I can’t change someone’s heart…God Can!
I can’t do the impossible…God Can!
I can’t turn a bad situation into something amazing…God Can!
I can’t bring dead things back to life…God Can!
I can’t guarantee how things will turn out…God Can!
I can’t heal your hurts…God Can!
I can’t see the big picture all at once…God Can!
I can’t take something broken and turn it into something beautiful…God Can!
I can’t fill your heart with joy…God Can!
I can’t tell you what your purpose is on this planet…God Can!
I’m so thankful that GOD CAN trumps I CAN’T in anything that comes my way!

People can be big and God can be small.
 
The sun is big.  It’s 109 times the diameter of the earth.  Yet, if you hold a quarter close enough to one opened eye you can block out the sun.  At that moment the quarter is all you see.
 
God is big.  He’s the creator of all that exists yet can’t be contained by it.  Even so, if you care about people in all the wrong ways, if you fear their opinions or if you convince yourself that you need something from them in order to be “happy” – it’s a lot like that quarter.  God’s glory is eclipsed and all we can see is people.
 
When people are big and God is small life itself becomes a death loop of people pleasing behaviors.  As Psalm 29:25 says:
 
Fear of man will prove to be a snare,
    but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.
 
Here are ten signs you might be functionally allowing people to eclipse God in your life:
 

1. You are over-committed. You find it hard to say no even when wisdom indicates that you should.  After all, you wouldn’t want anyone to be disappointed with you.
2. You need something from your spouse in order to be happy. You ‘need’ your spouse to listen to you or to respect you in order to feel fulfilled.
3. Self-esteem is a critical concern for you.  If self-esteem is a recurring theme in your thought life, chances are that your life revolves around what others think. You reverence or fear their opinions. You need them to buttress your sense of well-being and identity.
4. You have a nagging sense that you might be exposed as an impostor. It means the opinions of other people control you — especially if the might be of the opinion that you are failure.
5. You frequently second-guess decisions because of what other people might think? You’re afraid of making mistakes that will make you look bad in other people’s eyes.
6. You’re easily embarrassed. If so, people and their perceived opinions probably define you. Or, to use biblical language, you exalt the opinions of others to the point where you are ruled by them.
7. You commonly catch yourself in little white lies.  Lying is usually a tactic we use to make ourselves look better to other people. It also serves to cover our shame before them.
8. People are often a source of anger or depression.  If so, they are probably the controlling center of your life.  You aren’t relying on all that Christ has done for you to make you whole.
9. You avoid people. Are you distancing yourself from other people?  Ironically this is a sign of how much they control you.

You’re too timid to share your faith in Christ because others might think you are an irrational fool.

Step by step we're working to fulfill our vision of expanding our influence through starting new congregations in St Joseph.  Some weeks ago we had the privilege of hearing the testimony of Edson and Krista Palacios and heard of God’s stirring in their hearts to start a Spanish speaking congregation in our city.
 
Here are two huge next steps in the process:
 

1. Praying for the Palacios family as they consider the strategies and best practices for accomplishing the task of starting a Spanish congregation in St Joe.  We’re also praying for God to open doors for such a work.  Strategies and plans are necessary, but what is essential is the moving of the Holy Spirit to do a work no person or group of people could ever do alone.
   
2. Research and Planning: Available demographic surveys report a 5.4% Spanish population in St Joe.  Experience seems to point to a larger number – we need to find some reliable data here. We are also prayerfully working to clarify the “what?” and “how? questions of such a congregation.  What kind of outreach will best speak to the heart of our focus group?  How do we best go about starting such a congregation?  Once we develop these targets we will have a better understanding of the resources needed for such a tall task.

 
We’ll be sharing more as answers to these questions begin to emerge. 
 
 

Walking with Jesus is the picture of discipleship.  It’s what Eugene Peterson calls a long obedience in the same direction,
So, here’s a question I want to ask you, “Are you where you want to be in your walk with Jesus?”  
 
Right now, if you translated what you think about your walk to a scale of 1-10, how close would you say you are walking with Him?  (1 being “not at all,” 10 being “We walked on water together this morning!”)  
 
Walking closely with Christ over time, makes you more and more like Him, and becoming more like Him will uniquely influence the people around you.  So, how do we get off track?
 
In 25 years of pastoral ministry there are three MAJOR things that I see over and over again which keep people from experiencing the abundant life that Jesus promises in John 10:10.  
 
#1 – Unforgiveness
There are people who have experienced real suffering at the hands of others. Maybe you were molested, falsely accused, or cheated on—these offenses carry significant and lasting emotional pain and you won’t simply “get over it.”  How do we deal with these things as followers of Jesus who are called to forgive?  
 
There is nothing about forgiveness that is easy, but it is one of the most freeing and powerful things you can do.   It is also the basis of our new life.  If we don’t live forgiveness we are denying the very basis of our own new existence in Christ. 
 
As Jesus was being mocked, beaten and tortured in public prayed for the forgiveness of His tormentors in Luke 23:34.  
 
And then there’s that thing He said in Matthew 6:14-15
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
 
To put it simply – “Forgiven people forgive people.”  
 
Forgiveness is not a feeling. It’s not something we offer to people when we think they “deserve it!”  It’s a decision followed by a series of other decisions every time we have a negative thought or emotion towards someone that hurt us.  We decide, “in this moment, right now, in spite of how I feel, I choose to forgive.”
 
#2 – Sexual Sin
All sin is destructive, but sexual sin seems to carry extra power to erode our faith in Christ.  The Apostle Paul highlights the effects of sexual sin in I Corinthians 6:18 when he says…
 
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.
 
Paul uses strong words when talking about sexual temptation.  Don’t flirt with it -  RUN from it. Then he uses the phrase, “…all other sins.” Yes, sexual sin is in the overall pile of things that separate us from God, but sexual sin can create scars of guilt we carry with us in ways other sins do not.  
 
When Jesus saves us, He forgives us from ALL OUR SIN (see Colossians 2:13)   In its place he gives us permission to live a life free from sexual sin and the guilt associated with it (see John 8:1-11.)  
 
#3 – Money
Jesus clearly says in Matthew 6:21 that a person’s heart is where their treasure is.  
He also said in Matthew 6:24 money can easily become the master of your heart in ways that should only be reserved for Jesus.  
 
Early in life my parents taught me the importance of allowing God to lead my financial decisions. I learned quickly that when I put all I have in the hands of the ONE who is more capable than me, He can do way more than all I ever asked for or imagined.

As a person who has recently attended Turning Point you might be wondering, "What's next?"
If that's you, then you are invited to NEXT.  Next is a luncheon at noon following the worship service April 24, 2016.  You'll get a chance to meet other folks who serve and lead through Turning Point, learn what we're all about as a congregation and you'll find out how to take advantage of all the church has to offer you and your family.

If you'll just register below, and tell us how many people will be with you then we can make sure there will be plenty of food to go around.  It's completely free and all you need to bring is yourself, your family or a friend and your questions.  We look forward to our time together.