Matthew 5:13-16. Jesus invites his followers to partner with him in extending his kingdom in the world. As salt, we preserve the world from evil and make the world a more flavorful place. As light, we provide illumination for people to see Jesus.
Matthew 5:1-12. Jesus's kingdom was an upside-down kingdom that sees people differently than the world's kingdoms, and it was a kingdom comprised of the powerless, not the powerful.
Matthew 4:12-25. Jesus's ministry on earth can be summed up in this one sentence; "The kingdom of heaven is near." The people of his day were expecting a king who would establish a new kingdom by forming a new people, confronting evil, and bringing freedom.
John 4:4-26. Jesus offers us living water so that we will never thirst again. Though we often fail to access it, Jesus provides abundant and eternal life that we can't find in the world.
John 3:1-16. Jesus explains to Nicodemus the mystery and the Spirit's work in illumining our hearts to see Jesus and the process by which the Spirit does it.
Mark 2:1-12. Our spiritual needs are greater than our physical needs. Jesus came to heal them both, but he knew that spiritual forgiveness was the starting place for spiritual and physical healing.
John 2:1-11. The human desire for joy is infinite because we were made by God and for God, and we can only be satisfied by an infinite God. Jesus came to make a way for us to experience the joy of the infinite God.
Matthew 4:12-17. Jesus came to expose our sins and call us to repentance. His patience and kindness toward us lead us to repentance to faith and ongoing repentance as we follow him.
Matthew 3:13-4:2. Jesus was unhurried, present in each moment, and interruptable for his Father and people. He lived this way because he is love, and love is patient.
Matthew 11:28-30. Only once did Jesus describe his heart, and he said he is gentle and humble in heart. His gentle and humble heart is what made him draw near to the lowly and offer them rest, the rest that he experienced through his pace and practices.
John 1:35-50. Jesus knows us and calls us by name. He knows our backstory, our current circumstances, and our future.
Matthew 4:18-25. Jesus invited his disciples to not only watch his life and ministry but to join him in it. He trained them to do what he did.
Luke 6:39-40. Jesus invites his followers to become like him, and it's something that we really can do. We can become like him. To become like Jesus, we need to be aware of the unintentional ways the world is influencing us and give ourselves to the practices of Jesus that keep us rooted in him.
John 15:1-8. To become like Jesus, we first must be with him and remain in him. To be with Jesus, we must adopt the lifestyle of Jesus.
Mark 8:34-37. When Jesus called his disciples to follow him, it was a call to be with him, to become like him, and to do what he did. His call is the same for us today. When we become more like Jesus, Austin will become a lot more like heaven.
Colossians 3:15-17. We worship God so we can experience God personally and so we can experience God together. When the church gathers for worship, there is a vertical element unto God and a horizontal element unto each other.
Romans 12:1-2 and Luke 7:36-50. Adoration of God begins with a revelation of our need for mercy. We experience the mercy of God to the degree we believe that we need it.
Psalm 147. We worship because God is worthy, and it's fitting to honor the one who created the entire world yet loves and cares for us.
Psalm 67. God calls all of us to live heroic lives. He calls us out of our ordinary lives into a life of adventure requiring selflessness and sacrifice.
Proverbs 18:21. Our words have power. They can bring life or death. The wise learn how to use their words to bring life.
Proverbs 5 and 7. A loving father helps his son by showing him what is promised in sexual temptation, what it costs to compromise, and what to do to resist temptation.
Proverbs 13:20. Our emotions cloud our decision-making, which is why we need wise friends to make wise decisions. We need to have wise friends, and we need to listen to their advice.
Proverbs 6:6-11. Wise people invest their time, while fools waste their time. Small amounts of time invested accumulate, creating positive results. Small amounts of time wasted accumulate, creating negative results.
Proverbs 30:7-9. Wealth seduces our hearts with its deceptions. It overpromises and under-delivers. That's why Jesus told us not to be foolish by hoarding wealth for ourselves but instead to be rich toward God.
Proverbs 3:1-8. Wisdom is found in God alone, but what's the way to find God's wisdom? The way to wisdom is knowing God's faithful love for you, trusting in the God who loves you, and seeking wisdom from others who trust God.
Ephesians 5:15-17 and Proverbs 1:7. There's one question we can ask ourselves that allows us to grow in wisdom. The question is: "In light of my past experience, current circumstances, and desired future, what is the wise thing for me to do?
Ephesians 6:10-20. Whether we believe it or not, we are in a spiritual battle. Our battle is not with people but with spiritual forces that sneak up on us and tell us lies. To stand against these forces of evil, we must put on the armor of God, arm ourselves with God's word, and call to him for help.
Ephesians 6:5-9. The gospel radically changed the relationships and power dynamics within the workplace in Ephesus, as Christians began to see each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, whether slave or master, and accountable to God for their work and how they treated each other.
Ephesians 6:1-4. Parents have a specific role and goal in raising their children. Their role is one of stewardship and servanthood. Their goal is to engage their kids' hearts and train them to be disciples of Jesus.
Ephesians 5:21-33. We're commanded in scripture to submit ourselves to everyone in the family of God, but there are unique ways that husbands and wives are to submit to one another within marriage. When husbands and wives submit to each other in these unique ways, marriages flourish.
