The Rock of KC

1 Peter 3:8-17, 20 - character qualities and mindsets we are going to need active in our life to achieve the goal 1. be of one mind (1 Cor. 2:16) 2. have compassion for one another 3. love as brothers 4. be tenderhearted 5. be courteous (John 13:35) 6. do not return evil for evil but return a blessing instead (Matt. 5:44-47, Ps. 34:12-16) 7. turn from evil and do good 8. refrain from speaking evil or deceitfully - to cease or desist, to leave off from speaking guile, deceit - the action or practice of deceiving someone by concealing or misrepresenting the truth 9. seek peace and pursue it 10. do not be afraid or troubled 11. sanctify the Lord God in your heart "The simple meaning of the injunction is that at the very centre of life there is to be one Lord, and that is Christ... Other lords are permitted to invade the sanctuary of the heart, and to exercise dominion over us. Our own selfish desires, the opinion of others, worldly wisdom, the pressure of circumstances, these and many other lords command us, and we turn away our simple and complete allegiance to our one Lord." (Morgan) 12. be ready to give a reason for your hope

- Mark 1:9-13, 1 Cor. 10:13 - the same way God sees Jesus, He sees us - not living FOR God's love, but FROM His love - God is still my Father - no matter how bad I mess up. - if God brings you a test, you can be confident that He will guide you through it - you can pick your decisions but you can't pick your consequences. No matter what you choose, God will still be your Father.

-Prov. 28:18, Habakku 2:1-3 (the Bible talks a lot about vision) - we're all called to fulfill God's purposes on the earth - we bless with our vision 1. we exist to love God (Mark 12:28-30) 0 with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength 2. we exist to love others (Mark 12:31) - from Jesus' own mouth, "nothing is greater" 3. we exist to serve (John 13:2-17 - note that the blessing is in the doing, not the seeing or hearing, Mark 10:42-45) 4. we exist to act generously (Acts 10:35, Luke 6:37-38, 2 Cor. 9:6-7) - prayer requests: - increase our serving base - Saturday service - adding a 3rd Sunday service - interviewing architects/builders - establishing satellite campuses

Col. 1:15-18, 1 Cor. 10:31 - First Things: Honoring God with Your Treasures - Luke 12:13-34 - When we do not worry or fear about money and Possessions it magnifies 5 Great things about God. It would echo what we treasure about God 1. We treasure God as our Shepherd (Ps. 23:1) 2. We treasure God as our Father 3. We treasure God as our King - Shepherd connotes protection - Father connotes love, tenderness, authority, provision, guidance - King connotes power, sovereignty and wealth 4. We treasure how free and generous God is (1 Cor. 4:7) 5. We treasure God as happy - blessings is God's defaut setting (Prov. 10:22) - your heart moves toward what you cherish, where the object that you cherish is, there will be the organ that cherishes - Luke 16:13

- Col. 1:15-20, Matt. 28:18, Ps. 89:27 - 1 Peter 4:10, Matt. 6:33 - SHAPE (Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, Experiences) - there are no insignificant people in the family of God - we are not all the same (Rom. 12:3-8, 1 Cor. 12:4-12) - we must be careful of comparison - we must prove faithful (1 Cor. 4:2, Matt. 25:31-46) - we use it or lose it (Matt. 25:14-30) - are you employed or unemployed presently?

Order matters and order affects outcome. What we put first in our life shows what we honor and value. It shows what is most important to us.

Matt. 2:1-13 Christmas is over, now what? 1. Responding to Herod 2. Responding to the sleeping world 3. Responding like the magi (John 1:1-18, Luke 2:20) - John 1:14, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." - Will we remain captivated by the wonder, the majesty and simplicity of the Christ of Christmas throughout the year?

Isaiah 9:6-7 - the ultimate and absoute government of all things shall belong to Christ - "of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end." - He shall "establish it with judgement and with justice from henceforth even for ever," - "it is firmly established and suported in justice and righteousness from now on and forever." - Christ came into the world as the great prophet, priest, and king" - as prophet, He speaks for God - as priest, He is man's savior and advocate with the Father - as king, He rules over the world - Isaiah tied the two together: "Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end." - true peace, in otherwords, is a product of true government. - when there is true law and order, then there is also true peace - no God, no peace; know God, know peace The nature of this Government: 1. Internal-external; weakness-power (Phil 2:7, Isaiah 7:14) - Jesus, the Messiah, is fully God and fully man (Gen 1:26) - If He were not fully God, His sacrifice would be insufficient. If Jesus is not fully God and fully man, we are lost in sin. (John 3:3-7) 2. His kingdom revealed through you - Rom. 14:17, Rev. 11:15 - until then may God see an increase of His righteousness, His peace, and His joy by the power of the Holy Spirit because we are yielding to the increase of His government

1 Thess. 5:18 1. Gratitude honors God 2. Gratitude creates fellowship 3. Gratitude develops my faith 4. Gratitude serves others 5. Gratitude is a witness to unbelievers - Christians should be known for radical love, radical kindness, radical joy, radical gratitude. There's a word for that. It's called being Christ-like.

The Rock of KC is a church located in the Northland of Kansas City, MO. Our motto is: we are a "church without walls for all generations." In short, we see a church that seeks to reach every age group, and that the church extends beyond the four walls we find ourselves in each weekend. As important as our weekly worship experiences are, the church is maximized when it extends into our communities. We offer four worship experiences each weekend. Saturday at 5 PM, and three services on Sunday morning, at 8:30 AM, 10:15 AM, and 12 PM. Age-appropriate classes are offered for your children during each service, from birth all the way up to 6th grade. We would love to have you join us!

Life is to be Enjoyed you are to be the church to be fed and to feed others Rom. 8:1 Be in a relationship with God Be the church Hebrews 10:25 Complete the puzzle

- 1 Kings 15:7-8, John 4:34-38, Ps. 92:10, 45:1 - lift up your eyes and look, the field is white, the harvest is ready, the harest is plentiful - Joh 4:34-38, 1 Cor. 7:17

- Rev. 1:8 - firstness of Jesus (Gen. 1:1) - order affects outcome 1. If Jesus is first, it means that He is More (Phil 4:13) - where sin abounds, grace abounds more - He is More 2. He is before. To be first is to be before (Matt. 4:19, Rom. 8:28, Mark 14:27, 16:6-7) - Jesus goes into your furture to restore your brokenness - "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." Corrie Ten Boom

- Life is to be at peace with God (Luke 10:38-42) - the many things syndrome - If Martha could learn to give the one thing its proper place and priority, the many things would take care of themselves. - busyness can lead to barrenness - doing what is expected of us culturally is not necessarily what God wants us to be doing. - what we are distracted by says a lot about our value system - if we don't have the "one thing" in place, the "many things" will consume us - when we have God's peace, we see more clearly, we discern what is important, urgent, necessary, & unnecessary, we see what is a distraction - the key is to focus on Jesus - the source of peace (John 14:27) - Isa 54:10, Ps. 85:10, Rom. 15:13, 33, 1 Thess. 5:23, Heb. 13:20, Rom. 16:19, Phil. 4:6

- Prov. 3:5, Isa. 26:3, 2 Sam. 22:31, Ps. 56:3,11, 62:8 - the words translated "trust" in the Bible literally mean "a bold, confident, sure security or action based on that security." - Ps. 37:5, Matt. 11:28-30 - trust keeps a check on fear - trust keeps a check on worry - trust keeps murmuring in check - trust keeps bitterness in check - trust implies submission - trust implies obedience - trust implies patience - Heb. 10:36, Ps. 37:7