Steve Hoffman

TOP 10 WAYS TO KNOW YOU'RE IN A BAD CHURCH

10.The church bus has gun racks.
9. The church staff consists of Senior Pastor, Associate Pastor and Socio-pastor.
8. The Bible they use is the "Dr. Seuss Version."
7. There's an ATM in the lobby.
6. Choir wears leather robes.
5. Worship services are B.Y.O.S. -- "Bring Your Own Snake."
4. No cover charge, but communion is a two-drink minimum.
3. Karaoke Worship Time.
2. Ushers ask, "Smoking or Non-smoking?"
1. The music leader is allowed to preach

II MY TESTIMONY

My biggest stumbling block was not stubbornness, but self-sufficiency
SONG - 'He Loved Me'

III THINGS I HAVE LEARNED

(and believe me, it's a short list - signed Nancy Hoffman)
1. Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve

Bible shows truth BY WHAT IT SAYS
Hebrews 4:12 - "The word of God is living and active, sharper
than any double-edged sword.'
Romans 1:20 - "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and diving nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

Bible shows truth BY WHAT IT DOES
• It is historical
• It predicts the future

JOSHUA 24 -

1 Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.

2 Joshua said to all the people, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Long ago your forefathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River [a] and worshiped other gods. 3 But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the River and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac, 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.

5 " 'Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out. 6 When I brought your fathers out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen [b] as far as the Red Sea. [c] 7 But they cried to the LORD for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the desert for a long time.

11 " 'Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. 12 I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. 13 So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.'

14 "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

REMEMBERING IS A DAILY OCCURENCE
DEUT 6:6-8
6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

2. Do Not Worry - Matthew 6:25 - 31

34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

3. Develop Good Spiritual Habits
Romans 5:3-5: "We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character; character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us."

I Cor 13:7, talking about love, and that it "always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

II Tim 4:7, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me, the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."

So I think persistence is the key to developing good spiritual habits.
Ones I have learned:
1. Wake up praying -
2. Set one time for a devotional -
3. Find something that helps get you close to God.