The Joshua Moran Blog

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Posts Tagged Nbsp

Net of Fish

Nov 13

Posted by Joshua Moran in Christianity, My Sermons | No Comments

Tonight I am discussing the Parable of the Net of Fish, and once again the focus is put back on both eternal punishment and eternal life. As we know the world will be judged one day, and God will separate the good from the bad.

This parable is important because Jesus is emphasizing that within the church or movement of the gospel (the net), there are bad fish and good fish together. The scripture where Jesus clearly says that there will be those who did things in His name will be told to get away from Him. How can this be? Can someone who has grown up in church, attended every event the church had, raised a family in the church still not go to heaven in the end. The answer is an unfortunate yes.

The churches job is to separate themselves from the world in character, but reach the world in deed. We are not to make any final judgments, but we are to have discernment about what is truly godly and what is truly ungodly. The problem many of us church goers have is calling something that is not godly, evil. Now we could take that to an extreme, but we should make it a priority to think things through spiritually.

For example we may look at a slice of pizza and we know it is not the best food for our bodies, and is spiritually neutral for someone like myself. Is it right to label pizza one or the other?  Now let's say you are in church and your favorite praise song is playing, the congregation is asked to sit for a duration, but you decide to stand and worship with your hands raised high anyway. Is this godly or evil? The pizza issue is a spiritually neutral issue, yet the praise issue is a matter of rebellion.

We must be full of the Holy Spirit and His wisdom to live life for Christ. His grace is truly sufficient, but may we always be aware of good and evil.

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Groceries: HEB versus Walmart

Jul 4

Posted by Joshua Moran in Dallas Dining, General | 3 Comments

Well, it’s July 4th and I dare to go where every man goes all at once… the grocery store. I headed over to Walmart and saw the crowds and decided to go to HEB. Now I have been to HEB for a quick gallon of milk or a couple of items at a time, but have yet to go full grocery shopping.

I will never go back to Walmart for groceries again considering HEB has that classic grocery store aura and the following pros over Walmart:

  • Produce – fresher, better selection, and competitive in pricing to Walmart
  • Baked Goods – A much better bakery section hands down
  • Fresh Foods – HEB smokes Walmart in fresh prepared foods to go
  • Deli – better meats and cheeses
  • In-House Coupons and Deals – You walk in and there are yellow coupons and posters stating what meal deals or combos on sale
  • Customer Service – one of the demostration ladies literally ran around the store with me to find artichoke hearts, and the baggers are packing while the checkout lady is checking me out for a much faster exit.

Anyway, my opinion is HEB is a much better overall grocery store than Walmart!

(I was not paid or even asked to write this blog article by any representative of HEB)

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The Challenge to Preach Expository Sermons in Youth Ministry

Feb 18

Posted by Joshua Moran in Christianity, In Ministry | No Comments

I have been a youth pastor for about 9 years and counting, and one of the greatest causes of youth pastor burnout I have experienced has come from a lack of original preaching material. Youth pastors from all over could not only sympathize, but also empathize with me on this issue. I have been to tons of seminars, conferences, training days, and taught at some of these as well, and the one thing I have not heard addressed at these events is expository preaching.

What is expository preaching? It is taking a scripture, a block of scripture, or even an entire book of the Bible and preaching from the text answering at least two things… what did it mean then, and what does it mean now? Why are youth ministries so afraid of this preaching style? I want to open the door to this topic somehow and get the ideas flowing in this direction. I was reading the Berean Wife Blog today and read this expository preaching post which had quotes from R. Albert Mohler’s book He Is Not Silent. I personally want to get this book just to be encouraged to continue preaching expository sermons to young people.

It seems almost taboo in modern youth ministry circles to say, "I preach expository sermons to youth", yet I have had more fruit in ministry from this than any other style. By fruit I do not simply mean large numbers of youth attending services, rather the spiritual maturity of young people within the ministry. I am by no means a perfect practitioner of the expository sermon, and have mostly preached topically, but I am challenging myself to preach expository sermons for the next year starting in March 2009. I currently am teaching a series for the last six months called SRY (Solid Rock Youth) Basics which entails the 16 Fundamental Truths of the Assemblies of  God and I am completing #11 tonight.

Next post I will write on:

SOME EXCUSES FOR NOT PREACHING EXPOSITORY SERMONS TO YOUTH

 

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Experiencing God’s Presence

Jun 4

Posted by Joshua Moran in Christianity, My Sermons | No Comments

As Christians, we should desire to see God’s glory arond us and through us. Last week we talked about being hungry and thirsty for God.

 

Entering Into God’s Presence

How do you enter into God’s presence? What does entering into God’s presence mean to you?

 

Entering into His presence means simply, to be before God willingly and openly. You must be vulnerable, open to hear God’s voice through His word and prayer. It takes little effort from you to be in God’s presence. If you are not willing, know that Jesus is always there, but you can only enter His presence when you acknowledge Him as who He is- Almighty God.


How do we enter into His Presence?

 

Stop Being A Spectator

Many people limit their relationship with God to what they observe, and never relying on the potential that their relationship with Jesus really holds. 

 

Praise Him Despite Our Circumstances

Even when life is at it’s lowest point… try reading Psalm 61

 

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  Psalm 91:1

 

 Being in the presence of God is not a feeling, and we should never limit God to what we feel at the moment. 

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Hungry and Thirsty?

Jun 3

Posted by Joshua Moran in Christianity, My Sermons | No Comments

Are you hungry?

Are you thirsty?

What do you hunger for?

What do you thirst for?

Do you hunger to be noticed by others?

Do you thirst for money?

Do you hunger for peoples attention?

Do you thirst for God’s affection?

Is your spirit starving to know God?

Is there room in your life for Him?

 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. -Matthew 5:6

 

Jesus said plainly,” those who hunger for me and what I have to offer shall be filled with it.”

 

 

Not Being Hungry or Thirsty For God?

 

Listen to the prophet Jeremiah:

For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. -Jeremiah 2:13

 

Take for example why people may decide to leave a church, I have heard some great excuses.

 

“Well, I feel like you preach over my head”-  the problem is that to many people are sitting spiritually, and we must preach for those who will stand up spiritually.

 

“I feel if I miss a week I missed too much, so I get discouraged.”- Praise God, that is called conviction, and you are experiencing God’s heart for your life. If you miss a week, you did miss a lot, but do not let that discourage you. Instead let it encourage you to keep the course, run the race…

 

"The music is not my style" – Is the praise time glorifying God? If so, than we may have to lay down preferences for obedience. 

 

I could go on and on but the point is that poeple often search for a god that meets there preferences, expectations, and desires. God is not interested in your preferences, He must be glorified!

 

 

Jonah was a great exmple of not being hungry and thirsty for the things of God.

 

Jonah was so concerned with his own opinions that he did not get to enjoy God using him to bring a people to repentance, but instead rotted in bitterness. Why? He rotted because he was not truly hungry and thirsty for the things of God, but rather he thought of God as someone who would meet his preferences. Jonah did not know God because he was not thirsty or hungry for Him!

 

Genesis 25:29-34

 

Essau was so hungry for the stew itself that he totally neglected his God-given birthright. Esau decided that the birthright was not as valuable as eating stew. 

 

Does the physical temptations of this world sway you from doing Gods will?

 

 

A Growing Appetite for Jesus

 

You have to taste the food or drink first

Take sushi for instance. Some people love it, and others can take it or leave it, and some hate it. If you never had a bite of sushi you could never claim it’s your favorite food. In the same manner, if you never truly committed to Jesus you cannot honestly testify to being one of His.

 

I love watching a stubborn eater. A stubborn eater is one who claims they hate a certain food even though they have never tried it. You offer them a portion, claiming it’s greatness, and yet this stubborn one says no to even a simple sample. This is like the one who is in relationship with Christians yet will never turn his life over at all.

 

Then there is the boring eater, the one person that no matter what restaurant you go to, they order chicken fingers and fries. This is like the Christian who never wants to grow, but keeps reading John 3:16 and noting else, praying the same prayers,and not seeing the glory of God.

 

 

Then there is the buffet monster, this guy will eat anything and everything. A little bit of junk, little bit of healthy, a little bit of useless food. This is the Christian who compromises their spiritual health no matter what the risk. He will have a little bit of the world, a little bit of God, and never grow to true potential. This is ne who wil create a Jesus of their own making in their minds. Pick a Jesus that suits them and their lifestyle.

 

The healthy eater is one who is balanced and only eats what is good for them. They display true self-control, and influence the people around them to do the same. This is the Christian that is regularly in the Word, regularly prays, and has true relationship with Jesus.

 

Educate yourself on what the food does for you 

 

Jesus is the greatest man ever to live on earth. Jesus has the ability the say things that are so deep and yet the simplest people can understand.

 

 

And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. - John 6:35

 

If you eat McDonalds for 30 days straight for every meal, you will be on the brink of death. Jesus has a different food to offer you, you will never hunger or thirst for anything else.

 

Conclusion

 

In order to see God’s glory in our lives the very first step is to be hungry and thirsty for the things of God. 

Moses- his face radiated

Solomon- God’s glory filled the temple he built

Isaiah- He saw Jesus and his robe filled the temple

Paul- He fell off a donkey, saw a great light, and talked with Jesus

John- saw mighty visions of the end times

Wigglesworth- people raised from the dead in his ministry till 1945

 

 

 

 

 

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