If your house was burning down, and everyone was safe, but you had a few minutes to save one thing – what would it be? You’ve probably been asked this kind of hypothetical question before as a get-to-know-you or team-building exercise. That’s because whatever someone chooses to save reveals a lot about what they value most in life. In our final message on the Values of Hope Church, Tara Farrell will show us how God’s Presence, Guidance, and Peace are by far our most valuable possessions as Christians because they serve as the foundational blueprint for how to abide in Christ.
"guidance" Tagged Sermons
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.
In addition to guiding us personally, God loves to guide His people together. If we ask, seek and knock together, our Heavenly Father promises to give us what He describes as “good things.” So, in this message on the 1st Sunday of 2020 we discover why we will ask God for clarity on His vision for this local church’s future together and how we plan to do so throughout this next year together.
The compass, map, owner’s manual, Siri and the Bible have this in common – they show the way. Yet, better than a map is a guide. In this 2nd message in our August series entitled, Gifts for God’s Children, we see Moses’ prayer for direction as well as God’s plan to be his and all of His children’s personal guide in this life and the life to come!
Though God made us to live abundantly, everyone in every generation wanders from His best. About 700 BC, God’s people drifted far away and even the kings and priests weren’t able to bring them back. Yet, a prophet named Micah announced that from Bethlehem a leader would come who would shepherd God’s people back in the strength and majesty of the Lord. On this 3rd Sunday of Advent we celebrate Jesus’ coming and are invited to return to Him, the Good Shepherd who alone can restore our abundant life! (To view the video included early in this message see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUngLgGRJpo )
When we followers of Jesus first learned and accepted the good news that Jesus is Lord of all, submitting our lives to His leadership and receiving all of His rewards, it was natural to want to share this message with others. Yet, in many cases not everyone was as interested as we would expect. This can discourage us and dampen our light. If you long to see more of your current friends and family living with God and joining Him in His mission to heal the world, the eternal realities revealed in this passage will encourage you to keep shining knowing that God often works in and through us in ways that we could never imagine or believe.
Psalm 1 is more than the 1st song in the Jewish song book. It is a clear declaration that we all have a choice to make. When we come to moments in life when we need guidance, to whom will we turn? On this 1st Sunday of 2015 we are reminded that God’s Word is a gift to all who long for…
Don’t waste your life! Israel wandered for 40 years because they doubted God’s command to conquer Canaan. Listen to God’s clear and loving voice and trust Him by doing what He commands and promises. In this you will chose life. In this you will not waste your life!