Munger Place Church - Dallas, Texas

What the Bible says about how to be happy is a lot different from what the world is telling us. This is how to put yourself in the position for happiness in 2017. Scripture: Psalm 1 This is how to put yourself in the position for happiness in 2017.

There’s one thing you need less of this Christmas and it’s not egg nog and it’s not consumerism (though less of those things wouldn’t hurt). The one thing you need less of is much more subtle, and much more dangerous. The one thing you need less of is actually keeping you from experiencing joy... Scripture: John 3:22-30

We know more about John the Baptist from historical sources outside of the Bible than we do about any other biblical figure. John’s was a fiery, wild life, and his message could be summed up in one word: Repent! Scripture: Matthew 3:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:20

Where you are most afraid to trust God is exactly where you most need to trust God. We need to talk about money. Scripture: Mark 10:17-27 Jeremiah 17:7-8

We all divide the world up into the right people and the wrong people—guess into which group we always place ourselves? Scripture: Jeremiah 17:7-8; Mark 2:13-17

What if the best place to be is the place at which your only hope is for God to provide? Scripture: Judges 7:1-8; 16-23  

What if something really important were happening right in front of you, and you missed it? Scripture: Matthew 13:31-32

We don’t learn how to live like Jesus from a book. We learn from watching other people live their lives in the Jesus way. Each of us has the sacred responsibility of mentoring others, and each of us has the sacred responsibility to learn from others. “Imitate me, as I imitate Christ.” Scripture: Jeremiah 17:7-8; 1 Corinthians 11:1; Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 4:13

The biggest problems in our lives are not merely physical, material problems. If they were, more technology would solve them; if are problems were merely material, no Hollywood celebrities would ever get divorced, since money would solve their marital problems. The biggest problems in our lives are actually spiritual problems… Scripture: Jeremiah 17:7-8 Ephesians 6:10-1 Revelation 5:8

The purpose of the church is not to have lots of people attend on Sundays, nor put money in the offering plate, nor to be politically engaged, nor even to do good deeds. All those things are good, but they are not the point of the church. T he point of the church is much simpler, and although Jesus told us what to do, the American church has ignored him for decades. I don’t want to ignore Jesus anymore…. Scripture: Jeremiah 17:7-8 Matthew 28:16-20 References: “I will tell you; so make yourself his disciple at once. Instead of asking yourself whether you believe or not, ask yourself whether you have this day done one thing because he said, Do it, or once abstained because he said, Do not do it. It is simply absurd to say you believe, or even wan to believe in him, if you do not do anything he tells you.” --George MacDonald

There are lots of good intellectual questions that cause folks to doubt Christianity, but what if doubt isn’t ultimately an intellectual issue? Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20; Matthew 14:22-32

What about people who die without ever hearing the gospel? What about someone in the middle of India, or deep in the Amazon? Does God really send those people to Hell? It’s a good question, but it turns out there is an even better question for most of us. Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46 John 14:6 Acts 4:12 John 3:16 1 Timothy 2:3-4 2 Peter 3:8-9 Romans 2:14-16 Romans 10:14-15 References: “No one chooses in the abstract to go to hell or even to be the kind of person who belongs there. But their orientation toward self leads them to become the kind of person for whom away-from-God is the only place for which they are suited. It is a place they would, in the end, choose for themselves, rather than come to humble themselves before God and accept who he is.” --Dallas Willard, “Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ” “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done." All that are in Hell, choose it. W

The Bible is a collection of ancient documents, written over a period of hundreds of years by dozens of writers. Can we really trust the Bible? Isn’t the Bible a collection of ancient myths and stories that shouldn’t be taken literally? 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Week 1 of our Disrupting Doubt series. “We don’t need more religion, we need less.” Lots of people feel that way, and on the 15th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, we have to admit that religion is part of the problem. Fortunately, there is another alternative. Scripture: Romans 5:6-8; John 15:9-17; Galatians 2:20 References: Peter Hitchens Emperor Julian the Apostate Kayla Mueller: http://abcnews.go.com/International/kayla-mueller-captivity-courage-selflessness-defended-christian-faith/story?id=41626763