Dayspring Fellowship Podcasts

More Can Be Less

More Can Be Less 
November 12 & 13, 2016
Eternal Economics
 
I’ve noticed something interesting during the last couple weeks. The advice you’ve given me about how to manage getting back on my feet after surgery aligns perfectly with the Bible’s teaching on materialism. There are many meaningful parallels. For instance: 
1. Put things in perspective; no one is keeping score! As life isn’t about accomplishing things, neither is it about accumulating things. 
2. Unrealistic expectations lead to disappointment. As an inordinate desire to always do more won’t work, so a lust to get more will never be satisfied.
Now I’ve given away the first two points from this week’s lesson. The sermon won’t be about giving; it will be about living. Living as Christians rather than as materialists. We want to be Christ-centric and not live stuff-centric lives. 
Every other message you hear through the media this week will lure you toward materialism. We are constantly being manipulated to crave more and to evaluate our worth by what we can achieve and accumulate. But this message will challenge you to not conform to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 

The Dangers of Debt

November 5 & 6, 2016
Eternal Economics
This past August I went to El Salvador with a Dayspring mission team sent to minister in the Children’s Development Centers there.  While we were serving, we met many people who are trapped by their economic situations. These are hardworking and dedicated people who are forced to live in and raise their families in neighborhoods controlled by gangs.  The average daily pay is barely enough to feed their families and pay for basic living expenses.  As I reflect on their situation I think of how trapped it would feel to be forced to live under the threat of violence all the while unable to move your family to a safer place. 
Back home, here in the U.S., we are blessed to live in a more financially affluent country, yet many of us also feel trapped financially. Everywhere we look ads and even “good advice” from friends and family tell us we can simply borrow our way to a brighter future.  The use of credit in our culture has sky rocketed causing many to become trapped by their debt, overextended, living paycheck to paycheck.  Proverbs 22:7 explains that “the borrower is slave to the lender” and I believe many Americans are very familiar with this truth.  This weekend we will consider three real-life stories to examine the dangers of debt and create a plan to become free.  I hope you will join us as we seek to hear God’s voice about the use of credit and debt in our lives.

Giving with Eternity in Mind

Giving with Eternity in Mind 
October 29 & 30, 2016
Eternal Economics 
I love reading & pondering the parables of Jesus. His stories, and the lessons we draw from them, have no rivals. One of his most fascinating stories is found in Luke 16. It’s the story of a man who used another man’s resources to prepare a place for himself after his position was terminated. Jesus observed that worldly money managers leverage assets for the future better than God’s people. Now be careful! Jesus never taught anyone to be dishonest. Instead, He taught we too should use resources entrusted to us, but with an eternal mindset.  When we enter the presence of God, is it possible we could be greeted by those for whom our generosity provided an opportunity for them to learn of our Savior? Is this what Jesus was saying? Come this weekend, and we’ll consider giving with eternity in mind.

Leftovers Again?

October 22 & 23,2016
Eternal Economics
Now that our garden looks more like a mud pond than a beautiful source of fresh vegetables, it would involve very little sacrifice to offer our unwanted tomatillos, soggy squash, woody green beans and split tomatoes as a gift to anyone willing to wade boot-deep into the muck. At the end of the season we aren’t even aware of what is still out there. Back when we were eagerly awaiting the first fruits, we weren’t feeling quite so generous. We sure cherished those first tomatoes. My selfish desire to hoard what we regarded as our precious early produce illustrates how the first 10% seems much more costly than the final 10%.
     
The term “first fruits” is used often in the Bible concerning what we offer to God. It refers to giving God your best, not your leftovers.
     
This weekend we’ll continue our series of messages on what God’s Word says about our values, attitudes and habits. Come worship together.

Money, Money, Money

October 15 & 16, 2016
Eternal Economics
 
Swedish pop group Abba put it this way:
Money, money, money
Must be funny
In the rich man's world
Money, money, money
Always sunny
In the rich man's world
Aha-ahaaa
All the things I could do
If I had a little money
It's a rich man's world
We do live in the rich man’s world, and we have been entrusted with incredible financial resources. This weekend we will look at what the Bible has to say about making money, spending money and saving money from God’s perspective. Check out globalrichlist.com to see just how rich you are.

In God We Trust

October 8 & 9,2016
Eternal Economics
Martin Luther said, “There are three conversions a person needs to experience: The conversion of the head, the conversion of the heart, and the conversion of the pocketbook.”
It seems like we live in the most self-indulgent culture in the world. We constantly purchase and upgrade to the latest and greatest. It makes sense that we would need some reorientation regarding money.
Yet, more than 500 years ago, Martin Luther acknowledged that people needed to reorient their thoughts about money to align with what God’s Word teaches.
Hmmm, maybe it’s part of the human condition.
This weekend we launch a new series focusing on economics from God’s perspective. For those of you who remember the great Ronald Reagan and Reaganomics, this is Heavenomics.
See you there, Pastor Chris

Why Invite Jesus?

October 1 & 2,2016
Message four in the series: An All Access Pass
Have you ever sneaked a peek at the end of a novel before you were done, just to see how it ends? When we turn to the back of the Bible, we see these words in Revelation 22:20 -
“He who testifies to these things says,
‘Yes, I am coming soon.’
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”
 
We’ve been looking at some of the great invitations in the Bible. See this one? Jesus says, “I’m coming soon,” and we reply, “Please do. Set things right.” That is the appropriate response to the whole Book of Revelation.
     
But do we really want Jesus to return soon? Why would anyone invite him to comeback? After all, his return will be quite an interruption! It will signal the end of the age and the beginning of something entirely new.
     
This week I read Revelation and took notes. While studying it, some simple reasons emerged which answer out title question, “Why Invite Jesus?” I’ve found the material fascinating. I look forward to sharing with you this weekend.

It's Time for a DTR Talk

September 24 & 25,2016
Message three in the series: An All Access Pass
Isaiah 1:18
 
Have you heard of the acronym, DTR? It stands for Define The Relationship. A friend might ask you, “Have you DTR’d yet?” They mean to say, “Have you sat down and had a talk with the person you’ve been seeing and really decided what kind of relationship it will be?”
     
Some people dread these talks: “Oh no, my girlfriend wants to DTR! We’ve been having so much fun! This will ruin everything!” They want things to remain ambiguous. They don’t want to clarify where the relationship is headed because they’re avoiding commitment.
     
As there can be ambiguity in romantic relationships, so can our relationship with God suffer from a lack of clarity. Some of us want things to remain as they are; just casual. But comfort with the status quo is not an option for Christians; our faith is either growing or it is dying. We can’t really be following Christ if we want to avoid sold-out commitment.
     
We’re in a series of messages in which we are looking at some of the Bible’s best invitations. This weekend we’ll turn to Isaiah 1:18 and hear God invite us to DTR. He says it’s time totalk.
      
“Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool” (Is. 1:18).
     
I look forward to worshipping with you. Introduce me to the friend you invite.

The One Who Knows You Best

September 17 & 18, 2016
An All Access Pass
 
This weekend we’ll witness a transformation. In John 4 we meet an isolated outsider, full of shame, who comes to a realization that filled her with joy. Just 22 verses after we are first acquainted with this lonely woman,she marches back into her town with a story to tell and an invitation to offer.She invited everyone to come meet a man who had just seen right through her,yet was accepting.
     
Many of you have met that man too. Jesus is so startling. He is the one who knows us best and yet the one who loves us most!
     
What happened to this woman to bring about such a change? Come this week as we study her story and see Jesus in action. I look forward to worshipping with you.

It's Natural, But Not Only Natural

September 10 & 11,2016
 An All-Access Pass
We will be starting a new series of four messages this weekend.I’m following up on Nathan’s series, “Come to Jesus,” by looking at some of the Bible’s great invitations. We’ll learn from Andrew’s invitation to his brother(John 1), the Samaritan woman’s invitation to her town (John 4), God’s invitation to us (Isaiah 1), and our invitation to Jesus to come back(Revelation 21).  
     
The series title refers to the many privileges you receive when you get an all-access pass behind the scenes at a concert or sporting event. It’s great to get an invitation to be a spectator, but Jesus has given us more: an invitation back stage where we can enjoy the greatest possible personal experience.
     
In this opening message we’ll see how natural it can be to be used by God in a supernatural way. I look forward to worshipping with you.