Seize Tomorrow
Faith for Tomorrow, The Finale
June 12, 2016 • Dale Oquist
Life’s existence can often be like a long road trip; making you wonder, “When will we ever get there?” Always another step, always another level, and everyone around always ratcheting up expectations. Ample movement and no progress. And the question that begins to spring in your spirit, “Is any of this really going anywhere?” On Sunday, Dale shared the finale of our Seize Tomorrow series, “Faith for Tomorrow.” Faith for Tomorrow is dynamic and not static. While static faith just tries to maintain and hold on without getting swept away, dynamic faith is the faith that says, “I can’t stay here. I’ve got to move on. Give me that mountain!” May we be people who look out in the distance and see a journey with Jesus so incredible, we can’t stay where we are.
Faith for Tomorrow, Part 2
May 22, 2016 • Dale Oquist
On Sunday, we continued our “Seize Tomorrow” teachings from the book of Joshua. We have seen some inspiring characters along our journey; Rahab, http://joshua...and now Caleb- who was one of the original 12 spies that Moses had sent into Canaan. The hero of our story asks for and is given the portion of land that had been promised him over four decades earlier (Deuteronomy 1:36). Our text shows us this fiery old man asking, demanding, reminding Joshua of the promise given to him 45 years earlier. Don’t ever count this guy out! Caleb declares to us all that, as long as we have breath, God is still working in us and through us!
Faith for Tomorrow, Part 1
May 15, 2016 • Dale Oquist
It is easy when there is a lot of excitement and emotion to be engaged and energized about a job, project or faith. What about when things aren’t going that well? What about when opposition arises? How strong are we then? Doesn’t it take someone of special faith and remarkable character to press through to become a story for the history books? Maybe not. We are on the last few teachings from the book of Joshua. On Sunday, we focused on a character named Caleb. We don’t know a lot about him, but what we do know, we like because it is inspiring. From what we do know from the first 6 books of the Bible, there is nothing in his background that makes him a hero. Yet, his was a life upon which God had placed His purposes in unmistakable ways. And that is encouraging for all of us. We don’t have to be a celebrity or a hero to possess the tomorrows God has for us!
Rahab—World Changing Mom
May 8, 2016 • Dale Oquist
Since we are studying the book of Joshua, Dale used a mother from the story as the focus of his teaching on Mother’s Day. Rahab has long had a label attached to her life. Rahab the harlot, the Gentile, the Canaanite.... would eventually be part of the lineage of Messiah Jesus (Matthew 1:5). How do we break free from labels? How do we alter the external monikers that others have placed on our lives? Dale tracked the life of this world-changing mom to extract the truths that will help us break free from the labels that plague us.
Learning From Other's Blunders
May 1, 2016 • Dale Oquist
“Learning from your own mistakes is smart. Learning from other’s mistakes is wise. Not learning from either is foolish.” Dale continued our series on the book of Joshua called Seize Tomorrow. In our quest to lay hold of our tomorrows, it would be wise for us to learn from other’s blunders. That was the big idea for Sunday’s teaching.
Trouble for Tomorrow
April 3, 2016 • Dale Oquist
Negative reports always seem to overwhelm any positive news. That is similar to the story we looked at in Joshua 7 as part of our Seize Tomorrow messages. Israel had just experienced a great victory over Jericho. Now, a little city was the next move – Ai. It was so insignificant that Israel did not bother to use all their military on them, only about 3000 men. And they got routed, losing 36 men in the process. What went wrong? There was sin in the camp. On Sunday, we learned some important lessons from this lone defeat in Israel’s quest to lay hold of their tomorrows. Remember: What you do today affects your tomorrows.
The Places of Tomorrow
March 20, 2016 • Dale Oquist
On Sunday we came to one of the great stories of scripture – Joshua and the city of Jericho. There are many lessons to be learned for our lives. One of the greatest is that obedience precedes blessing. Consecration precedes conquest. We want the blessings and victory in life, without having to pay the price for it. Joshua was a great general, and yet he bowed down to the Divine General to get instructions for the immoveable walls he was facing. Those instructions defied every level of logic; just by marching and shouting the walls will come down? The wall that Joshua faced was called Jericho. What about the walls that we face? How can that which seems hopeless and beyond our control have a turnaround? Dale shared a few practical (not necessarily logical) approaches to see the walls in our lives come down.
A Sign for Tomorrow
March 13, 2016 • Dale Oquist
We are in a series on the book of Joshua called “Seize Tomorrow.” It is the narrative of the children of Israel, after wandering in the desert for 40 years, crossing the Jordan River to possess the Promised Land. Yet on Sunday, Dale took us back to the days of Moses and his strange encounter with a burning (but not burning) bush. On an ordinary day while Moses was 40 years into a boring job as shepherd, he saw a sight that would change ALL of his tomorrows. He saw a desert scrub bush in flames – yet not consumed. His curiosity and boredom caused him to check it out. What he did not expect was to hear the voice of God. In the pursuit to embrace the dreams God has for our lives, we may need to be encouraged by an event that will convince us that we are not alone. Moses experienced this, Joshua experienced this... now, quite possibly, it’s our turn.
The Price of Tomorrow
February 28, 2016 • Dale Oquist
Much about our study in Joshua is about “timing.” It seemed like the wrong time to cross the Jordan River because the River was a flood stage – yet God said NOW! In our study of Joshua 5 on Sunday, the people had just crossed the River and there was excitement. The Kings of their enemies were terrified of them and it seemed like the perfect time to attack and start taking the Land God had promised. But God said WAIT! There would be a most unusual time of preparation before they were to take Jericho. Not only would God require them to wait, he would require them to go through a process of consecration to him that should have been done all along. Not only would this require patience, it would require obedience. It is so easy for us to worry about God’s timing. We know what God wants us to do, and therefore believe that NOW is the time to do it. Maybe not. When we have to wait we can easily grow impatient. We lose joy and peace when we grow impatient with God because we are not trusting him. One of Dale’s main thoughts on Sunday, was the recurring idea throughout scripture, “Obedience is the highest form of worship.” May we trust God enough to be patiently obedient!
Seize Tomorrow - Week 1
February 14, 2016 • Dale Oquist
On Sunday, as a follow-up to BSAC, Dale began a new series today called, “Seize Tomorrow!” It is all about laying hold of the tomorrows God has for us. It is about being on route to our future, not allowing intimidation to dominate us. It is about seizing tomorrow through faith! We started in Joshua chapter 3 where Israel is about to cross the Jordan. Israel had confidence to cross the Jordan River, until they SAW the Jordan River. It was not what they expected. They expected a creek and got a raging, mile-wide river. What do we actually DO when our faith calls for ACTION? What do we do when what we see with our eyes and feel in our heart makes us want to shrink back into “the way things already are?”