Andover Christian Church & Dr. Jim Conner

Parents have a bigger role than just protecting and providing. We also need to be teaching our children, that's not just the school's job. Parents need to be teaching life lessons, like those Solomon passed along. One of the most basic is that we have a clear choice: will we be fools or wise. It's up to us!

Our entire worship service is built around things we do which have their origin in God. He has provided us with memorials that remind us, teach us, and hopefully give us hope. In this service we will talk about the meaning behind each of these memorials.

The final myth is that marriage should be easy - or just give up and quit. The truth is that marriage often may take work, sometimes hard work. But if we'll hang in there and do the hard work, it will be worth it! And there's time at the end when we'll talk about the reality that not every marriage will work, despite our best efforts. What do we do then?

Too many couples just expect the fun to eventually go away in their marriages - so it does! And if marriage isn't fun any more, that can lead to bigger problems. But the fun DOES NOT have to go away! Marriage CAN get better and better!

Couples have the idea that they shouldn't fight - but that's not true, not realistic at all. Any two different people living life together are going to have conflicts. The issue is not to avoid disagreements. The goal is to handle our disagreements in healthy ways.

Marriage isn't always easy - and many don't make it. Part of the problem is that we have ideas about marriage that aren't true. (MYTHS) The first myth we look at today is that we don't need anyone's help. In fact, we need help, God's help!

We've saved our biggest fear until last: death. So many are afraid of dying. We will do anything and pay any price to avoid death. The problem is that death is unavoidable. And while it might be scary, it doesn't have to be the end. In fact, it can be the best thing that ever happens to us!

We have a variety of fears, but one of the most common is our worry about what people think of us. That fear can affect our decisions, our choices, even our own self-esteem. How do we deal with this, remove this fear?

Our world can be a scary place. Last week we looked at the daily fears we face - and how Jesus offers us peace through God's care for us. This week we look at the huge tragedies that can terrify us: death, cancer, financial ruin, natural disasters, terrorists, etc. How can God help us with these fears? He can!

We all have things we fear, situations that cause us anxiety. Our world seems to be increasingly dangerous. How do we cope with these fears? Can God help? This week we look at all our fears about just the daily stress of life. How does God help us with that?

Neighbors are important to God - so important He tells us they are our #2 priority after loving Him. He does this because He loves our neighbors, even if they are far from God. That's why He needs us to not only become their friends, and not only help them - but to also talk to them about God, about Jesus - to help them come home to their Heavenly Father.

Jesus directions to care about our neighbors - actually to love them just as much as we love ourselves - is pretty clear! As we get to know our neighbors, a relationship isn't the goal, it is a doorway so we can show them God's love - that we CARE!

People live all around us, but that doesn't mean we're neighbors. Neighbors know each other, really know each other. If God has said one of our top priorities is to love our neighbors, that begins with getting to know the people around us. In our busyness and technology we are often strangers with the people around us. That needs to change. We'll see why today.

Jesus was very clear: there are two top priorities He has for us, and one of them is loving our neighbors! But exactly why is that so important to God? This issue is especially important for us today, because the more "connected" our world becomes, the fewer real relationships we have. Yet Jesus says those relationships are really important! What do we do?

Jesus was asked, "What is most important to God?" When He answered, He didn't stop with only one. He quickly added a second priority: love your neighbor. Why did Jesus do this? Because loving our neighbor is so important to God, you can't love Him without caring about your neighbor.

Whether we enjoy setting goals or not, we can all agree that there are some things more important than others. But beyond our own priorities - are there some things more important to God for us to do this year? Today we begin two weeks of looking at God's priorities for us this year.

Part of the confusion the malware Satan created causes is about how you pray. There are so many ways people pray. Some will only create a sense of prayer doing nothing, which is what Satan wants. Today we look at both how NOT to pray (based on Jesus' words) and how we should pray.

One of the best methods of "corrupting" prayer in our lives is to confuse us as to what prayer is. The best antivirus is to help us clearly understand all that prayer is - and how it can change our lives for the better. David found prayer to be so wonderful, he "couldn't wait until he could go talk with God again!"

Computer virus and malware keeps our computers from working. Prayer is one of the greatest gifts God has given us. It can be truly life-changing. So why don't we pray more? Why do we avoid prayer? Could it be some type of spiritual virus that keeps prayer from "working?"

It's a time to look back AND look forward. It's also a time to look at God and what His purposes might be for each of our lives. The question is: are we living our lives in alignment with those purposes God might have for us?