Gateway Church - MO: Recent Episodes
Gateway Church
Relevant and meaningful messages that are designed to help you engage your every-day world in a way that makes life better for you and the people you connect with every day.
As Americans, we love our independence. We want to make it on our own. We want the right to choose what’s best for us. And we certainly don’t want to submit to someone else. And for most of us, we exercise our faith with that same level of independence. But the kingdom of Jesus has always been collective in nature. In fact, it’s impossible to fully live out your faith in isolation from others. The kingdom of Jesus is about WE and not just ME.
Empires grow through force. The strong rule and the weak serve. That’s how kingdoms work. But Jesus is a king who turned things upside down. In his kingdom, the humble are lifted up and the greatest serve the least. It’s a kingdom that upsets the established order and changes the world. The kingdom of Jesus is an upside-down kingdom where serving rather than ruling brings transformation.
Typical rulers, regardless of how they came into power, like to wield power and display their strength. That’s how the kingdoms and empires of our world work. And we like to think that if our side can rule, we’ll get things figured out. But time after time our leaders fail because the rule from a position of power. The truth is it doesn’t matter which party is in power. It doesn’t matter who sits in the Whitehouse. Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And regardless of who rules, Jesus reigns.
A little salt can make a bland meal delicious A little bit of light can take the fear out of a dark room. In the same way, when the church grows and multiplies in our world, things change. God’s Kingdom brings light and hope to a world that his dark and hurting. When we grow the Kingdom, we transform the world.
Famous last words. Those are the words we share when we know we aren’t going to see someone for a long time and we want to make sure we tell them what really matters. Jesus’ last words to his disciples before he returned to the father were a command to go and make disciples. As followers of Jesus, making disciples is how we co-mission with Jesus.
God has blessed each of us with different kinds and amounts of resources. But he didn’t bless us to we can spend those blessings on ourselves. He blessed us so that we can partner with him in building His Kingdom. When we refuse to be generous, we limit the reach of God’s Kingdom. When we share what we have, God does amazing things. Our generosity helps build God’s Kingdom.
Jesus followers are supposed to be all about advancing the Kingdom of God. And many, if not most of us are willing to work ourselves to exhaustion to build that kingdom. However, even at our best, we are limited. But if we will focus more on praying for God’s Kingdom to come than we do on figuring out how to make it happen, God will show up and carry the load. When we work, we work. But when we pray, God works.
Too many of us expect too little out of life. We choose to live lives that seem insignificant or lives that don’t make an impact. But that has never been God’s plan for us. God wants more from us and more for us. God wants us to live an exclamation point life!
God’s plan, from the very beginning, was to partner with us to be his imagers in our world. Our job is to build a kingdom that represent God. We are to build a kingdom full of mercy and justice. However, his people have tended to build kingdoms that focus on comfort and self. We must choose which kingdom we will build. Choosing to follow Jesus means choosing wisely.
Followers of Jesus believe he is coming back. Popular Christian culture in America is filled with stories and images that are disturbing, confusing and frightening. However, unlike what many would have us believe, the return of Jesus is not something to fear. Scripture paints a picture of his return being like that of a king who has returned to rescue his people from slavery. For Jesus followers, his promised return is not a dark and dreadful event, it is a promise of hope and victory to look forward to.
We’ve all been a part of a restoration project that took longer, cost more and was way more involved than we ever thought it would be. But in the end, it was worth it. The hardest part of most restoration projects is starting. Restoring relationships is no different. It’s hard, but the hardest part is starting. In relationships, the process of restoration begins the moment we forgive. It’s hard, it’s painful, it doesn’t usually happen quickly, but it’s worth it, and it’s what Jesus modeled for us and calls us to do. If we are going to represent Jesus well, we have to begin the process of restoration by offering forgiveness to others.
Peace. It’s not merely the absence of conflict, it’s the presence of wholeness. Peace seems to allude so many of us and most of us would pay almost any price to know real peace in our lives. Jesus, the King of Peace, offers his peace to us if we will simply surrender and let him lead. It’s not easy, it’s incredibly demanding but the price of peace, surrender, is worth the cost.
Life gets heavy. Stress, worry, anxiety, keeping up the Joneses and keeping up appearances begins to weigh us down. When we add to that our tendency to try to perform well enough to make God like us, the whole thing is just too heavy to carry. But Jesus offers to take that load from us. If we will come to him and lay down our burden, we will find the rest our weary souls need.
Most of us have no problem showing grace to others who are like us. We may not like what they’ve done, but we assume the best and offer them a form of grace. But the grace of Jesus is much wider than that. The grace of Jesus extended to those who were like him but also to different and to those who were opposed to him. It’s surprising, even shocking, but the grace of Jesus is wider than we expect and he calls us to offer that same grace to those who are not like us and those who do not like us.
Greatness. We all want it. We may have different ideas of what makes us great, most of them involve popularity, wealth, power and prestige. Movie stars are great. Presidents are great. CEOs are great. But Jesus had a different perspective. Jesus said that if we want to know what true greatness is then we have to become like children; insignificant, lacking power, and unassuming. It's completely backwards from what the world expects and demands. But until we learn to be humble and serve others the way Jesus served us, we'll never know what true greatness is.
Most of us like to do things ourselves. We like to be independent. We like to think that we can manage things just fine on our own. But the truth is, we can't. Even on our best days, whether we admit it or not, we need a little help. This is especially true when it comes to our connection with God. We can't do enough, say enough or be good enough to make things right with God. We can't get right with God on our own We need help. The good news is that Jesus came to give us what we need and to do what we couldn't do.
Jesus offers an open invitation for everyone to come and worship him and experience a genuinely transformed life. But sometimes we get in the way others accepting that invitation. Whether intentional or not, our actions, words and attitudes can become a roadblock to others experiencing a life-changing encounter with Jesus. But Jesus doesn't let us leave those roadblocks in place. He calls us to remove the roadblocks so that anyone who wants to can come to him and have new life.
Sometimes we forget that the small stuff matters. And sometimes what feel like small stuff to us is not the small stuff to someone else. Jesus never forgot that. When they ran out of wine at the wedding in Canna, it may not have been a big deal to some, but to the hosts it mattered. A lot. But Jesus isn’t concerned about how big or small our problem is. He chooses to love us and step into our need, regardless of size. By caring about the small stuff, he opens the door to real lift change. He challenges us to do the same.
Jesus frequently asked questions. One of the most powerful questions he asked people was, “What do you want?” When he asks that question, it isn’t because he doesn’t know what we need but because he wants to know if we want more of us or if we really want him. The question we have to ask ourselves is, “What do I want?”
Have you ever wondered why Jesus chose to be baptized. He hadn’t sinned. He didn’t need to repent; he wasn’t starting a new life. So why did he get baptized. Jesus chose to be baptized in order to identify with sinful, broken humanity. And he calls us to do the same. We need to learn to connect with our culture without becoming stained by our culture if we are going to reach others with the love of Jesus.
Most of us tend to be independent. We want to exercise our rights and we don't want anyone telling us what to do. Submission doesn't come naturally to us. But if we are going to imitate Jesus with our lives, then we need to learn how to humbly submit to others. Jesus, the Son of God and creator of the universe, show us what humble submission looks like. When we watch Jesus, we learn to honor him by submitting to others.
We have been working through a teaching series called Sweet Little Lies. Through this teaching series we have found several common sayings or phases that we as Americans use quite often. Most of which makes us feel better about a situation or kinda dismiss our poor behaviors, or even give us an excuse when we aren't living very Christ like. These are saying like “it's the thought that counts” or “as long as you are happy.” But can sincerity be a bad thing? Can there be a negative connotation surrounding sincerity? Why might being sincere lead us astray.
‘I’m not THAT bad.’ We all think it and some of us say it. When we look at the culture around us and compare ourselves to that standard, most of us feel pretty good about ourselves. But the world is not the standard we are to be measured against. When we compare ourselves to the standard of Jesus, we recognize that we all are in need of God’s amazing grace and infinite forgiveness. It’s only through the righteousness of Jesus that we have any hope of righteousness at all.
We think that happiness is important; we think it’s so important that it’s a part of the Declaration of Independence. (Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are considered inalienable rights.). But what if God wants more for you than just your happiness? What if God wants you to be holy and blessed more than He wants you to be happy? What if what God wants for you is better for you than just being happy? But, what if God’s best for us means we have to be unhappy sometimes? Are we still willing to trust and follow God even if what’s best for us doesn’t always make us happy?
“It’s the thought that counts” has been used to excuse untold late birthday gifts, poorly done projects and careless words. Sadly, many who claim to follow Jesus have the same sentiment when it comes to their walk of faith. We often tell ourselves that as long as we believe in our hearts, then what we say or do – or what we neglect to say or do – doesn’t matter. God knows our hearts so we’re OK. But Jesus makes it clear that a faith that does not result in a changed life is really no faith at all.
It’s popular to think that choosing to follow Jesus will solve all our problems; health, financial, relational, you name. it. We tell ourselves that if we believe in Jesus, go to church, and do all the right things, he will make our lives easier. But nowhere in the Bible are we promised an easy life in return for choosing to follow Jesus. In fact, Jesus promised just the opposite. He said we would have trouble in this world. But he also said that he had overcome the world. Following Jesus doesn’t make our lives easier, but it always makes them better.
Jesus told us to “go and make disciples.” We often assume this applies to ‘professional Christians’ like pastors and missionaries. But Jesus intended for every follower to make disciples. And we don’t have to wait to be sent. He has already sent us. His plan was that as we go through life, as we get ‘out there’ we are to point other people to the reality of a God who loves them and will radically transform them so they too can experience a life worth living.
Our natural tendency is to hang on to what we have. Letting go of and giving away our resources seems kind of ‘out there’. But Jesus tells us that when we choose to be extravagant with our generosity, not only will our faith grow stronger, but he’ll use our resources to transform our world.
When we’ve been wrong, we want to get even. When we’ve been wronged, we want someone to make it right. We want someone to pay. But our demand for repayment poisons our souls and wreaks havoc on our relationships. However, Jesus calls us to do something that’s unthinkable, something that is out there. Jesus calls us to forgive the unforgivable. Not because they deserve forgiveness, but because God, through Jesus, has forgiven the unforgivable in us.
Almost every world religion is based on the teachings and writings of a great teacher. Christianity is different. The basis for our faith is an historical event that changed the world. A dead man came back to life and offers the promise of a new life for those who will trust in and follow him. It may seem like an ‘out there’ claim, but it’s one that is worth investigating and will radically reshape your life when you know the truth.
JESUS COMES TO DELIVER THE CAPTIVE.
JESUS COMES TO GIVE PEACE TO THE RESTLESS.
JESUS COMES TO RESTORE THE BROKEN.
Listen in this week as we have our district superintendent Dr. Devon Smith preach about taking a stand in faith and living in love.
We all want to live happily ever after. We want the job, the relationship, the future of our nation, whatever to have a happy ending. But many of us have come face to face with the reality that our ‘Happily Ever After’ looks more like a ‘Happily Never After’. What do we do NOW when we are unsure of the future. The Bible shows us that the right course of action is to obey Jesus now and trust him to work out our future. It’s rarely easy, but it is always worth the work and the wait.
Learning to master a new skill is always a challenge. We usually do it wrong before we do it right. If we’re impatient, we’ll either give up or settle for less than excellent. But if we are willing to do the hard work of being patient, we become more than we expect. Maturing as a follower of Jesus is no different. If we are willing to be patient and remain in him, we will become more and more like him.
Sexuality is one of the “hot button” issues of our day. It divides churches, friendships, and families. It even divides some people against themselves. But what does patience have to do with our sexuality? In a world so much is not as it should be and where there seem to be more questions than answers, God promises that he is working to make all things new. We must learn to be patient and just wait.
We've all seen examples of evil people who seem to prosper, and we wonder "why do the bad guys win?" We aren't the first to ask that question, in fact several of the writers of scripture asked the same thing. And while it seems that life can be unfair and that the wicked seem to go unpunished, God promises that if we will be patient, he will take care of it. When we have the faith to be patient in the face of evil, God reveals his justice and his mercy to us.
We all know that pain and suffering are a very real part of our journey. Whether from illness, circumstances or other people, pain is a part of life. We also know that there are times when we ask God to ease our pain and there doesn't seem to be any answer. Why is God silent when life hurts? Why, after turning to him does life STILL hurt? We may never know the answers to those questions, but we can know that God is good and faithful, and we can trust Him even in the face of pain. We can trust Him because we know He has a purpose in our pain. And, if we will learn to be patient in suffering, we will discover that God may not change our circumstances, but he will change us.
Sometimes if feels as if God is a million miles away and isn’t listening. Sometimes it feels like your prayers are bouncing off the ceiling. You pray, you ask God, and you get silence in return. What do we do when it seems like God isn’t answering my prayers? You keep on praying. It’s not easy, but patient persistence in prayer – even when God seems silent – will increase your faith and grow your resilience.
“Live your truth” is the mantra of our day. We are all encouraged to live out what is true to us. But what happens when my truth collides with your truth? What happens when my truth collides with reality? You can’t build your life on a foundation that is constantly moving. The only truth worth building our lives on is Jesus; the Way, the Truth and the Life.
We’re constantly told to we just need to believe in ourselves. But even a cursory glance at our lives reveals that believing in ourselves only makes a mess. If we can’t believe in ourselves, then what should we believe in? Jesus said, “whoever believes in me will have eternal life.” When we are willing to deny ourselves and believe in Jesus, our lives become a life worth living.
"Just follow your heart" is one of the most popular and loved pieces of advice people receive today. It sounds great. There's just one problem: our hearts are a mess, and we can't trust them. Just follow your heart has led to all kinds of relationship catastrophes, deep wounds, and empty lives. Rather than follow our hearts, we need to focus on following Jesus who will change our hearts if we let him.
We frequently focus on getting just the right gift at Christmas. For many of us it’s about receiving. We drop hints or just flat out make it known that we want something spectacular for Christmas. We have expectations that we want met. And when we don’t get what we were hoping for, the disappointment is very real. And sometimes we make other people pay for our disappointment. But Jesus came to give himself as the perfect gift that would give us new life. When we imitate Jesus, we reshape the world around us for the better.
We often make Christmas all about the ‘event’. It’s the production that matters. Everything has to be just right. We will run ourselves ragged trying to make it all perfect. We fill the holidays (and our lives) with anxiety, stress, and anger, often running over the people around us. Jesus wasn’t focused on events. He was focused on relationships, especially the relationship between man and God. Jesus brings peace and draws people together.
We tend to make Christmas about impressing others. We want to have the best decorations, the best parties, put on the best show, give the best gifts. For many of us, Christmas is a chance to look good. And we'll spend ourselves into debt to pull it off. But Jesus didn’t come to impress. Jesus came to humbly serve. His birth went unnoticed except by the Angels and a few poor shepherds.
We tend to make Christmas about spending. We want to buy the biggest most extravagant gifts. And we will put ourselves into debt to do so. If you could sum up the modern day, American Christmas with one word, it could be “Spend.” However, while we tend to spend, God chose to invest. That first Christmas, Jesus came to invest. He came to invest in us and in the world he created. And if we want to grasp the truth of Christmas, we must begin to invest in others.
We all give and receive gifts. Some gifts are ordinary. Others are special to us. And some gifts are actually too valuable to keep for ourselves. As counter intuitive as it seems, the only right thing to do is give them away. And no gift is more valuable than the life we have in Jesus. He gave his life for us and calls us to give our lives away so that others can experience His amazing gift as well.
Often, it’s easier to just blend in and go with the flow. There is less stress, less drama, and less chance of being noticed. But as followers of Jesus, we are called to stand out from our world. When we stand out, we may get singled out for ridicule and harsh treatment and when that happens, it’s easy to want to change to fit in. But if we are people of conviction, we stay true to who we are in Jesus, regardless of the cost.
Having conviction can put us into uncomfortable circumstances. When we stand for godly values in a world that either doesn't understand or doesn't like those values, we can find ourselves alone with the odds against us. But if we have the conviction to stand for God, He promises to use the stand we take to make a difference… EVEN IF He doesn't change our circumstances.
When we think of conviction, we think of standing against evil or moral corruption. For most of us, having conviction means taking a stand against something. And that is often the case. But sometimes conviction isn't as much about standing alone as it is being willing to stand tall and let God use us where we are needed most, even if it's risky or unpopular.
If we are followers of Jesus there will be times when we must take a stand against what the world is doing, even if we are the only ones to take that stand. However, taking a stand doesn't have to mean making an enemy. It's possible to take a stand that honors God and still loves people, even the people we stand against. And when our convictions honor God and love people, we can trust that God will honor our stand.
Discontentment: Not being satisfied with what you have. There is an entire segment of our society and economy build on our discontentment. The focus of advertising is to make us discontent with what we have so we’ll buy more. But that discontentment impacts more than just our buying habits. We are a culture of people who have become discontent with just about every aspect of our lives and that discontentment robs us of our joy. We long for joy, but it always seems just out of our grasp. But what if we can have real joy? What if the secret to joy is found in learning to be content?
We’ve all heard the expression, “you are what you eat.” What you feed your body impacts your health, your mind and even how you feel. The same is true for our minds. The direction of our thoughts is the direction our life will take. When we focus on junk, it derails our relationships and robs us of our joy. When we focus on those things worth focusing on, we experience the joy of a transformed life.
Fear, or at least anxiety, seems to be at epidemic levels in our society. We face fear and anxiety from politics, to health, to relationships and everything in between. Few things rob us of joy faster or more completely than anxiety. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul provides an antidote to fear and anxiety that brings us peace and joy. And when we learn to pray and praise with an attitude of thanksgiving, God brings peace in the midst of our circumstances.
If you are religious or if you’ve been around religious people, then you know that religion can be exhausting. So many rules. So many things to do and other things to not do. And depending on what religious group you’re with, the list changes. But what if religion wasn’t what God is after. What if what he really wants is a relationship. While religion can drain us and rob us of joy, a real relationship with God refreshes us and fills our lives with joy.
Some people are great to be around. They add joy to our lives. But SOME people drain our joy and leave us exhausted. What do we do when “some people” make our relationships harder than they have to be? We love them like Jesus loved us. When we learn to love the “some people” in our lives the way Jesus loves us, they become real people who can be a source of real joy in our lives.
Almost everyone wants to be happy. Happiness is so important to us that we’ll spend all the time and money we have just to get it. We’ll trade cars, careers, and relationships just to be happy. The problem is that happiness comes and goes. Happiness is based on what HAPPENS. What we need is joy. Joy isn’t based on what happens, it doesn’t come and go. Even when life hurts, we can have joy. It’s just a matter of having the right focus.
“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 7:12
So, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:1-8
God is good even in the bad times, remember He does not take the storm away but promises to be with us in it. He is in control of the outcome always working for His glory and our good.
Peace is something that is conspicuously absent in our society today. Whether political issues, social issues, or just in our relationships, there is a tension and a conflict that indicates peace is missing. We want peace, but most of us assume peace is just the absence of conflict and we think we can get it by getting others to submit. But peace is so much more than just not fighting. It changes our relationships and helps us be whole and complete. It's worth fighting for. But in the fight for peace we need to make sure we fight against the right enemy.
Usually, when we think of religion, we think of doing all the right things and NOT DOING all the wrong things. We tend to think in terms of lists of rules we have to follow. And while it’s true that as a follower of Jesus we certainly need to honor Him with our lives and avoid sin, there’s more to getting it right than just avoiding the wrong. We also need to love others the way Jesus did.
Words matter. Words have weight. And we have all been wounded by other people’s words. Things they have said to us or things they have said about us have hurt us. And when we’re wounded, we have a choice to make. We can spread the pain, giving it back to those who have hurt us and spreading to those around us, or we can bring healing. The words we use when we’re wounded will either bring healing or more hurt. The choice is up to us. As followers of Jesus, there’s only one choice; bring healing. It’s different than what the world is used to and different makes a difference.
Sometimes if feels like we are chained to our past. Old hurts, ruined relationships, doubts, fears, and uncertainty all tied to things that have been done or said to us in the past. And when we drag our past around with us, we become angry and bitter. It keeps us from moving forward and it ties us to a time and place we don't want to be a part of anymore. So, how do we get free? We must make a choice. When we choose to forgive others for what they have done and set, the past falls away. Forgiveness is the choice that unchains us from our past.
What do selfies, being impatient in traffic and the inability to maintain healthy relationships all have in common? They’re all symptoms of a disease that is ripping our lives, families, and nation apart. The disease of ME. Most of our culture is self-focused, self-absorbed, and self-obsessed and the cult of self is poisoning our relationships and destroying lives. But there is an antidote. The antidote for the disease of ME is to develop true humility and it works every time.
What do we do when someone has a need, and we can help meet it. Do we roll up our sleeves and dive in, or do we say we’ll pray about it and move along? The truth is most of us try to avoid the complications of other people’s messes. But Jesus showed us what compassion looks like. Compassion always moves us to act on behalf of others to meet their needs, even when it’s uncomfortable and costly.
What is love? It’s a question that has filled pages of poetry and hours of songs. But has anyone ever actually come up with the answer? The answer to that question is, ‘yes’. God, through Jesus, has displayed the beauty and power of real love. As Jesus followers, the world needs us to reveal that kind of love in all of our relationships. Real love is different and different makes a difference.
Who cares? It's a phrase we've all used thousands of times. But it also a question that our world asks. When I am alone, "who cares?" When I am hurt, "who cares?" When I have been rejected, betrayed or wronged, the natural question is "who cares?" And, when I am celebrating, "who cares?" If we are followers of Jesus, the answer to that question should be "I do!" The fact is, when others hurt we can feel awkward and uncertain of how to respond. When others have victories we tend to feel jealous. But if we are going to make a difference, then we need to be willing to be different. When everyone else says, "who cares." We need to stand up and say. "I do!"
Unity. Togetherness. It’s something we all want, even need. It also seems to be the one thing most absent in our culture today. From politics to pandemics to personal identity issues to which sports team you support, our world feels very divided. Jesus’ desire for his church was that we be unified. When we choose unity over our own personal interests or even needs, it marks us as different from the world. It’s a difference that gets noticed. A difference that’s attractive. The world is coming apart. We make a difference when we come together.
While most of us are not influential or powerful in our world, that’s OK. God doesn’t need us to be. What he wants is for us to be fully surrendered. When I surrender all of me, the good the bad and the ugly and when I allow God to use what I have in the way he sees best, I become a powerful force for the Kingdom.
Most of the time we hate to be interrupted. Especially when those interruption are going to cost us something. We don’t like spending time, energy, or money on unwanted interruptions. For most of us, interruptions are inconveniences. But what if those interruptions were actually God at work for us and through us. If we’ll stop seeing interruptions as inconveniences and instead see them as divine appointments, we might be surprised to see what God is up to.
Our culture has connected our identity as a person with what we do for a living. We value people based on what they can do and the value they add to society. God doesn't operate that way. Even if I am not educated, talented or trained to do anything ‘special’, if I will make myself available and stay surrendered to Jesus, he will use me to change the world.
Let’s admit it. Sometimes we overthink things, especially our challenges and difficulties. When we were kids, we thought anything was possible. But as we get older, we become more jaded, more cynical and less sure of the outcomes of our challenges. This is partially why Jesus told us we need to become like children. When we have a childlike faith and focus on God, he turns our toughest challenges into God-sized victories.
If you're a parent, there are times when you wonder if what you are doing even matters. Do all the laundry, housework, sleepless nights, stubborn conflicts and constant pushback really matter. We think, "I'm just a parent. I can't change the world." But if we will choose to be intentional about praying and surrendering to God today, he will use us to shape the world tomorrow. What you're doing matters when you leave it in the hands of God.
We are not meant to do life alone. God created us to live in community. God’s plan, from the very beginning was that we are to do life together. Jesus established and died for the church so that we can have a community that represent Him and moves His kingdom forward. Whether we realize it or not, we cannot live our faith out in isolation. The Christian life is meant to be a life lived in community.
Jesus left us with one mission: Go and make disciples. We are not called to keep our faith to ourselves, we are called to share it. This doesn’t mean forcing it on others. It means living like Jesus in our world and inviting others to join us. Making disciples is about helping others connect with Jesus and experience lasting life change through him.
Life with Jesus is about more than just getting ‘cleaned up.’ It’s about being made new. That requires confession and repentance. We’re good at confession. In our culture it’s almost a virtue to ‘confess’ what we do. But repentance is a whole different matter. We need to confess our sin and then repent from it if we are going to follow Jesus.
The Christian faith is based on the belief that Jesus died and rose again. But where do we hear that story? We hear it in the Bible. The Bible is one unified story that points to Jesus. It is the revelation of God to man so that we may know Him, trust Him and choose to follow Him with our lives. And the story of Jesus, as told in the Bible, has the power to transform our world. So how do we know we can trust the Bible?
Some of us need to get busy DOING what Jesus called us to do. We spend a lot of time talking about what we believe, but many of us don’t actually live it out. Talk is cheap. We need to obey Jesus and engage our world with His love, grace, and mercy as we go and make disciples.
‘If God is so good, why is there so much suffering in our world?” That’s a question a lot of people ask. It’s a valid question. But instead of assuming God isn’t good – or worse yet – that God isn’t real, what if we considered that God understands our suffering because he became one of us and he is already dealing with the problem of suffering because he is a good and loving father?
People talk about God and Jesus a lot, but we don’t often hear conversations about the Holy Spirit. So, who is the Holy Spirit and what does He do? How does the Holy Spirit impact the life of the follower of Jesus?
Everyone loves the idea of Heaven. No one likes the idea of Hell. But Jesus taught that Hell was a very real place. Rather than avoid the topic because it’s uncomfortable or unpopular, we should allow it’s truth to move us with compassion to share the love of Jesus with as many people as possible
When we think of Heaven, we tend to think of some faraway place with clouds and quiet music playing in the background. We think we’ll spend forever doing nothing. But that isn’t what Jesus taught about Heaven. Heaven is really about God restoring this world – and us – to his original plan. It began with the resurrection of Jesus and we can partner with him to begin restoring our world and bring hope right now.
When we get conflict wrong, relationship break. If we don’t have a plan to make things right, those relationships can be permanently damaged or worse yet, destroyed. However, the love Jesus offers us compels us to focus on reconciliation more than we focus on being right. When I am more concerned with being reconciled than I am with being right, relationships – even the tough ones – can be restored.
In every relationship there is the potential for conflict. Whether that conflict will pull us apart is up to us. When we learn how to “pull together when we’re pulled apart” and accept that we are a part of the problem, that conflict can become a tool used by God to draw us closer to each other and closer to Him.
WE MUST INVEST IN OUR CHILDREN SPIRITUALLY, OPENING UP A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEM AND JESUS. SALVATION IS THE END GOAL FOR EVERY CHRISTIAN PARENT.
We all have our ideal for what family should be. And then we encounter the reality. At the crossroads of what is ideal and what is real there is the potential for friction – or worse yet an all-out train wreck. When my version of ‘ideal’ and your version of ‘ideal’ don’t match up there is conflict, frustration, and anger. So, in our relationships, how do come to terms with the disconnect between what is ideal and what is real? We offer truth and grace. That lays a foundation for a family that can really bring change to our community.
Sometimes when we pray, it feels like God doesn’t hear us or at least like he doesn’t respond. Sometimes it feels like we pray and pray and pray and still get no answers from God. What do we do when it feels like God isn’t answering? We wait. We wait and we keep praying because persistent prayer changes things. Sometimes is changes my circumstances, sometimes is changes me. But God is working, just stay persistent in prayer.
When it comes to prayer, we sometimes wonder just exactly how we’re supposed to do it. Many of us tend to overcomplicate it or we struggle to stay focused enough to pray well. But Jesus shows and tells us how we should pray. When we follow his example, not only do we get it right but we also begin to pray with real power.
We all have many things we should pray for, things we need and things we want. But ultimately, if we are going to make an impact for the Kingdom of Jesus, then we need to make sure that we pray for the things Jesus wants us to pray for. When our prayers reflect the heart of Jesus we will pray for God’s will and God’s kingdom to move forward here in our world.
Prayer is sorely neglected among American Christians today. This is partly because we are intimidated by it or we think it’s more complicated than it really is. But prayer is much simpler than we make it. Prayer is nothing more and nothing less than taking the time to have an intimate conversation with God.
Every person is motivated to do the things they do in life. The question is, what is their motivation? Sometimes we are searching for praise from people, but we should be seeking praise from God only. With healthy motives, we become people who live a healthy life.
Every person is motivated to do the things they do in life. The question is, what is their motivation? Sometimes we are searching for praise from people, but we should be seeking praise from God only. With healthy motives, we become people who live a healthy life.
Spending time with friends and family during the Christmas season can too often result in us saying things that we regret. Tensions can run high and if we are not careful to tame our tongues, we can find ourselves hurting those we love with our ugly words. Whether we realize it or not, our words carry the weight of life and death. With our words we are either building up or tearing down. If we call ourselves Christians, we should be careful to choose words that communicate love, especially during the holidays.
The Christmas season can bring out the best and the worst in us. And it all starts in our minds. The things we do are first thoughts we think. Most of us tend towards negativity but God can rewire us for thoughts of joy. When we choose to focus on good and allow God to work within us Christmas will be merry and bright.
The old covenant never really took care of our sin. It was a first step in connecting us with God, but there needed to be something better. Jesus offered something better. His death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead dealt with sin once and for all. And because of his better sacrifice, we have so much to be thankful for.
As much as we want to, we can't see into the future. However, we can trust God with our future. Rather than worry and stress about what tomorrow holds, we should focus on and worship the God who holds tomorrow. Jesus tells us “Do not worry.” Instead, we need to faithfully trust Him. When we do, we find life and hope to move forward.
While we can't go back and change the past, our past has a huge impact on our current reality. Some of us need to look back into our past and seek forgiveness where we have wronged others and some of us need offer forgiveness where we have been wronged. But pushing rewind isn’t just about us. Ultimately, it’s about moving the kingdom of Jesus forward.
We are not mean to live life as a 'rat race.' We are not meant to live the hurried, busy, over-scheduled, 24/7 lifestyle that our society pushes on us. Jesus wants us to slow down and simply BE WITH HIM. God gave us the sabbath so that we could push pause on our 24/7 world.
Not only do we need to DO what Jesus called us to do, but we also need to STOP doing those things that hinder us from following Jesus and expressing His love to our community. Anything I do or allow that prevents me from living out my faith or representing Jesus to my community is sin. For some of us it’s time to repent and be made new.
Some of us need to get busy DOING what Jesus called us to do. We spend a lot of time talking about what we believe, but many of us don’t actually live it out. Talk is cheap. We need to obey Jesus and engage our world with His love, grace, and mercy as we go and make disciples.
Once upon a time, a tiny, marginalized group of people who followed an obscure Jewish rabbi changed the world. This small band was so different that the society around them couldn't help but take notice and be drawn in. This irresistible group conquered an empire and transformed the world because they were so irresistible. So, what happened? Why is the church today so resistible? Maybe it's because we are divided
We want to be 'law abiding citizens' until we feel like the law is in conflict with what we believe, or more accurately until the law is in conflict with what we WANT. We don’t always want to follow the law, but we want to make sure others do. Maybe it’s time we stop worrying about making others follow our laws, rules and regulations for the Kingdom of Jesus and instead focus on the one thing that matters, “Faith, expressing itself in love.” When we focus on the law of love, we bring unity to the church and hope to our world.
It is true that the Kingdom of Jesus is at odds with the kingdoms of the world. The church has taken sides culture wars and, honestly, we've been indiscriminate in who we aim at. We spend a lot of time and energy 'shooting' at those who are on the other side of the culture war. But, as Paul said, our struggle is not with flesh and blood. We are not at war WITH our world, we are at war FOR our world. Christianity brought an empire to its knees and radically transformed the world. But not through fighting the way our world fights. Jesus calls us to fight the battle the same way he did, by choosing to lose and laying down our lives for others, even our enemies.
A part of our problem as Jesus followers in America is that we are focused on "what's in it for us?" We demand our rights. We have the right to worship, we have the right to free speech, we have the right to… whatever. But when we focus on our rights and getting our way, we are really looking for what our world, or culture, or political parties can do for us. But Jesus said he didn't come to be served. Rather he came to serve. Until we unite with an attitude of service to others rather than having others 'serve us' we will continue to be divided. But when we choose to serve, our cultural, social and political differences melt away as we partner with Jesus to transform the world.
The American church is divided. We have taken sides in the culture wars and worse than that, we have taken sides in the political divide in our nation. We have developed an Us vs Them mindset. On our best days it's The Church vs. The World. On our worst days it's The Church vs. The Church. This 'great divide' has sidelined the church in our culture and made us ineffective in sharing the Gospel building the Kingdom of Jesus. Even if we win the debate, because we are divided, we lose. The solution is to be "like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind." (Phil 2:2) Only when we are unified in Jesus will we "win" the world for His Kingdom.
“Most important of all, love each other deeply, because love makes you willing to forgive many sins. Open your homes to each other and share your food without complaining. God has shown you his grace in many different ways. So be good servants and use whatever gift he has given you in a way that will best serve each other. I Peter 4:8-10
Often, we as follower of Jesus, can’t seem to get anyone to listen to our message of hope, joy and life. We assume others just don’t want to hear the message or we assume the message is offensive in our world. Maybe it is, but the reason the world doesn’t listen the message is because often, as messengers, we can be offensive. We need to learn to walk the truth in love and gentleness before we try to speak it into the lives of others.
Sometimes we are offended by how other people live their lives. We want to judge those living 'sinful' lives that offend us. When we realize that we are not called to judge the world, but to help transform it we stop viewing others as offensive and see them as people who need to experience the love of Jesus just as we have.
Part of the reason we are so offended is that we are having an identity crisis. When someone attacks or simply disagrees with the group or career or lifestyle or whatever that we identify with, we feel as though our identity has been attacked. But what if we are finding our identity in the wrong places. John tells us that our identity should be found in the fact that we have been adopted as children of God. When I know I’m God’s child, I don’t have to be offended. I know who I am.
Anger keeps me offended and it only produces more offense. Often we think we have a 'right' to be angry. But do we? When we recognize that we are servants of Jesus and that our only right is to be obedient to him, we don't get offended when someone violates 'our rights.' When someone is offensive, I can be right or I can be righteous. Being unoffendable helps be me righteous.
Being offended is a choice we make. We cannot control what others do or say, but we can always control how we respond. Godly wisdom enables us to overlook those things that offend us. When you are easily offended, you don’t point others to Jesus. When you choose to overlook an offense, your life is more attractive and points others to the God who loves them.
When we focus on ourselves and on our problems, we tend to lose perspective. Our problems seem so big and so unmanageable. When we focus on ourselves we tend to follow our own path and that often causes us to wander away from the God who love us. But, when we make our lives about the worship of that God, our perspective changes, our problems seem to downsize and we are drawn ever closer to the God of grace of loves us.
Sometimes life hurts. Really hurts. When life hurts and the world doesn’t make sense, will your faith hold up? When we build our faith on the wrong foundation, it cannot stand up to the storms we will face in life. But when our faith is built on the foundation of Jesus found in Scripture, it may shake when the storms come, but it will never fail.
Join us this week as we listen to Pastor Kim dive deep into the classic hymn Holy Holy Holy.
Whether we admit it or not, we all have a past. We have all said words, been places and done things that we wish we hadn’t. We all have things in our past that we are ashamed of. For many of us, the shame in our past is a barrier to loving and living for God in the present. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Because of what Jesus has done for us, we can have a blessed assurance to connect with God today.
Dr. Devon Smith comes and teaches about the power of the word, affirming the stances and beliefs the church backed up by scripture.
If we’re honest with ourselves, we have nothing to offer God. We have messed up time and time again. If we had to defend ourselves against God, we would have no defense. The good news is that Jesus stands before God on our behalf. He defends us and covers us with His righteousness.
We all need friends to help us when life gets heavy. But there is one friend who doesn’t just help us carry the load, he will carry the load for us. When we take our fears, worries, stresses and anxieties to Jesus, he sets us free from the fear that so often disrupts our lives.
I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. Psalm 40:1-2
Are you contagious? Have you ever met someone who lived a contagious life, the kind of person you just love to be around because they make everyone better? When we live the life, we become contagious because real life is meant to be shared. Real life is always a shared life.
When life gets tough and we experience storms, we assume something is wrong. We want God to clear out the storms so we can live the life we are called to live. But what if God has called us to live our lives DURING the storm. When our plans are shipwrecked, God still has a plan—his plan is always about people. He’s never surprised, he’s always in control, and he works all things into good. Sometimes our storms turn out to be a source of hope and help for others. When we trust God’s plan, we can live our lives during the storm.
Surrender doesn’t like something that leads to freedom. It seems to be the opposite of freedom. But Jesus shows us that the only way to experience a life worth living is to move from a “Have to” mindset to a “Get to” mindset. And that can only happen when we are willing to surrender. Believe or not, surrender sets us free.
Someday. Someday is that magical time when we will finally be able to do and be everything we’ve always wanted. Someday I’ll be a great musician. Someday I’ll take the ultimate vacation. Someday I will make a difference in the world. But what if someday was actually today? Because Jesus is alive, if I trust him and follow him, I can live life to the fullest right now.
We all like winners. We all want to be winners. We celebrate victory. If we want to have victory in our lives that honors God and leaves a legacy, we must pursue a God-given vision with faithful obedience, regardless of how long it takes. God always comes through when we pursue His vision with obedience.
When God created the world, he intended for us to rule alongside Him, taming this beautiful planet. However, man rejected God’s plan and went his own way, breaking the relationship with God and bringing death and destruction to His world. Through Jesus, God pressed CTRL-ALT-DELETE, giving us a new start and another opportunity to join Him in His mission for our world. Now, we just have to start living like the debt has been paid.
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 5:23-24
When someone has hurt me, anger is the natural result. When that anger isn't dealt with, it grows into bitterness. And bitterness poisons every relationship I have. The only way to effectively deal with anger and defend against bitterness is to offer complete forgiveness. When I’ve been wronged, I can hold on to the hurt and let it poison all of my relationships, or I can forgive the other person be set free.
When I’ve wronged someone else, I need to go and seek forgiveness. The problem with seeking forgiveness is that I have to be humble enough to admit I am wrong and value the relationship more than my pride. But if I’ll swallow my pride and seek forgiveness, it can open the door to restored relationships.
One of the biggest causes of relationship damage is words. Our words hurt them. Their words hurt us. The cycle seems to go on and on. But when we learn to control our words and use them to build up rather than tear down, we go a long way towards pressing ctrl-alt-delete on broken relationships.
If you ever feel like worry and anxiety taking over your life, you aren't alone. But how do we overcome the constant worry? Discover the power that prayer has to transform your life.
Do you ever look at what’s going on around you and wonder how to escape the negativity? Maybe it’s not your circumstances that need to change—it’s your mindset.
Sometimes no matter what we do, we make the wrong decision. It’s as though we have the wires crossed in our minds. The truth is, our lives are always moving in the direction of our strongest thoughts. So how do we rewire our brains to think thoughts that lead us to changed lives?
Our thoughts are powerful. They change our perspective, impact our decisions, and influence our habits. But what do we do when we become trapped by our thoughts, unable to escape negative and unhealthy thinking? Let’s learn what it means to take our thoughts captive and win the war in our minds.
We can all pretend to be something when people are looking, and many of us do. But when we are when no one is watching reveals who we really are and what we really believe. Integrity is a hallmark of the life that is submitted to Jesus.
Sometimes if seems like God is silent, uninvolved and a million miles away. But when I remain faithful and pursue him, even in the silence, I will soon learn that regardless of what I feel or see, God is fully engaged in my life.
When life doesn’t seem to go as planned, or worse when circumstances bring pain, difficulty, and sorrow, we can play the blame game, feel sorry for ourselves, and call it fate. Or we can recognize that even in our pain, God is in control and is good and He is at work to reveal his glory and bring his blessing into our lives.
When life is good and we find ourselves blessed, we need to pause and give thanks. Then we need to use the blessings God has given to be a blessing to others.
Most of us like to share our good news. Whether it’s a promotion at work, being accepted to the school of our dreams or the birth of a new child, we love to tell others about it. But when it comes to the most beautiful news of all, the birth of Jesus, we tend to keep it quiet because we aren’t sure how to share it. But it isn’t complicated. Sharing the beautiful news of Jesus is simply showing and telling others what you yourself know.
Everyone wants to be happy, especially at the holidays. But happiness is fleeting. Happiness is based on what happens to us. That’s why happiness fades. What we need is Joy. Joy isn’t based on what happens around us, but what is inside of us and Joy based on Jesus never fades. If you want joy, stop chasing happiness and pursue Jesus instead.
Everyone wants to be loved. But for most of us, love is conditional. However, Jesus loves us with an unconditional love. He doesn’t love us because of what we have done, but because of who he is.
Life is filled with turmoil. Things don’t go as planned. We face pain, loss and disappointment. When life is painful and uncertain it can disturb our peace. Jesus offers us a peace that the world doesn’t understand and can’t take away. He may or may not calm the storms around us, but he will always calm the storm inside us.
The world can be a very dark place. Sometimes, in the darkness, it’s easy to lose hope. But Christmas points us to the hope we can have in Jesus. He came into a world of darkness and was a ray of hope for those who needed it most. He offers that same hope to us today.
Choosing to do the right thing is easy. Doing the right thing is hard. Often we get discouraged when we try to live out our right choices. We start to wonder if it even matters. Haggai tells us yes, it does matter. Your choice to purse Jesus now will not only change your life, but will impact the lives of people you will never meet.
Our modern, busy, overcommitted lives can leave us feeling empty. In fact, the paradox of our time is that our lives are filled with emptiness. But there’s a remedy. The remedy for our empty lives is not to add more things to them but to focus on the one thing that matters: A life of worship aimed at Jesus.
God’s plan, from the very beginning, was that we do life together. As followers of Jesus that means we are in this together. Our faith is not simply a personal faith, it is a shared experience. This calls for us to have an extreme devotion Jesus and to the community of Jesus followers we call home. But with that extreme devotion comes extreme results.
When there is division and conflict within any group, but especially within the church, then it becomes weak and ineffective. If the church is going to transform the world, we must be united in our love for Christ and for each other. Anything short of that is defeat.
We are each made unique. We are each made in the image of God. Individually, that makes us impressive; collectively that makes us unstoppable. When we each use our gifts and work together to create communities of transformed lives, there is nothing we can’t do because the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
You were created in the image of God, a masterpiece made for a purpose. And there is only ONE OF YOU. That means you have a reason to be and a purpose to fulfill. It also means that everyone you encounter is a masterpiece created in the image of God. If we are all masterpieces, then we need to treat others like it and we need to act like it. It will change the world.
I will never be complete until I quit trying to complete myself. When I fully surrender to the leadership of Jesus in my life, I find a fully complete life filled with joy and peace and loaded with the potential to change the world.
Doing life ‘my way’ sounds great. But it rarely works out. That’s because you are not your own. You were created by God and you must answer to him for the life you live. The question we each must ask is, “Am I living a life that honors God?”
Sometimes we feel like we are a mistake, like God didn’t know what he was doing when he created us. But the truth is God created us because he loved us, and he created each of us on purpose and for a purpose. When we identify that purpose and begin to live it out, live has a new meaning and becomes an adventure worth exploring.
Loneliness is brutal. We are wired to do life in community and that community starts with a God who will never leave us alone. Regardless of our past, God promises to be with us. We are never along. Whatever you are going though right now, you are not alone. His love is a love that will never abandon you.
Before anyone else knew us, God did. There is nothing in our lives that God doesn't know. Our greatest joys are deepest pains and our darkest secrets are known to Him. And in spite of what he knows about us, he loves us anyway.
Sometimes when you’re having a bad day, you j ust want to go to bed, reset and start over tomorrow. But when it comes to circumstances in our life that don’t go away overnight, how do we start over? Is it possible to start Life over again? We trust in a God who brings life where there is death. When w e see how Jesus was brought back to life, we find hope that there is new life for us if we trust in Him. Through Jesus, new life is available to all.
We do not have to stay dead in our lives, we can be resurrected when we believe in Jesus.
Sometimes when we take a look at our life and the world around us we might think “How did this happen? And where do I go from here?” In those moments we need a move of God in our life. We need a revival! But how does revival happen? Revival happens when God’s people gather together and pray for God to move in their hearts and in their communities. Just as God promised to heal and restore Israel by gathering in prayer and submitting to God, we can also experience a move of God in our life if God’s people pray.
Sometimes what we hope for seems to die and our hope feels like a distant, unmet promise. When our hope is dead, we need to trust in God. When we trust in Him – even when it seems hopeless – He resurrects our hope.
We have all experienced death in our lives. Whether it is the death of a dream, the death of a relationship, the death our plans, the death of someone we love, or some other form of death, we have all experienced the pain, fear, confusion and loss that comes with death. However, we serve a God who loves – and who specializes – in bringing life where there is death. If we trust Him with our brokenness, He will bring life to the dead places in us.
Our culture tells us we need more of us. In western culture, the “self” is the ultimate god. But our “More of Me” culture is destroying us and leaving us emptier and lonelier than ever. The only remedy for our “more of me” culture is to kill the king of me. I must die to myself to have a life that is truly worth living.
Our culture tells us we need to be busy. We need to do more, we need to experience more, we need to expect more. We only have 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week, but with modern technology we can cram more into that limited time than ever before. But what if that’s killing us? What if God never intended for us to live 24/7 lives? The remedy for our overworked under-rested lives is Sabbath. God calls us to give Him one day out of every 7. And when we do, we’ll discover that less is more.
I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:11b-13
SUFFERING IS TEMPORARY AND DEATH DOES NOT HAVE THE FINAL WORD. WHEN WE HAVE FAITH IN THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS WE MOVE FROM SORROW TO JOY
We all experience bitterness in some form and we hate the way it feels. If left unchecked it drains life from us and the people we interact with. Bitterness is our internal response to our personal pain. We find healing from our bitterness when we follow God’s example and allow God to heal our heart. When we choose to give our pain to God instead of dealing with it ourselves, we will truly find the freedom we are looking for.
The pathway from fear to peace is one that requires a change of perspective. When we focus on the size of our problem, we can be overwhelmed by fear. When we choose to focus on the size of our God, our perspective changes and our problems are less overwhelming in view of a God who is greater than all our fears. Worship is how we change our perspective.
Listen to Dr. Devon Smith our district superintendent for the Tri-State District. He breaks down what it means to be a Christian and a church that God wants you to be.
Jesus predicted that he would start a gathering, a movement . . . what we call church. And that church would spread all over the earth and outlast the Roman Empire. It would change the world. His prediction must have sounded outlandish to even his closest followers. But here we are, two thousand years later, and the Roman Empire exists only in history books, while Jesus’ gathering is still going strong. The church is the hope of the world because the church is the vehicle by which God is bringing the solution to mankind’s greatest problems: sin, sorrow, and death.
It takes a step of faith for an individual to trust Christ—not a blind leap of faith—one that is informed and supported by some compelling evidence. Christians don’t believe just because the Bible tells them to but because of the number of eyewitnesses who claimed to have seen a risen Jesus.
We all have mess up – sinned – and need to be forgiven. The good news is that through Christ’s death, we have already been forgiven. God has, in effect, canceled our sin and released us from the burden created by our guilt and regret. Other faith systems give us things to do; God offers something that has already been done for us. This is God’s great gift to us. But like any gift, it must be received.
As Abraham worried about the fulfillment of God’s promises, God reassured him that what he had said would come to pass. Abraham responded to this reassurance with belief. In that moment of faith, God declared him righteous (having right standing or reconciled). Thousands of years later, Paul tells Christians that, like Abraham, our righteousness is based on faith as well.
Sin separates us from God. Embracing our status as sinners allows us to recognize our need for the forgiveness and restoration God offers through Jesus. Saying “I am a sinner” opens the door to an authentic relationship with God.
Like most things in life, everyone’s faith has a starting point. Adult realities often challenge the faith that might have formed in childhood. Likewise, we can have experiences or meet people that reignite our curiosity in faith or ignite it for the first time. The starting point of Christian faith is not the Bible. The starting point of Christian faith is the question: “Who is Jesus?”
When Jesus said, “Go and make disciples, was literally saying, “Disciple people as you are going.” A pioneer chooses to be intentional about imitating Jesus as they go through their journey of life. It’s imitating Jesus AS WE GO that makes us pioneers
A pioneer is made (and commanded) to “Go and make disciples.” We have no other work than the work of making disciples.
We were created to re-present God to our world and to partner with him in managing creation. But we have rebelled and lost who we were supposed to be. When we are re-created into the image of Jesus and live the life we were created to live, we open the door for others to discover a life worth living.
Living a life that transforms our world and brings peace and hope to those around us is hard to do. Until we know who we are, we’ll have a hard time knowing what to do. But when we keep our eyes on Jesus, we discover who we are and what we’re supposed to do. That’s what allows us to endure the difficulty of being a pioneer for Jesus in a world that doesn’t get it.
What you naturally want is often in conflict with what you ultimately value. But your heavenly Father knows what you need. He wants for you what you really want. So, how do you put aside those natural wants and pursue what you ultimately value?
What do you want? What do you really want? We’ll never get what we really want until we discover what is most valuable. And what we naturally want is often in conflict with what we ultimately value. So, in order to figure out what you really want, you have to figure out what you value.
We’ll never get what we really want until we discover what is most valuable. But choosing what’s valuable isn’t natural. We’ve all had the experience of getting what we naturally want, only to discover it's not what is most valuable—it’s not what we ultimately want. But how do we avoid being deceived by our short-term desires?
We all have wants. But actually getting what we want can be tricky . . . and even dangerous. It usually leaves us wanting more. If what we want leads to a cycle of wanting more and more, maybe we want the wrong things. Ultimately, we’ll never get what we really want until we discover what we really value.
Not only is scripture a mirror, but we ourselves are a mirror to those around us. We are called to be "Salt and Light" to the world.
There is a conventional wisdom that says “me first.” It’s common sense in our world: Take care of yourself. But what if conventional wisdom isn’t working? What if instead of conventional wisdom, we ask God to give us real wisdom? It will change us and it will change the world around us.
We can talk about our faith all day long. We can have the t-shirts, bumper stickers and perfect social media posts, but until we live out our faith by caring for those on the margins, our faith is hollow. Real faith isn’t talked about, it’s lived out loud.
Our words are more powerful and carry far more weight than we realize. That’s why it is so important for us to tame our tongues. The problem is that our tongues tend to be untamable. It is only when we surrender to the power of Christ that our words can become a source of life rather than a tool for death.
None of us likes to go out looking like we have never seen a mirror. When we're going out, we look in a mirror and change what needs to be changed. James compares the scriptures to a mirror that shows us the truth about ourselves. And when it comes to the mirror of scripture, when see something, I need to do something.
Most of the time we focus on the gift. We like presents. But when God gave us the gifts of HOPE, LOVE, PEACE, and JOY, the package was better than all of the gifts combined. The truth is we need God's presence more than we need His presents. God with us is more powerful than the things God does for us.
Our circumstances change, and with them, our happiness comes and goes. But joy is an attitude we choose based on our hope in God's love and promises. When you choose Joy, the weary world takes note.
God loved the world so much that he gave. He gave his son, Jesus, to show us what love looks like and, ultimately, to love us completely. When we look at the words and actions of Jesus we learn what it means to love and when we imitate Him, we give the weary world a reason to rejoice.
When I understand my sin and God’s grace, the natural response is to say “Send Me” when God asks who will go.
One of the most dangerous prayers we can pray is, "Lord, break me." But when we pray for brokenness, God is able to do more in us, for us and through us than we can imagine. If we will let him, God will take our brokenness and turn it into a blessing.
We don't really know ourselves as well as we think we do. But when we are willing to pray honest prayers, God reveals to us the reality of our heats and he invites us to follow him into a new reality. It all starts when we begin to pray, "search me, God."
Everyone wants to be comfortable, but when we turn comfort into a neon god, it destroys our relationships, distorts the Gospel and kills our spiritual life. The only way to kill the idol of comfort is to embrace the cross of Jesus.
Money - or at least the love of money - is a sneaky idol that's hard to identify and harder to kill in our lives. But when we take the Gospel of Jesus at face value, greed dies and we are set free.
For members of the Kingdom, Heaven is more than just a place we go to when we die. Heaven is a kingdom Jesus is establishing and inviting us into right now.
Death is so final and it seems to interrupt everything. But what if the way Jesus handled the interruption of death changed all of that. What if death isn't the ultimate interruption after all?
For a follower of Jesus, the focus of our life is to make disciples. If you are a follower of Jesus, you are called to make disciples.
God's plan, from the very beginning, was that we are to do life together. There is not such thing as a "Lone Ranger Christian." We are CALLED to do life together.