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Knowing that God doesn’t change, we understand that He is reliable, dependable, trustworthy, truthful. He is a rock; a cornerstone or foundation stone which secures a whole building. He will be our firm foundation for the trials and storms of life, we must simply be obedient. His attitude toward sin is always the same, his attitude toward a repentant sinner is always the same. We must live our lives in humble obedience to God.
Jesus left us with a great commission. We are to take His message into all the world. But He didn’t expect us to attempt it in our own strength and abilities. He promised us another Helper who would guarantee our success. Listen as we uncover this incredible promise Jesus still offers to every follower who asks to receive.
Today’s advertising experts would have to admit that Jesus had the worst marketing campaign in history! Instead of advertising all the good things up front and putting the bad things in fine print, He came right out and said that if anyone wanted to follow Him, they first had to deny themselves, take up a cross, abandon every other allegiance in life, give up everything they had, and follow Him, possibly even to the death. He made it painfully clear that no one could be His disciple if they were still holding onto anything that came before Him. And still today, He requires that we follow Him, no strings attached!
We’ve all seen funny or embarrassing things happen at weddings, but just imagine how stunned you would be to hear a bride standing at the altar refusing to forsake all others and give herself to her husband alone! Yet we think nothing of entering into a relationship with Jesus that very same way. Some people say, “I want to go to heaven when I die, but I don’t want Jesus ruling over my life!” The fact is, Jesus doesn’t give us that option! He demands exclusive ownership of every area of our lives. You may have received Jesus as Savior, but have you ever invited Him to be the Lord and Master of your life?
Imagine if Jesus called you and said He wanted to come by your house that evening to speak with you for a few minutes. As you excitedly invited Him into your living room, He took a seat right beside you, then turned to you and took your hand in His. Then He looked into your eyes with incredible love, and said very gently but with great concern, “Why do you call me Lord, and do not do what I say?” Can you imagine how your heart would sink? What does making Him Lord really mean, and how can we make sure we never have to hear that question?
As 2012 falls from the calendar and we stand on the threshold of a brand new year, one thing we can all say for sure is that God has given us another year of grace! We’ve had another 12 months to live for Him, to grow in Him, to bear fruit for His kingdom… but what have we done with those opportunities? Are we closer to Christ today than we were this time last year, or has our relationship with Him drifted apart? Each new year God gives us to live is another year we don’t deserve — another year of grace. What will we do with this one?
Centuries before Jesus came, people shook their heads and wondered what kind of Savior this might be who the prophets said would come, not as a mighty warrior, but as a little baby. Then, when He did come, people shook their heads in wonder and amazement at the things He said and did, as they asked each other, “Who is this?” Today, this continues to be life’s most important question — deciding for ourselves who this Child really is. Have you answered this all-important question?
October 1962 was a time of tremendous uncertainty and fear for Americans. The Cuban missile crisis had reached its most critical hour as America stood toe to toe with the Soviets and wondered if a nuclear war was imminent. People were gripped with panic, and it was during this dreadful time that Noel Regney wrote the song, Do You Hear What I Hear? It was a prayer for peace, encouraging everyone everywhere to look carefully and listen closely to the message that the Baby in the manger brings to all who will trust in Him. Jesus alone can bring true peace in life’s most troubling times. Do you know the peace that He gives?
When God sent His Son to earth, why didn’t He choose a major world city to announce His arrival to millions of people? Instead, He chose the tiny town of Bethlehem and only announced His birth to lowly shepherds in the middle of the night. And instead of coming as a mighty warrior or a powerful political leader, He came as a helpless baby born into a poor family. But why? Why did He choose to come that way? Once you understand the reasons why He came, lived and died the way He did, you will gain a new appreciation for the lengths that God went to in order to identify with our struggles and become one of us!
Communion should be a regular part of any Christian fellowship. But do we really understand the significance of it and practice it worthily? Join us for a great reminder of why communion is such an important act of our Christian faith.
Millions of people celebrate Christmas as just another holiday, with no acknowledgement of the very One Christmas is about. They see Christmas cards with a little baby on the front, but never stop long enough to ask, “What child is this?” But the truth is, this child cannot be ignored. His birth was unlike the birth of any other baby in history. His life has impacted the entire world like no other, and it forces all of us, sooner or later, to answer the question, “What child is this?”… and more importantly, “What decision have I made about Him?”
Throughout history, people have always tried to relax the demands of God on their lives. Jesus said, “Forgive others,” and Peter asked, “How many times?” Jesus said, “Love your neighbor,” and the lawyer quickly replied, “Who is my neighbor?”… just to make sure he didn’t go to the trouble of loving anyone he absolutely didn’t have to. But because of the Gospel, we cannot choose who we want to love and who we don’t. We are all equal sinners in God’s eyes, and because of this, we can never again look down on anyone else.
