The 4th Connect in our language of what following Jesus involves is Connecting to the Lost. Lost people are those who are not home with God through Jesus. Jesus is sending his disciples to bless others and invite them to follow Him. And our motivation for connecting with lost people needs to come not from emotion, but from conviction, as evidenced by the early church.
Connect in Service, Connects #3
Connect in Service is the 3rd of our 4 Connects language. We are called and equipped by God to be able to serve others. We can sometimes see the call to service as an addition to our already busy schedules. But Jesus in the Great Commission instructs us to see service not as an addition to our schedule, but as the underlying purpose in what we are already doing.
Connect to Others, Connects #2
This is the second sermon is a series looking at practical ways to help ourselves grow to be more like Jesus. The tagline for Connect to Others is I am helping someone and someone is helping me be a reproducing follower of Jesus. We are not designed to follow or become like Jesus by ourselves. We need at least one other person who knows what is going on in our inner life to help us follow through on what God speaks to us about. Without accountability we will struggle to become more like Jesus.
Connect to God, Connects #1
This 4-part series will take a look at some ‘how-to’s’ of following Jesus. While we are all wired differently, God still has designed us for a personal and even conversational relationship with Him. This was the relationship Jesus experienced and modeled. We are made to “Connect to God.” In this sermon, some suggestions related to reading the Bible, prayer and worship will be given to help us focus on the goal of those activities, hearing from God and in response sharing our hearts with Him.
Determination, Pressing On
You Need Christmas, Christmas #3
Jesus came to save people from their sins. We often settle in thinking that Jesus came to save us of our sins. There is a big difference, and if we are settling, we are missing out on more of the abundant life Jesus came to bring to all who would follow Him.
God Needed Christmas, Christmas #2
We don’t often think about Christmas from God’s perspective. Why did God see becoming human as worthwhile doing? What is God looking to communicate to us through coming as an ‘infant lowly’? Why did God need Christmas to fulfill His plan for humanity?
The World Needed Christmas, #1
Great events don’t happen in a vacuum. They are great events because things led up to that moment in time. The birth of Jesus didn’t just happen from God’s plan and perspective. God had been making promises to not just His people, but to the world that Christmas fulfilled. We look back and see the fulfillment. Those before looked forward wondering when God was going to act. We can be encouraged that when it may seem to us God isn’t at work, He still is … because He promised.
The Disabled God (Accessibility Sunday)
December 3rd is recognized by the United Nations as the International Day for Persons with Disabilities. As the church, we have a greater mandate to recognize, value and learn from those who struggle and live with disabilities. We have this mandate because we follow a God who disabled Himself, so that He could bring healing to our greatest disability as human beings… Our spiritual disability. Jesus became disabled (limited himself), to enable us to live and become like Him today, and in full when He returns.
What Does our Gospel Produce?
In our culture, we have various flawed versions of the gospel. Each version of the gospel produces certain results in the lives of those that believe and follow them that fall short of the life Jesus invited people into through His good news message. In this sermon we will look at these flawed gospels in the light of Jesus’ gospel by looking at the fruit of each gospel in our lives.