“The difference between being a church attender and a church member is commitment. Attenders are spectators from the sidelines; members get involved in the ministry. Attenders are consumers; members are contributors. Attenders want the benefits of a church without sharing the responsibility. They are like couples who want to live together without committing to a marriage.”
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Rick Warren
“Thinking about My Purpose POINT TO PONDER: There is more to life than just here and now. VERSE TO REMEMBER: “This world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever.” 1 JOHN 2:17 (NLT) QUESTION TO CONSIDER: Since I was made to last forever, what is the one thing I should stop doing and the one thing I should start doing today?”
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Rick Warren
“Your birth was no mistake or mishap, and your life is no fluke of nature. Your parents may not have planned you, but God did. He was not at all surprised by your birth. In fact, he expected it.”
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Rick Warren
“In Eden, worship was not an event to attend, but a perpetual attitude.”
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Rick Warren
“Galatians 5:18 asks, “Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?” (MSG).”
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Rick Warren
“If not to God, you will surrender to the opinions or expectations of others, to money, to resentment, to fear, or to your own pride, lusts, or ego. You were designed to worship God and if you fail to worship Him, you will create other things (idols) to give your life to. You are free to choose, what you surrender to but you are not free from the consequence of that choice.”
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Rick Warren
“Those who follow the crowd usually get lost in it.”
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Rick Warren
“The ultimate goal of dynamic Bible study is application, not just interpretation. We do not want to settle for understanding alone; we want to apply the biblical principles to our daily living. Dwight L. Moody, a great evangelist and Christian educator of the late nineteenth century, used to say, “The Bible was not given to increase our knowledge, but to change our lives.” It was given to change our character and bring it more into conformity with Jesus Christ. All of our efforts in Bible study are valueless if in the final analysis we do not change and become more like Jesus. We must “not merely listen to the word,” but we are to “do what it says” (James 1:22).”
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Rick Warren
“Without a purpose, life is motion without meaning, activity without direction and events without reason. Without a purpose life is trivial, petty, and pointless.”
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Rick Warren
“we are product of our past but we don't have to be prisoners of it.”
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Rick Warren
“The most difficult area to surrender for many people is their money.”
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Rick Warren
“I expect God to use me, not because of who I am but because of who Jesus is. Not because of what I've done, but because of what Jesus has done.”
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Rick Warren
“He wants to be included in every activity, every conversation, every problem, and even every thought.”
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Rick Warren
“Dear Jesus, more than anything else, I want to get to know you intimately.”
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Rick Warren
“Surrendered hearts show up best in relationships. You don’t edge others out, you don’t demand your rights, and you aren’t self-serving when you’re surrendered.”
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Rick Warren