Please click below to download the study guide which accompanies the sermon preached on February 28. The study guides are beneficial for personal use but primarily designed for use within our Community Groups.

ACCESS - Week 2

To learn more about our Community Groups please visit: westportchurch.org/information/groups

In our sophisticated, intellectual age, the conversation surrounding “spiritual warfare” can be stilted. But talk to someone in the Two-Thirds World where the church is growing fastest, and you won’t have to convince anyone!

If this is an area of your understanding you wish to expand, I recommend starting with a couple books. The first, The Bondage Breaker by Dr. Neil T. Anderson is a classic that’s been recently updated. Dr. Anderson has a long history of merging the intellectual and the spiritual. He engages in the topic of spiritual opposition without “losing his head.” And, hey, he’s a former aerospace engineer like me :).

Another great book to read on this topic is The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. Lewis does a “reverse-take” and writes as if the demons are the good guys and God is “the enemy.” It is fascinating reading and challenging to think through the myriad means our spiritual enemy may seek to undermine our faith and keep us in bondage. You can check out  an online version of this book here.

May you know FREEDOM in Christ. May you know VICTORY over the spiritual opposition you currently face. And, as a result, may you know JOY.

Best,

Shane

Ever have the chance to meet someone famous? What did it feel like to first enter the room? Intimidating?

In a previous job, I had the chance to work on a project that involved a partnership between the organization I worked for and the Office of the Governor of Arkansas. On a couple different occasions I met with the Governor himself.

The first time that happened, I was scheduled to meet him in his office. When I was ushered in, I felt this overwhelming sense of awe. Picture the setting: big, ornate corner office in the Capitol building with busts, pictures and memorabilia from decades of state history! I stumbled over my greeting and struggled for several minutes getting started in the conversation. I mean, this was the GOVERNOR! Who am I to speak with the GOVERNOR?! Eventually I learned that he genuinely wanted to meet with me and the emotional barrier in my own heart toward him broke down.

A similar type of intimidation happens, I think, between us and God. We get this picture that he’s too important, or two busy, or not interested in our little problems. As a result, a barrier can develop between us and God. But Hebrews 4:14-16 makes it clear: Through JESUS, the Son of God, we not only have ACCESS to the throne of God, we can go confidently knowing that he sympathizes with our weaknesses and is ready to offer mercy and grace in our time of need.

I love what Larry Crabb has written recently on the subject of prayer in his important book: PAPA Prayer. Through the acronym PAPA, he invites us to go boldly to God in prayer. If you want a pathway for approaching God in prayer with confidence, get your hands on this book.

May you know Jesus as your sympathetic high priest; may you have courage to go to him with confidence in your time of need; and may you find his mercy and grace sweetly meet your deepest hunger.

Best,

Shane

Please click below to download the study guide which accompanies the sermon preached on February 21. The study guides are beneficial for personal use but primarily designed for use within our Community Groups.

ACCESS - Week 1

To learn more about our Community Groups please visit: westportchurch.org/information/groups

Please click below to download the study guide which accompanies the sermon preached on January 24th. The study guides are beneficial for personal use but primarily designed for use within our Community Groups.

trueish-week-4-study-guide

To learn more about our Community Groups please visit: westportchurch.org/information/groups

Please click below to download the study guide which accompanies the sermon preached on January 17th. The study guides are beneficial for personal use but primarily designed for use within our Community Groups.

trueish-week-3-study-guide

To learn more about our Community Groups please visit: westportchurch.org/information/groups

(Looking for Sunday’s audio announcement?   Keep reading…)

How do you respond to sad news?
Anger? Fear? Depression? Criticism? Anxiety?  All the above?

It’s easy and natural to respond this way…but, unfortunately, the Scriptures don’t give us a right to. Instead, the Scriptures (1 Thessalonians 5:11,  Hebrews 3:12-13,  Hebrews 10:23-25) call us up to something much different: encouragement.  We are to BE encouraged and we are to BE the encourager.  This isn’t the easy road, but it is the joyful one - and the road that will lead us out of the valley of negativity.

Choosing to be an ENCOURAGER is…well…a CHOICE.  Encouragement doesn’t just happen…it’s not a passive effect.  It is the result of proactivity and intentionality…aligning our attitudes with the attitude of God’s Spirit.  Every day…sometimes every minute…we have to choose the way of the Spirit.

Choose to see God at work.  Choose to be the voice of comfort.  Choose to be the voice of truth.  Choose to be the voice of courage.  Choose joy.

Choose…the way of the Spirit.  It’s what God wants FROM us - and it’s what God wants FOR us!

Hard?  Yes.  Rewarding?  Always.  Try it right now…take every discouraging fact you are wrestling with…and ask God to help you - by His Spirit - to see something ENCOURAGING about that situation.  Somewhere buried in the chaos is a little nugget of truth that is encouraging.   It’s there…you just have to look for it - you have to CHOOSE to look for it!

This week, Westport heard some challenging news about some changes on our team. Our prayer for us is that we could quickly give that sad news to the Lord, and begin encouraging ourselves and others as soon as possible! I urge you to become a ‘Joy Distributor’ through your encouraging words to others.

To get us started in the right direction…let me encourage you with God’s Word:   Philippians 4:8-9

Loving you guys for the sake of the Gospel,
Paul

*If you missed Sunday’s (1/10/10) announcement, we have included it here for you to listen to it in its entirety.  Click here to listen…

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This Sunday, January 17th - Kimberley Reception:

Please join us at 5 pm to hang out with Tim & Patty Kimberley and send them off in Westport style with love and appreciation!   Bring your cards, gifts and words of encouragement for all their impact in our lives!

Let me encourage you to come with this determination:  “I’m here to ENCOURAGE somebody else…”

Please click below to download the study guide which accompanies the sermon preached on January 10th. The study guides are beneficial for personal use but primarily designed for use within our Community Groups.

trueish-week-2-study-guide

To learn more about our Community Groups please visit: westportchurch.org/information/groups

Post your questions for the upcoming series:    Any Questions?