Harris Creek Baptist Church

Has there ever been a time in your life when you were frustrated or complained because something didn’t make sense to you? Because you didn’t get what you wanted? As we continue our series, 7 Deadly Sins of Suburbia, JP teaches us about the sin of entitlement by studying Luke 14:1-14.KEY TAKEAWAYS-What are things we feel entitled to? Comfort, health, time, food, money, safety, salvation, love…what is it for you?-Want to know a sure fire way to know what you feel entitled to? What do you complain about? Whatever you complain about, that’s what you are entitled about.-Don’t fall victim to a counterfeit version of Christianity and be OK with it.-Should Christians ever take the best seat?-Entitlement is focusing on what you deserve.-As Christians, we are to use whatever God has entrusted us with to serve others.-Discomfort kills entitlement. There is no comfortable solution to entitlement.-Entitlement is the air we breathe. It impacts everything about us.-For entitled people, it rarely feels like things are going their way.-Entitlement leads to disappointment.-Every disappointment you’ve ever experienced comes from your expectations.-Entitled people are perpetually frustrated.-You cannot be thankful for what you feel entitled to.-Christians in America have a lot to be thankful for, and on the whole, we are terrible at being grateful for most of it.-Want to grow in gratitude? Ask God to take away anything you aren’t grateful for.-Grateful people always win. Entitled people always lose.-We change entitlement by changing our perspective.-What is your role in “the party” that is life? The host, or the guest? Make no mistake, as a Christian, it’s always the host.-We are masters at manipulating the rules or the system in our favor.-The Christian (or biblical) worldview says life on this world is a limited amount of time to serve as many people as you can serve before spending forever in heaven with God.-All we actually deserve is hell. However, an infinitely good God gave us everything we need to be with Him through Christ.-If something is true, even if no one around you lives or acts like it, it is still true.-The gospel kills entitlement.-Practicing gratitude kills entitlement.-Ask people near you this week: am I a grateful person? Does gratitude mark my life?-Ask God what you are entitled to.MENTIONED OR RECOMMENDED RESOURCES-Suggested Scripture study: Luke 14:7-14; Philippians 2:3; 1 Peter 5:5; James 4:10; Luke 13:30; Mark 10:45; Philippians 2:6-8-Sermon: Busyness

In this Q&A with JP, we answer some of the most asked questions our body is asking from salvation to evangelism to relationships.

Do you ever feel like your life is busy? What causes it to be that way? As we start a new series, The Seven Sins of Suburbia, JP addresses the sin of busyness by examining Mary and Martha in Luke 10.KEY TAKEAWAYS-Busyness is the enemy of encouragement.-What all could you put in the blank: Busyness is the enemy of ________.-Here’s a secret: you will always have a lot to do. There will always be more to do than you have time for.-How much do you like yourself and your life when you are busy?-Jesus had friends. Have you ever considered that?-Minister or ministry simply means to render aid to those in need. All Christian’s, regardless of where they work and get a paycheck, are called to ministry.-Busyness is the enemy of focus.-What is the work that only you can do? What are the things that only you can do?-Don’t let the many things distract you from the one thing.-You are the only one who is in charge of your relationship with Jesus.-Busyness breeds a victim mentality. You are either for me or against me when I’m busy.-Busyness is the enemy of empathy.-People become distractions to your list of things to do when you are busy.-Nobody cares how busy you are. No one.-This is not an admonition to single moms. If you are a single mom, we are here for you! Let us know how we can help and serve you.-The world will not crumble if you slow down and stop.-Busyness is the enemy of peace and joy.-The greatest antidote to “What if…” is to answer the question.-If busy frustrates you, you have set yourself up for a life of frustration.-When something comes at you that you didn’t expect, margin is a great thing. But more than margin, prioritization will help you more.-There are things that won’t get done. Choose them carefully.-“I have so much to do today that I will spend three hours in prayer in order to get it all done.” -Martin Luther-If you want to see your kids go to an Ivy League school or play professional sports, but you don’t disciple them or teach them the Bible, that is a really, really bad trade.-What you say no to will tell other people what is most important to you. People will remember what you say no to.-Three of the big rocks we want you to prioritize at Harris Creek are attending corporate worship, serving, and meeting consistently with your Life Group.-What are your personal big rocks? Your non-negotiables in life?MENTIONED OR RECOMMENDED RESOURCES-Suggested Scripture study: Luke 10:38-42

Do you have anything that you’ve taken with you from year to year and life stage to life stage? What about from 2021 to 2022…what have you brought with you from one year to the next? As we kick of a new calendar year, Scott Kedersha teaches us how Christians change and grow, teaching through Ephesians 4:17-24.KEY TAKEAWAYS-Stop walking like a non-believer.-Where in your life are you living like a non-believer? Confess this to your life group and ask them to help you change.-Do you know about Jesus, or do you know Jesus?-Is your life marked by a trajectory that looks more and more like Jesus?-Put off the old.-Don’t just make small changes here and there. Completely forsake and repent from anything in your life that doesn’t look like Jesus.-What do you need to put off: pride, greed, lust, grumbling, gossip, selfishness, something else?-To be abundantly clear, putting off your old self isn’t about behavior management or modification. It’s not about earning God’s favor. It’s about responding to the truth of the gospel.-Renew your mind.-The way you think determines how you live.-What do you feed your mind with?-Put on the new.-What do you need to put on: humility, generosity, self-control, gratitude, encouragement, service?MENTIONED OR RECOMMENDED RESOURCES-Suggested Scripture study: Ephesians 4:17-24, 2:1, 5:2, 5:8, 5:15; Hebrews 12:1-2; Philippians 4:8; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Romans 12:2; Colossians 3:12-14-Ministry: re:generation. Learn more by going to harriscreek.org/events.-Resource: biblereadingplan.org

When things disrupt your life, how are you prone to respond? What comes out of you when you are squeezed? As we continue our series, a Critical Christmas, Rich Bartel teaches us about the story of Mary and how she responded when God disrupted her life.KEY TAKEAWAYS-When God comes in and disrupts your life, how do you respond?-Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a simple, ordinary woman in need of a savior just like us.-Humility isn’t self-denigration, but rather an honest self-appraisal. -Mary responds with humility.-Mary acknowledged who her Master was and she humbly and gladly responded to His plan for her life.-Mary was submitted to God’s Word.-Mary embodied the truths Scripture calls us to live by.-You will never meet a mature, kind, discerning, wise, and loving Christian who hasn’t spent time reading, knowing, and meditating on God’s Word.-Mary responds with worship.-Life isn’t a matter of trying to not be shaken, but rather, what comes out of you when you are shaken.-Make no mistake: if you are a Christian, God will disrupt your life. How will you respond when He does?MENTIONED OR RECOMMENDED RESOURCES-Suggested Scripture study: Luke 1:28-56; Psalm 34:2; Isaiah 45:21; 1 Samuel 1:11; Psalm 126:3; Psalm 111:9-Sermon: God’s Promise to Zechariah

Have you ever been let down before? Had someone say they’d do something and then they didn’t do it? As we start a new sermon series, a Critical Christmas, Nate Hilgenkamp teaches through Luke 1:10-20 and examines the story of Zechariah, answering the question of whether or not God can be trusted. KEY TAKEAWAYS-God makes promises to His people.-God often talks about what He will do in the future, which requires a specific response from us: faith.-What circumstance causes you to doubt and question God the most?-God’s people often question God’s promises.-Do you struggle to trust God with your future because you’ve forgotten what He’s done in the past because you are so consumed with your present circumstances?-God fulfills His promises.-This is how we often question God: “How because I am _______?”-The answer to Moses’ and Zechariah’s question is the same answer to our questions: God is. He is who He says He is. -God does what He promises.-There are over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament that come true during Jesus’ time on earth. Multiple of which were completely out of His control.-We have more in common with Zechariah than we think.-As Christians, we are waiting for Christ to return. Are you ready for it?-The story of Christmas tells us that God can be trusted. MENTIONED OR RECOMMENDED RESOURCES-Suggested Scripture study: Luke 1:10-20; Malachi 4:5-6; Philippians 4:19; John 4:14, 14:2-3; Hebrews 11:1; Genesis 17:15-17; Exodus 3:11-14; Revelation 19:6-9

Have you ever crossed the finish line in a race before? Or, what about crossing a starting line to begin a race? As 2021 comes to a close, JP looks back as we cross one finish line and looks ahead to what God has in store as we start a new race in the days ahead.KEY TAKEAWAYS-We refuse to make “the deal” with you: show up, pay up, and sit quietly as we entertain you and don’t ask too much of you.-We are committed to complete transparency with you. We will err on the side of telling you too much too soon.-We try every week to tear down the proverbial curtain between church members and church staff. We are a kingdom of priests, each and every one of us (not just the church staff).-At the end of 2018, we refinanced the loan on our property. It was a $6.1 million loan. We had a goal of raising $7 million in 7-years.-On average, we take in 25% of our annual budget in the month of December.-As of Wednesday, December 1, 2021, we are debt free!-We are committed to putting to death perception management. It’s one of the great evils within the church, and especially in America.-In 2021, 43% of covenant members gave to the mission of Harris Creek.-Your spiritual growth and your generosity will be aligned.-In 2021, 1 in 10 undergraduate students at Baylor were in a Harris Creek Life Group.-The Becoming Something podcast was listened to over 1.5 million times in 2021.-161 people were baptized in 2021.-As we finish our journey of paying off our debt, we are ready to begin a new journey. Debt is not sinful, but it is limiting.-There are 1,181 kids in the foster system in McLennan county. This is symptomatic of the church not being the church.-We are going to build a house to help house foster children who are sleeping in CPS offices.-In the days ahead we want to plant churches, reach the nations, and continue helping everyone follow Jesus by engaging the lost, equipping the saints, and empowering members for service.-We simply want to make disciples. That’s it.-Let’s not make the mistake by forsaking our first love like Ephesus did. Let’s finish well. Let’s pray God would increase our faith and that we’d love Him more at the end of today than we did when we woke up.

What does it mean to fear God? Christians are commanded to do so all throughout the Scriptures. As we finish our series studying the book of Ecclesiastes, JP teaches us what it means to fear God.KEY TAKEAWAYS-We are all moving toward death. You are older now than when you read the sentence before this.-Fear and follow God before your body fails.-You can and should take care of your body, but you are going to die.-Form your theology before your decline.-Don’t buy into a false theology that God is not loving and kind because we are commanded to fear Him.-Read other books, but only in addition to the Bible, not as a supplement to the Bible.-Fear and follow God by holding firmly to His Word.-There are so many distractions in this world that the enemy uses to pull you off track.-Your quiet time is not a means to please God. It’s a method of survival to fight against an enemy that is seeking to steal, kill, and destroy you.-If you are not regularly reading the Bible you are backsliding.-Why would God make known to us His mysterious will when we are clearly disobeying and overlooking His revealed will?-Fearing God and following Him means living by faith.-Is your life marked by acts of faith? Things you did that if God didn’t show up you’d be considered foolish and a failure?-Every sin you’ve ever committed is against God.-If someone can come back from the dead after being tortured and crucified, you should fear them. If they were tortured and killed and came back from the dead for you, you should follow them.MENTIONED OR RECOMMENDED RESOURCES-Suggested Scripture Study: Ecclesiastes 12; Matthew 10:26-31; 1 Kings 11:1-6-Sermon: Wisdom in Words, Work, and Worship-Resource: www.biblereadingplan.org