Category Archives: Challenge

10 Minute Prayer Challenge

09 Wednesday Mar 2022

Posted by in Challenge, Prayer, Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Everywhere we look, it seems the world is hurting. It’s difficult not to get emotionally exhausted when we look at everything that is going on. Our feelings can get the best of us. Our emotions can get out of control. However, when our emotions are under control, they are a powerful weapon against discouragement, depression, and the devil’s schemes. 

God has emotions too. We have emotions because we are made in God’s image. He has feelings of joy, anger, grief, sadness, and hatred toward sin, etc.. If you want to see emotion in verse after verse and chapter after chapter in the Bible, then book your ticket for a journey through the Psalms. They are filled with every emotion known to man, that is why we’re going through the Psalms in our daily devotional, Today Matters. So how do we stay rooted in our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ instead of getting caught in every wave of emotion that comes from our current situation in the world.

We pray.

Pray

This may be uncomfortable, or at least faith stretching for some of you, but I guarantee this will change your relationship with Christ. Holding our attention for 10 minutes is not easy in our  distracted world. But, here’s the reality, we cannot change how we feel by our own willpower. 

Zachariah 4:6 tells us, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord Almighty-you will succeed because of my spirit.” 

Zachariah 4:6

I’m not suggesting you are going to wake up tomorrow and suddenly love paying $6 for a gallon of gas. While we fill our tanks with that $6 gas, ask God to fill us with the Holy Spirit. And we need to ask Him daily! How do we go about that? I introduced this on Sunday…

The Challenge

This is what I want you to do … find a quiet place. Grab a pen and paper and put your phone on silent. Listen, the devil has your phone number! He’ll hit you up with that incredible offer to buy your house or get you a loan to buy a house … the devil’s other name is Spam! But, seriously, remove the distractions and start a two minute timer five different times. This will help you grasp how quickly this prayer time goes by. For some of you, this is no big deal, you pray more than this everyday … great … add 10 minutes to your current prayer time. The average Christian prays less than two-minutes a day. As you commit to this, you will consistently notice that you need more than 2 minutes per section, but start there. You may even find yourself taking on a 20 or 40-minute prayer challenge sooner than later. 

ACTS

Rooted Sermon Series

Here are the categories I mentioned on Sunday and how to get started. Remember, our goal is to be ROOTED in our faith in Jesus Christ. This is fundamental to stronger roots in the faith.  I’ve put the A.C.T.S acronym to this to help you remember the categories.

2 minutes to clear your mind. Write down anything that comes to mind so you can address it when you’ve concluded your time of prayer. 

2 minutes to Acknowledge God. Think about His presence, power, love, and purpose for you while acknowledging He is in charge and you are not. 

2 minutes to Confess where you’ve fallen short, and even sins you may be unaware of. 

2 minutes to Thank God. This is where you literally count your blessings. You may do this by categories since you’ll be doing this daily. Monday may be marriage category. Thank God for your spouse, for the time you have together, etc… Tuesday may be Taco Tuesday, thank God for Tacos!… amen?! You get the point, you can put categories to help you focus on that day. 

2 minutes for Supplication. That’s an old school word that simply means to askGod for what you and/or others need and want. This is the time to come with your requests. Don’t hold back. By this time you’ve spent some quality time with God and you are asking out of a better place in your heart. Your ask is more meaningful and likely more in line with God’s will. The more time you spend with God, the more your will aligns with His. 

Daily Routine

Make this 10 minute prayer challenge part of your daily routine and you will sense your roots growing deeper and stronger in our Lord Jesus Christ every day. There’s nothing like feeling rooted in Christ. Some of the many benefits are illustrated in Galatians 5:22-23, known as the Fruits of the Spirit. When we’re filled with the Spirit, these things come out of us; Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. When we are filled with what the world offers  … anger, envy, bitterness, guilt, shame, anxiety, doubt, and immorality come out of us. 

Let us fill ourselves with more of Him by spending more time with Him. 10 minutes is a great start. 

Game Plan

22 Tuesday Feb 2022

Posted by in Baptism, Challenge, Christian Habits, Decisions For Christ, Salvation

≈ 5 Comments

Game Plan For Battle 

playbook strategy

Do you have a game plan for spiritual growth? I guarantee your opponent has a game plan to defeat you, and it isn’t pretty. There was a big game on February 13, and it’s really no surprise that the best team won. I mean, I predicted this before the game that there was no way that the Cincinnati Kitty Cats could win. As you all know, cats are Satan’s spawn. And Satan never wins! Amen? (ok, just kiddin’ cat people, I have heard there are some good cats out there, I have just never seen them).

Spiritual Super Bowl

In order to be rooted in Christ, you need to know areas of weakness in your life that can uproot your faith. This is so crucial to our walk with Christ that I’ve written a book on it. We need to be aware of the field we’re on. Until we’re in heaven, our field is a spiritual battleground that is much more intense than any Super Bowl.

“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”

Ephesians 6:12
Super Bowl Game 2022
Super Bowl 2022

In addition, 2 Corinthians 2:11 warns us to not let the enemy outsmart us with his evil schemes. And we know that God’s opponent comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). But here’s the thing … Satan can’t force you to do anything. But he can sure try to devise ways to tempt you with the purpose of defeating you. 

Temptation 

Temptation is not an event, it’s a process. If you don’t do anything to keep the weeds of temptation off the field of your life, weeds will just naturally sprout right up. We need to be intentional about tending our crop to keep the weeds, beetles, and bugs out. And let me be clear, asking God to forgive our sins one time, only to immediately return to the offense is not enough to keep tomorrow’s weeds from sprouting. We need to continually choose to be on Christ’s team, which means confess (agree with God that I was wrong) and repent (stop doing the action), and that leads to a cultivation of our spiritual growth every day. I’m not talking about perfection, but I am talking about making progress.

If we’re going to prevent the enemy from infiltrating our lives, we need to know the difference between difficulties and temptations. 

  • Difficulties: Can be designed by God to help us grow.
  • Temptations:  Designed by Satan to pull us away from God.

We have to be intentional about cultivating a life that produces a healthy mind and focus in on God’s plan for our lives. We do that by reading His Word and not flirting with evil desires. 

Desire

Satan starts with the natural desires within you. What we think, becomes what we say, and what we say becomes what we do. A lot of times, we think that temptation is out there, but the truth is that it’s in you. If you don’t have a desire for something, you won’t be tempted. For example, I’ve never been tempted to smoke. I don’t like the smell. It’s that simple for me. Sometimes a Christian will ask me if they’re going to Hell for smoking cigarettes. I always say NO … smoking cigarettes will not send you to Hell… it’ll just make you smell like you’ve been there.  The things that tempt me may not be an issue for you, and the things that tempt you may not be an issue for me. 

Here’s the thing with desires though; whether it’s drinking, food, sex, sleep, or any other natural desire, the enemy will tempt you to take it to the extreme. Oftentimes, temptation is an attempt to fulfill a legitimate desire in an illegitimate way.

Doubt & Deception

Temptation goes all the way to the Garden of Eden when Satan said, “Did God really say _______.” The enemy’s plan is to get you to doubt God’s Word, God’s love for you, God’s plan for you, and that God knows better what will make you happy in life.

God’s opponent always replaces God’s truth with lies. The enemy uses the same old strategy again and again. And if he achieves his goal of deceiving us, it always leads to disobedience against God. Once we find ourselves in this scenario, we need to realize that we’ve signed with the wrong team. And the only way back is to confess, repent, and stop it. Sadly, many people are too prideful and tend to justify their actions, which ultimately leads to defeat.

Recruitment

Have you ever heard of National Signing Day? This actually just recently took place on February 2nd. Signing Day is when young High School athletes decide which college they’re going to attend and play their sport. Typically, they’re sitting behind a table with several hats on it. After sharing some words, they make a public profession of faith to a university by putting on a hat claiming loyalty to that University team. Sunday February 13, was National Signing Day for 120 people at Skyline Church. That’s a BIG deal! Every one of those people put on what I call the Team Colors. They got baptized and publicly claimed loyalty to Team Jesus.

Here’s the thing, you have free will. It’s a gift from God! We get to choose to do whatever we want in life. We can fall for temptations, give in to urges, and completely ignore God’s plan for our lives. But we do not get to choose the consequences after we’ve made our free-will decision. Do you know what team you’re on? Have you professed your allegiance to Jesus? And are you continually cultivating your faith every day by making progress in reading and feeding your mind with the truth of God’s Word?

Spiritual Super Bowl

Game Plan for Spiritual Growth
Game Plan for Spiritual Growth

If you could know your opponent’s game plan, you could have an incredible advantage. Why would anyone join the losing team? Christ’s opponent is sneaky, crafty, and devious. We need to be aware of his schemes so that we can grow deeper and deeper roots in our faith in Jesus Christ. If you don’t have a Game Plan for Spiritual Growth, I would encourage you to get one! At Skyline Church, I’ve created seven classes that will transform your spiritual life … I call it Your Game Plan for Growth.

Let me know if you’re interested and we’ll get you situated on the winning team. 

God Bless!

Statement Of Faith

20 Thursday Jan 2022

Posted by in Challenge, Christian Habits, Holiday, purpose driven

≈ 9 Comments

Many of you shared your New Years’ resolutions with me after I stated that “rooted” was our Word Of The Year at Skyline Church. I want to encourage you to make some spiritual goals this year as well. Or, statements of faith rather. Did you know goals are really statements of faith? What can you do this year to grow spiritually? Maybe for you, it means dedicating yourself to reading the whole Bible in a year (yes, the whole Bible, even Leviticus), joining a Bible study group, or becoming a member of your local church. For some, maybe it’s starting smaller, like reading a Bible verse a day. Here’s another resolution for you—join us in our daily devotional, Today Matters! This year, we’re doing an expositional study through the Book of Psalms. 

Book Of Psalms

As we go through this incredible book in the Bible, verse by verse, you will see resolutions from all of the different authors. Resolutions of hating evil, doing good, loving the Lord more, worshiping and honoring God more, etc. Goal setting is a spiritual discipline and is seen throughout God’s Word. Did you know God sets goals? He has goals for the universe, for the earth, and for YOUR life!
Let’s take a look at the first part of Psalm 1 together, also known as a wisdom psalm. Here the Psalmist lays down some foundational wisdom for happiness in life

1 Blessed is the one
     who does not walk in step with the wicked
 or stand in the way that sinners take
     or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
     and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
     which yields its fruit in season
 and whose leaf does not wither—
     whatever they do prospers.

Searching for Happiness

Blessed is translated, as “Happy.” So many people are searching for happiness in life. And right here in the very first psalm, we learn where happiness comes from.  However, the joy mentioned here is not automatically given to everyone. Those who love God’s Word AND act on its commands, will be blessed. When we say “Happy” New Year, we need to consider that a “Happy” year won’t just happen. 
We must get those spiritual roots growing deeper and deeper in Christ. No matter what happens in 2022— more and more economic crisis may arise, spiritual drought, political agendas will surface, but I want everybody at Skyline Church to be rooted in the faith! We’re going to continue to thrive because we are rooted in our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ! And we can do that by meditating (thinking about and applying) the Word of God day and night (verse 2). And when we do that, no matter how dry our situation may seem, we’re sure to be firmly planted near streams of water, bearing much fruit. 

Statement of Faith

It’s impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). When you set goals you’re making statements of faith. So what is your statement of faith? What will you resolve to do this year to grow spiritually? You’ll never drift into spiritual maturity and happiness. I want to encourage you to sign up for Today Matters to be sent to your phone daily, or subscribe to the Skyline Church YouTube Channel and click the bell for notifications! Set yourself up for spiritual growth by putting steps in place that ensure you get in the habit of reading, listening, and applying God’s Word. In addition, we have a whole system designed to help you get rooted to grow and thrive in Christ. It’s called Seven Steps and it’s your game plan for growth.

We have Core Four to get you started. These are four classes you take to get a solid Christian foundation and to learn about God’s plan for YOUR life. Then, there are three bonus classes to help grow your roots deeper and deeper. It is an intentional process to help you reach your spiritual goals in 2022.

God won’t force you, I can’t force you, hold you down, and make you grow. It has to be a goal of your life to grow to all Christ wants you to be. But we CAN provide the tools and classes to help you keep your resolution to be more rooted in 2022 than you’ve ever been in the past.

2022 Word Of The Year

05 Wednesday Jan 2022

Posted by in Challenge, Church, Decisions For Christ, Holiday, Oikos, Salvation, small groups, Volunteer, Worship

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Every year I pray and go through a process for a Word of the Year for our church for the coming year.  For 2021 God gave me the word THRIVE. In all the chaos of the season when people were suffering and reeling from Covid and all the governmental mandates and division that came from it, people were just trying to survive in 2020.  We decided that wasn’t good enough, and God made it clear that we are to Thrive. We have certainly experienced a thriving at Skyline Church. Over 1,176 decisions for Christ, 233 baptisms, over 15,000 people at Christmas nights––we’re seeing God move, and Skyline is thriving with more and more people! Over the last several months as I’ve asked the Lord for the word of the year for 2022, it became clearer and clearer that Rooted is the word for Skyline Church.

2022 Word Of The Year: Rooted

Def:  To establish deeply and firmly 

I believe the main reason God gave me this word is because we have so many people that have made a decision for Jesus but are not connected any more than a Sunday service. Pre-covid the national average for church attendance was 1.3 times a month. This is someone who claims to be a Christian and claims a home church! There’s no way to establish a deep and firm root base at 1.3x a month.

Rooted In Scripture

At Skyline Church, we’re not interested in building a crowd. That’s where it starts for sure, and of course we want to see crowds of people saying YES to Jesus. But we don’t just want a Sunday event, we want a Sunday fellowship! We want to truly help people get rooted in their faith, rooted in the church, and rooted in our community.

We have to disciple people and show them how to live out the process. Colossians 2:6-7, “And now, just as you (1) accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must (2) continue to follow him. (3) Let your roots grow down into him, and (4) let your lives be built on him. (Result: 5) Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and (6) you will overflow with thankfulness” (Emphasis mine). 

Process

We see the process stated above in Col. 2:6-7. It all starts with a decision for Christ. But then, our work really begins. We’ve got to help them get connected and rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have to teach them how to build their lives on Him. Only then, will their faith grow strong in the truth they are taught and that will cause them to overflow with thankfulness.

Are You Rooted?

I’m asking you to think through what rooted means in your walk with Christ. How can you get more rooted and how can you help others get more rooted (more connected) in 2022? Do you need to root yourself, your children, and your family? While we’ll always be focused on our Oikos, this year Skyline will be even more intentionally focused on helping people grow deeper roots whether they are brand new to the faith or have been a Christian for many years.

The first teaching series of the year will be called Rooted and it begins this Sunday January 9. We will look at key biblical practices that help people get rooted in the faith. Join us this Sunday at Skyline Church in Rancho San Diego, Lakeside, Kansas, or Online. 

This is going to be a GREAT YEAR as we see more and more people establishing deep and firm roots in their faith!

A Heart To Give

17 Wednesday Nov 2021

Posted by in Challenge, Christian Habits, Church Planting, Decisions For Christ, mission, purpose driven, seven church, Worship

≈ 1 Comment

Oftentimes, pastors are reluctant to talk about giving because of the way culture has taught us to think about money. Culture talks about giving in manipulative, coercive, and guilt-laying ways. But as many of you know, at Skyline we don’t shy away from hard topics. We’re dedicated to teaching the relevance of Scripture in truth and love.

What does the Bible have to say about giving?

So then, what does the Bible have to say about giving? Let’s throw out the sales pitches and talk simply about what the Bible says about giving and how we view your gifts at Skyline Church. 

Perhaps one of the most popular verses known in the Christian faith is John 3:16. “God so love the world that He gave…” God GAVE His one and only Son for YOU and for me. There has been no greater act of giving than when Jesus went to the cross for all of mankind. And did you know the words “give, gave, and giving” are used over 1,500 times in the Bible? Giving is mentioned more than faith! If we leave out talking about giving we have left out a HUGE portion of the Bible.

Do you know why it is mentioned so often in the Bible? Because you can say you have faith all you want, but if you don’t give, you’re not growing in faith. It’s that simple. Skyline wants to produce followers of Christ that are growing in faith seven days a week. Growing people change. That includes how you view your finances. 2 Corinthians 8:7 is just one verse that teaches us that eventually our faith will be stretched in the area of giving, “But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”

A Heart To Give

Giving is always an opportunity. God wants us to grow in giving because that means we’re growing in faith. I remember meeting a visitor at Seven Church (now Skyline Lakeside) years ago that approached me after one of our services. He shared how he went to church three times throughout the year at three different churches, and every time the church was talking about giving. He was fuming and he accused churches of always talking about money. And now he was at our church and guess what we were talking about? Giving. I looked him right in the eye and said, “I think God is trying to tell you something.”

If you get frustrated when a church talks about giving, that’s a tell-tale sign that God is trying to work on that area of your life. And I’ll tell you the same thing I told that man … don’t give. Maybe that’s the first time you heard a pastor tell you not to give but I mean it. God is more interested in your heart than your money. Giving with a reluctant or resentful heart is someone who is giving in vain (2 Corinthians 9:7). God doesn’t want your money if He doesn’t have your life. 
Maybe you’ve been excelling in the knowledge of Scripture, serving, and doing all the “Christian things” you think you ought to like 2 Corinthians 8:7 talks about. But there’s going to come a time where God is going to stretch you in the grace of giving because giving reveals where your heart is. Giving allows us to express appreciation for what He has done in the past. It also allows us to check our heart and our priorities in the present, but most of all, giving allows us to grow in faith in the future. 

Why I Give

Giving allows me to evaluate my priorities and motivations. By nature, we have a tendency to make things all about ourselves. Think of the self-centered man in Luke 12. The wealthy man wondered what he should do with all his excess wealth. He decided that he should figure out how to hold on to more of it. So, he tore down his barns to build bigger ones. He kept all his wealth to himself, only to pass away and never spend the earnings he stored up on Earth. 
I remember the first time this idea of “giving” hit me. I heard a message from David Jeremiah at Shadow Mountain Community Church, and he challenged me. He said if you want to know where your heart is look at your checkbook. Sure enough, he was right. God owns everything. We’re called to be good stewards of all that He has put in our lives… And my spending was all about my interests, not God, not the church, not any kind of generosity. I had to decide if I was willing to live with a heart that only thought of myself.

My wife and I are giving to the 101010 Campaign and making a commitment like we’ve never done before because we want to grow in our faith!  And I know, he who gives little, gets little (2 Corinthians 9:6). This is no small aspiration for us as a church and it requires no small act of giving on our part. But we WANT to GROW in faith as a church!

10/10/10 Campaign

Skyline’s goal of the 101010 Campaign is to see more and more people give their lives to Christ. Truly, we want to light up the scoreboard in Heaven. We want more and more souls to one day call Heaven home. We have an incredible opportunity in front of us.

My goal is to influence as many people as I can to experience Jesus. You have 8-15 people in your Oikos (relational network) right now who don’t know Christ, but they will within the next 10 years! That’s what it’s all about. A church of our size is committed to being a model church in our community. That means stewarding your giving well, devoting ourselves to growth, and teaching the relevance of Scripture. I have no business telling you how much you should give, but I do believe in teaching you about sacrificial giving. Whether you give $5, $500, or 5 Million,  I want to encourage you to ask God what you should do. If you’re wrestling through how to steward your finances, I want to invite you to watch your 10/10/10 series on the idea of giving on the Skyline YouTube page. 

With all of us ALL IN, we will absolutely be able to light up the scoreboard in Heaven!!