Staying Focused on Our Faith Journey Forward
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Bible Study Guide
Sermon Clips
### Quotes for Outreach
1. "You know, we have a great cloud of witnesses cheering us on. We need to be purposeful in prayer, Bible reading, music, church attendance, Christian socializing. We need to get on the bus. We need to stay on the bus. And we need to join the great cloud of witnesses spreading the gospel to the next generation. Are you on the bus? Well, the journey is difficult at times, annoying at the end destination, but the destination is worth it." [31:12]
2. "You know, trips are a lot of adventure and stuff like that. Same with our Christian destiny and our Christian journey. We have a lot of adventure along the way. Think about yourselves. How many individuals have you noticed wander or not make the journey? Well, the next slide. There's my wide, open, long road. How would you like to drive on that road for miles? And miles, and miles, and miles, and miles. It's straight. It's smooth. It's easy. You know, our cloud of witnesses paved that road, spiritually speaking." [10:48]
3. "You know, we often hear life is short, better enjoy it. Oh, eternity is long. You better prepare for it. You know, it amazes me how many people do not have an escape strategy. A simple fact of the matter is, whether we die tomorrow or at some point, the time is coming. When we die, we'll face judgment. It'll be horrible for those who died without Christ, without an escape plan. We don't know the future." [05:56]
4. "You know, distractions. You say, I'm rich. I have acquired wealth. I do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. You know, there's so many distractions in the United States. I was talking about distractions. I was driving south of Brandon. I've only been in the ditch. I'm talking about ditches. I've only been in the ditch once in the natural. Spiritually, I think I've been in the ditch a number of times. But naturally, only once. And I was probably like your age, Deshaun. I was a young adult. And I'm driving flat calm. Sunny, bluebird sky. I've got my boat behind me. I've just been fishing. I went to put a tape in my tape player, and I drove right off the road. I almost rolled the vehicle. I was like, oh. So, distractions." [18:09]
### Quotes for Members
1. "You remember a few weeks back, Pastor Mike talked about looking in the rearview mirror? That really spoke to me because I had some stuff that happened in work, and I kind of had a bad attitude, and I kept reverting back to it, kept referring back to it. No, we need to move forward. The second one is like the one on the right, the snowstorm. You have to pay attention. It's kind of, you know, it focuses." [25:03]
2. "Staying on course is what it's about, and it's about reading the Bible. Reading the Bible daily teaches us to stay in the lane and put down deeper roots. A 2020 Gallup poll says 16% of Christians read their Bible daily, 21% weekly, 12% monthly, 10% less than monthly, and 41% rarely or never. In other words, two-thirds of Christians rarely read their Bible." [15:11]
3. "Church attendance is so critical to help with distractions. And I think it's just such an important thing. We have to be purposeful. You know, at the onset of the pandemic, 39% of adults attended a Christian church service at least once a week. By 2023, the numbers dipped to 33%. The majority of Americans, 56% in free time. Frequently attend church or not at all. Church is important. Church is what keeps us from the distractions." [21:00]
4. "See, when we have crisis, we need each other. And so many people think they're like an island. No man's an island. We need each other. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 7, 6, But God, who comforts the downcast, comforts us by the coming of Titus. How can you be a comfort to others in crisis? You pray, you meet their needs, take time. You know, we're going to have the prayer team come up after a while. And you know what? Don't face the crisis alone. Come get prayer, come get help. It's very important. You need, we're, God has designed us to need each other." [23:34]
5. "My point is, we have to be careful with our emotions and how we express it to spiritual authorities. We need to honor our pastors. And we need to be temperate and just understand the process. Yes, we're mad, we're hurt, but just process that. We could probably talk a whole lot more about different things, but in our Christian walk, we are going to eventually arrive, and I like this next slide. I've never been here. Go ahead, next slide. Bora Bora. Has anybody been to Bora Bora? Anybody? It looks like paradise to me. I'm not sure it really is, but we eventually we're going to end at our destination, which is heaven." [28:04]
Ask a question about this sermon
1. "You know, we have a great cloud of witnesses cheering us on. We need to be purposeful in prayer, Bible reading, music, church attendance, Christian socializing. We need to get on the bus. We need to stay on the bus. And we need to join the great cloud of witnesses spreading the gospel to the next generation. Are you on the bus? Well, the journey is difficult at times, annoying at the end destination, but the destination is worth it." [31:12]
2. "You know, trips are a lot of adventure and stuff like that. Same with our Christian destiny and our Christian journey. We have a lot of adventure along the way. Think about yourselves. How many individuals have you noticed wander or not make the journey? Well, the next slide. There's my wide, open, long road. How would you like to drive on that road for miles? And miles, and miles, and miles, and miles. It's straight. It's smooth. It's easy. You know, our cloud of witnesses paved that road, spiritually speaking." [10:48]
3. "You know, we often hear life is short, better enjoy it. Oh, eternity is long. You better prepare for it. You know, it amazes me how many people do not have an escape strategy. A simple fact of the matter is, whether we die tomorrow or at some point, the time is coming. When we die, we'll face judgment. It'll be horrible for those who died without Christ, without an escape plan. We don't know the future." [05:56]
4. "You know, distractions. You say, I'm rich. I have acquired wealth. I do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. You know, there's so many distractions in the United States. I was talking about distractions. I was driving south of Brandon. I've only been in the ditch. I'm talking about ditches. I've only been in the ditch once in the natural. Spiritually, I think I've been in the ditch a number of times. But naturally, only once. And I was probably like your age, Deshaun. I was a young adult. And I'm driving flat calm. Sunny, bluebird sky. I've got my boat behind me. I've just been fishing. I went to put a tape in my tape player, and I drove right off the road. I almost rolled the vehicle. I was like, oh. So, distractions." [18:09]
### Quotes for Members
1. "You remember a few weeks back, Pastor Mike talked about looking in the rearview mirror? That really spoke to me because I had some stuff that happened in work, and I kind of had a bad attitude, and I kept reverting back to it, kept referring back to it. No, we need to move forward. The second one is like the one on the right, the snowstorm. You have to pay attention. It's kind of, you know, it focuses." [25:03]
2. "Staying on course is what it's about, and it's about reading the Bible. Reading the Bible daily teaches us to stay in the lane and put down deeper roots. A 2020 Gallup poll says 16% of Christians read their Bible daily, 21% weekly, 12% monthly, 10% less than monthly, and 41% rarely or never. In other words, two-thirds of Christians rarely read their Bible." [15:11]
3. "Church attendance is so critical to help with distractions. And I think it's just such an important thing. We have to be purposeful. You know, at the onset of the pandemic, 39% of adults attended a Christian church service at least once a week. By 2023, the numbers dipped to 33%. The majority of Americans, 56% in free time. Frequently attend church or not at all. Church is important. Church is what keeps us from the distractions." [21:00]
4. "See, when we have crisis, we need each other. And so many people think they're like an island. No man's an island. We need each other. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 7, 6, But God, who comforts the downcast, comforts us by the coming of Titus. How can you be a comfort to others in crisis? You pray, you meet their needs, take time. You know, we're going to have the prayer team come up after a while. And you know what? Don't face the crisis alone. Come get prayer, come get help. It's very important. You need, we're, God has designed us to need each other." [23:34]
5. "My point is, we have to be careful with our emotions and how we express it to spiritual authorities. We need to honor our pastors. And we need to be temperate and just understand the process. Yes, we're mad, we're hurt, but just process that. We could probably talk a whole lot more about different things, but in our Christian walk, we are going to eventually arrive, and I like this next slide. I've never been here. Go ahead, next slide. Bora Bora. Has anybody been to Bora Bora? Anybody? It looks like paradise to me. I'm not sure it really is, but we eventually we're going to end at our destination, which is heaven." [28:04]
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