Watch Church
|
|
Whenever or wherever you are, stream the services at First Church
|
|
Unless you are a die-hard athlete do you even think of stretching. Physical stretching is one of the best things we can do to keep ourselves in the game. But what about spiritual stretching? God sometimes asks us to go out of our comfort zones. He stretches us. Our faith enlarges and we reap a host of spiritual benefits like restoration, influence, and the promise of things we can’t even imagine.
We can rejoice knowing that it is through the righteousness of Christ and our faith in Him that we are redeemed people of God. We find out this week it takes perseverance in faith to stay on track, to set our eyes on the goal of knowing Christ. There will be some who come along our pathway and try to lead us off the mark set before us. Let us remember we are people who are growing in their knowledge of Christ and growing in our understanding of just how powerful God is. It is in His strength we find the assurance to stand firm, to press on, to journey toward the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
As we enter the book of Philippians, we need to start with a solid foundation. Every book of the Bible is put there to help and assist us to know God more intimately through His Son Jesus Christ and to encourage us to stand firm in the faith. Philippians is no different. This letter written by Paul to the Church of Philippi is a friendship letter. He knows them intimately and therefore knows what they are going through as an early church, believers following Jesus. Take this journey with us as we walk through Philippians and learn what it means to partner with Christ.
Easter is over— or is it? The resurrection of Jesus brings us new life, eternal life for those who believe in Him and that’s the truth of what God's word says. In today’s culture it is difficult to determine the truth because of all the messages that we are receiving and yet as a believer, we know the truth and are called to declare the truth of Jesus Christ, His life, death, and resurrection. Easter is not over, it is only the beginning for us to move out and declare His truth!
As we continue with our Places of the Passion Sermon Series, we find ourselves at Golgotha (the place of the skull) or we may know it as Calvary (Latin meaning skull). The cross is never easy. It is repulsive and ugly. A symbol of the worst kind of torture, injustice, and brutality. And yet it is the central symbol of our faith. Join us as we venture to the cross and find there faith and love intersecting and announcing triumph.
There are two emotions or thoughts we could have as we move into Pilate's Judgment Hall. We can either search for the truth about Jesus the Christ or fear what will happen. Earth's kings and rulers joined forces to destroy the Lord's Anointed, the Messiah. The nations raged against Him and people plotted in vain against Him. And yet, full authority was given to Him. Such a plan God had in mind from the beginning of the world to ransom souls through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. Truth always overcomes fear.
We find ourselves in the Garden of Gethsemane this week. The prayers Jesus prayed give us insight into His nature, His heart, and His mission on earth. The prayers of Jesus also inform and encourage us in our own prayer lives. In today's message, we dive into the topic of cultivating prayer. Far more important than where, when, and in what position to pray is the fact that Jesus prayed and so should we.
This week, we are traveling about 2 miles east of Jerusalem to the small village of Bethany. There are about a dozen references found in the Scriptures of this town. It was the home of Simon the leper, it is the place where Mary anoints the feet of Jesus. It is where preparations start for Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. But most of all it is probably best known for being the hometown of Jesus' good friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. And, we too can look at Jesus as our friend.
As believers, we are called to make most of our time. How are you doing on that directive? Our time might seem like it is ours to spend and do as we think we ought, but in fact, each moment of every single day is given to us by God. We ought to strive to make our days glorify the Lord in all we do and say.
This week, we discuss what it means to Think About These Things. The world races from one holiday to the next and we get caught up in the race when we ought to be slowing down and ponder the story once again so that it renews us to celebrate the meaning of Christmas. How do we do that? In this sermon, we discuss just how Mary, the mother of Jesus thought about he call into God’s plan.
|
Archives
July 2021
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed