Living in the world we live in; it is easy to fall into a “side” of an argument or discussion. This ease often causes divisions and breaking in relationships. Unfortunately, even in the early days of Christianity, this breaking and division began to happen in the Church. But in 1 Corinthians, Paul begins to lay out the beautiful possibility that we can have a change of mind and live in unity with all who “are being saved” by Christ and His Gospel Message. Not only is this possible, but it is God’s desire and plan to have our relationships reconciled and be fully united in Him.
Sermons by Rob Cupp (Page 2)
As we continue looking at Hope’s values, our second value is God’s Guidance. When we seek, live in, and desire God’s Presence, we will also get all of God’s Guidance…in every area of life. Living in the Presence of God is like having a GPS for every relationship, project, decision, culture, and area of your life. God wants to lead and direct us because He is our gracious and loving King. And He will lead us if we let him! But, be aware the destination God has for us as He leads may not always be the one we would choose for ourselves, but His Ways are always ultimately better than our ways.
As we start the season of Advent, we move into a time of great anticipation, longing and waiting….and waiting…and waiting. In fact, before the birth of Jesus many in Israel were waiting desperately for their entire lives to see God send His promised Messiah and to see that Messiah bring about all that God had promised. Generation after generation, desperately longing and waiting for God. Those that stayed close with God celebrated when they simply saw the baby Messiah. Today, we can relate to Israel’s desperate waiting and longing for things to change, for something new to come, for a breakthrough.
Jesus reigns and He is near to all of His followers. Yet, when difficulties come, it’s natural to get distracted from this central reality. Anticipating hard seasons, Paul used a quill to remind us of several exquisite everlasting facts of faith which he calls the armor of God. This week we will learn why we desperately need to embrace, in our challenging days, God’s breastplate of righteousness
Many people pray. Who we pray to and what we pray for makes all of the difference. As Paul writes to the church in Ephesus, he expresses his thanks to God for them following Christ and then he shares with them what he prays for them. What he prays is not for their safety or their prosperity, but for their full experiential knowledge of what they have in Christ – Hope and His Great Power! What would change in our lives if we received this type of prayer and prayed it for each other?
Many people pray. Who we pray to and what we pray for makes all of the difference. As Paul writes to the church in Ephesus, he expresses his thanks to God for them following Christ and then he shares with them what he prays for them. What he prays is not for their safety or their prosperity, but for their full experiential knowledge of what they have in Christ – Hope and His Great Power! What would change in our lives if we received this type of prayer and prayed it for each other?
Is there a recipe for walking closely with God in today’s world? Jesus mastered walking with His Father and He seeks to teach His disciples to do the same. What He taught was relatively simple: You stay close when you obey and do what Jesus, Our King, commands. Jesus has and will command many things, but specifically He repeats the command that we “love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). So, we walk closely with God when we obey Jesus Christ’s example and command to love each other as he loved us.
Have you ever searched and searched for something and then you discovered that it was right in front of you all the time? In the book of John, many religious people had “searched the scriptures” but totally missed that the words they studied were pointing to Jesus as the Christ and Messiah. Many of us do the same. We seek to learn and grow, but when Jesus arrives in our everyday lives we don’t recognize Him at all.
John The Baptist saw something with discerning eyes which allowed him to believe and passionately preach that Jesus was the Messiah. What he saw was a heavenly reality of relationship between Spirit and Son. This relational reality was what empowered Jesus in His earthly ministry, and it is what he invites us into as we walk with God in our own daily lives. To be immersed in the fullness of the Triune God is Christ’s example and gift to us.
How and why you walk with God matters to the world around you in a big way! When you, as a follower of Christ, obey God and do what he says in faith (no matter the weirdness of what he asks) others will come to follow God in the same way. This is the story of the Israelites, The walls of Jericho and the Prostitute named Rahab.