This past Sunday we announced that the Encounter Mid Week Study is going to be a 12 Week curriculum. Most people are more willing to do a three month study than a year long one. Every lesson will be powerfully impactful. There will not be repetitive redundancy to remind you of work you have completed. It will be deep and transformative, but not complicated. It will be scripturally sound and inspired by God’s word and His Holy Spirit. It is going to be our curriculum that is unique and different from any other program you have been a part of.
Many of you have been asking if Encounter will have principles or steps. Will we use the 12 Steps or Principles previously used in the past?
I am so excited to reveal to you today the 12 Anchors of Hope exclusively for the Encounter ministry and curriculum.
The 12 Week Encounter mid week lesson plan will be built from these anchors. I will be teaching them on Friday nights. I hope you will take the time to memorize them, but more importantly, live them out. The following are Encounter’s 12 Anchors of Hope:
- Make the decision to get well from our problems and brokenness by realizing we stink at playing God.
John 5:5-6 A man was there who had been sick for thirty-eight years. Jesus saw him lying there, and he knew that the man had been sick for such a long time; so he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” - Believe that God’s love and power can restore hope and healing.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. - Respond to the love of God by surrendering our lives and wills to Jesus Christ.
Galatians 2:20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. - Realize who I am in Christ and reject the lie that I am my character defects and sins.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new. - Get honest about my past so I can discover God’s best version of me.
Psalm 32:2 Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! - Allow God to make the transformation changes He wants to make and I stop trying to make them on my own.
Romans 12:1-2 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. - Close my accounts with other people by forgiving them and become willing to make amends by becoming a peacemaker.
Colossians 3:13-15 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. - God’s word becomes the authority over my life.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. - Commit to a daily prayer life so my relationship with the Father grows.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. - Get dressed for battle by putting on God’s armor and taking my thoughts captive.
Ephesians 6:13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. - Trust in the power of the Holy Spirit to lead and guide me.
John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. - Live out and share the hope that I now have.
1 Peter 3:15 Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
When God revealed these to me through His word, I knew He inspired them!
Speaking of being inspired, this Friday is going to be a very different night at Encounter. It is going to be Testimony night with another great testimony lined up. Nikki is sharing her story and her husband Chip is going to lead us worship. This is going to be an amazing night!
We do have a few logistical changes that you need to be aware of. We are meeting at the Sanctuary Church at 26444 Friendly Valley Parkway like we do every Friday. This Friday we are meeting in the UTURN building; which is the first building to your left once you pull into the parking lot. We are not meeting in the Father’s House or the main building.
When you pull into the parking lot, make an immediate left, and you will see the UTURN building. Please park in that area and not by the main building.
Look for some Encounter volunteers in front of the building and you won’t have any problem finding us. We are going to be in the UTURN building the next 2 Friday’s, so plan accordingly.
Be Blessed and Encouraged
Bill Rieser
Encounter Pastor
bill@thehopeencounter.org