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StoneBridge Community Church

A Generous Life: Where Did They Get the Water?

A Generous Life: Where Did They Get the Water?

Pastor Neal Nybo

Locations & Times

StoneBridge Community Church

4832 Cochran St, Simi Valley, CA 93063, USA

Saturday 5:30 PM

Sunday 9:00 AM

Sunday 10:30 AM

Online Connection Card

Thanks for joining us today! Follow this link to our online Connection Card where you can let us know you were here and share any prayer concerns.
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Introduction to Series: A Generous Life

Begin a conversation with friends about generosity and it will wander to topics like passion, helping, contentment, counter-culture, and community. Begin a sermon series on being generous and it can quickly zero in on giving money. Money is an element of generosity. It turns out money can buy happiness. It just has to be spent on others, which is the essence of being generous. This series moves towards those first topics. We will see that generosity leads us away from selfishness and isolation towards contentment and community.

1. God’s people intentionally and sacrificially gave to a risky cause.

When Elijah required people to bring water, there was no assurance that anything was going to happen. This ends up being a story of the amazing power of God on display and the rescue of the people from death by drought and famine. But, there was no guarantee that either of those things would happen.

Reflection Questions

1. Have you ever gotten involved in something important but risky? What did it feel like? How did it work out?
2. Contrast the community nature of investing in a gym membership and investing in a service project.
3. Elijah had the people collect and pour out water three times. Which time or times would you have gotten involved and shared some of your water?

2. God’s people need to regularly commit to follow God.

We live in a time of competing allegiances. Many voices call for our support and loyalty. By requiring people to give water, Elijah made the people invest themselves. Elijah required the people of God to make a commitment.

Reflection Questions

1. Describe a time you invested yourself in a project or cause.
2. How did your involvement impact your relationships, time, happiness?
3. How is a church like StoneBridge impacted and changed as more of its people become more invested in God?
4. The final verse in this story says that rain came - saving the people from drought. It is a verse about hope. Where do you need hope in your life right now?

Commitment is dedication to a particular organization, cause, or belief, and a willingness to get involved.

1. People who are committed don't take discouragement seriously -- they don't give up.
2. People cooperate at a higher level when they share commitment. Commitment fosters camaraderie, trust, and caring -- the stuff a group needs to keep it going for the long run.
3. The more committed people there are, the more effective they are in influencing others.

3. Regularly committing ourselves to God helps us become more Godly people.

There is an interesting thing about our hearts and minds. When we invest in something we begin to value it more.

Next Steps

1. Consider a new commitment.
2. Consider a counter-cultural, online, automatic commitment.

Dave Ramsey has trained almost 6 million to pay off debt and save.

StoneBridge regularly leads a nine-week course by Dave Ramsey called Financial Peace University. It really works.
https://www.daveramsey.com/

Reflection Questions

1. Have you experienced giving to something and finding yourself more interested in it?
2. What do you think of the next steps given in this sermon?

The Text In Context

The story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal is one of the most famous in the Bible. Here is a link with additional in-depth study of the text.
https://bit.ly/2klJHlx
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The ALPHA Course New Session begins Thursday, September 12th @ 6:30pm The ALPHA Course is a 10-week opportunity to explore the validity and relevance of the Christian faith for our lives today. It’s a practical introduction to the basics of Christianity with opportunities for questions and discussion. The style of Alpha is informal, friendly, and non-pressured. Dinner and child care is provided. Call Paul or Katrina Dixon at 805-579-8066 to sign up.

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It’s the new normal to live in a digitally connected world, and yet parents often find themselves asking questions like: “Why do my kids constantly check their phones?" and “How can I supervise what my kids are saying and sharing?”. If you find yourself wanting more information, ideas, and action steps for engaging with digital media as a parent, then these are the workshops for you. Parents with kids of ANY age are welcome, but we’ll be focusing on common questions and ideas for parenting school-aged children and teenagers. Sign up this weekend on your connection card, through YouVersion, or send Ms. Stephanie an email at stephanie@stonebridgesimi.com.

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Growth Group lead/host form

Click here to sign up to host and/or lead a Fall Growth Group!
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StoneBridge Christian Recovery is designed to help you on the road to recovery of any hurts, habits, or hang-ups that are keeping you from a joyful and productive life. If you feel like you resonate with this, then please join us on Wednesday nights.

Weekend Worship Playlist

Enjoy this Spotify playlist with the songs played in worship this weekend!
https://spoti.fi/2lG9tBi

Social Media @ StoneBridge

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