

 

FEARLESS Sermon Series This Sunday: Are you ready to chase lions?

 

Hearing from The Shadows

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Published on 29 May, 2013, by in Bible.

(from danahanson.org website)

When God wants someone to hear from him, and the person really wants to hear from God, generally the two get together. God speaks mainly in our thoughts. Many of these thoughts are written down in the books that make up the Bible. Sometimes, the authors heard an audible word from God, but the vast amount of “hearing” occurs in the mind.

When people write down words from God they usually have meaning in their present context. The book of Psalms has many examples of this. King David and others who created the Psalms frequently speak to their own everyday life situations. When these words are finally written down, they become resources for God’s people in worship and study. Sometimes, these words are used in a new context when they are cited in the future. People will refer back to these words during a future key event.

Such is the case with Bible passages in the New Testament that take on a new light, usually in the life of Jesus. Look at two examples from Psalm 69.

First, Psalm 69:9.

It is zeal for your house that has consumed me;    the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.

This verse is quoted by the Bible writer, John, who refers back to it when Jesus drives the moneychangers out of the Temple. John 2:17:

17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

This wasn’t the context of the original passage in Psalm 69. It takes on new light in the life of Jesus. When this happens, we can call the Psalm passage a “shadow” or “shadow prophecy” of what comes afterward. A prophecy that is meaningful in the present context of the Psalm and a foreshadowing of a future event.

The second example from Psalm 69 is verse 21.

They gave me poison for food,    and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.

This passage is used by all four of the Gospel writers in the context of the crucifixion of Jesus. Of course no one is referring back to poison food, only sour wine (vinegar). Another shadow prophecy.

 

 

Is God Losing?

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Published on 10 May, 2013, by in Bible, Community, Sunday Service.

April 7, 2013 sermon by Dana Hanson

 

Dr. Dallas Willard Dies and Is Fully Healed

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Published on 9 May, 2013, by in Community.

Dallas-Willard-In-Memoriam-web-928x276

 

 

LIFEhouse has lost a great prayer warrior who kept our community constantly in his prayers. Now, he cheers us on from the great cloud of witnesses! Fully healed and in the full presence of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
 
Friend, you will be deeply missed…
 

Eagle Scout Project Brings Beauty and Freshness to LIFEhouse

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Published on 7 May, 2013, by in Community.

Thank you to Grant Bickel and all his “helpers” for painting our walls and doing landscaping at the front entrance patio, Awesome job!

 

plants at entrance

plants at entrance

freshly painted wall!

 

low-maintenance plants at entrance

low-maintenance plants at entrance

 

DAILY WORD Bible Readings

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Published on 19 April, 2013, by in Bible.

Mon 5/13 Psalm 63

 

Tue 5/14 Psalm 64

 

Wed 5/15 Psalm 65:1-8

 

Thu 5/16 Psalm 65:9-13

 

Fri 5/17 Psalm 66:1-7

 

Sat 5/18 Psalm 67:8-15; Acts 2:1-4

 

Sun 5/19 Pentecost!

 

How Do You Read the Bible?

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Published on 19 April, 2013, by in Bible.
neon-bibleIn response to the frequently asked question, “How do you read the Bible?” Here is my usual response. 
It’s not complicated. You don’t need a degree in biblical theology to hear from God through the Bible. Think about it. Would God give us His Word so that only biblical scholars and pastors could understand it? God is our loving Father. Or as Jesus calls him, our “daddy.” What kind of dad would communicate and teach only some of his kids, and then leave the others in the dark? 
 
How do you read the Bible?
Three words.
 
Read
Act
Share
 
Why read the Bible every day? Why not? Our loving dad wants to speak with us, wants to hear from us, and wants us to know things about our lives.
Why act on what we read? If we trust His word, and we hear from Him, why wouldn’t we follow through on it?
Why share this with someone? It is good to share God’s Word with a friend. They can also hold us accountable. And many times, God speaks to us through them!
So, here’s what you do:
Take time to read and pray about what you read each day, with a day off on Sunday where you reflect on the sermon you hear.
How do you do all this?

1. Pray the Holy Spirit would open you to hear from God.

2. Read the Daily Word scripture text.
3. Spend time in quiet reflecting on the Word.
4. Ask,
- “What might God be saying to me here?” (Listen)
- “What am I going to do about it?” (Act)
5. Pray on it. Act on it. Then…
6. Tell someone about it.
Example:
Text for April 19 is Psalm 51:1-6. I focused on verse 6.
“But you desire honesty from the womb,
    teaching me wisdom even there.”
Listen:
What I think I was hearing from God is that He is teaching wisdom through the womb, and He continues to teach through His Holy Spirit working primarily through parents when the child leaves the womb. The word I hear from God is, “You are their conscience now.”
Action:
I will continue to help parents in nurturing their kid’s faith.
Share:
I share this word with my favorite expectant mother, our daughter, Kristina.
If you have any questions or simply want to share what God is saying to you through your reading, you can tweet me @danahanson, or email me at dana@danahanson.org.