Making Life Count

Finishing Strong

Making Life Count — Sun, 20 May 2012 17:31:56 GMT

This year's Boston marathon had 26,656 entrants, but only 22,480 showed up at the start of the race. Of those, 926 did not finish...living proof that everyone that enters the race does not run it and everyone that runs the race does not finish it. The same is true in the fight of faith. Some show up, but do not fight. Others fight, but do not finish. In the message, "Finishing Strong", we'll see why this happens, what the big battles are, and how to fight to the finish.

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Family Responsibility

Making Life Count — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:42:29 GMT

How important is your family? Some would say..."My family is the most important thing in the world to me." In fact, most folks would probably say that. But then, why do we see so much disintegration of families in our culture? In the message, "Family Responsibility", we will see that God has a balanced plan for how we are to relate to our families that will help our families to not only survive...but thrive.

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Living Redemptively

Making Life Count — Sun, 06 May 2012 16:30:55 GMT

It is so easy to walk through life with very limited, earthly vision. Yet, everything that we do has a direct bearing on our eternity and the eternity of others. We, as believers, must learn to lift our eyes above the earthly, above the ordinary, above the norm. We must learn to "Live Redemptively".

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Forsaking All Others

Making Life Count — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 16:26:51 GMT

When a couple stands befoe a minister to make their marriage vows, the question is asked, "Will you, forsaking all others, keep yourself only for (him or her) so long as you both shall live?" In other words, they are required to sacrifice the single life for the sake of marriage. In the message, "Forsaking All Others", we will look at the sacrifice that Jesus made and see if we are willing to make the ones that He now requires of us.

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Beyond Self

Making Life Count — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 17:33:41 GMT

Imagine what it was like for Jesus on the day of His death. The Creator of the Universe, the Lord of Glory, the King of Kings was beaten beyond recognition, scorned without mercy, covered in spit and blood, and treated like a common criminal. How could He endure being treated with such disrespect? How could He keep His focus on others and not Himself? What part of His character enabled Him to remain steadfast in intense suffering? In the message, "Beyond Self", we'll see...and hopefully...learn!

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Turning Trials To Triumph

Making Life Count — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 18:04:29 GMT

Carrying your cross isn't easy. For that matter, life isn't easy - even if you aren't carrying a cross. But how do you carry a cross and deal with life's bigger challenges all at the same time? In the message, "Turning Trials Into Triumph", we'll see how Jesus did it in His own life in order to better understand how, in Him, we can do it, too.

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Prelude To Resurrection

Making Life Count — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 19:54:15 GMT

Do you find it difficult, at times, to stay on course on the path that God has laid out for you? Do you find yourself looking for a plan "B" when plan "A" doesn't seem very appealing? Are you in need of more strength that you seem to have? You might be surprised to know that you are in good company with, none other than...Jesus. In the message, "Prelude To Resurrection", we'll see how He dealt with these challenges and how we can do the same with ours.

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Triumphant Living

Making Life Count — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 17:46:27 GMT

This is Palm Sunday. During this day, Christians around the world celebrate, in many different ways, the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Today, as we look at this event in Biblical history, Ben Bonner helps us to see how the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem points the way to the "Triumphant Living" that God intends for each of us.

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Idol Time

Making Life Count — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 16:29:51 GMT

Anything that has the power to come between us and God can become an idol. Idols can take the form of possessions, relationships, ambitions, amusements, or just about anything else that catches our attention and holds our interest. The second of the Ten Commandments reminds us that we are not to create our own objects of worship. Although, in current times, we are not likely to carve idols to worship, we find more sophisticated forms of idolatry…so sophisticated, in fact, that we often do not recognize them. In the message, "Idol Time", we'll discuss how we can spot idolatry in ourselves and what we are missing as a result.

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The Pursuit Of Happiness

Making Life Count — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 16:35:08 GMT

The Declaration of Independence for The United States of America states that every citizen should be entitled to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." In this country, we take that right very seriously. And, we take the practice of that right very seriously. Everybody wants to be happy. Our happiness becomes the excuse for everything from self-indulgence to divorce. Being happy often becomes the driving force in our lives that often drives us away from the very will and purposes of God. God has something that is far better than earthly happiness. In the message, "The Pursuit of Happiness", we'll look at what He has in mind.

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Easily Intimidated

Making Life Count — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 16:38:16 GMT

Do you spend a lot of time thinking about the last people you were with? What did they think about you? Did you say something stupid? How did you look? Was your hair a mess? It probably isn't possible for most of us to go through life without having some concerns about what people think about us. But, when that becomes the driving force in our lives, it is paralyzing. The fear of man, and what others think about us, can keep us from being the people that God called us to be. What is the answer to the intimidation that we sometimes face among others? In the message, "Easily Intimidated", we'll see a much more powerful way to live.

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Bon Appetit

Making Life Count — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 20:57:08 GMT

Who among us doesn't enjoy a good meal? After all, God made our bodies to need food, and food, at least some of it, tastes really good. French philosopher, Voltaire, wrote "Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity." The fact is, eating is a necessity and it certainly can be a pleasure. But, when our appetite for physical food becomes the driving force in our life, it hinders something far more important. In the message, "Bon Appetit", we'll see, not only the key to balancing our physical appetites, but the greater thing that God had in mind.

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Anxious Thoughts

Making Life Count — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 17:44:31 GMT

We live in a world that gives us plenty of opportunities to worry. After the infamous day of September 11, 2001, the question was popularized, "Do you feel safe?" But, there's a good possibility that the people who said "No" probably didn't feel very safe before 9-11 either. Let's face it. If we just stop to think about it, there are plenty of things in this old world to worry about. Some of us are so good at worrying that we could easily be dubbed "worry wart". But, as we will see in the message, "Anxious Thoughts", worry is a very cheap substitute for something God has given us, which is far more helpful.

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Happy Hour

Making Life Count — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:46:47 GMT

Happy Hour is a marketing term for a period of time in which a restaurant or bar offers discounts on alcoholic drinks, such as beer, wine, and cocktails. It typically occurs from Monday through Thursday, sometime between the hours of 4pm and 8pm. Drawn to the cheaper beverages and friendly, non-judgmental people, participants show up hoping to find relationship, relaxation, or recreation. But, all too often, Happy Hour becomes "Unhappy Hours" and leads to fights, accidents, moral failure, regrettable behavior, and, to add insult to injury, a hangover. In the message, "Happy Hour", we will see that God has a much better and more beneficial stimulant.

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Just For Fun

Making Life Count — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:42:05 GMT

If you can’t enjoy a good movie, a sport (on or off the field), a concert, or a trip to the amusement park with the kids, you’re probably a good candidate for a monastery. We all like to have fun. In fact, we like it so much that we sometimes become obsessed with it…as if it was the very essence of life. We eventually discover that, when we finish a great show on television, we wear out the remote looking for the next one. When we drop off the video, we head to the shelves looking for another. Or, we run home and surf the net, check our Facebook, or look for something to cure the next wave of boredom. Amusement can be…well…amusing…but only for a while. Amusement has no permanent power, only temporary. In the message, “Just For Fun”, we’ll see an often overlooked truth for God’s solution to lasting satisfaction.

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Collaboration

Making Life Count — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:12:04 GMT

Many people have invited Jesus into their lives and hearts. Hopefully, you're one of them. And, according to scripture, He comes in...wherever the door is opened to Him. But the next question is...where, in you, does Jesus live? Is He in the guest room or does He have a room of His own? Does He have free run of the house, or is He confined to a closet or the back porch? In the closing message of the "Redirection" series, entitled "Collaboration", we will see that God wants to be more than a guest in our home, He wants a partnership. And, we'll learn exactly what is expected when you decide to become partners with the Almighty.

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Implementation

Making Life Count — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:16:02 GMT

There are times when God is silent, when it seems like He has moved off the scene, and when nothing changes for a long time. Then suddenly, He speaks to His leaders, inspires His people, everyone answers the call to action...and everything changes! When it does, it's good to be on the right team, at the right place, and doing the right things for the right reasons. In the message, "Implementation", Ben Bonner will take us through the next section of Haggai to see how God implemented just such a plan and what its implications are for us today.

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Motivation

Making Life Count — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:36:17 GMT

Have you found yourself stuck...or at least, dragging? Are you lacking in motivation and don't know how to get going again? Are there things that you want to do for the Lord that you just can't seem to get around to? Are you serving in some area but thinking about 'retiring?' The people in Haggai's day had been "stuck" for fourteen years. In the message, "Motivation", we'll discover the "spark" that got them going and learn how to get moving ourselves.

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Introspection

Making Life Count — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 17:24:37 GMT

When things in our lives begin to get out of proportion and we find ourselves out of tune with God's best, it is time for an inspection, or actually, an introspection. We have to take a good look in one of the most difficult of areas - the mirror. We may not like what we see, but we will never move on to what can be, without clearly picturing what is. In the message, "Introspection", we'll see why it is so important to take that look.

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Disproportion

Making Life Count — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:30:52 GMT

It is easy to get caught up in living and miss out on life. God, like any good father, wants His children to be blessed and to enjoy a full and prosperous life. But, when our focus and attention begins to lean heavily in our own direction rather than His, He has to remind us how disproportionate our lives have become. In the message, "Disproportion", we'll look at why our blessings are never enough to fulfill our lives and see God's prescription for the "medicine" that will.

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