Preached by Chris Broom, 5/25/2008

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Four Women Added in One Week! Clockwise from lower right, Isabel Rodriguez, Lerato Lesemela and Sharon Juarez Were Baptized and Iwona Zwijacz Was Restored.

Good Company Corrupts Bad Character - Outline

1 Corinthians 15:33

• Don’t be misled.
• Bad company corrupts Good Character. If you are trying to change your life, you can’t keep hanging out with the same people that are leading you into situations that corrupt your character.
• Good Company Corrupts Bad Character. Put yourself around people that are a great example and that are going to help you as you strive to be like Jesus.

Galations 5:19-21

• We study this scripture with people we are trying to bring to Christ so that they can repent.
• This scripture was written to Christians.
• The acts of the sinful nature are obvious.
• Those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
• I am so thankful to be a disciple. I dread to think of where I would be or even if I would be if I wasn’t a disciple. I am thankful that God sent Jesus to die for me on a cross, and that somebody had the courage to invite me to study the Bible and confront me on my sin.
• There are two responses to being confronted on sin: Grateful or Offended.
• Proverbs 28:13 He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
• James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
• Sin decieves us. We think we are fine. We think all we have to do is go to church and pray.
• Psalm 36:1-2 tells us that we flatter ourselves to much to hate of detect our own sin.
• We hate sin in others, but how do we react when sin is pointed out in us? The standard is the same for all. We all have to be open. We all have to repent. We all have to get discipled. it doesn’t work otherwise.
• Do you hang out with people that help you to build good character?
• Surround yourself with good company that will help you with your character!

1 Corinthians 15:1-2

• We must hold firmly to the gospel that has been preached to us or we have believed in vain which means for nothing.
• Therefore the teaching that we are “once saved, always saved” is a false doctrine.

Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.

Proverbs 18:24 A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 27:9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,
and the pleasantness of one’s friend springs from his earnest counsel.

• “If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you.” -Winnie the Pooh
• “True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost.” - Charles Caleb Colton
• “A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.”
• “Friends are God’s way of taking care of us.”
• “I’ll lean on you and you lean on me and we’ll be okay.” -Dave Matthews Band
• “Strangers are just friends waiting to happen.”
• “My father always used to say that when you die, if you’ve got five real friends, then you’ve had a great life.” -Lee Iacocca
• “Hold a true friend with both your hands.” -Nigerian Proverb
• “A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.”
• A friend seeks first to Understand -not to be Understood.

Luke 23:34

• Jesus, hanging on the cross, says, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.”
• I believe, that when it comes to sin, we need God’s forgiveness, because we don’t know what we’re doing.
• There are things that people do, and I have to ask my self, “What in the world are they doing? What were they thinking?” And I’m sure God feels the same way. “Oh my goodness, what are they doing?”

Three responses to being here today:

A. This is home! (That’s how I felt when I first visited the church.)

B. Don’t want it! These people only call or show up when they need something.

C. I want to change, but i am weak. I don’t know if I can do it. If that is your response, you need to know the power of God! And then you need some “Good Company” in your life to help you.

Good Company corrupts Bad Character.

Isaiah 52:7-10

• God has brought us from the ruins, like this young man on his weakest day during his freshmen year, into his glorious kingdom.
• We can’t do it but God can.
• When God rolls up his sleeves, what can he not do?
• What problem in our lives is to big for God to roll up his sleeves and get busy in our lives?
• There is nothing in your life that God can’t fix.

Challenge for the week:

• Pray everyday this week with everyone in your household.
• Pray for each other.
• Pray for all those you are studying the bible with.
• Pray for everyone in your Bible Talk.
• Pray for your regional services next week.

God can do anything!

-Chris Broom

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