Friday Night Fellowship

This lesson explains that we are about to go on a cleansing journey, and we have to begin this journey with a cleansing of the heart and mind. Sin begins in the heart and mind. As you start this cleansing journey, you cannot have doubt in your heart regarding your salvation. You can make no spiritual progress until you are absolutely sure of your relationship with Christ. You can only be as filled with God as you are willing to be emptied of yourself.

As God examines our lives, He not only views our outward actions. He especially watches the attitude behind them. It is clear that God desires a fervent and passionate love from His children. This lesson will emphasize that the very root of sin is the love and worship of self over God.

God places incredible importance on our speech. In Matthew 12:36 Jesus states this; ìBut I say unto you. That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account of in the day of judgment.î Christians today adapt to the language of the secular world too often and too easily today. They even have convinced themselves that ìitís OK. This lesson will teach you biblical obedience to confessing and eliminating improper speech.

One of the most glaring areas in which we can lose the full complement of the Lordís blessing is generally surrounded around personal relationships. In the area of relationships we must be willing to take specific actions of repentance. This lesson will explain why Jesus was emphatic about the importance of getting right with those you have offended.

Transgression is any act of breaking Godís law or doing something God forbids. These sins are also known as “sins of commission”. According to Scripture, no one who does such things can be truly right with God. This lesson will teach us how to stop accepting the breaking of God’s law as the “norm” versus “the exception”.

A sin often ignored is that of omission. James 4:17 speaks of this condition. So it is a sin for the person who knows to do what is good and doesn’t do it.This lesson will aim to teach the learner that one of the most crucial ways we can abide in Jesus is through daily Bible prayer and close connection with God’s Word. Confess and forsake the deadly sin of neglecting God in your daily endeavors.

In this lesson we will consider subtle ways the old nature stays hidden, but very much alive in keys areas of our hearts. If you donít understand the Biblical principles of surrender, you may become confused by necessary times of brokenness which God allows in our lives. For all believers, there will be times in which we must choose God’s ways over our own. But what happens if you pull back and refuse to take up your cross?

Conclusion of Returning to Holiness study. Introduction to Not a Fan study.

The dictionary defines a fan as ìan enthusiastic admirer. Fans want to be close enough to Jesus to get all the benefits, but not so close that it requires sacrifice. Fans may be fine with repeating a prayer, attending church on the weekend, and slapping on a Jesus fish on their car bumpers. But is that the extent of what Jesus wants?

Join us throughout the next six weeks as we prove that Jesus was never interested in having admirers. Itís not just fans He’s looking for.

One of the most sobering passages of Scripture tells of a day when many who consider themselves to be followers of Jesus will be stunned to find out that he does not even recognize them. If you have just assumed that you are a follower of Jesus, this study aims to help you to better more specifically “Define the Relationship” that you have with Him. Many fans mistakenly identify themselves as followers by using cultural comparisons. They look at the commitment level of others around them and feel that their relationship is solid. Essentially they grade their relationship with Jesus on a curve.

Most of us don’t mind Jesus making some minor change in our lives, but Jesus wants to turn our lives upside down. Fans don’t mind a little touch up work in our lives, but Jesus wants to complete a full renovation. In this lesson we will explore how fans want Jesus to inspire them, but followers need Jesus to interfere with their lives.

In the Bible we read about a group of religious leaders known as the Pharisees who knew a lot about God. In this session we will find out that while they knew much of Him, they really knew little about who He really was. This lesson shares more about what separates fans from followers. It is the difference between knowledge and intimacy.

Imagine that different loves of your life are competing in a race to see who wins first place. Jesus, your spouse, your children, a best friend, and a brother or sister are lined up on the starting blocks. The idea isn’t that Jesus comes in first place in this race. In this session we find out that not only is Jesus to be first place, but there is not even a second place to be won.

In this lesson we will paint a picture of perception. If you asked most people if they are fans or flowers, most would say “follower”. It is not a question of their desire. They are following hard. Here is the problem. They are often following the wrong target. Instead of following Jesus we are following the rules. We have confused the targets.

Fans who try to follow Jesus without the power of the Holy Spirit will start to show signs. Sooner or later they will reach a point where they are frustrated by failure. You keep doing what you don’t want to do and you don’t do the things that you really should. You promise others that you will change. And this time you really mean it. This lesson will emphasize that when we try to live according to our efforts that we will always end up frustrated.

Many people take the wrong road and only a few find the narrow path. If this is true, then wouldn’t it make sense for us to slow down to better see where we are headed? Is it possible that you think that you are on the narrow road but you are actually on the broad road? Could it be that you have set the “Cruise Control” turned up the Christian Radio, and are traveling down the road of destruction with a Jesus fish on your bumper? This session will assist you in making sure that you know your path.

The journey from fan to follower begins by identifying the fan within us. The question we will ask in this lesson is, “What kind of relationship does Jesus want to have with us?” That’s what matters. What are His terms? Learn in this session what He would say it means to follow Him.

The best way to understand what Jesus is wanting from us followers is to compare how we pursue Him to how we would pursue someone with whom we want to have a romantic relationship. Most of us have done very illogical and irrational things in the passionate pursuit of someone we love. This session teaches that kind of pursuit can easily consume our thoughts. So what if we pursued Jesus in the same manner?

A fan will try to accept the invitation of Christ to follow, but they don’t want to say no to themselves. In Luke 9:23 Jesus makes it clear that if we are going to follow Him, a casual no-strings-attached arrangement is not a possibility. One cannot “come after” Jesus without first denying his or her self. So what does this say for us? This lesson is a reminder that you will never be able to take the path that Christ follows without first leaving the path in which you are already traveling.

Contrast the symbol of the cross with our love for comfort. Most of us commit our time and resources to make our lives as comfortable as possible. We are by nature, comfort seekers and not cross bearers. What’s it like to die every day? This lesson hopes to shed some clear light on that subject.

The reason Jesus is so adamant about followers surrendering everything is because the reality is this: the one thing that we are the most reluctant to give up is the one thing that has the most potential to become a substitute for Him. What differences can be made in your life if you choose to be a follower versus a fan of Jesus.