Sacrifice

Session 1: The Sounds of Silence-- Trying to get closer to God by doing more (more Bible reading, more church events, and serving others more) is wonderful-but it can lead to exhaustion and burnout. In the frantic pace of life, we can miss God's voice.

Session 2: Trading Up--Today's emphasis on personal, passionate worship means that we often feel very close to God when we sing emotional praise songs. However, in the early church the people's passion for God was not expressed primarily in singing-it overflowed in spontaneous generosity. This can inspire us to find the heart of worship in service to others.

Session 3: Giving Your Best-- Offering time can be a mild annoyance in some congregations-a chance to feature a solo, sing another song, or talk to your neighbor. Some churches have minimized offering time by combining it with announcements or asking people to give their money in a box before church. But giving to God—and honoring God with the best we have—can be a powerful statement of worship.

Session 4: Get Into The Game-- We don't have to look far to find people who started strong in the Christian race but then dropped out—or to find people who signed up for the Christian race but have never really entered the game! All Christians need to be active in God's kingdom—but they need to be prepared before they step into the game and they need to be in shape to stay in the game. Topics: Devotion, Giving, Prayer, Praying, or Prayers, Preparation, Service, Solitude, Worship, generosity, silence