What The Bible Says about New Beginnings

 Tonight I want to talk about What The Bible Says about New Beginnings.  I want to start out with sharing a quote before going into the scriptures.

The quote I want to start out with says this: When God gives you a New Beginning, It Starts With An Ending. Be Thankful For Closed Doors. They Often Guide Us To The Right One. 

I want us to take a look at some scriptures tonight and the scriptures we are going to look at are 2 Corinthians 5 verse 17, Isaiah 43 verse 18-19, Isaiah 40 verse 31, 1 John 4 verse 18, 1 Peter 1 verse 3, Psalm 121 verse 1-8, Job 8 verse 7, Genesis 1 verse 1, Ezekiel 36 verse 26, Revelation 21 verse 5, Ecclesiastes 3 verse 11, Isaiah 65 verse 17.

In the scriptures we see how God can show us the plans that He has for us are to prosper us and not to harm us, but to give us a hope and a future. This makes me think of a song by Matthew West called The Story Of Your Life. The Lyrics say this: Is this the end? Or only the beginning?

The second chance, You never thought you'd get

The question is, Will you do something with it

Or spend your days, Lost in your regret

This is the story of your life, You decide

How the rest is gonna read, This is your chance between the lines

To redefine what kind of legacy you leave, This is the story of your life And it's a story worth telling

We have the opportunities that God has given us to share our story with others or we can choose not to share and as Matthew West asks in the song, is this the end or only the beginning? We can choose to let it be the beginning of something or stop there and not let ourselves continue to keep going. See if we chose that, then it's like we're saying that we've given up, let the enemy win and that God's work in us was for nothing and that His plans mean nothing. As children of God, we know that this is always the beginning of something new because God's work in us has and is still continuing to begin. We don't have to be afraid of what the enemy tries to say, because God is with us. When God is always with us, what do we have to fear? The answer to that, is we don't have to fear anything.

I want to share another quote with all of you and the quote says this: Thank you Lord for new beginnings.

I would like us to take a look at some other scriptures now, that talk about Baptism and New Beginnings. 

We are now going to look at Luke 7 verse 47, Matthew 7 verse 7, John 1 verse 1-14, John 3:16, Jeremiah 29 verse 11, Acts 2 verse 38, John 3 verse 5, Colossians 2 verse 12, Romans 6 verse 3-4, John 16 verse 13, Revelation 2 verse 7, 2 Peter 3 verse 18, James 2 verse 24, 2 Timothy 3 verse 16-17, Galatians 3 verse 27, Ephesians 2 verse 8, Acts 1 verse 5, Acts 2 verse 41, John 17 verse 3, John 14 verse 6.

In the scriptures we see that Baptism also has to do with New Beginnings because when we are baptized and we get baptized, we are giving our life to Christ and by doing that, we are starting a relationship with Him. We are asking Him to help us in our Faith walks, and in our relationship with Him because He will help us grow. He is going to help us see that the plans He has for us are greater than what we'll ever know, because we may not know every step but we know that God is merciful in every way and we know that God is going to be with us. 

God Gives Life, Life That Is Everlasting, Life that is forever until He calls us Home to be with Him in Heaven. I'm still currently watching a movie called Heaven on Pureflix. I bring this up because the description of the movie says this: Set between the New World (Heaven) and the Old World (Earth), the story follows the life and afterlife of Jonathan Stone and all those around him from the past, present, and future. 

Now I shared the entire description because I mainly want to focus on how it talks about Heaven and Earth. Here on Earth we try our best to live our lives to the fullest in how God wants us to live. We try to do our best to be the examples and children He made us to be in His Image. 

We're going to be reunited with our loved ones someday and so going back to what we've learned so far, we know that if we want to have a new life and new beginning in Heaven, just like we have life and many beginnings that are new and not new, that we need to continue to Trust, have Faith, Love, Care, and keep knowing that the plans God has for us are going to keep working out in His Timing, For His Good, and For His Glory. God is Love, and God's Love is perfect in every way, because God's Love for us doesn't fail. It doesn't fail, because His Love for us is Fierce and Unending. 

Now that last part came from a song called Belovedness by Sarah Kroger. That song holds special meaning for me, but I wanted to share part of it with all of you because I think it's important to know that when we are talking about New Beginnings, that we also know God's Love doesn't change, and because it doesn't change we know in our hearts, that God will continue to use us for a greater purpose and a purpose that only He knows what it is.

Before I share what I would like to end with and have you all share your prayer requests and comments, there is another quote I would like to share with all of you, and the quote says this: The only way to get rid of your past is to make a future out of it. I wanted to share this quote because it reminds me of Jeremiah 29 verse 11 that says: For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, and not to harm you but to give you a hope and a future. 

I would like to now let anyone share any prayer requests and comments they may have. Thank you all for sharing.

Here is what I would like to leave all of you with tonight.

No matter how hard the past you can always begin again.

Each morning is a new beginning of our life. Each day is a finished whole. The present day marks the boundary of our cares and concerns. It is long enough to find God or lose Him, to keep faith or fall into disgrace.

''Celebrate endings for they precede new beginnings.''

The God who made us can remake us.

Don't be discouraged. It's often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock.

What kind of new beginnings have you been trusting in God's Timing on? How do you help others see that the beginnings that God has planned for them can help them be encouraged to never give up, and to keep going in life?

Thank you all for sharing, 

What Does The Bible Say About Integrity

 Tonight we are going to look at What Does The Bible Say About Integrity? I want to start off with some scriptures.

The scriptures we will take a look at are Proverbs 20 verse 7, Phillipians 2 verse 13, Psalm 26 verse 11, Leviticus 19 verse 18, Ezekial 18 verse 7-9, Proverbs 3 verse 3, Genesis 20 verse 5-6, 1 Samuel 29 verse 6, Numbers 16 verse 15, and the last scripture we will look at is Psalm 41 verse 11-13. Thank you all for reading. I would like to share a quote on integrity before going further into what I want to share when I was preparing for this tonight. The quote I would like to share with all of you says this: Integrity is keeping a commitment even after circumstances have changed. Here is something I would now like to share.

When we think of Integrity, we think of God who shows us those He chose to be leaders, His followers, and His Servants. We see how God gives us strength to do all things through Him that gives us strength. I think of Integrity not as a way of showing right from wrong but I see it as a way of standing up for what is right, when things happen that can be in a way unfair or unkind. We want to treat people the way they would want to be treated and that is with Respect. When I think of the word respect, I think of how that can show true integrity in our Faith walk with God because He helps us through the toughest storms and trials that we face in our lives. We are far from perfect but we know that as God's Children, we don't have to be because He doesn't expect us to be perfect. He doesn't want that for our lives, because it isn't in His plan. If we were all made to be that way in a sense, we would already know what God has planned for our lives. God doesn't want us to know everything that He has planned for our lives, and He doesn't expect us to understand it fully either. We think of Integrity, and we think of Humbleness. We think of Humbleness, and we then think of Humility and Kindness. These traits are a great form of what Integrity is in our lives, the integrity that is Spiritual and the Integrity that God gives us.

If I were to describe the word Integrity in my own words and to help someone understand what it meant, I would describe it this way to them: Inspire New Trust Grace Respect Inspirational Trustworthy Yearning. We Inspire others by giving them a new way to look at things with Grace and Respect. We give them an inspirational outlook at God's Creations, and show them that He is Trustworthy and how we can be Yearning for Him and His Word each and every single day.

God gives us a peace in knowing that no matter what we face in our lives that with dignity, integrity, the love and compassion, the kindness, the humbleness, humility, grace, respect, joy, happiness, and everything else He has given us to grow with Him in our walks of Faith and Relationship with Him that we don't have to be afraid because the enemy won't win. The enemy won't win because God always wins the battles and because God always wins our battles that we face in this world, He shows time and time again that true integrity can come from Him and be given to us by Him, if we just be still and know, and let Him help us in our life to show us that and be able to know there is nothing to big or too small for Him to handle in our own life, but what goes on in our world now.

God can get us through it, but we need to first let go and surrender it all to Him. When we can do that, we can start to see the results and the things that He has planned for each of us.

When we think about Spirtual Integrity and what it means especially with the words humility, discernment, and heart, how do we now take those things to heart? How can we be the children that God has called us to be in His presence, in order to be His true Servants?

Thank you all for sharing, I like to share a quote. The quote says this: ''I don't always feel His presence, but God's promises do not depend upon my feelings; they rest upon His integrity.''

I like to share a song called Friend Of God where the lyrics say this: Who am I that You are mindful of me, That You hear me when I call,  Is it true that You are thinking of me

How You love me it's amazing, I am a friend of God, I am a friend of God, I am a friend of God, He calls me friend

God Almighty, Lord of Glory, You have called me friend

I am a friend of God, I am a friend of God, I am a friend of God, He calls me friend, He calls me friend, He calls me friend...  With these lyrics we see that God calls us friend because we always have a special relationship with Him that not only are we friends with God but we are His children. We are fearfully and wonderfully made by Him. He doesn't give up on us, and because He doesn't give up on us, we don't have to worry because He's fighting for us. He fights for us every single day, and why is that? Well let me reshare the quote I did before the song with all of you.

''I don't always feel His presence, but God's promises do not depend upon my feelings; they rest upon His integrity.''

Before I share what I would like to leave all of you with tonight, I like to let anyone share prayer requests and any last minute comments. Thank you all for sharing. Here is what I would like to leave all of you with tonight.

The first thing, says this: ''God doesn't call us to easy; He calls us to be Christ-Like.''

The second thing says: 

Finally, here are the last little things I would like to end on.

God can even give you the strength to keep going within those difficult situations. God calls us to maintain our faith and integrity and we respond by trusting in Him.

Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility. 

What The Bible Says About God's Word

 I'm going to be sharing what The Bible Says about God's Word. 

I first want to share a scripture with all of you that comes from John 1 verse 1 that says: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

We are now going to look at some different scriptures that talk about it. The scriptures we will be taking a look at and reading from are, 2 Timothy chapter 3 verses 16-17, Matthew chapter 24 verse 35, Isaiah chapter 40 verse 8, Colossians chapter 3 verse 16, Proverbs chapter 30 verse 5, Romans chapter 10, verse 17, and Luke chapter 11 verse 28.  Thank you all for reading.

When we take a look at the scriptures we read, and the one I started with, we see a pattern. The pattern we see, is that no matter what we read there is always One thing that remains, and that is God's Word. God's Word never changes, because it always stays the same and it remains true. We can always depend on God's Word to help us through any trial or struggle that we face in life. God's Word is the Living Word, the Word that helps us  to grow. The Word that helps us to see that there great things God has not only done for us, but is continuing to show us. He has wonderful plans for us, and He brought us into the world for a purpose. God's Word is what we need but we also need God to help us share His Word with others too. 

I would now like to share a song called Word Of God Speak and the lyrics that say this.

Word Of God Speak, would you pour down like rain washing my eyes to see, your majesty to be still and know that you're in this place, please let me stay and rest in Your Holiness, Word Of God Speak.

I am now going to share a quote with all of you that says: God's Word is not just to be heard and repeated; It is to be breathed, lived, and emulated with each action. 

I would like to share another quote that says, The Bible is not Man's Word about God, but God's Word about Man.

There are two last things, I would like to share with you.

The first thing I would like to share comes from 1 Thessalonians 2 verse 13 that says: And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the Word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the Word of men but as what it really is, the Word of God, which is at work in you believers.

The second thing I would like to share with you is another quote that says: Through the written Word we discover the Living Word- Jesus Christ. 

I wanted to leave with these two things because just like in a song from Veggie Tales we remember this: And so what we have learned applies to our lives today

And God has a lot to say in His book

You see, we know that God's word is for everyone

And now that our song is done, we'll take a look

What Does It Mean To Use Our Gifts And Talents

 Last week we talked about what it meant to feel left out.  I want to talk about what it means to use the gifts and talents God has given us. 

So we are going to look at different scriptures but before we do, I first want to share some song lyrics with you to help us get a better understanding of the scriptures we will be reading from. The first song I would like to share with you is called Well Done Good And Faithful Servant by Dana Dirksen. 

I gave him five talents and ten I got back.

I gave him five talents and ten I got back.

I gave him two talents and four I got back.

I gave him two talents and four I got back.

Well done good and faithful servant, well done.

You've been faithful over a little, well done, well done.

I gave him one talent and one I got back.

I gave him one talent and one I got back.

The next song I would like to share with you is a song called The Only Song by Blessid Union Of Souls.

You are the melody, the words, You're the chorus

Cause You gladly laid Your life down for us

All the blessings that You bring

You're the only song I ever wanna sing.

All the sinners and the saints got something to say

But we know who gave 'em voices

And we're all down here in the atmosphere just making joyful noises

Birds are singing in the air, thunder crashes like a drum

Your song is everywhere; it was my first number 1

You are the melody the words, You're the chorus

Cause You gladly laid Your life down for us

All the blessings that You bring

You're the only song I ever wanna sing.

The last song I would like to share with you comes from a movie called A Week Away and the song I want to share is called Good Enough.

Can't help but wonder if I'm good enough

I just don't think I am good enough

There's just no way that you're not good enough

Don't let them tell you you're not good enough

A little weird is a good thing

God made you just how you should be

Good enough

More than good enough 

The only way you could go wrong is if you doubt yourself

Confidence is everything, no need to be someone else

As we hear the lyrics from each song we are beginning to realize that God is calling us to do so much more and with that, we are going to now take a look at Matthew chapter 25 verse 14-30, 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 10, and Romans chapter 12 verse 6-8.

as we look back at we just read we see how God shows us that when we keep putting our trust in Him, we don't have to be afraid to do what He has placed on our hearts but we don't have to be afraid to be who He created us to be. 

I would like to share something I read when I was preparing for this because when I read it, it fell into place of what I just shared.

This comes from a blog called faithsisland.org The title says: Your Gift WIll Make Room for You- Proverbs 18:16 Explained. The person who wrote this shared that scripture which says: A man's gift makes room for him, And brings him before great men.

Now there was more to this but it is a little bit long but as I was reading and I looked at the scriptures we read a few minutes ago, and I see this last one, we again see that God is showing how we were created uniquely and wonderfully made by Him. We see that His purpose is greater and we see that He does have a place in this world for us because He loved us from the time we were brought into the world He created.

I would now like to ask these questions to all of you.

What does it mean to you knowing that God created you to be uniquely and wonderfully made?

How has God helped you through this year by finding what He has called you to do?

When do you remember God revealing or showing you the plans He had for you? 

I would like to now share some quotes that I feel can help us be encouraged throughout this week to know that the gifts and talents He has given us are going to be used for His Purpose and Plan He has for all of us even when we don't understand it sometimes, He does.  

There is a quote that I heard in a movie where it says, ''You just have to trust God and Trust God and Let Go.'' 

The next quote I would like to share says, ''You were given your gift for the joy you may give in return.'' ''Never dim your light because others are too afraid to come out of the dark.'' ''Mere talents does not give glory to God but a humble heart.'' 

The last two quotes I want to share with you say this: Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God. Your purpose in life is to use your talents to help other people. Your journey in life teaches you how to do that.

the final thing I would like to leave with all of you is this: Your gifts and talents + your hearts desire = Your Purpose. I chose to leave with this quote because it's true we have to keep praying and letting God speak to us, to remind us and let us know what He wants us to do and what He has called all of us to do.

What The Bible Says About Reverence

 Tonight we're going to look at what the Bible says about Reverence

I want to say that before we go into scriptures, that this was one topic I felt God laid on my heart to talk about for one of my December studies, but the more I thought about what I wanted to be able to talk to all of you about for tonight, I felt like God wanted me to share it on here, instead of waiting to share about it later.

The scriptures we're going to be looking at tonight is, Psalm 111 verse 10, 1 Samuel 12 verse 24, Acts 17 verse 10-11, Hebrews 12 verse 28-29, Proverbs 9 verse 10, Ephesians 5 verse 21, Leviticus 19 verse 30, Exdous 3 verse 5, Hebrews 5 verse 7, Matthew 4 verse 9- 10, and the last scripture we are going to look at is Phillipians 2 verse 12.

In the scriptures we see how God throughout all the different books and chapters and verses we read, that not only do we seek Wisdom and knowledge from God, in having Him help us know what we should do but we also seek Reverence. Now, before I go into sharing more on what God's Word tells us about it, I want to share a song.

The song is called Speak O Lord. The lyrics say this: Speak, O Lord, as we come to You, To receive the food of Your Holy Word

Take Your truth, plant it deep in us

Shape and fashion us in Your likeness

That the light of Christ might be seen today

In our acts of love and our deeds of faith

Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us

All Your purposes for Your glory

Teach us Lord, full obedience

Holy reverence, true humility

Test our thoughts and our attitudes

In the radiance of Your purity

I now like to share something I found on google from a website called christianity.com and the article headline that said: What does it mean to have Reverence for God?

22 Ways to Develop A Spirit of Reverence for God

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” 1 Corinthians 10:31

Developing a reverence for the Lord is a practice that creates awareness of God in our lives. God’s Words show us that reverence for God is doing everything in word and deed out of love and awe for God. Revering the Lord is like having a light illuminating our path in the dark.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength remembering that Jesus says that those who love Him will obey Him.

Recognize that God’s wisdom is infinitely greater than any human wisdom. Trust Him more than self.

Delight yourself in the Lord and trust Him to use all things, the good and the bad for your good and His ultimate glory.

Desire to know Him. In prayer, ask Him to have a desire and thirst for His Word.

Meditate on His Word. Memorize it.

There is more to this but I wanted us to be able to see how when we put our Faith, our Hope, our Love for God in Him and we trust in His ways, then we can start to build our Relationship with Him further, we can go deeper in our Faith walks with Him, and really go into more of how we can show the Reverence for God that God wants us to see. We see how with God all things are possible, and nothing is impossible for Him.

I want to share some quotes with all of you.

Do everything with gentleness, with kindness, with reverence. That is how grace moves; That is how love dances. 

A simple childlike faith in a divine friend solves all the problems that come to us by land or sea

Worship means reverence and humility it means revering your real self  and humbling delusions.

The more reverence we have for the Word of God, the more joy we shall find in it.

Here are the last few things I would like to share with all of you and leave all of you with tonight. 

If we want revivals, we must revive our reverence for the Word Of God. 

Friendship with God is reserved for those who reverence Him. With them alone He shares the secrets of His promises. Psalm 25 verse 14. 

To sanctify God is to reverence Him in our hearts, and to represent Him in the glory of His holiness before men. 

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.  2 Timothy 1:7. 

What Does The Bible Say About Inclusion?

 Tonight we're going to be looking at different Bible verses and how each scripture relates to us in our own life. 

I first want to say thank you for allowing me to be able to lead Warriors In Faith because I feel we're all Warriors in Christ that have been given the opportunities to do what God has called all of us to do. 

Tonight's message is on inclusion. When we think of that, we go back to a point in our life where we have all felt excluded and felt like we didn't belong. I want all of you to think of a time where you felt that you were alone in this world, and that you didn't fit in because you were different from your peers. I want you to think of that for a moment because when it comes time for some questions, I want all of you to be able to share if you would like. 

The first scripture I would like us to take a look at is Exdous chapter 4 verse 11-16. The second scripture we will be looking at is Luke chapter 14 verses 12-14. The next verse we will look at is John 14:6 and the last chapter we will be looking at is John 3:3. 

From the scriptures we read, we see that each verse in each book has something in common. We see that God has shown mercy, grace, wisdom, perseverance, strength, and unconditional love to us. With that, I would like to ask these questions to all of you.

Q. Have you ever felt called by God for a certain task? How have you responded?

Q. What personal struggle makes you feel most helpless? Where do you turn?

Q. Creative people often find ways to transcend the limits put on them. What do you feel hems you in? How can you achieve God's will despite obstacles?

Thank you all for sharing, I would now like to share some song lyrics I feel can help us not only know that God is working in our lives for something greater but helping us know we're not alone.

The first lyric of the song by Mass Anthem called Through People Like Me says this: People like me we feel so ordinary, looking for a place where we fit in. And people like me we lie awake and worry we're gonna miss a moment when life kicks in. It's nice to know I'm not alone because this is what gives me hope. Your the God who goes before your the God who comes behind, your the God who dreams big dreams with the perfect plan at the perfect time. I can only see what is, You see what will be, I believe you change the world through people like me. 

In the song by Matthew West called My Own Little World it says: I'm going to break my heart for what breaks yours, give me open hands and open doors. Put your light in my eyes and let me see that my own little world is not about me. What if there's a bigger picture, what if I'm missing out what if there's a greater purpose I could be living right now. I don't wanna miss what matters, I wanna be reaching out. Show me the greater purpose so I can start living right now, outside my own little world.

Finally in Micahel W. Smith's song Place In This World it says, If there are millions down on their knees, among the many can you still hear me? Hear me asking where do I belong? Is there a vision that I can call my own? Show me.

As we hear these lyrics from each song, we remember that God shows us that when we feel like we can handle the things that we can take control of and we feel that we don't need help, that is when we stop and really take time to reflect that we do need help and God shows us that the greater purpose He has for our lives is beyond our control. He shows us that while a lot of us, if not all of us are wondering if we belong and fit in, God shows us again that we have always belonged and have fit in because He has accepted us from the moment He created us to be who He wanted us to be. He shows that we have a place in this world and that His plan is continuing to be revealed to us each and every day.

I would like to ask three final questions before we go into any final comments or prayer requests. 

Q. What do you feel you can do this week and everyday to be a light to someone who doesn't know Christ but wants to know Him?

Q.  Does your faith resemble the childlike faith of Psalm 23 or the barely hanging on faith of Psalm 22?

Q. What obstacles do you face when you try to talk to people about God?