Your Personal Grow-Pray-Study (GPS) Guide

Church@Home

Keep Calm and Quarantine On

Monday – Read Job 42:2. Job expresses faith in God’s wisdom and God’s purposes. In a time of pandemic, where it seems as though God is either testing us or abandoning us, where do you see things working together for the good? Where do you see a spite house that you’ve formed against God that needs to come down?

Tuesday – Read Job 42:7. God is disappointed with Job’s friends. In his hour of greatest needs, his friends caused even more pain and hurt. They gave poor advice. Think of the times when a friend has been the most caring during a trial. How did that help you through? Think about the times when friends have been the least caring and have caused more pain. How did you forgive them?

Wednesday – Read Job 42:8. God tells Job’s friends that he will deal with them according to Job’s prayer. Job prays for their forgiveness. Who do you need to pray for today that has hurt you?

Thursday – Read Colossians 3:13. God calls us to forgive as we have been forgiven. Take a moment to write out those things that you’ve done wrong. Then, draw a cross over all those things, saying “The blood of Christ covers this.” Now, do the same thing with a list of things people have done to you. 

Friday – Read Ephesians 4:31. The main problem with our unforgiveness is that it changes who we are. Unforgiveness makes a bitter, hateful, spiteful person. That’s not who we want to be. How has unforgiveness made you into someone you don’t recognize? How have you seen unforgiveness make others into someone unrecognizable?

Saturday – Read 2 Corinthians 5:17. Being a new creation means that Christ  is constantly pouring out forgiveness into our lives. As a new creation, we want to be more like Christ. Where do you need to pour out forgiveness in your life right now, tearing down your spite house?

You can also watch this week's sermon or read the full message & GPS here.

Church@Home

Keep Calm and Quarantine On

Monday – Read Job 23:10. Job confessed that after God has tested him, he’ll come forth as gold. Think back on your life to the greatest “tests” on your faith, your limits, etc. How have those times refined you or made you who you are today?

Tuesday – Read Job 2:11-13. When Job is in shock, he sits for seven days in silence. What is the most effective and healthy way that you’ve found to deal with grief, bad news, or heartache? Do you need to take time to go through that process right now?

Wednesday – Read Job 23:16-17. Job is at the end of his rope. Sorrow has overcome him. He says “God has made my heart faint.” When have you felt the most sorrow in your life? Have you ever been afraid to, like Job, let it all hang out and cry over that?

Thursday – Read Job 23:2. Job is experiencing the struggle of feeling God’s silence. We struggle with God for two reasons:

1. We doubt His wisdom
2. Because we doubt His wisdom, we want to be in control. 

When you have experienced this in life? Take time to pray that you would be able to let go of control and let God be God. 

Friday – Read Job 23:17. Even though Job struggled with God’s silence, he refused to be silent himself – continuing to reach out to God in prayer. Don’t let life beat you don’t to the point where you stay down forever. Don’t give up. Pray to God for strength. 

Saturday – Read Job 42:12. God takes the bad in Job’s life and transforms it. Think about your past again, much like you did on Monday. How have those negative moments been used for the good in the rest of your life?

You can GO DEEPER this week by reading the excerpt from the article by Pastor Paul David Tripp on “Refining: Unattractive Ore, Refining Fire, & The Gospel of Refinement” at WWW.PAULTRIPP.COM. Other books from Pastor Tripp:

• New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional
• Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family
• My Heart Cries Out: Gospel Meditations for Everyday Life
• What Did You Expect? (Redesign): Redeeming the Realities of Marriage

You can watch this week's sermon message or read the full PDF of the sermon message & GPS.

Day 1: Read Job 14:1-2. I don’t recommend you send this Bible verse on any baby announcement card or baby gift card. I do recommend you appreciate and learn from Job’s honesty. He’s in pain, and he’s honest with that pain. He doesn’t cover it up. He doesn’t hide from it. Where are you experiencing pain in life? Take time to pray to God about your pain, to ask for His presence and peace, and to see the hope He gives in the painful problem you face.

Day 2: Read Job 14:5. Job reminds us if you want a reason for despair, you’ve got one. Life is limited. Pain happens. Job could have simply wallowed in self-pity. Job sees the problem and is honest to lament from his point of view. He doesn’t doubt God or drop his faith in God, but he does declare where he is at with God. Job sees the problem and holds on to hope. Pray honestly to God about where you’re at, and what you need to help you hold on to hope.

Day 3: Read Job 14:7. Besides your own life, where have you seen God’s hope at work?

Photo by qinghill on Unsplash

Day 4: Read Job 14:7.  What is your “sprout in a tree stump” story that gives you hope today? As you look at a problem you are experiencing, where do you see a small detail, a sign, a gift of God’s hope for you today?

Day 5: Read Job 14:8-9. Where do you need to remind yourself if there is a hope for a tree, there is hope for me.? How have you sensed God’s presence and peace in your life this past week? Where do you need to experience His presence and peace today? 

Day 6: Read Job 14:14. The noun “renewal” Job uses, comes from the verb he used to describe a tree sprouting in Job 14:7, leaving little doubt that, with the term renewal, he has hope. Job claims renewal in the midst of his darkness and death. And it all comes from a single, solitary, seemingly insignificant detail of a sprout on the stump of a tree. Where have you experienced a renewal of hope in your life in the past year? The past month? Where do you need the Holy Spirit’s renewing touch of hope?

You can GO DEEPER this week by reading these two books:

• Great Lives: Job (Great Lives From God's Word) by Charles (“Chuck”) Swindoll
• Where Is God When It Hurts by Philip Yancey

You can watch this week's sermon message or read the full PDF of the sermon message & GPS.

In this weeks Message, Pastor Travis taught us the C.A.R.E. MODEL OF A LAMENTING PRAYER:

Complain: It’s OK not to be OK!

Appeal: Appeal to God’s character and who He is.

Remind: Remind God of His promises to you.

Express: Express trust in God’s wisdom and the things we don’t understand.

Remember -- “Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” - (Psalm 30:5)

Monday – Read Job 3. Job’s prayer of Lament is deep. Have there been times in your life where you’ve felt like Job – cursing the day of your birth? How did you make it through those feelings? Take time to thank God that you got through it. For the following days, you’ll be encouraged to read a song of Lament, and use the C.A.R.E. model of prayer each day. 

Tuesday – Read Psalm 12.

• Complain:
• Appeal: 
• Remind:
• Express:

Wednesday – Read Psalm 86.

• Complain:
• Appeal: 
• Remind:
• Express:

Thursday – Read Psalm 22.

• Complain:
• Appeal: 
• Remind:
• Express:

Friday – Read Psalm 13.

• Complain:
• Appeal: 
• Remind:
• Express:

Saturday – Read Psalm 31.

• Complain:
• Appeal: 
• Remind:
• Express:

You can watch this week's sermon message or read the full PDF of the sermon message & GPS.

Monday – Read Job 1:13-19. Can you relate at all to Job’s catastrophe? If so, how? Take a moment to write down the great losses and hurts you’ve experienced in life. Take time to cry out to God, lamenting those moments. 

Tuesday – Read Job 1:20-22. What is the first thing Job did when he learned about these tragedies? Why did Job bless God’s name? What name of God gives you courage and strength in your trials?

Wednesday – Read Galatians 2:19-20. Paul talks about the justification by faith, through the work of Jesus. He says: “The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith.” How has your faith kept you going through the difficult times?

Thursday – Read 1 Corinthians 12:1-10. “My power is made perfect in weakness.” What does God mean when He says this to Paul? How does it change the way you look at your own circumstances? 

Friday – Read Psalm 73:26. Take time to pray for all those situations and circumstances in life where you need God’s strength now, more than ever. Take time to pray that others would seek that same strength. 

Saturday – Read Matthew 11:28. Surrendering to God comes with rest. When you surrender to God, you are saying: “You can handle this, Lord!” God responds by giving us rest. Take a day to rest and refrain from work.

You can watch this week's sermon message or read the full PDF of the sermon message & GPS.

Photo by Pascal Debrunner on Unsplash

Day 1: Read Matthew 17:1-3. Where is God calling you to spend more time with Him? What holds you back from awakening to God’s presence at work in and through your life?

Day 2: Read Matthew 5:16 -- “Let your light shine.” Jesus doesn’t say: “Try harder to make your light shine.” Lamps don’t have to try hard. They just glow based on what’s going on inside them. That’s why awakening is a work only God can do. How have you seen the light of Jesus at work shine through others? Shine through you?

Day 3: Read Matthew 17:4. Peter wants to remain in this mountain moment. Where have you been tempted to stay in one area of life, when you knew God wanted you to move forward? What held you back? What finally moved you forward? Where do you need to move forward in your relationship with God today?

Day 4: Read Mark 9:6. Peter’s blunders reveal an important truth: awakening does not mean we understand, and think, and say, and do the right things. Actually, it’s very much the contrary. Awakening usually starts with getting things wrong. That’s why awakening is a work only God can do in your life. Where have you seen God take something wrong in your life and make it right? Where do you need to pray for His hand at work in your life today?

Day 5: Read Matthew 17:5. God the Father says similar words at Jesus’ baptism. God the Father adds one phrase here that wasn’t at Jesus’ baptism: “Listen to Him!” When? Every moment. Where? Every place. Why? He speaks truth with love. How? With a surrendered spirit. Do what he says. As you have been listening to God recently, what is He speaking into your life through His Word? Through your circumstances? Through the G.P.S. this week?

Day 6: Read Matthew 17:6-8. God the Father said they were to listen to Jesus. And the first thing Jesus says is not to condemn them. Rather, “Don’t be afraid. It’s me.” Jesus is with them. Jesus is with us on the mountain tops and in the valleys of life. Where do you need to pray to become aware of Jesus presence in your life today?

You can “GO DEEPER” by reading the book Eternity is Now in Session: A Radical Rediscovery of What Jesus Really Taught about Salvation, Eternity and Getting to the Good Place by John Ortberg.  This week’s message is heavily indebted to Chapter 4 from Eternity is Now in Session.

You can watch this week's sermon message or read the full PDF of the sermon message & GPS.

SUNDAY (Day 34): At some point today, gather your family or roommates or friends and share what God has done for you. This might be over dinner. Pray with your family and have everyone in the family pray at least one sentence. Try doing this as a family for a week. If you don’t know what to pray, start by thanking God for all He has done. 

MONDAY (Day 35): Read Matthew 25:35 - “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Say hello to some neighbors you haven’t met yet. Get in a new social circle and meet new people. Try talking to someone you’ve seen before, but haven’t taken the time to really get to know yet. 

TUESDAY (Day 36): Read Acts 1:8 - “You will be my witnesses.” Write down your testimony. Think of this as your “elevator pitch”. You have a limited amount of time to tell a story – make that time count! Here’s an example of what you can focus on (you can use this as a template):

• What your life was like before Christ (or what it would have been like).
• How you came to know Christ.
• Point to the Gospel. Share that Christ alone, not works, has saved you.
• How your life is different today because of Christ.
• Share a passage of Scripture which means a great deal to you.

WEDNESDAY (Day 37): Read Luke 9:60 - “Go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.” This is a hard one. We want you to record a video of the testimony you wrote yesterday. That takes guts – because you’re putting yourself out there. Remember, Jesus goes with you in all things. Don’t underestimate what God can do through you and your story. 

THURSDAY (Day 38): Read Mark 16:15 - “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Write down five people in your life who do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Talk to one of those five today about your testimony. Make a plan over the next month to speak with the other four. This should go without saying, but make sure when you talk with them that you are also there to listen to them about anything they may be going through.  

FRIDAY (Day 39): Read John 15:16 - “You did not choose Me, but I chose and appointed you.” Just as God chose you before you ever did anything to please Him, choose someone today who hasn’t done anything to earn your favor and find a way to bless that person. 

SATURDAY (Day 40): Read Matthew 28:19 - “Go therefore and make disciples.”  Identify one to two people who are mature disciples of Jesus and ask them to mentor you. If you are already a mature follower of Jesus Christ, seek out one or two people to whom you could be a mentor. 

You can watch this week's sermon message or read the full PDF of the sermon message & GPS.

Monday (Day 28): Read Mark 6:37 - "You give them something to eat."

Tuesday (Day 29): Read Matthew 25:35 - "For I was hungry and you gave me food."

Wednesday (Day 30): Read Matthew 25:36 - "I was naked and you gave me clothing."

Thursday (Day 31): Read Matthew 23:23 - "Do not neglect the tithe."

Friday (Day 32): Read Mark 10:21 - "Sell all that you possess and give to that poor."

Saturday (Day 33): Read Acts 20:35 - "It is better to give than receive."

Sunday (Day 34 - Begin week of Going): Read Luke 8:39 - "Return to your home and declare how much God has done for you."

More information about the Red Letter Challenge (RLC)!

You can watch this week's sermon message or read the full PDF of the sermon message & GPS.

CREATE FOR COMMUNITY: Construction is almost done! The grand opening celebration is planned for Sunday, February 9, 2019.

SUNDAY (DAY 20) CHALLENGE PREP:

Pray for a “Because you say so, I will” (BYSSIW) attitude. Leave sticky notes around your house, on the bathroom mirror, in your car, and at your workplace to remind you that all you do gives glory to God, your Father.

MONDAY READING (DAY 21) & SERVICE CHALLENGE:

Read Mark 9:35 - “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant to all.”

Find a way to put someone else’s needs before yours today. Here are some examples of how this might look:

• Be compassionate, even when you don’t want to be.
• Give your snack, that you eat on your drive, to the homeless person on the corner. 
• Ask someone “How can I make your day better?”, and then do it.
• Instead of deciding on what restaurant YOU want to go to, ask a friend if you can take them to dinner somewhere – THEIR CHOICE. 

TUESDAY READING (DAY 22) & SERVICE CHALLENGE:

Read Luke 14:13 - “When you give a dinner, invite the poor, crippled, lame, etc.”

Serve someone who will not be able to give you anything in return. Here are some examples:

• Host a dinner party for some people you know who could use a break. 
• Offer to watch someone’s children while they have a date-night or just a nap.
• Team up with some people to feed the homeless.

WEDNESDAY READING (DAY 23) & SERVICE CHALLENGE:

Read Matthew 22:39 - “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Do something for a neighbor. Show them you care, no strings attached. Here are some examples:

• Cut their lawn (not if it’s artificial grass).
• Take them Starbucks.
• Bake them cookies.
• Take their garbage bins back from the street for them. 

THURSDAY READING (DAY 24) & SERVICE CHALLENGE:

Read Matthew 19:14 - “Let the little children come to me.”

Serve a child who is in your life today, and let this child know how important he or she is to you. Here are some examples:

• Take a kid out to eat (after asking the parent’s permission first!).
• Give a special gift.
• Listen to their stories and engage in conversation.
• Welcome them as Jesus welcomed the little children, letting them know they are not a bother. 

FRIDAY READING (DAY 25) & SERVICE CHALLENGE:

Read Matthew 25:35-36 - “I was sick and you took care of me.”

If you know someone sick, visit that person. Here are some examples of how to do that:

• Encourage, support, or call him/her.
• If you can’t do that, then send a gift or message to someone who is sick or recovering. 
• If you don’t know anyone personally who is sick, look at the page in the bulletin of who we are praying for, and write out a card and prayer for them. 

SATURDAY READING (DAY 26) & SERVICE CHALLENGE:

Read Matthew 5:16 - “Let your light shine before others.”

• Serve God today in one of the following ways:
• Sign-up for the First Impressions Team on Sunday at christlamesa.org/firstimpressions.
• Sign-up to join a Sunday Volunteer Team at christlamesa.org/volunteer.
• Volunteer at a food pantry or soup kitchen
• Volunteer with your local Habitat for Humanity.

SUNDAY READING (DAY 27 - 1^ST DAY OF GIVING):

Read Luke 6:35 - “Lend, expecting nothing in return.”

More information about the Red Letter Challenge (RLC)!

You can watch this week's sermon message or read the full PDF of the sermon message & GPS.

CREATE FOR COMMUNITY: Construction is almost done! The grand opening celebration is planned for Sunday, February 9, 2019.

You can also deep dive into the "12 STEPS OF FORGIVENESS" that Pastor Travis shared during this week's sermons.

Monday (Day 14): Read John 8:7 - Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone.

Tuesday (Day 15): Read Matthew 7:1 - Judge not.

Wednesday (Day 16): Read Luke 6:36 - Be merciful.

Thursday (Day 17): Read Matthew 6:12 - Forgive others their trespasses.

Friday (Day 18): Read Matthew 5:44 - Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Saturday (Day 19): Read John 8:11 - Go now and leave your life of sin.

Sunday (Day 20 - Begin week of Serving): Read John 14:15 - If you love me, you will obey my commands.

More information about the Red Letter Challenge (RLC)!

You can watch this week's sermon message or read the full PDF of the sermon message & GPS.

CREATE FOR COMMUNITY: Construction is almost done! The grand opening celebration is planned for Sunday, February 9, 2019.