We can not change ourselves! God gives us the power to change through recieving the gospel. The gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.

The GOSPEL must be believed before it can be enjoyed!

Today, you can be changed by the power of the Gospel! BELIEVE IT!

• Expands our ability reach a broader group of people AMC is centrally located AMC has better parking AMC is an easily recognized location AMC is an overall better facility

• Will enhance the effectiveness of our Children’s Ministry ( Impact Kidz & Wee Worshippers: nursery 0-2 & preschool 2-4) Each age group has it own secure and kid friendly environment Each age group has  better appearance and security

• Will enhance the effectiveness of ministry toward those in Middle School They will meet in their own theater after experiencing worship with their parents in the main auditorium. They will have their own sound system and video capability They will have a Biblical age appropriate message given each week They will meet in a place other than a school classroom

• The worship experience will be more pleasant to the ear AMC is built for a great audio & visual experience Sound will be easier to control and monitor

• The temperature will be constant and comfortable, not fluctuating from Sunday to Sunday

• Our set up & tear down will be greatly reduced, enhanced and more efficient

• We will be across the street from Harvest Central which is the offices of HOC.

Those who love to fellowship after church can do so in the lobby, courtyard, or even the restaurants which are connected outside/inside the mall. This is great for our growth groups who want to connect after church.

Even as adults sometimes our feelings get "SPANKED" and when they do remember: to forgive quickly and continue with life. Don't give any place for the enemy to derail your walk with God.

It has been said that the same word for crisis in Chinese is the same word for opportunity. The church must maximize the opportunity that stands before us. The whole world, it seems, is in a crisis mode. The headlines talk about wars, financial meltdowns, oil spills, and climate change. It is time to maximize the opportunity by declaring the hope that is found in Jesus Christ.

Paul in Ephesians 5 tells us, “to make the most of every opportunity.” The word opportunity is also translated time. It is not some ordinary word but one that is real strategic. It means: a fixed and definite time, the time when things are brought to crisis or an opportune or seasonable time.

The earth has been brought to a crisis. It is an opportune time for the church to arise and expand the kingdom of God like never before. It’s time to step into the opportunity. Don’t allow fear to stop your forward momentum. When we step into the opportunity, God will meet us there. Step out today and watch the goodness and favor of God show up! Maximize the opportunity today!

There can be no CROSS-LESS gospel. Without the cross the gospel is powerless. (I Cor. 1:17-18)

On a recent missions trip to Guatemala, I witnessed how the power of the cross brings about change in the lives of individuals. It's not an American gospel. It's the gospel that is able to transform the WORLD.  

When we come to the cross we see the light! When we come to the cross the burden of our sin is rolled away! When we come to the cross we experience the power of salvation!

Have you been to the cross lately?  Have you experienced its power?

Many people live their lives in survival mode. I choose to thrive and not just survive! To thrive means to grow, flourish greatly, or to increase. If HOC is going to thrive each one of us must realize that we have individual responsibility. We are responsible for what we do and do not do!

• We are at our best when we are responsible.
• We are happiest when we are responsible.
• We are in the will of God when we are responsible.

The society, the community, the family, the church is better off when we feel the weight of responsibility. It is very healthy to feel the weight of responsibility. We are responsible to:

1. To discover our gift(s)

Everyone has been gifted by God. We don’t get to determine what gift we possess but we have the awesome responsibility to discover our gift (s).

2. To develop our gift(s)

Development by its very nature is a process. It takes time to develop the skills, attitudes, and character that it take to honor God with the gift(s) and build up others in love.

3. To deploy our gift(s)

We are called by God to use whatever gift(s) that has been given us to build up his body. Serving is how we deploy our gift(s) to build up the body of Christ at HOC.

Going is calling us to take responsibility and discover, develop and deploy our gift(s) at HOC. Let me ask you this simple question. Are you taking your responsibility and doing your part. We will THRIVE as we all do our part.

1. Vision motivates us.

2. Vision keeps us focused.

3. Vision is life-giving.

To live without a God-giving vision for your life is like trying to start your car without the key. God's vision for your life is the key to living a healthy, fulfilling, and abundant life. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Are you playing your part in God's body called the church?

What is Christmas? Is it decorations, candy canes, lights, gifts, and carols. No! Christ is Christmas. It is His birthday. Let's remember this Christmas that Christ is the reason for the season. It is not happy holidays but Merry Christmas!

Have a great Thanksgiving Holiday and be blessed as you think about the goodness of God during this season.

Finally, a psychologist hit on a solution. After the children were put to bed, they each received a slice of bread to hold. If they wanted more to eat, more was provided, but this particular slice was not to be eaten - it was just to hold.

The slice of bread produced marvelous results. The children would go to sleep, subconsciously feeling they would have something to eat tomorrow. That assurance gave the child a calm and peaceful rest. More tomorrow! Isn't that really the basic longing deep inside each of our hearts?

Philippians 4:19 says, "My God will supply all my needs according to his riches in glory through Christ Jesus." God has a desire to bless your life! He has a desire to see you. He has a desire to see every need you have met. That’s why he has given us the blueprint for life which is His word the Bible. Within the Bible are the principles that will unlock the blessings of God in your life.

To be blessed means to have God's supernatural power working for you. To be cursed is to have God's supernatural power working against you. James 4:6 says, "God opposes the proud but He give grace to the humble." God gives us grace as we submit to His Word.

Tithing is the starting point not the stopping point! A good spiritual thermometer is a man’s attitude toward his finances (Kelly Verner). The Bible teaches us not to touch things that belong to God. The tithe is the Lord’s and it is holy. When we freely return it back to God the tithe becomes a blessing. When we choose to keep it the tithe becomes a curse to us.

The word tithe comes from a Hebrew word which means “a tenth, a tithe.” This Hebrew word can be traced back to awshar which is a Hebrew word which means “to accumulate; to grow rich.” Denoting a process of wealth building begins with honoring God. Tithing was before the law, under the law, and after the law. (Matt. 23:23; Luke 11:42; 18:12; Hebrews 7:1-21)

The tithe does three things:

1. It proves that God is first in our lives
2. Positions us to be blessed
3. Breaks the spirit of mammon off our lives

Mammon is the spirit of the world that is on money. Matthew 6:24 says, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Money. (Mammon)

Mammon is defined in Aramaic as riches! (Materialism)  The spirit of mammon tells you that you don’t need God. Trust your riches! In a biblical sense mammon is the spirit that rest on money! All money has a spirit associated with it. It either has God’s spirit on it or it has the spirit of mammon on it. Money that is submitted to God has God’s Spirit on it. Money that is not submitted to God has the spirit of mammon on it. The spirit of mammon is one of pride and arrogance. It says, “I don’t need God. I am self sufficient.  Mammon is basically the spirit of the world.

You can choose the BLESSED LIFE today!

Life is great! Yes! That’s right! Life is great! Even with it’s ups and downs; in and outs, good and bad days. Life is great! Someone once said, “The glory of God is man fully alive! “ You have been given a gift from God. That’s right a gift from God. That gift is your life and you have only been given ONE LIFE!

True life can only be experienced when we keep God first in every area of our lives! That’s every area! The principle of priority is very important when you’re following God. He must be first! Within each of us is a desire to be first! We want to be first in line! Why? We are born takers and not givers! We are born in sin!

Putting God first is very important when it comes to experiencing the BLESSED LIFE! Being BLESSED means having supernatural power working for you. By contrast, being CURSED means having supernatural power working against you.

God opposes those who are proud! Yes, you can actually have God working against you and not for you! (James 4:6) When we fail to put God first it's a sign of pride and pride is all about "I". There is a Big I in PRIDE! Put God first and begin to experience the BLESSED LIFE! Below are some scripture verses to meditate on from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy. 

·         Deut. 14:29 – The Lord will bless the work of your hands!

·         Deut. 15:10 – The lord will bless the work of your hands!

·         Deut. 23:20 – The lord will bless the work of your hands!

·         Deut. 28:8 & 12 – The Lord will bless the work of your hands! (BE BLESSED!)

I believe we all have a desire to go home. We have a desire to be connected to our heavenly father. There is no place like the Father's house. In his house there is love, joy, peace and most of all the presence of the Father. You can walk through the door which is Jesus and experience the joy of being home! There is really no place like home. Be blessed and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the heart of the Father to you!

This tells me that love isn’t love unless it is expressed. Christ dying on the cross was the ultimate expression of love. Here is a deep statement. God loves you! That’s right God is madly in love with you.

Max Lucado once said, "If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If he had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.” God unconditionally loves you! His love for you is not based on your works but His nature because God is love.

Agape: This is the word for love that is used most in the New Testament. This word is so deep and full of emotion that scholars have been baffled for centuries trying to define it. This is the highest level of love. This is the ONE LOVE that will set you free! This is the ONE LOVE that produces life! Receive the love of God today!

John Bevere in his book "Honor's Reward" gives us three levels of rewards. First, no reward. We recieve no reward when we fail to honor God and those He has placed in authority over our lives. Second, partial reward. A partial reward comes from no fully honoring God. Third, full reward. We obtain a full reward when we live by faith and honor God and authority.

We need to think about it and adjust our lives accordingly! Be blessed!

Vertical Honor: God

Proverbs 3:9 – Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops.

Proverbs 14:31 – Whoever is kind to the needy honors God.

1 Cor. 6:20 – Honor God with you body.

Matthew 15:8 – These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me.

Horizontal Honor: People

Honor Father and Mother - Exodus 20:12

Honor Your Wife – 1 Peter 3:7

Honor Your Husband - Eph. 5:33

Honor Your Children – Eph. 6:4

Honor Civil Leaders - Romans 13:3-7

Honor Social Leaders – I Tim. 6:1

Honor Church Leaders – 1 Tim. 5:17-18

Honor Your Peers – Romans 12:10

Honor all People – 1 Peter 2:17

Conclusion: Honoring God and people has a reward.

Not only is it the key to my breakthrough but it also promotes peace. Peace becomes evident in our lives and in the atmosphere around us when we are prepared. A team is more relaxed and confident when they are prepared. A student is less anxious when he/she is prepared for the test. A businessman is at ease when he has prepared for the presentation. A pastor is concise and effective in the preaching of God's Word when he is prepared.

Preparation also creates discipline in our lives. The work of preparation takes discipline and discipline prepares us to lead. That's right leaders must be disciplined. There is no room for procrastination in the life of a leader. Your followers deserved your preparation. (Think About It!)

You prepare for tomorrow before tomorrow arrives! Are you prepared?

What you do daily has the power to change your life and the lives of others. Your daily routine will either produce life or death in you. Good habits produce life. (John 10:10)

Proverbs 11:18-19 “The wicked man earns deceptive wages, but he who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward. (19) The truly righteous man attains life, but he who pursues evil goes to his death.”

Someone once said, “Champions don’t become champions in the ring – they merely are recognized there.” In other words, it’s not the main event that makes me successful but the daily habits that I develop that will make me a champion.

Simple repetitive tasks require a timeframe of approximately 21 days to condition. In 21 days you can develop a good habit. What good habits do you need to develop and what bad habits do you need to break? 
 

Remember, we first form our habits then our habits transform us. (Romans 12:2)

The Bible says in Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Transformation of the mind requires us to develop the habit of reading and applying the word of God to our lives.

 The leader adjusts the sails:

1.       Identify Negative Thinking

2.       Identify Negative Attitudes

3.       Identify Negative Behavior

4.       Repent, Renew, and be Revived

People with negative thinking may win a few matches here and there but sooner or later their attitude will pull them down.

Prepare you mind for action. (I Peter 1:13)

As a man thinks in his heart so is he. (Proverbs 23:7)

You are today where you thoughts have brought you. You will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you. (James Allen)

Life consists of what a man is thinking about all day. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Guard your heart with all diligence. (Proverbs 4:23)

Watch your thoughts; they become words; watch your words, they become actions, watch your actions; they become habits, watch your habits; they become your character. Watch you character, it becomes your destiny. (Frank Outlaw)

Remember, the Holy Spirit empowers us to form healthy, life giving habits.

Thanks to all who have defended our freedom in the past and currently defend it today! Let freedom ring! 

I am committed to my wife as long as I live but my commitment must produce action. You and I cannot be inactive and expect our marriages or any other relationship to improve. (Think about it!)

Have you really come to grips with who you are and what you have been created to do? Are you constantly belittling yourself?  Do you constantly desire to be someone else? Do you look in the mirror and like what you see? God did not make a mistake when he created you. You can’t really celebrate life until you accept who God created you to be.

Learning to accept your uniqueness is an important part to fulfilling your purpose in the earth. You were created for ‘good works’. God has a work for you to do. He has a heavenly job description with your name on it.

Our purpose is to discover our heavenly job description in life. Once that is discovered, then we can develop our gifts that have been given to us by God. Don’t waste time wishing you were someone else. Accept yourself and discover who God created you to be.

He said in his message today, “There is no recession in the Kingdom of God”. God is our provider and He continues to bless us with every spiritual blessing that we receive through Christ Jesus. I encourage you to continue to remind yourself that you are blessed because God has written His name on you with the blood of His son Jesus the Christ. Every morning when you get out of bed say, “I am blessed!”

Not only are we blessed but we are called to be a blessing.

Be blessed and be a blessing this week!

1.       Crave acceptance from people more than God

2.       Rarely share their faith in Christ

3.       Do whatever it takes to alleviate their guilt

4.       Think about earthly things more than eternal ones

5.       Gauge their morality by comparing themselves with others

6.       Want to be saved from the penalty of sin without changing their ways

7.       Only turns to God when they are in a bind

8.       Gives whenever it doesn’t hinder their standard of living

9.       Are not much different than the world

10.   Want the benefits of what Christ did without conforming to who He is

11.   Knows more about the latest sitcom than God and His word

What is your spiritual temperature? Are you practicing Practical Atheism?

What is a seed? A seed is potential for a future harvest. Your harvest is wrapped up in your seed. Seed that is sown does not leave your life it goes into your future and prepares a harvest of righteousness for you. The person who sows sparingly will reap sparingly but the person who sows generously will reap generously. (2 Cor. 9)

Sow a seed if you have a need. Sow mercy if you need mercy. Sow love if you need love. Sow a smile if you need a smile. Sow a financial seed if you need a financial blessing. It is possible to give away and become richer! It is also possible to hold on too tightly and lose everything. Yes, the liberal man shall be rich! By watering others, he waters himself. (Prov. 11:24-25;TLC) In other words, take care of God’s work and he will take care of you. Take care of someone else and God will take care of you.

You cannot rob God and expect him to bless you at the same time. It’s impossible for God to operate in a way that is contrary to His own word. (Mal. 3) Do not grow weary in well doing because you will reap a harvest if you do not faint.

God understands the concept of bailout. We were all in need of a spiritual bailout when God sent His Son to die for us on the cross. The cross would be a laughing matter if it were not for the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. As I think of the resurrection and the bailout that was freely given to me, I am amazed at the love of God. (John 3:16)

I have received the ultimate bailout! Have you?

Sometimes I find myself frustrated by various realities that I am confronted with in life. As I look at the state of affairs in the United States, I can feel overwhelmed by the enormous financial and social problems we face. Our government is looking for solutions to the financial crisis. The solutions seem at times to create more problems than they actually solve. However, as a follower of Christ I must maintain an eternal perspective.

Maintaining an eternal perspective is not always easy but it is a Biblical principle (2 Cor. 4:18). The ability to focus on Jesus is the key to success. I realize that I will be depressed, angry, and bitter if I focus on our national, global, and sometimes my personal circumstances. I also realize that I will continually live a life of victory as I focus on God and the eternal truths found in His word.

Let me ask you a question. Do you have an earthly or an eternal perspective? Only you can answer that question and only you can choose which perspective you will possess. Today, choose to focus on Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith.  Choose to maintain an eternal perspective! As for me and my house we will have an eternal perspective that will propel us through the negatives of life.