Students of Jesus who interact with people who do not love Jesus can expect to be misunderstood. With an increasing number of neighbors, classmates and co-workers who hold diverse moral viewpoints, how can apprentices of Jesus be loving to others and faithful to Christ? How can we be kind in this world and true to God’s Word at the same time? Is…
"grace" Tagged Sermons (Page 4)
King Jesus was born in Bethlehem not Rome. His arrival in this small unnoticed town demonstrates that our king came to shunned places and overlooked people in order to be with and exalt them. Do you ever doubt God’s presence and love? This 4th week of Advent be encouraged, Jesus has come to be with YOU! Do you know someone who is…
Having invested the past 4 weeks focusing on our relationship with God, this week we begin to build upon this foundation as we spend the month of October growing in our love for one another. In this message we learn from I John 4:10-12 that grace is cyclical. When we discover God’s grace toward us, we can extend His grace to other…
As we begin our fall series entitled ‘A Life of Love: Marks of a Disciple of Jesus’, we look directly to Jesus who demonstrates astounding love toward a notoriously sinful woman and toward all of us. Our capacity to love God and others is fueled by our understanding of God’s love for us. When we grasp our true identity as forgiven, beloved children of God, a whole new life is given to us. So in this opening message we celebrate the unconditional love of God available to you and me because of God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
After Jesus presented the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, He did something unexpected and rare. He declared the story’s meaning in a clear memorable statement: God humbles the proud and exalts the humble. Have you ever wondered how to grow in humility? In this message you will discover answers to questions like: What is humility? How does God reward the humble? Why does humility rule in the Kingdom of God? and How can we cultivate humble hearts?
After announcing “The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand” Jesus loved uninvited, overlooked, unwanted, unwelcome, disregarded, ignored, marginalized, unnoticed, discounted, passed over, sidelined, unappreciated, undervalued, misunderstood, misinterpreted, misjudged, devalued, ordinary, sick, demonized, sinful, shame-filled people. What a kingdom. What a King!
God loves His children whom He made to delight in Him and shine for Him. Yet sometimes God’s sons and daughters drift away and seek to evade Him. Just as God went to great lengths to bring Israel back to Himself so He has gone to great lengths to pursue us prodigals as well. Sometimes God even brings discipline into our lives in order to bring us back into communion with Him so we can join Him in serving in His harvest as we (like Israel) were made to do.
As we continue our journey through the Bible, we now meet Isaiah. Isaiah had a rare vision of God. Along with Isaiah we revel in some of the astounding realities which God revealed about Himself as well as God’s invitation to join in making His glories known among all nations throughout all generations.
In 931 B.C. God’s people tore into two nations and sometimes God’s people still divide today. Schisms destroy our joy and our ability to fulfill God’s call to bless all the families of the earth. With so much at stake, God reveals in I Kings 12-16 that relational division is actually the result of one or more people drifting away from God and His ways. For all who know the angst of relational conflict and division, in Christ there is help and hope.
In our journey through The Story, this week’s chapter about Solomon is entitled, “The King who had it All.” Solomon did have it all the moment He began his relationship with God because Solomon had God. In addition, God blessed him to overflowing in the years that followed. Like the appetite of a glutton and the cravings of a drunkard the heart of man is never satisfied. Most of us spend years chasing pleasures that were never meant to be our portion. It appears that at the end of Solomon’s life he finally realized that God is enough. Do not waste another day another day of your life – God is enough!