John 15:1-6 - When we’re connected to the vine and growing from the vine we become round, plump, appealing and ready to pick. We should be the fruit that people want to take a big bite out of! Not the fruit that’s round, hard and stuck on the vine.

Being on the vine means that we’re put through a process in order to become the appealing, plump fruit we desire to be. Because of the different seasons of life we must go through different processes and endure various weathers before we are complete.
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 Pastor Jill Sweetman - April 6, 2008: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

If there is something that is easy to loose sight of but that should always be a priority in everything we do, it is to bring God’s presence into the earth and into our daily lives. God wants to invade his church. God wants to be involved. He so loves to be in the midst of our lives. It’s like being a parent and seeing your kids really happy: nothing is better than that. When God sees us happy, he is rejoicing more than we are. It is the presence of God that changes our lives.

II Chronicles 7 - When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifices, and the glorious presence of God filled the Temple. Every so often, people start to have problems with giving. They say that tithing is not of the New Testament or of the New Covenant. I know that God doesn’t change. The Bible says he is the same yesterday, today and forever. Let’s observe God and how he moves, functions, operates and interacts with His people.
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 Pastor Dean - January 30, 2008: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

There are three questions that God is consistently asking us. Each question acts as a gateway to the next, and the answers to these questions bring us to breakthrough and blessing in our lives. Christian life is a process. Following Christ is a journey. God uses these questions to get us through challenges, help us grow and move us from place to place. As such, we need to be happy when we face challenges and see it as an opportunity to grow in God.

God does not respond to our needs. He responds to the faith we have inside us that God will help us overcome our needs. Even in a place of blessing there will be pitfalls and obstacles (i.e. consider the serpent in the Garden of Eden). There will be things that can cause us to backslide when we aren’t managing our lives and seeing into the future - seeing through God’s eyes and with vision.
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 Sunday, November 18, 2007: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Psalm 1 1-3 (NKJ)

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.
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 Pastor Dean - October 7, 2007: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Mark 8:14 - 21 – In this scripture, Jesus is angry at his disciples because they are focusing too much on what they have and what they see and are missing the revelation Jesus is trying to give them. Jesus says, beware of the yeast of the Pharisees – (yeast in the Bible represented sin because you only needed a little to enlarge the whole loaf). Beware of the sin of the Pharisees. The Pharisees had no faith. They couldn’t equate Jesus and his deity, so they tried to explain away his miracles. But instead, all the disciples could think about was the fact that they did not have enough food.

Jesus replied, why are you so worried about having no food? Why won’t you learn or understand? Can’t you remember what I just did (referring to the miracle of feeding the 5000)? I wasn’t talking about bread – I was trying to give you a revelation.

But the disciples missed it, because their minds went straight to the food. If all you think about is what you have, you can miss the revelation of what you really have – what you have in God. Things are different when you get them in the hands of Jesus. God will something small and transform into something that is huge. It looks small to us when we think that is all we have. But that’s not all we have – it’s all we have if it stays where it is and we keep it – we have to get it into the hands of God.

This is especially true with tithes and finances. It may not seem like a lot to you, but if you get it into the hands of God, it has multiplying power. What you have in your hand is like your life. Jesus says stop worrying about what you have – I have proven to you what I can do with a little – I have proven to you that I can transform a little into abundance, as with feeding the 5000. What you have will only ever be what you see as long as it is in your hands. When you give it to Jesus – the high priest - it can be something else. Every time we give – we tithe, give to building fund, give offerings – we take something that is finite, that is tangibly in a boundary, and we break the boundaries over whatever that thing is. In the hands of Jesus, it becomes miraculous. It can multiply and do things that it never could if it stays in your hand.

I never want to be in God’s house and not participating on every level – involved spiritually, physically and financially. I want to always have my heart engaged. Jesus is always teaching us something. He wants to get us involved in our miracle – wants to grow us, not do it all for us. Between lacking and abundance there is a plan that God wants to bring forth in your life so he gets you involved.

Mark 1:9-11
Jesus came from Nazareth into Galilee was baptized by John in the Jordan River. When Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens split open and the Holy Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven saying, “You are my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with you.”

This event marked the beginning of God’s earthly ministry and ultimately of His interaction with His creation. The three years following the baptism of Jesus were a culmination of a plan for unity and connection between man and God. The plan was set in motion when the Holy Spirit came like a dove upon Jesus. The heavens were torn open and God was reunified with man through Jesus. The baptism was the beginning. Through the ministry of Jesus over the next three years, God revealed His character, will, and desire for all mankind.

Mark 15:35-39
At Jesus’ crucifixion, some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a stick so he could drink. “Leave him alone. Let’s see whether Elijah will come and take him down!” he said. Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, “Truly, this was the Son of God!”

This event marked the end of God’s earthly ministry. When Jesus breathed out his spirit, it entered into the temple and ripped the eighty foot curtain - separating the holy of holies from the rest of the temple - from top to bottom. The tearing of the curtain signified that the barrier and separation between man and God is broken. Just as the Heavens were split open during the baptism of Jesus, the curtain tears at his death illustrating that freedom and liberty were to be implemented. God was now for everyone. A Roman guard, a gentile, received the prophesy and spoke it out. Everything that had kept people from God had been removed.

Colossians 3:1
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth.

We now have the ability to communicate face-to-face with God. We are seated right next to Him and share a new intimacy with Him. We can come close to God because Jesus made us Holy. We have been elevated and raised up into communication with Jesus who allows us to feel, see, and hear at a whole new level. We no longer have to doubt who we are or feel inferior because we have been elevated. We let Heaven fill our thoughts. Live a real life, but keep your thoughts on Heaven. God has a vision for your life. You still have to deal with life, but you no longer have to run from it. When God came to Earth and dismantled the barrier it no longer mattered who we were. God received us and transformed us. God is never content to leave you where he found you. He deals with your issues as you allow Him to. What you imagine is what you become. Let your thoughts dwell on Heaven. Stay close to Jesus. Remain seated with Him and slowly become renewed.