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Do you know our lives are to reflect the thankful heart we have for what God has done? We ought to desire to walk into His presence with singing because of what Jesus has done— He saved us, He redeemed us, He called us His own! That is worth giving God all the praise and thanksgiving for working in each of our lives. As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, let us remember the cost and give thanks to God for His hand of mercy and grace upon our lives.
As followers of Christ, there was a time in each of our lives when we surrendered to Christ. We gave Him our all, we were all in for His purpose and plan for our lives as individuals and as the Church. Jesus made it clear that commitment was a key part of being a follower of Christ. In the Gospels, we see many examples of people who followed Jesus because of what they hoped He could offer them, yet, He consistently challenged them to “count the cost” of following Him. We’re going to look at the call on the Christian life to be committed to Christ, His Word, the church, prayer, worship, and His mission. We’ll see that before God calls us to commit to Him in this way, He’s already committed to us.
We end our series on Understanding Spiritual Gifts this Sunday as we gather together to celebrate Holy Communion. Through this series, we’ve discovered that our spiritual gifts are given by God, used for His glory, and each one of us has a different one to build up the Body of Christ. Now that we know that, what are we going to do about it? Each one of us has a passion, something that burns inside of us to do, a heart to change our world. That fire is connected to the use of our gifts for the glory of God.
In order to continue using our gifts, being effective in this world for the glory of God we must be plugged into Christ. It bears repeating, no one can do anything without being plugged into the source of all things, especially when using and perfecting the spiritual gifts God has given you. Scripture reminds us, “I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me [plug into me], you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5, emphasis mine). So, how do we remain plugged in for life? Well, glad you asked. Listen in on the Sermon today.
We begin a new Sermon Series and Study focusing on Understanding the Spiritual Gifts. Did you know you have a gift given to you by the Holy Spirit? If you are a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, you have a spiritual gift to share with the Body of Christ to build it up in the world. That is how worthy you are to God that He has given something for you to do within the kingdom to help others see the abundant life now.
Put your Sunday groove on because we are coming together as a Church to worship, praise, and thank God for all He has done and will do through you and me in this new season. Have you ever seen those commercials where people press a reset button? We aren’t resetting things, we are moving forward with a Fresh Start, a new step in our walk with God and one another. Be sure to join us this Sunday as we see new faces, make friends, and take that fresh step in your spiritual journey. We have a ton of opportunities to make connections, learn more about God, and serve in our community!
The first church knew that love meant sacrifice. They used their time, talents, and treasures to make sure that everyone’s needs were met in their congregation. They shared what they had, and because of their love, no one among them was needy. They relied on godliness to make them content. The generosity of the church in meeting all the needs among them allowed the apostles to preach with great power. The actions of the church, their willingness to give of themselves bore witness to the change that Jesus could bring to a life.
There’s something about serving and being served that inspires humility in a person. Learning to engage in good deeds brings us closer to understanding Jesus’ character. He emphasized the importance of serving by kneeling at the feet of his disciples and washing them as a slave would for his master. Loving our church is intertwined with serving each other. When Jesus commanded us to love one another, he expected us to show that love by serving each other the way he served people.
We must meet together with other Christians. The church helps each of us to grow up into a mature Christian. Together we grow in works of service, encouragement, unity of faith, and love. Encouraging each other and taking down the fences between us helps us survive through love and good deeds that light up in a dark and desperate world.
Join us as we begin a new 5-week Sermon and Study series entitled, “I Love My Church.” Jesus’ command to us as Christians is that all of our interactions must be bathed in love. How do our actions project love to one another in our church, and how will the love we have for those in our church affect the way we interact with our world? Let us step into this series with an introduction on Jesus’ words to His followers to be the light and love in the world.
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