The Being Challenge

January 22 - February 27, 2022

Introduction: Keystone Habits

Habit #1: Commit to Community

Habit #2: Study Scripture

Habit #3: Prioritize Prayer

Habit #4: Seek Solitude

Habit #5: Choose Church


Theme Verse: “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice
is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Matthew 7:24 (NIV)

  • Keystone Habits (January 22/23)

    Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:6-16; Matthew 11:25-30

     

    Opening Thought: The big question we are tackling in this series is how do I grow in my relationship with God?  What practically would that look like?  I know that my relationship with God is important, but where do I start?  Even though we’re talking about being, what do I do to be with God?


    8:00 AM


    10:30 AM


  • Habit #1 Commit to Community (January 29/30)

    Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; Luke 6:12-16

     

    Opening Thought: The Being Challenge is going to help us re-center our lives and take dead aim at Jesus.  It’s going to challenge us to say, I don’t want to go with the crowd and just accept status quo.  After how good my God has been to me, is to me, and will be to me, I want to be the greatest follower of His.  He is worthy of my best.  And being a great follower of Jesus all starts with being in relationship with Jesus.


    8:00 AM


    10:30 AM


  • Habit #2: Study Scripture (February 5/6)

    Theme:  Habit #2: Study Scripture                              

    Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:10-17; Luke 24:44-49

     

    Opening Thought: Jesus, even though He was fully God, had a thorough practice of studying Scripture.  This is the second keystone habit we are exploring.  Several instances, including the only story of adolescent Jesus in the Bible, talk about how Jesus would go to the synagogue to learn, to gain wisdom. On top of that, in the Gospels alone, I counted about 80 instances of Jesus quoting Old Testament Scripture, so it’s clear that Jesus had a thorough understanding of the Old Testament. Study Scripture is key in our growing relationship with Jesus. 


    8:00 AM


    10:30 AM


  • Habit #3: Prioritize Prayer (Febuary 12/13

    Scripture:  James 5:13-16; Luke 22:39-46

     

    Opening Thought: Wouldn’t it be amazing if in this confusing, option-filled world that we live in if we could talk to someone who can help us, give us wisdom, and bring direction in our lives!  The amazing piece of this, is that God gives us a tool that allows us to talk to Him at any point, to cut through all of the confusion and chaos, and to talk with Him.  We communicate best with Him through prayer. We can, and the amazing thing about God, even in a rapidly changing world is that He still communicates with us in prayer.  


    8:00 AM


    10:30 AM



  • Habit #4: Seek Solitude (February 19/20)

    Scripture:  Philippians 4:4-9; Mark 1:29-39

     

    Opening Thought: The 4th keystone habit for us today is the practice of seeking solitude.  I was surprised at the frequency of how often this came up in Jesus’ life.  We talked about the importance of community in the first habit, our final habit next week we are going to talk about the importance of church, which also has a community aspect to it, but Jesus found this beautiful balance of when to be around people, what community of people He would surround Himself with, but also some significant times when it was just Him and God.


    8:00 AM



    10:30 AM



  • Habit #5: Choose Church (February 26/27)

    Scripture: Hebrews 10:19-25; Luke 21:34-38

     

    Opening Thought: Come on church!  How good is this God of ours?!  Church brings so many benefits.  It offers you a community of like-minded people.  It gives you a place to serve and use your gifts to truly make an impact.  It truly helps you grow in your relationship with God.  All the habits we’ve talked about are propelled by the church.  But at its baseline, the assembling together consistently gives you the amazing good news of Jesus.


    8:00 AM


    10:30 AM