First sermon in series 'Follow Jesus (Being A Disciple Of Jesus Monday Through Saturday)
Have you ever been really anticipating an experience, but then it left you disappointed? Sadly, this happens with a lot of Christians. When they first meet Jesus, they are excited! They want to get baptized, join the church, and share Jesus with others, but they end up wondering, "Is this all there is?" You see, many Christians understand one piece of the gospel blessing of being forgiven. Yet, there is another piece as well. We are blessed to be a blessing. This week, we begin a series on the life of Abraham where we will explore what it means that God has blessed us to be a blessing.
The coming of a new year brings a time of evaluation and resolutions for change and improvements. The truth is: we usually start by evaluating where we are lacking and seeking to change things to make ourselves sufficient in that area. What if that is the reason we get off track and so often fail to keep our resolutions? What if God provides us with enough from the very beginning? How could this year be different for God's glory? This sermon explores three ways we can begin this year with enough.
When we are first saved, we are excited and ready to sprint to the finish. Yet, we soon learn that living the Christian life is much more like a marathon than a sprint. We are in great need of endurance in this race. This Sunday, we will examine the "one thing" Paul says we must do as we pursue Christ in this life.
I am convinced many in our community and even our churches believe what the Bible and the gospel are all about, yet they actually have it wrong. They believe the Bible is about all the things they need to do in order to be accepted by God. In reality, they need to experience the shocking plot twist of the gospel. Paul puts the gospel on display with great clarity in this week's passage.
