Anchors in Christ Regular Class to Resume on May 8th

The Anchors in Christ Class will resume meeting in its regular classroom on Sunday, May 8th (Mother's Day!).  Mark and Jan Portis will conclude the series they have been teaching to the combined classes on Sunday, May 1st with a lesson on Apologizing.  Please join the Portises on May 1st and then be ready to kick off a new series on May 8th!

Lenten Series with Mark & Jan Portis

The Anchors in Christ Class will join with the Spiritual Growth Class in A201 for a six week study during Lent as a follow up on Bishop Goodpastor's sermon on loving your enemy.  Mark and Jan Portis will lead this series for the two groups using "Love as a Way of Life" by Gary Chapman!  The Anchors in Christ class will then continue with the Experiencing God series after Easter.

Experiencing God ~ Lesson Notes February 6, 2011

From “Experiencing God” Session 4:  Love and God’s Invitation

1)     Know God

a.    Know God more intimately as He reveals Himself to us through our experiences with Him.

b.    Who is God to us, i.e. Advocate, Comforter, Hope, Judge, Redeemer,….other?

2)    Worship God

a.    To worship is to reverence and honor God, to acknowledge Him as worthy of your praise.

b.    Ways to worship God are blessing His name, rejoicing in His name, calling on His name, declaring His name,….others?

3)    Love God

a.    If we love Him, we will obey Him.

b.    If we have an obedience problem, we have a love problem!

4)    God invites us to join Him

a.    When we see the Father at work around us, that is our invitation to adjust our life to Him and join Him in that work.

b.    God must take the initiative to open our spiritual eyes so that we can see what He is doing.

c.    We must have our intimate and personal relationship with God in order for us to have our eyes opened!

Experiencing God ~ Lesson Notes January 16, 2011

Looking to God

Bible Verse - "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God."  Psalm 20:7

Self-Centered vs God-Centered

To live a God-centered life, one must focus on God's purposes, not our own plans.  We must seek to view situations from God's perspective rather than from our own distorted human outlook.  When God starts to do something in the world, He takes the initiative to reveal His will to people.

To know and do God's will, we must deny self and return to a God-centered life.

God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.  

If God has a great task for you, he will expand your character to match the assignment. 

Experiencing God ~ Lesson Notes January 9, 2011

Scripture ~ John 15:5

I am the vine, you are the branches.  If a man remains in me, and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Two different ways to approach the Lord and His plan for us: “Lord, tell me everything.” or “Lord, just go with me and direct me.”

Don’t ask God about tomorrow, but, instead, ask about today.

Phillips 2:5-8  (God’s Word Translation)

            ⁵Have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

       ⁶Although he was in the form of God and equal with God,
        he did not take advantage of this equality.
       ⁷Instead, he emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant, by becoming like other humans, by having a human appearance.
       ⁸He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, death on a cross.

Being a servant of God is serving in God in order to serve one’s fellow man.

The Potter shapes the clay.  We have to be open to be molded,   and open to be used.

New 12 Week Series Begins January 9, 2011 ~ Experiencing God

The following information was provided by Debbie Fisher . . .

Our current series is Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby.  It is based on seven Scriptural Realities that teach us how to develop a true relationship with the Creator.  By understanding how God is working through us even as we try to fathom His ways, we can begin to clearly know and do His will and discover our lives greatly and gracefully changed.

7 Scriptural Realities:

  1.. God is always at work around you.

  2.. God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal.

  3.. God invites you to become involved with Him in His work.

  4.. God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church.

  5.. God's invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.

  6.. You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing.

  7.. You come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you.

This study will have varying insights and concepts about knowing and doing the will of God, that hopefully will help us build upon our Half Time series, as we continue to strive for significance in our second half.

Having a fruitful second half is more than just slowing down or being able to control your date book.  It has to do with a mind set, an inner compass, that is fixed on those things that define the true self.  ~ Bob Buford

Commit your actions to the Lord,

and your plans will succeed.

(Proverbs 16:3 New Living Translation)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

(Proverbs 3:5-6 New Living Translation)

Welcome, Anchors Class!

Hopefully, this site will be helpful in keeping up with class studies and activities.  Please note that you should be able to subscribe to the site so that you can be notified when updates are made.  A posting will follow soon on our current lesson plan and upcoming news!

Happy New Year!!!