S9E01 - First King - Then Kingdom - Then Church
Release Date: 06/10/2025
S9E13 - Shelter Classrooms
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
Our God IS Shelter! Under Shelter courses you will find five different yet integrated paths for growing in the depth of God’s Shelter. There are videos and notes featuring the authors/teachers at . To join this community click on the join button. 1. 19 Principles: The Heart of What Jesus Taught His FollowersSome of the most central teachings of Jesus - both for personal growth and helping others. 2. God’s Man/God’s Woman: Making It CountFinding the integrated teaching of Jesus on men and women building the Kingdom of Heaven together. 3. Strong Home Legacy: Leaving Your Mark On The...
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S9E12 - The Call To Make Disciples
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
Jesus instructed His followers (disciples) to make disciples just as He did. Let’s break this down a bit. This comes from Matthew 28:16-20. #1. “But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.” It is important to note that Jesus remained on earth 40 days after His resurrection (Acts 1: 3). “To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.” 40 Days. Hundreds and even thousands of eyewitnesses...
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S9E11 - The Call to Knowing God
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
The entire Bible has been given to us so we may know God, understand a life of God- honor, and live in a manner "worthy" of the One Who created us. Six times in the letters the words "manner worthy" are used to describe the walk of a God follower. It means we honor God (As well as ourselves) by placing honorable weight upon our great God. Let's think through what Paul taught the Philippians in 3:1-21. It will help illuminate the concept of the call to knowing God. This carries on the conversation about Engage Training from the last episode. Useful to us for sure! "Finally, my brothers,...
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S9E10 - Your Strategic Plan 3 - Engage Training
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
When Jesus announced His Kingdom He began to select a group of men and women who would follow Him by pursuing the example He had shown them and the Words from His Father He had communicated. This included a number of things reflected in the amazing display of "God coming near" (Immanuel) to save humanity from futility (our lives counting for nothing) and judgment for falling short of the image we were created to honor and multiply within each of our lives. Here are some of the threads Jesus taught in the word and works of His hands: √ Integrating what they knew or did not know...
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S9E09 - Your Strategic Plan 2 - Jesus Centric
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
This diagram tracks the recurring woven threads throughout God's Word (over 62,000 connections!). As you consider your personal strategic plan for spirituality we have considered: √ King First - then Kingdom - then Church/what Jesus taught about spirituality √ Cultivating Deeper/skills for unlocking the Word Today we discuss the big picture on the Word of God, and what we like to call Jesus-Centric. What this means is that the entire Bible revolves around the person Jesus. Genesis 1-11 and the human story. Genesis 12-52 and God's choice of Abraham (Israel) to redeem the...
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S9E08 - Your Strategic Plan 1 - Cultivating Deeper
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
Finding our first King - then Kingdom - then Church balance is important for our spirituality. Obviously we have given this much thought, but you should investigate this yourself. Our purpose for pursuing this was to make sure we were prioritizing how we invested our time, our talents (gifts), and our treasures (resources). Having an effective and growing strategic plan for spiritual life it is imperative to set markers which come from the Word of God you can use as your compass throughout your journey. We've tweaked this allot through the years, but having a plan for cultivating deeper...
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S9E07 - Kingdom Coaching
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
There are many ways of being mentored in spirituality. While this may come from significant people in our lives, books we read or study, favorite music et al, I have found that the Spirit is Jesus' voice inside of me is the most substantial. He is always ready to teach me and shape me and lead me in the direction Jesus wants for me. “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will...
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S9E06 - Strategies for Weekly Kingdom Connectivity
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
It is one thing to understand the concept of First King - then Kingdom - then Church, but another to live a life directed toward connection with your King. The first thing is to decide where you stand on Jesus. A great teacher? One of many unremarkable religionists? Someone into whose hands you can place the welfare of your soul? We can talk about what Jesus taught about authentic connectivity, but only you can intentionally embrace whether or not He is who He said He is. Once you have made this determination you may then move into what it means to submit yourself to His authority,...
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S9E05 - Stories Of Shelter
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
God IS shelter. We NEED to be sheltered. We need each other to remind us of what is IMPORTANT. We are surrounded by chaos, turbulence, and are so vulnerable to the weaknesses, pitfalls, and schemes of unprincipled men and women. How do we find our way through? There appears to be a clear path! "Hear my cry, O God, and listen to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a shelter for me, a tower of strength against the enemy. Let me travel under Your pillars and let me take forever protection...
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S9E04 - Kingdom Structural
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
Because understanding the Kingdom is so critical to our spiritual lives, let's take some time to absorb the core message of Jesus when it comes to building in a manner that is pleasing to Him. We have already mentioned that the Kingdom is mentioned in the Gospels over 100 times and the church only twice. So the Kingdom message was clear to Jesus and to His disciples. In the book of Acts after the "church" (called out assembly) begins to emerge: "To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and...
info_outlineThere is a basic understanding Jesus tried to communicate to humanity when He came to the earth. When we get this right there is fruitfulness in our lives - when we don't varying degrees of misinformation prevail. Both John the Baptist (Jesus' cousin) and Jesus proclaimed the same thing: "Turn away and turn toward, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matthew 3:2; Matthew 4:17; Matthew 10:7)
The world had been languishing for centuries since the Garden episode. Genesis 1-11, the Law and prophets, and the Psalms are the story of the Jews - and all the nations. Not only is our condition exposed over and over through the imperfect Jewish story, God extends invitation for them (and us) to reverse course. Sadly, even the "chosen" Jewish nation does not listen to our Creator. God's chosen people wasted and rejected His words over and over again. This is made plain through story after story - life after life - decade after decade. So while the earth had rejected her King, the Father (who is slow to anger - filled with lovingkindness) makes away for men and women from every nation and every story to be brought into the acceptance of our Lord Creator - through His selfless sacrifice of His Son. Now there is a way back to God. He is the Door of the sheep.
So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture." John 10:7-9
If you are new to the God Story check out this big picture overview - literally the Bible story in 8 minutes! And if you want the next level of where all 66 books fit in - here you go!
And here are several links to the foundational information of God's Story!
Quickstart/Big Picture (2 teaching videos)
A Book of Renewal
King David (the clearest "type" of Christ in the God Story) tells us about this prophetically in Psalm 2. We like to call this Psalm "Kiss the Son."
Let's take a look:
"Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising worthless things?The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers scheme together - against the One True God and against His Anointed (smeared), saying, "Let us tear their limitations of us apart and cast away their ties away from us!” He who sits in the heavens laughs: the One True God scoffs at them. Soon He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His righteous fury, saying, "But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion My holy mountain.”
“I will surely tell of what is eternally inscribed from the One Great God. He said to Me, ‘You are My Son and today I have brought You forth. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and you shall shatter them like clay pots.’”
Therefore, O kings, show discernment and take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the One True God with reverence and honor, and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way. For His wrath will soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!"
√ Refuge IS shelter: this is why we have created StoriesofShelter.com. It is Who our great God IS.
√ No one is exempt from His righteous hand of justice. (a thread: Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:19; Hebrews 10:30)
√ The King of the earth brings us the Kingdom of God - and the Church brings refuge authority for us and our neighbors.
Dear Lord Jesus, we come to you to be restored in You, to receive all the grace and mercy we so desperately need this day. You are our Great I Am/God-of-the angel-armies. We surrender every aspect of our lives and selves completely to You. I offer You my spirit, soul and body, my heart, mind, my conscience, and my will. We stand in grace completely covered with Your precious, redeeming blood. As we pray we ask Your Good Spirit to restore and renew us in You. We stand in absolute agreement with Your Spirit and our intercessors and allies.
You are the One true King over all the earth!
Music: Insight
Peace upon your soul,
Dave and Burnadette