When it comes to guilt, many of us naturally lean in one of two ways: we wallow in it by reliving the past, or we deny it by making excuses. In either instance, guilt is causing us to be out of balance. However, because of Jesus, guilt is not the boss of us.
We all experience competing emotions, but we can choose not to let them control us.
Humans desire to have real, authentic, intimate, and meaningful connections with people. Despite living in a more interconnected world than ever, we seem to be more disconnected from having these types of relationships than ever before. One of the major reasons for this is gossip. Gossip is destructive to us, the person being talked about, and our relationship with them.
Humans desire to have real, authentic, intimate, and meaningful connections with people. Despite living in a world that is more “connected” than ever before, we seem to be more disconnected from having these types of relationships than ever before. One of the reasons for this feeling of disconnection is digital communication. It’s disconnected us because true relational connection requires healthy interaction, and healthy interaction occurs through in-person communication.
To experience true relational connection we must be where our feet are.
To truly love our neighbors like Jesus commands, our ultimate motive must be to love them, not just to “convert” them.
Jesus commanded His followers to “love your neighbor”. Doing this requires making room in your heart and life for those who may be far from God, especially your literal neighbors.
Jesus called His followers to love their neighbors. When it comes to loving our neighbors, barriers naturally arise. The barriers can be time, fear, and apathy. Followers of Jesus are called to be light in this world and must overcome these barriers to reach others with the hope of Jesus.
Jesus calls His followers to love their neighbors. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was (of the 600+ Old Testament commandments), he responded, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” What if we truly loved our actual neighbors like that?
The fifth catalyst God uses to fuel our faith is Personal Ministry. Personal Ministry positions us to experience God’s Power in our weakness and His faithfulness in response to our acts of faith. When we do what only we can by having a primary ministry, God does what only He can do and transforms our faith, church, and world through our church.
The fourth catalyst God uses to fuel our faith is Providential Relationships. God uses people to transform our faith. When someone helps our faith grow, providential is the best word to describe them. However, Providential Relationships can’t be manufactured, but we can create the potential for them to form and flourish.
The third catalyst God uses to fuel our faith is pivotal circumstances. The circumstances of life (especially the negative ones) act as pivots; they will cause us to either pivot toward or away from God. When we pivot toward Him, our faith grows. When we don’t, our faith erodes.
The second catalyst God uses to fuel our faith is Private Spiritual Discipline. What’s true about all private spiritual disciplines is that they help grow our relationship with Jesus in a way that nothing else does; and as our relationship with Jesus grows, so does our faith.
Our faith grows, not just by accumulating more knowledge or believing, but by following Jesus one next step at a time.
God wants to grow our trust in Him, because as trust goes so goes the relationship. Having unshakable, trust and faith in God is possible, but not by accident.
The best way to protect your marriage is to practice the promises you made when you said “I do”.
Fun in your marriage isn’t an extra - it’s essential.
You can’t have your best us without kindness.
We all want to make a difference, but where do we start? It’s a big world with a lot of needs, and there’s no shortage of opportunities. How do we know if we’re actually making an impact? As a church, we’re working together to transform a specific part of the world and you’re invited to be a part of it. Global Impact Sunday 2023 features special guests Tasanee Keereepraneed and her daughter Chom. Tasanee is the founder and director of Safe Haven Orpahange in Thailand.
People who are guided by integrity do the right thing they know they ought to and trust God with the outcomes.
To maintain integrity we must make up our minds ahead of time to be guided by integrity.
Our appetites pose a constant threat to our integrity.
You don’t know if integrity guides you until maintaining it costs you.
We all have a sense of things we “ought to do” that come from inside us. The feeling of “ought to” points to someone outside of you, who is working in you, to lead you. You take the next steps to follow Jesus by doing the ought to that the Holy Spirit prompts you to even though it may cost you
Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave to set us free, but experiencing that freedom is a choice.
We are not self-defined, but God defined. One of the ways that God defines us is as “redeemed”. Jesus came and paid the ultimate price to enable your adoption into His kingdom. There is nothing you can do to outspend the redeeming power of Jesus.
We are not self-defined, but God defined. One of the ways that God defines us is as adopted as a child of God. As a Child of God, we have a Father that wants intimacy with you and to give you the power that He provides.
We are not self-defined, but God defined. One of the ways that God defines us is as a New Creation. Becoming a New Creation is not that you become a better version of who you already are, but you become who you were created to be. Part of becoming a new creation is we get a new heart, soul, and mind. When we become a new creation through faith in Jesus, we are described as ministers of reconciliation and Christ Ambassadors.
We are not self-defined, but God defined. One of the ways that God defines us is “justified”. Justified means that when God looks at us, he sees us as blameless, righteous, and holy. You cannot be justified by your heritage, and you can’t earn your justification. Justification is a gift from God and nothing more.
Identity goes far deeper than what can be created by us and observed from the outside. Identity is something bestowed upon us by our Creator. You were never meant to form your own identity; you are not self-defined you are God Defined.
