25 Woods Lake Road, Building 8, Greenville, SC
One way to help us understand biblical belief is to consider what it is not. Jesus was amazed at the unbelief of those in His hometown. Surely powerful miracles would cause people to recognize Jesus’ authority as the Son of God; well that’s how we think anyways. So why does Jesus not perform these powerful mighty works in his hometown, demonstrating who he is?
An encounter with the risen Savior changes everything. After Jesus rose from the dead, he purposefully and intentionally met with certain people to strengthen and encourage them in some way. Each one, having met their risen Savior, walked away from the encounter, forever changed. Have you encountered the risen Son of God? Have you been forever changed?
“It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Salvation is the point where you die, in your life, and Christ begins to live, in your life. Are you attempting to live the Christian life by making your life match the principles he teaches, or are you letting go of your life and allowing Him to live His life through you? A Christian is a new creation, born again. The process is similar to that of a butterfly; unless the caterpillar dies, you will not find a butterfly.
For worship to be accepted by God, our heart must be right before Him. God knows every thought and intent of our heart. We cannot believe the lie that we can just do what we believe or feel to be the right thing and God will be pleased by it; just dropping some money in the offering plate or singing a song or praying a prayer are not accepted by God if our heart is not right. If we want our heart to be right before God, we must know what the bible says the heart is and how it can be right in His eyes.
Idolatry is essentially falling down before someone or something other than God. Pride is knowing God, and refusing to fall down before Him. True Worship begins with both knowing God, and falling down before him. In knowing Him, we begin to understand how valuable He is. It must be significant to true worship then, how valuable God is to us.
To paraphrase Mark 7:6-7 & Matt. 15:8-9 Jesus says that people attempted to honor God with their lips but because their hearts did not belong to God their worship was in vain. They placed a high value on following their traditions that they had set in place, but the very traditions replaced the object of their worship; not intentionally I’m sure, but this is the case. There are two specific requirements that must be met for worship to be genuine, or true; Knowing God, and Falling Down before Him. If these two prerequisites are not met, worship of God is in vain. Do you know God? Have you fallen down before him?
Phil Pike, our pastor, has been on medical leave for roughly six months now. Hear him describe the road he is currently walking, and his encouraging inspirational words to all Christians wherever they are in their relationship with the Lord.
Every day we are bombarded with messages telling us something else we need to buy in order to be happier, healthier or more comfortable. We are told that if we drive this particular car or wear this brand of clothes or live in this neighborhood, then we will be a notch above everyone else. But the problem is, as millions have discovered too late, none of those things are worth a dime when life is over. If we are ever going to be bold followers of Jesus, we must make absolutely sure we’re pursuing what really matters in the eyes of God.
Have you ever laid everything on the line for something? The truth is, we all take risks in life in many different ways — going from being single to being married, deciding to have children, stepping out to pursue our dream career. But have you ever risked everything for Jesus? Have you ever intentionally laid down your entire life to live His life instead? Yes, you may have trusted Jesus with your soul… but have you ever trusted Him with your life? He said if we’re not willing to do that, we will get to the end and realize we lost everything. But if we give up our life for His, we will discover what life is really all about!
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!
When the storms of life are beating down upon you, it is very easy to forget everything you thought you knew about God. Sometimes when you’re all alone struggling against the wind and waves, it can feel like God has forgotten you. Your prayers seem to go unheard and you wonder if He will ever come to your rescue. In those difficult times, it is vital that you remember three important truths about God. These truths will help you hold on through even the roughest seas and guide you safely to your destination!
Regardless of who we are or how much we love God, the storms of life are bound to come. We sometimes endure struggles that feel completely overwhelming, and we wonder if God has forgotten all about us. Have you ever felt like the dark clouds would never roll away and let the sun shine again? If so, these sermons will bring you fresh hope and help you find peace in your storm.
