BETTER TOGETHER
- 40 DAYS OF COMMUNITY
PREPARING TO GROW TOGETHER!
A GOD -ENCOUNTER!
HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF BETTER
TOGETHER
– 40 Days of Community!
1. LOOK BACK AND REMEMBER GOD’S
FAITHFULNESS!
*** Exodus 19:3-4 “Moses went up the mountain to meet with the Lord God,
who told him to say to the people: You saw what I did in Egypt, and you
know how I brought you here to me, just as a mighty eagle carries its
young.”
[Contemporary English Version]
*** Lamentations 3:23 ”Great is his faithfulness; his loving-kindness
begins afresh each day.” [Living Bible]
*** Psalm 36:5 “Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.” [New Living Translation]
GOD HAS BEEN FAITHFUL TO ME IN:
*** Deut. 7:9 “So know that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God.
He will keep his agreement of love for a thousand lifetimes for people
who love him and obey his commands.” [NCV]
2. LOOK AHEAD AND CELEBRATE OUR
FUTURE!
*** Exodus 19:5-6 “Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will
be my own special treasure from among all the nations of the earth; for
all the earth belongs to me. And you will be to me a kingdom of priests,
my holy nation." [NLT]
*** Eph. 2:1-6 “It wasn't so long ago that you were mired in that old
stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn't know the first
thing about living, tell you how to live. It's a wonder God didn't lose
his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy
and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives
and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help
from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company
with Jesus, our Messiah.” [The Message]
WE HAVE A SPECIAL POSITION! “A special
treasure!”
*** Titus 2:14 “He gave himself for us so he might pay the price to free
us from all evil and to make us pure people who belong only to him—people
who are always wanting to do good deeds.” [NCV]
WE HAVE A SPECIAL PURPOSE! “you will be
a kingdom of priests”
*** 1 Peter 2:9 “But…you are a chosen people…a kingdom of priests, God's
holy nation, his very own possession. This is so you can show others the
goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful
light.” [NLT]
PRIESTS PRESENT GOD TO THE PEOPLE!
PRIESTS: PRESENT THE PEOPLE TO GOD!
*** Eph. 4:1 “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have
received.” [NIV]
3. LOOK AROUND AND COMMIT WITH
THE COMMUNITY!
*** Exodus 19:8 “They all responded together, "We will certainly
do everything the Lord asks of us." So Moses brought the people's
answer back to the Lord.” [NLT]
*** Rom. 12:5 “In the same way, we are many, but in Christ we are all
one body. Each one is a part of that body, each part belongs to all the
other parts.” [NCV]
I’M IN – I WILL DO MY PART!
4. LOOK INSIDE AND PREPARE MYSELF
SPIRITUALLY!
*** Exodus 19:10-11 “Once more the Lord spoke to Moses: Go back and tell
the people that today and tomorrow they must get themselves ready to meet
me. They must wash their clothes and be ready…when I will come down to
Mount Sinai, where all of them can see me.” [CEV]
A. TAKE THE TIME!
1. These were busy people…interject this time…critical
*** 1 Tim. 4:7 “Spend your time and energy in training yourself for spiritual
fitness.” [NLT]
B. MAKE THE SPIRITUAL
PREPARATIONS!
*** Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit
within me.” [NLT]
3. Pray…noting prepares our hearts…congregation…community for a God encounter…prayer!
4. Deut. 4:7 “What other nation is so great as to have their gods near
them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him?” [NIV]
5. LOOK UP AND GET READY FOR
A GOD ENCOUNTER!
*** Exodus 19:16-18 “On the morning of the third day there was thunder
and lightning. A thick cloud covered the mountain, a loud trumpet blast
was heard, and everyone in camp trembled with fear. Moses led them out
of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount
Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had come down in a flaming
fire. Smoke poured out of the mountain just like a furnace, and the whole
mountain shook.” [CEV]
“Often, the most life-altering
encounters with God require us to leave the routine, the comfortable and
the familiar!” -- Lance Witt
“You must be very careful not
to forget the things you have seen God do for you. Keep reminding yourselves,
and tell your children & grandchildren as well. Do you remember the
day you stood in the Lord's presence…?” Deut. 4:9-10 [CEV]