3rd Person Identity

22:34

Theme: Breaking the chains of shame by discovering who died and who lives.

Introduction: We often carry the weight of shame for past mistakes and past traumas and totally forget that the Bible teaches that once we are covered by the blood of Jesus we are no longer even that same person. This teaching is an exercise in talking about the past no longer in the first person but in the third person perspective. I am John. What I did was the old John. We are not the same person.  It’s not a convenient "get out of jail free card" because it comes with all of the change in me that you have seen since Jesus became not just my savior but the Lord of my life.

Last Sunday, on Easter, we heard about resurrection. We heard Romans 6:3-5 preached: "Do you not know that all of us who…

Confess_Your_Sins_Admit_Your_Wounds

22:53

Opening Illustration: The Courtroom

Picture this: You’re driving home after a relaxed dinner with friends. You had a glass of wine—maybe a little more—but nothing you believed would impair you. Then flashing lights appear in your rearview mirror. A routine stop quickly escalates. The officer asks questions, conducts a field sobriety test, and before you fully process what’s happening, you’re in handcuffs. Your car is impounded. Now you stand in a courtroom facing real consequences—fines, possible jail time, a permanent mark on your record.

Your name is called. You’re ready to explain yourself—to justify, to defend, to minimize what happened. But before you can speak, your appointed defender rises and calmly says:

“Your Honor, my client does not stand here on the basis of their own account, but on a matter of identity. There has been a substitution.”

The judge pauses, reviews the record, and asks, “It says here—you are…

Your_personality_quirks_are_spiritual_liabilities

22:20

In typical 12 step recovery circles, "Inventory" is that step everyone dreads. 12 step calls it "making a searching and fearless moral inventory" and it's often a very uncomfortable deep dive into what the "Big Book of AA" calls our physical and mental liabilities.

Thrive Discovery acknowledges that inventory is crucial to the process of healing.

But that 12 step model completely omits critical information. Simply knowing our liabilities doesn't establish our war footing, A good General would also fully inventory his assets and take a good look at the theater of operation before engaging in battle with his enemy.

Thrive starts with inventory of assets so we know what we are fighting with. Our spiritual gifts, our love languages, our God-given personality traits coupled with the promises of God, our identity in Christ as an heir, the Holy Spirit as our guide, help and comforter and the Armor…

Stop Trying To Clean The Tank From The Inside

20:55

Author: The Team at Thrive Discovery

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.” — 2 Corinthians 10,3

In 12 step recovery programs, step 4 asks us to take a fearless moral inventory, digging deep into our past and present to uncover all the ways we've wronged ourselves and others. This is a vital step, to be sure. However, Thrive is about more "discovery" and invites us to go steps further to explore areas that 12 step programs may leave unrealized. A complete inventory is not just about a list of our liabilities (the wrong done to us and that we have done). A full inventory also lists our assets and does a thorough analysis of the environment.

Just as any wise military commander would never enter a battle without first studying the terrain, the climate, the enemy’s positioning, and the surrounding conditions,…

Inventory of Liabilities Part 2

21:50

Thrive Inventory Part 2

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” — Ephesians 6:12

In Thrive we don't look at the idea of inventory in the way most usually think about it in a 12 step. In the business world, inventory is simply an honest accounting of what a company has. It includes both assets and liabilities. Assets are the things that strengthen the organization—resources, tools, and advantages that help it succeed. Liabilities are the things that weaken it—debts, risks, or weaknesses that must be understood and managed if the business is going to thrive.

First, we list our assets: the strengths God has given us—the spiritual gifts, resources, and spiritual weapons placed in our hands. We have talked about the Holy Spirit, the armor of…

How To Account For Assets and Liabilities

19:20

Over the past few weeks, we have looked at “Inventory.” This is a critical step in both Re-Covery and in our Dis-covery. However, many programs fail to address the most important part of inventory… Assets.

In business, inventory is a complete accounting and evaluation of all the liabilities and all the assets of the company. Focusing solely on the liabilities leaves the accountant (you) in a very dark place, stuck dealing with the debt and broken equipment.

Following Steps 1 – 4: I CAN’T, GOD CAN, LET GOD and DAILY DEVOTION, Step 5, INVENTORY is a big one.

Before we look at what needs to be done to improve our company (the life we manage), we need to know what tools we have to work with. We need to know our capabilities and everything we have going for us… and often, we don’t realize just how equipped we actually are to face…

Love Language Is Not A Preference

18:45

Love language is unique to each of us. Learning our love language is part of our vernacular today. But we tend to end with what category we are in... and not what categories we need to work on.

Love Language is not a preference. It is likely something that has developed as result of trauma or a wound.

We not only need to know our own love language, we need to know our spouses, our children's ,our parents', and others we are in contact with regularly.

Love language is not about dividing into camps and circling up with like-wired people. Operating in a single love language is a fragmented love. We should all express love wholly, with words of affirmation, with acts of service, with physical touch and with gifts and quality time. Discovering our love language also discovers our weak spots.. areas we need to develop.

Love Language Inventory

Spiritual_Gifts_Are_Supernatural_Grace_Not_Talent

19:07

THRIVE: Spiritual Gifts & Examples

Dave Buehring Made For More Sermon Notes

Spiritual gifts are grace-empowered abilities given by God for the strengthening of others and the advancement of His Kingdom (see Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12).

They are not titles. They are not positions. They are not earned. They are entrusted.

Teaching & Wisdom - Ability to understand and clearly explain biblical truth. Example: Helping others apply Scripture to real life.

THRIVE: Debunking the “Character Defect” Theology

Covered Under Warranty

15:39

Scroll down for the Self Assessment

Many traditional recovery programs, like AA and Celebrate Recovery, teach that coping behaviors stem from “defects of character.” Thrive believes this is not the case. Coping behaviors are not proof of a design error by our Creator—they are adaptive responses to wounds, unmet needs, and trauma. Hurt people hurt people, not defective people hurt people. Thrive believes that identifying your Core Feelings—Capacity, Visibility, Safety, Shutdown, Agency, and Shame—and understanding how these feelings drive coping behaviors is essential. By reframing behaviors as signals of damage done, not defective design, we affirm that God made you whole and capable, even though life’s hurts temporarily shaped your patterns. Damage happens to us; a defect would say God messed up, but this is not true. In Thrive, the focus is on recognizing patterns, meeting needs, and inviting Jesus into the wounded places of…