An Epic Journey » sermon

Why Don’t I Always Feel God?

epic — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 19:00:01 +0000

So, on Sunday we talked through the idea of why we don't always feel God… Here are the passages we went through with some questions to ask yourself about why you might not be feeling God like you used to… If you want to watch the sermon, you can click here http://epic4life.com/nature-response-series-seeds-8282011-2/…
———– ARE YOU OVERSENSATIONALIZING IT? "Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." 30 So they asked him, "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?" John 6:29-30 IS YOUR HEART HAS HARDENED? You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Matt 13:14-15 ARE YOU BEING OBEDIENT? Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him…

My Dad’s Funeral – Audio

epic — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 18:39:39 +0000

I realize that some of you may have not been able to make it to my dad’s funeral – my mom had them record it. I am putting the audio up on here unedited – there will be a few sections you may want to fast forward through – namely the audio for the video montage… This was honestly, the hardest sermon I have ever preached.

The Hardest Sermon of My Life

epic — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 03:51:21 +0000

Tomorrow I will preach the hardest sermon to preach of my life. The sermon to honor my father at his Funeral. I have to tell you, grief causes you to slip in-between moments where the loss seems unreal and moments where it feels almost too real. I am praying for the power and strength to preach this sermon the way it deserves to be preached, with gusto & passion – sprinkled with humor. And I pray that my dad’s desire for this message would come to fruition, that people might come to know Jesus through the passing of my father.

I love you Dad, you showed me that changing course midstream is more than possible, I really truly can’t wait to be in your arms again. I hope I can be half the dad to my children that you were to me…

Kent Sermon done! Excited about this one, we are turning a corner into hope, and it feels good!

epic — Thu, 19 May 2011 10:00:03 +0000

Sermon done! Excited about this one, we are turning a corner into hope, and it feels good!

Kent Well, I guess it’s time to start working on that sermon again… Need to get it wrapped up! Seems like I just did one last week? Weird… ;).

epic — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 07:00:05 +0000

Well, I guess it’s time to start working on that sermon again… Need to get it wrapped up! Seems like I just did one last week? Weird… .

Kent My bike is calling me home, but my sermon is calling me to my computer… Hmm, maybe I could mount a computer to my bike… Any of you engineers want to design that for me?

epic — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 22:00:04 +0000

My bike is calling me home, but my sermon is calling me to my computer… Hmm, maybe I could mount a computer to my bike… Any of you engineers want to design that for me?

Is there any evidence that Jesus existed outside the bible?

epic — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:31:02 +0000

The answer is yes! While I was studying for an upcoming sermon I came across the following website:

http://www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNsEoG/b.4223639/k.567/Ancient_Evidence_for_Jesus_from_NonChristian_Sources.htm

I wanted to pass this along because I think there is a sense in Christianity that the bible is the only reference we have to the existence of Jesus. It did great things for my faith when I learned that there were other sources that described the same Jesus as our bible!

Practicals from my sermon

epic — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 06:00:05 +0000

-identify your personal warning signs – I know that I start collecting when I begin to get really mad about little things – this is a personal warning sign that I need to get course corrected

-readjust expectations – If the best relationship in the world is a 10, and yours is at a -5, work towards a -4 rather than an 8, little by little is how the race is won. Talk about these realities and deal with love and grace with each other

-start paying small – choose one thing this week that you can do that will show love to your spouse in a way they perceive love, I know for Jenni it’s spending time with her – get the love languages if you don’t know how to do that

-take ownership- not spouses problem but yours – Talk as a couple about having grace with each other, “we need to start over, and I have been guilty of wanting to collect, and I may do that again, will you allow me the ability to mess up and to start over again and again, I want to get it right”. Take ownership of what part of the issue is yours without asking from them

-dating – go back to what first drew you to your spouse, ask him or her out on a date, ask good questions, date each other

-involve others – get counseling, get into a connection group and share with them your struggles, find an older couple to mentor you

A Couple of Resources for those who struggle with Sexual Purity

epic — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 20:54:47 +0000

In my sermon Sunday I mentioned a program that I have on every computer in my house called X3watch (http://x3watch.com/x3watchfree.html). It’s an accountability program for pornography. You can set up who you want to have it email a report of your computer activity to each week. I have it going to my wife. This doesn’t prevent the activity, but it is a big dissuader (if you shut down the software it will report that as well). Men, it’s time we become men and start honoring our wives! Talk to her, make a covenant with the Lord, and if you fail, get back on the horse!

Finally, a book to help: Every Man’s Battle (http://www.amazon.com/Every-Mans-Battle-Winning-Temptation/dp/0307457974/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297976028&sr=8-1).

1 Corinthians 7:1-7 Study

epic — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 19:00:03 +0000

So, for my sermon on Sunday, I’ve been studying 1 Corinthians 7:1-7. I have found some really great stuff on the passage that really brought it into clarity for me. I decided to paraphrase the passage to help me as I thought through how to preach it. I felt like the paraphrase was really helpful. It is a conglomeration of what scholars have determined was going on in the passage and what Paul says. Hope it helps you like it helped me!
divbbr//b
divbParaphrase by Kent�/b
divb(don’t take this for anything more than helping me simplify amp; understand – no quoting please!):/b
divIn your letter you mentioned that it was good not to touch a woman sexually. You guys, there is so much sexual immorality (which comes with temptation) in your town that each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. Husbands need to fulfill their wives conjugal needs just like a wife should do for a husband. Ladies, your body is not yours alone, but your husbands as well. Men, get it straight, your body is not yours but your wives also. So, if you’re going to abstain from sex, do it to spend time seeking God together in prayer. But be sure to come together again so you are not tempted by Satan (that’s the whole reason I’m writing this) – self control is hard. Listen, this isn’t a hard and fast rule that you have to stop the Love to pray, but I say it as a concession to those of you who think it’s more spiritual to not have the sex. I really wish that all men were as I am (my sex drive is long gone, I’m now driven by the gospel!), but each man has his own gift from God, one has a gift of celibacy, and another has the gift of sex!br/