What do think of when you hear the word love? Often we don’t take it serious, or we don’t know what it means to love. Our world has given us a backwards view of love, and it is time we have a r(evoL)ution to return back to how Christ called us to LOVE!
We often become caught up in making "my plans," but the Christ follower has a different pursuit, and it is focused on the ultimate goal of eternal reward. This changes how we run the race we are given today, because the finish line is different? What is your pursuit?
Do you have a heart for the lost in Grayson County? Do you weep for them? Christ not only wept for the lost but He gave His life for the lost. Christ does not call us into a relationship with Him without sending us out. We are called and sent as God’s children to be a part of what he is doing, the redemption of mankind. This mission must infiltrate every aspect of our lives.
Do you know that you are on a mission for God? Christ had modeled discipleship throughout His earthly ministry and His last command to His disciples (and thus to us) was to go and make disciples. Paul in 2 Timothy 2:2 tells Timothy that he is to take what he has learned from Paul and teach others so that they will in turn one day teach others. Discipleship is one of the marks of a healthy church.
This week we are looking at embodying the gospel. We see that the gospel is not just a tool for bringing us to faith but it keeps us in that faith, it draws us back to what Christ has done for us. Transformation occurs when we delight in God and what He has done for us. At Legacy, Life Groups are the primary means by which we as a church body embody the gospel with one another.
At Legacy, we talk a lot about the gospel. Our messages are centered around it, our songs are centered around it. But a lot of the time, people don't really know what the gospel is all about. During the next three messages, we'll be laying out the vision of our church and seeing just how the gospel affects everything we do.
Do you feel like you don't measure up to what is expected of you as a part of a family? Listen as we dive into the implications of the gospel on how we live as a family and the opportunities that the gospel gives us to live in the freedom of our roles. This message is for all family members: sons, daughters, husbands, wives, dads, moms, grandparents and great grandparents.
Can you name families that you know who embody the gospel? We want to be a family of believers who embody the gospel for a lifetime within our families and within our community. Family ministry is designed to partner the church and the family to be the most effective and influential example of the gospel lived out.
When you look around do you see people created in the image of God or just differences? This week as we continue in our study of Acts we see Peter learning that God does not show partiality. Salvation is just the beginning, once we are saved the gospel must transform and transcend all boundaries and barriers in our lives. We are to share the gospel with all those around us with out prejudice. There are no longer divisions of rich or poor, black or white, we are all sons of God.
Have you discovered the secret? Paul discovered it! The secret is Christ, spending time alone with Him and devoting our lives to sharing Him with others. If you are a Christian and yet you don't have "peace" then the question is, "Do you understand grace"? After Paul's conversion God sent him to Arabia where he would spend time sitting with God daily for three years. Finally God sent Paul out to proclaim Christ to the Gentiles. Are you pouring into the lives of others? Does your fruit show?...
As a Christian, we not only enjoy gifts from God, but more importantly, we look beyond the gift to the gift giver; God. We must recognize that it is God, the gift giver, who sustains us during trials, and not the gifts themselves.
Hear from each of our new pastors (Doug Greene, Lincoln Golike and Simon Keizer) how God brought them to Legacy. Doug (Associate Family Pastor), Lincoln (Students' Pastor) and Simon (College and Young Singles Pastor) each share the vision that God has placed in their hearts for their individual ministries.
What barriers are there in your life that prevent you from trusting God? Barriers can present themselves in many different fashions. They can be those things we prize the most or they can be the failures or disappointments that we strive to hide. In today's sermon we see God overcome barriers in the lives of Philip and a Eunuch that will result in the transformation of their lives. God's message of salvation overcomes all barriers and gives hope to the hopeless.
Has God ever challenged you to take a leap of faith? On Sunday the elders spoke to us about the challenge God had placed before them as they stepped out in faith and brought on three new pastors. Now as our church body steps out in faith we are trusting God to use this time to deepen personal relationships with Him while presenting opportunities to better serve our church body and the community.
Just as heat applied to precious metal brings out the impurities, so the pressure of persecution often yields a more refined and strong church. In Acts chapter 8 we see that the continuing and increasing hostile treatment of early Christians scattered them, but rather than silencing them only made them more bold and expanded their proclamation of the gospel.
Sometimes we think to proclaim the gospel you have to be an apostle, or at least a preacher or pastor. But the first Christian martyr, Stephen, was not an apostle or pastor. He was simply a faithful servant of God whose life had been transformed and who was bold in pointing others to God -- the way we should all be.
Any organization needs to delegate responsibilities. A healthy church is no exception. In Acts chapter 6 we see the early church delegating responsibilities to faithful men of God to meet ministry needs.
What is your idea of a hero of the faith? Do you think of Martin Luther, or Billy Graham, or maybe the apostles Peter and Paul? In this account of persecution in the early church from Acts 5, we see what makes a Christian a hero, and we are reminded Who is the ultimate Hero.
There's one objection to Christianity that we're all familiar with. Complete this sentence: “I don’t believe in Christianity because the church is full of ______________.” Hypocrites, right? Unbelievers hate hypocrisy in the Church. You know who else hates hypocrisy in the Church? God does. As we take a look at the story of Ananias and Sapphira from the book of Acts, we're seeking to develop a sober view of hypocrisy and a healthy fear and reverence for the God who opposes it.
Are you bold? Before you answer, know that boldness is not self-reliance, self-esteem, or self-righteousness. Instead, boldness comes from a humble peace and security knowing that God is your Father and loves you unconditionally and unceasingly. In this message we learn the importance of walking in that kind of intimacy with God, and the way the boldness that results frees us for incredible generosity toward a hurting world around us.
Are the things going on in your world shaking your faith? Are the foundations of your life seeming unstable? Maybe it's because they're the wrong foundations. In this message we look at the kind of dependent prayer that marked the early church, especially in light of persecution, and we see that sometimes God intends to shake us up so that the world can't.
A look at the first account of the persecution of the Church and the heart conditions that lead to hatred of the gospel
We all want this new year to be better than the last. Better health, better habits, better relationships. But how can we make sure that a fuller life isn't just superficial and short-lived? In the second recorded sermon of the apostle Peter, he says that there is a time of refreshing and restoration that comes from God, but this full, abundant, refreshing life only comes to us when we turn away from things that cannot satisfy and turn to embrace Jesus Christ.
Why do you enjoy singing Christmas carols? Are you more aware of the catchy jingle or the gospel message being sung? In this message we look at the song of Mary when the angel announced she would bear a son. The rejoicing of her heart at the news of the coming of the Savior of the world is a model for the rejoicing that should mark our Christmas celebration.
We're all very familiar with the Christmas story--Joseph and Mary, the angels, the shepherds, the birth of the Son of God in a stable in Bethlehem. But let's not let our familiarity with it cause us to miss that this was a remarkable story of, among other things, a Jewish couple who trusted God to do the impossible and found courage in Him to disregard the scorn from a doubting world. In this message we see how the gospel of the Savior who has come can give us courage also to live for Him.
Jimmy Grimes, one of LBC's elders, shares God's promise to be with us as we face the fears of life.
Chapter 3 of Acts gives the first account of a miracle done by one of the apostles. Here we see Peter healing a man who was lame from birth. It's an amazing display of the power of God, but let's not make the mistake of thinking that God only worked in powerful ways through people back then, and not now. In this message we'll see that Peter was simply following the leading of God's Spirit to do the works, and speak the words, that He wanted him to speak. God can work powerfully through us when w...
Just as when a baby is born, you check all of his vital signs to make sure he is healthy, there were also vital signs at the birth of the Church that showed that it had life. In this passage from Acts chapter 2 we see what those signs of life were, and ask ourselves the question, Is our faith marked by the same things?
As we look at the response of the people who were cut to the heart after hearing Peter's preaching on the day of Pentecost, we see what a saving response to the gospel entails.
Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost serves as a model to show what the proclaiming of the message of salvation in Jesus Christ should look like.
