This sermon series deals with the internal emotional issues we all face and how God enables us to deal with them.  It could also be called Managing Your Emotions, or Facing Your Feelings.  While the topics for a series like this are almost endless and the Bible has so much to say about each of them, we are doing a 4 week series on a select 4 issues.  I have found that while these issues are real and people want and need to know how to deal with them, they tend to be so personal and sometimes painful, that short series are best for handling them. 

One characteristic of a sermon series like this is that it is universal.  In other words, Christians and non-Christians struggle with stress, and feelings of rejection.  It ministers to believers and speaks to the unbeliever where he or she lives.  So, if you are looking for a series that addresses the needs of the unchurched, this works.  If you have a lot of unsaved people who attend your church, this will speak to them.  It also gives your believers something good to share with their unsaved friends.  Each of them has a great evangelistic close since God is able to help us deal with these issues we cannot deal with alone.

This series is for Mesa Baptist Church in Mesa, Arizona where I am currently serving as Transitional Pastor.

Here are the four we are dealing with in April and May:

4-11        Standing Up To Stress
4-18        Beating The Blues
4-25        Overpowering Anger
5-2          Rebounding Over Rejection

These are topical messages and bring in many Scriptures that relate to the topics, however, each one has a primary passage, and all but one have a primary Bible character they relate to.

• “Standing Up to Stress” is based on Genesis 32 and focuses on the Bible character of Jacob.  When Jacob ran away from Uncle Laban and was about to meet his twin brother Esau who had promised to kill him years before, Jacob felt stressed out.  He was between a rock and a hard place.  It was at this time when he met and wrestled with a man who changed his name from Jacob to Israel. 
• “Beating the Blues” is a message about Depression or Discouragement.  The primary passage is 1 Kings 19 and it focuses on the Bible character of Elijah.  After a real mountain-top experience, Elijah went down into the depths of depression and prayed for death.  However, God graciously dealt with this depressed prophet.  We can learn how God cares for us when we are depressed and some principles for beating those blues.
• “Overpowering Anger” takes up the topic of how to deal with the anger we feel at times, and also how to deal with anger that is directed toward us from other people.  This primary passage is Ephesians 4:26-27, 31-32.  It is subtitled, “Anger:  The Dragon You Must Defeat” or “How to Tame Your Dragon.”  In other words, everyone has a dragon they must defeat.  No one can “slay” the dragon of anger because it is a God-given emotion.  We must learn how to tame it or train it and keep it under control.  Like all emotions, we either control them or they will control us.  In this message I referred to a new song from Jaron and the Long Road to Love which perfectly illustrates one of the points in the message.  When we fail to deal with anger “before the sun goes down,” that anger can turn to bitterness, wrath, angry outbursts, public fighting, slander, and malice.  The song, “I Pray For You” is a great example of malice which is the expression of unresolved anger.  I will refer to it more in another post.
• “Rebounding Over Rejection” looks at the serious subject and emotion of rejection.  From our earliest days in grade school sending love notes marked, “Do you like me? Yes or No, circle one.”  We understand rejection.  Whether it is getting cut from the team, losing a best friend, getting gilted, receiving a “Dear John” letter or text, or going through the devastation of divorce, we understand rejection.  However, God also understands rejection.  Many Bible characters experienced the feelings of rejection.  This message focuses on the Old Testament character, Job.  He understood rejection after he lost everything and saw even his friends turn against him.  The primary passage for this message is Job 19:13-19.  How do we deal with rejection in our own lives and how do we trust God during those times?

I have tried to glean from many great teachers and preachers for this series.  Adrian Rogers, Erwin Lutzer, Max Lucado, Chuck Swindoll, Warren Wiersbe, and many others who have written and preached on these subjects.  While I also checked out some great counseling books on these subjects and found some great insights, I have found that I received the most help from great preachers who have dealt with them.  Preachers are just better communicators and better at packaging and organizing the materials for the public. 

Here are a few observations.  People who are hurting really respond to these kinds of messages.  More people are hurting in your church than you probably realize.  More people are dealing with private pain than you currently think.  Some unexpected things will come to the surface.  It really gives a Pastor an opportunity to bring healing to some people.  This subject deals with down subjects so you have to be especially intentional to bring the message and design the services in an upbeat way.  You do not want people to leave more depressed than they were when they came in.  You do not want people to leave more angry than when they first arrived.  You do not want them to feel more stressful at the end of the message than they did at the beginning, etc.  So, if you can bring in some upbeat music, videos, and humorous stories, it is helpful.  Also, you have to be open to sharing your own personal struggles in these areas.  Perhaps this is a reason why some preachers do not want to deal with these issues from the pulpit.  The preacher has to be open to being vulnerable about how he has fallen short during some of these struggles.  That is easier for some people than for others.

As we prepare to welcome a new “First Family” in our own country, and think of our own families this Christmas, it is also a good time to reacquaint ourselves with the “real” “First Family of Christmas.”  This is the original family who sacrificed to make that first Christmas a reality for their nation and the whole world.  Their faith and their individual acts of courage and sacrifice may inspire you when you face the seemingly insurmountable challenges of life.

• Joseph:  The Unsung Hero of Christmas 
• Mary:  Mary’s Christmas Song
• Jesus:  The Promised, but Unwanted Child of Christmas

Download this Christmas Series for your own enjoyment or for your congregation.  What you see above is the “bulletin copy” which you can use in your advertising materials, website, etc.  This three week series includes:

• Fill inthe blank outlines for the bulletin for each week (in Word 2003 and PDF)
• Completed outlines to give the A/V team as they prepare the powerpoint (in Word and PDF) (Sorry, no powerpoint slides are included)
• A fuller booklet version of each message to fold and fit into your Bible (in Word and PDF)
• An MP3 Audio of each message so you can listen and get a few ideas
• An outline listing some of the video clips we used.  We used several clips from “The Nativity” and some “Igniter Videos” all of which can be purchased separately,  downloaded and inserted into your Powerpoint or Shout.  “The Nativity” clips were downloaded free from “Wingclips.”  We also used graphics from various places and do not include licenses to any of them.  There were graphics supplied from “The Nativity” that you may want to try to get yourself at no cost.

This is an original series so you don’t have to worry
about somebody else in town using the same series. 

I know what it is like preaching the holidays.  It is relentless.  And sometimes they sneak up on you in the midst of all the other urgent things you are trying to accomplish.  A series like this that is 80-90% ready can be a real benefit and a means of keeping your sanity.  I included the Microsoft Word version of the materials for easy editing.  The audios have not been edited.  They are original.  I just did not have time. 

These Christmas sermons are for use in your own church or ministry.  You can use just one message or all three.  I am making them available at a very low cost since I know that many times Pastors are purchasing these resources out of their own pockets and are never reimbursed. 

They are available for IMMEDIATE DOWNLOAD.  Even if it is 2:00 AM on Sunday Morning!!! YIKES!!!

Someone said that Saturday night is when inspiration turns to desperation.

What’s included?

• Resource Sheet
• Advertising Copy
• Bulletin Insert for Each Message
• Completed Outline for Each Message
• Fuller Bible Insert to use for Reference During Your Sermon
• MP3 Audio of Each Message
• Full Rights to Use in Your Church Now or Any Church You May Pastor in the Future

$9.95

If you do not have a PayPal Account Just click through the PayPal Button and Look for the Credit Card Logos

Just in Time for Christmas

 60 Days Money Back Guarantee

How Can I Know God's Will

“All heaven is waiting to help those who will discover the will of God and do it.”    J. Robert Ashcroft

 “Jesus taught us that we are to be obsessed with living according to the will of God.”    Herbert W. Cragg

 “God’s will is not an itinerary but an attitude.”    Andrew Dhuse

 ⁹The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.                                             2 Peter 3:9 (NASB)

What is God’s Will and How do we discover it or know it?

This is a question that people are continually asking.  Should I take this career path or that one?  Who should I date?  Who should I marry?  Where should I go to school?  Is God calling me to ministry?  Is it time to make a move?  And more.

We often think of God’s will as nebulous or unknowable.  Sometimes we think we have to be looking for a sign.  But is there a way to really know God’s will for our lives and to follow it consistently?  The answer is, “YES!”  In fact, God is more concerned about you knowing His will for your life than you are. 

In this three part series we will learn what God’s will is and how to find it and know it.  The Messages Include…

• The Six Methods of Finding God’s Will
• Six Things We Can Know About God’s Will
• Choosing in the Gray Areas

This series is available in outline and audio.

For more information on how to get a copy of this series email me at kelly @ carrsmail.com

Love:  The Irresistible Force

5 Part Series

Love is the World’s Most Powerful Force.

Love is Also the World’s Most Misunderstood Force.

Let the Power of God’s Love Transform You and Your World!

HP3 Pitfalls

The “Pathway of Purpose” is not problem-free.  There are tight twists and dangerous curves.  You will find enemies, tempters, traps and pests.  Purpose helps us work together to achieve unreachable goals.  Yet, sometimes we work side by side with people who we would never have chosen.  Sadly, not everyone who begins the journey finishes.  Fortunately God has given us some warnings to heed, some principles to put into action, and some signposts to check our progress.  Avoid the pitfalls and you will find satisfaction, friendship, inner peace, and contentment on the “Pathway of Purpose.”

• Can’t Get No Satisfaction?                                               
• Checkpoints                                    
• The Path to Inner Peace  (Father’s Day)
• Content or Intent?                           

“You were designed for a Higher Purpose (HP), to fulfill a greater destiny in life. 
Deep within each person is a Higher Purpose,
longing to be recognized,
screaming to be released,
yearning to be achieved. 
You have always known it.  
It is a purpose so grand none of can achieve it on our own. 
We need each other.  We were engineered for Greatness. 
Join me in pursuing life’s Higher Purpose.”

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Feel free to call on me if you have any questions about this article.