Howdy everyone,

For the 2^nd Look I want you to watch a YouTube link of a 13-minute video, How to Achieve Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: An Interview with Peter Scazzero. This guy really captures what we were talking about in church this past Sunday.

Consider what he has to say.

What jumps out at you from what Pete is talking about?

Is there anything that surprised you?

Anything challenging you?

I also highly recommend the course Pete talks about in the video.

Take this to the Lord in prayer.

May God bless you this week!

Pastor Ryan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AYEpx3prAE

·       Let’s begin this week with a question: Why do you think people pray? Why do they not?

·       This week we are trying something a little different than usual. We are going to pull out our smart phones, or our tablets, go on a web search browser and look up scriptures about the importance, and the method of prayer. Let’s spend some time this week, as a group, listing some verses that talk about why it’s important to read the pray, and how to do so. 

o   Imagine you are trying to build a case for prayer to someone who doesn’t see its value.  How might you show them that prayer is important?

Hello everyone.
Welcome to 2^nd Look.
Ryan gave 3 amazing benefits of having the Bible in our lives:

• The Holy Spirit uses the Bible to help us resist temptation and sin.
• The Holy Spirit uses the Bible to bring us unprecedented freedom and prosperity of soul.
• The Holy Spirit uses the Bible to equip us for every good work.

 
 Ryan shared 5 ways to get the Bible into our lives:

• Hear: hearing the word spoken or sung
• Read: using the same approach you might take when you read a novel, you’re not going in depth
• Study: going deep, really trying to understand what the passage is saying. What it means and what am I going to do about it?
• Memorize: firmly embedding the scripture in our minds by memorizing them
• Meditate: praying and reflecting on what you have encountered in the scriptures

 
Which of the above seems easiest for you? Which is most difficult for you?

Is it possible for someone to have all 5 in their life? What keeps this from happening? 

Ryan closed the sermon with these questions:
How might I adjust to get the Bible more and more into my life?
What is one day you could respond to this challenge?

Hello everyone.

Welcome to 2^nd Look.

I invite you to consider the questions that were posed at the end of the sermon yesterday.

Awareness:

Where are you at with God?

What are some things currently in your life with God that have really blessed you?

What is holding you back or hindering you?

Vision:

What are some ways you’d like to grow with the Lord?

What do you hope might be true of you with the Lord at this time next year?

I also invite you to listen to this song this week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gnf1xczuOrA

I pray for God’s peace over your hearts and minds!

Pastor Ryan

Hello SNC friends and Family!

Welcome to this week’s 2^nd Look.

Below is a link for this week’s song we emphasized.

Here are a couple lines from the sermon on Sunday:

When Jesus comes to town:

• …. The world receives the King she has been waiting for.
• …. The earth receives a Savior.
• …. The curse that hangs upon this earth has been broken!
• …. The righteousness and grace of God has come with Him!

I invite you to listen to this song and consider these truths this week!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC3SwhJsLqU

May God’s peace be with you all in our Amazing King Jesus,

Pastor Ryan

Hello everyone. Welcome to this week’s 2^nd Look!

For this week I want you to listen to O Come O Come Emmanuel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnKA982wOaQ

As you listen, please consider the themes we discussed:

Theme for verse 1: Jesus is THE one who brings hope, redemption and freedom with Him.

Theme for verse 2: Jesus Is THE one who dispels the darkness- bringing truth, justice, and honesty.

Theme for verse 3: Jesus is THE only one who can defeat Satan and Death!

Hello everyone,

I truly hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

Here is the 2^nd Look for this week.

I invite you to read John 8:1-11, and ask yourself these questions:

1. What stated and unstated motivations to the Pharisees have for judging this woman?
2. Imagine yourself in the place of the woman caught in adultery. How might this experience change you?
3. What wisdom and encouragement can we gain from this Bible story when it comes to our relationships with people that we want to change?

Have a great week everyone and may God’s peace be upon you through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Pastor Ryan

Hello everyone and welcome to this week’s 2^nd Look.

I have two questions for you to bring to prayer this week:

• Who am I often more tempted to lie to: others or myself?
• What motivates me to lie the most: fear (lying to avoid getting in trouble or losing something) or desire (lying to get something I want).

I’m not trying to accuse anyone here of lying but the reality is we are often tempted to lie. The more we can wrestle with these questions, with the Lord, the freer we are going to become from lying. In the sermon on Sunday, we talked about how in the Kingdom of God we have ultimate security in Christ and therefore we can let go of our fears. We also talked about how in the kingdom we have everything we truly need in Christ. Everything this world offers us is fleeting and temporary, but what God offers us is eternal, whole and life giving. The more we embrace these ideas the more we can let go of destructive fears and desires. My hope and prayer for you this week is that God will grant you his peace as you seek to understand the truth about our lies.

God bless you my friends,

Pastor Ryan

How would you define the difference between physical attraction, which is a God given desire, and lust, which turns that desire into sin?

What do you think about the 48 hr. fast from all media outlets in order to get our priorities straight?
Are you willing to give it a try?

Can you think of any other pro active steps we can take to minimize the exposure to all of the sexual temptations we are inundated with?

Discuss the concept of the difference between a temptation and sin.
Does this help with understanding and dealing with temptation?

What are the things that occupy your thought life.
What are some ways to help stay focused on Godly things and not worldly things?

Enjoy your 2nd Look,
DeRon