New Hope Church Hilo Hawaii

We end this series with worship as a lifestyle because it is the ultimate priority of every believer. God is worthy of our worship and designed worship to be the entrance into our personal world of circumstances where His sovereignty has been at work. Worship causes believers to gather in His name, prioritizes our life as a believer, keeps us humble like children, and chips away at our lives everything that is not of the Lord. We’re going to learn how to live as a worshiper.

There are two "houses" we, as believers, are a part of. The house where our family lives, and the House of God, where believers gather. Both need to be guarded against disunity.

We're going to learn the wisdom and benefits from practicing a life of occasional solitude. It is not to be misunderstood as pure "alone time" but rather experiencing both the private and personal presence of God and personal time and space away from life's daily demands.

In the Kingdom of God, relationships are everything. Without healthy relationships, we're not able to function well. God gives us ways to bring health back to broken relationships.

Jesus Himself modeled what it meant to be in submission. It was never about living a lesser life of existence, but rather a life free to give up "my own rights" of my fleshly nature.

There are two families we have been given by God. Our biological family and our church family. When it comes to building up either one of those families, there's the worlds way and then there is God's way. God's way is done with intentionality, and purposeful principles that will cultivate a strong sense of community. God wants us to build up our families in such a way that adds value to everyone.

We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to carry out the works of the Spirit. When we continuously abide in the fullness of the Spirit, we become more effective in the world surrounding us. Not only will we be filled with the Spirit, we'll also be able to accomplish what is impossible under our own strength and wisdom.

In a world of social media, you would think the feeling of loneliness would be cured. Reality shows the opposite, mankind has never felt lonelier. The reason is, we were made to go through life together. We are meant to experience the ups and downs of life with others as a part of who we are becoming. Doing life together is just as valuable as life itself.

We all want to belong somewhere, and be accepted by someone. God created us to belong to a family, His family, and none of us will be able to carry out our life's purpose outside of relationships.

God is not known through the way of our minds, but by the way of our hearts. If left unchecked, this one area is the single most important reason why marital affairs take place, leaders fall to immorality, and Christians fail in their effectiveness. Learning to have a heart of integrity is a must that is lifelong learned.

Jesus was asked, “What is the most important commandment?” He simply replied, “Love others as you love yourself.” Not only did Jesus say it, He showed it.

God's way of running His family is done in such a way that strengthens and builds up, rather than discourages and weakens. He wanted us to be in His family so He formed us to be in it. He also gave us structure so that we could grow and mature as His family.

The joy that comes with reading the bible daily can only happen when I develop the habit of daily devotions. God's Word is the ever-available supernatural source for faith, strength, wisdom, growth, and freedom in Christ. Nothing else can take the place of its power to nourish, counsel, and sustain us through our lifetime.

Being near to God feels like an oasis, but when I don't feel close to God, it feels like a desert. When it seems like God has abandoned us, or is distant from us, we feel like we may have done something wrong. It could very well be that God is giving us the opportunity to strengthen our relationship with Him.

Forgiveness first started when Jesus forgave us of all of our sins. He then says to us, "Freely you have received, freely give." When we have a tough time forgiving, it communicates that we have forgotten how much we've been forgiven by God.

When we talk about worship, we tend to think about music. Music is such a small part of worshipping God. Worship is much more than music, it's the way we live for God.

The practice of communion is one of those practices that if we're not careful, becomes routine and ritual, forgetting its power. We're going to learn why we receive communion and what happens to us when we understand what we're doing while receiving communion.

Like any relationship we have in our lives, in order to develop it, we must put the time, energy, and thoughts into it to make it work. As we get to know God, we need to be open to Him and trust that as we express ourselves to God, He's able to handle it and still love us.

When we are water baptized, it is more than an act of duty to declare we believe in Jesus, it is a commitment to pursue being discipled as one dead to sin and alive to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

When God created Adam and Eve, nothing hindered their closeness to God, until the fall, then, they were separated, and so was the rest of mankind. Jesus changes all of that. Jesus died for our sins and made things right once again with God, giving us the opportunity to be close to God as friends.