This week we are going to look at a model disciple—Nathaniel! John gives us this rare picture of one of the 12 disciples. From him, we hope to learn the importance of studying God’s Word.
This week, we will begin a series entitled Jesus: According to John. We will be looking at John's biographical account of Jesus together. While the other 3 focus on Jesus as a man, John puts the focus on Jesus as God. In every generation, the church has to affirm the deity of Christ—His glory, His grace and His goodness. I'm looking forward to being together to start this series.
This week, we will begin a series entitled Jesus: According to John. We will be looking at John's biographical account of Jesus together. While the other 3 focus on Jesus as a man, John puts the focus on Jesus as God. In every generation, the church has to affirm the deity of Christ—His glory, His grace and His goodness. I'm looking forward to being together to start this series.
We come to our final character in our Defining Moments series: Esther. Her story is filled with defining moments—and following her life will give us some lessons to live by. Lessons on using our circumstances and positions well, dealing with conflict, and how we view success. I'm confident that if we will heed her lessons and learn from her example, we will be an effective leader, just like she was.
One of the great truths of our God is how he redeems every circumstance and every experience in our lives. We can look back years and see how God used past hurts, habits, and hangups for his greater purpose. This Sunday, we will look at Rahab—a gentile prostitute who is a recipient of this very truth. We will see how her willingness to put her faith in God resulted in her coming to know Him, and also, her life being redeemed by Him.
This morning we look at another defining moment. There are times we are summoned to a purpose that overwhelms and paralyzes us. Scripture has its examples, and one that stands out above others is Saul. He remains as one of the most perplexing stories in Scripture, one that confronts all of us and challenges us to rise to another level.
Joshua was an amazing leader for the people of Israel. Under his leadership, God used Joshua to bring the Israelites into the promised land and to expand its territories. But Joshua was not a perfect leader. In Joshua 9, we read of a time when Joshua used his own wisdom and self-reliance to lead in a way that he thought was right, without first consulting the wisdom of God. Contrasting Joshua with Jesus, we see that Jesus gives us the full picture of a perfect leader who serves with humility and seeks the will of the Father.
It's been said that Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react. In life there are many things that happen to us that we cannot control—and how we respond often shows us what we are made of. This coming week, we will look at Moses, a man who's had so many defining moments that books have been written on his life. We will be look at his response in the face of rejection and potential desertion from God. In preparation for this message, please read Exodus 32 and 33 to enrich our time together. I pray that the Lord will use His Word to help us respond well to the many interruptions and crises that come our way.
One of our greatest—and most dangerous—defining moments is when we make it to the top. Few have experienced the rarified air of the high summits like Solomon—and few have failed so completely.
One of our greatest—and most dangerous—defining moments is when we make it to the top. Few have experienced the rarified air of the high summits like Solomon—and few have failed so completely.
This coming week, we will be finishing our series in Colossians by looking at the theme of reconciliation. We will be looking at the book of Philemon. Turns out, Philemon was a member of the Colossian church, yet had a falling out with another member. Paul writes the letter of Philemon to him to encourage him to reconcile and forgive…in light of cultural challenges and more polarization in the culture, we need to hear this message even more.
In 1937, Walt Disney dazzled the world with the first ever colored full-length animated film: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. There’s a delightful scene in the movie where Snow White discovers the messy house of the Dwarves and decides to clean it. Keeping a joyful and positive attitude the whole time, Snow White and her animal friends clean the house singing and whistling while they work.
Colossians 3 speaks of a similar idea of keeping joy and doing all our work unto the Lord with joy in our heart. “Whatever you do… do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (3:17).
This week we continue our study of the Christian Household by looking at the relationship of parents and children. What we will see is that a home with Christ at the head is to be a place where parents are honored and loved through their children’s obedience. In addition, a Christian home is one where children are supported, encouraged and step out into the world with life and confidence for wherever God will take them.
This week we talk about one of the greatest unions that God created—the marriage covenant. As we reflect on the fact that Christ is All We Need—we get to see how Christ has chosen to design the marriage covenant between a man and a woman. There is great wisdom and purpose in the design of God in this way. I look forward to lifting up Jesus together!
Relationships sometimes squeak when we disagree or hold strong opinions that differ. In Colossians 3 we learn how to respond to frustrating disagreements with others in the church. How do we apply God's loving attitudes to our marriage or other relationships? God's way is so much better than "fight" or "flight" because Christ is all we need.