The Ideal Calling
All of us have a unique calling that God has given us to play as our...
Have you ever been given an important assignment by someone you admire and respect? Chances are you took that assignment pretty seriously. Jesus has given every single one of his followers an assignment: to go into the world, wherever your sphere of influence might be, and tell others the good news about the Kingdom of God. Not only did he give us the assignment, but he also equipped us with the story to tell and the power (through the Holy Spirit) with which to tell it. Each new day is a new opportunity to share the joy we have in Jesus.
The call to follow Jesus is a call to lay down our desires, our priorities, and even our comfort. It's not just costly, but to truly follow him costs us everything. So we must ask ourselves, am I prepared to place Jesus over everything?
The greatness of Jesus is on full display all around us as we remember that through him everything in existence was created. But even more incredible than that is the greatness of how personal Jesus is. In his ministry he showed great care and compassion for humble, everyday, broken people. Through the cross, he showed his great love for each one of us personally. We follow Jesus because he’s both the great Lord and King, but also our great personal savior.
Have you ever had a ‘mountaintop experience’ in your faith? Maybe it was a moment when God’s glory shone through a situation, or when you’ve felt God’s presence in an incredible way. When Jesus’ disciples witness his transfiguration on the mountain, they’re overcome by the experience. Later in their ministry, that experience would provide encouragement and the eternal perspective of glory that would help sustain them through the suffering and challenges they faced.
Who do you say Jesus is? While some try to minimize him to simply a good teacher of life lessons, Jesus actually doesn’t give us that option. Jesus claimed - and proved - to be the Christ, the Son of God and one with the Father. To follow Jesus means to put our own interests aside as we sacrificially live and love like Jesus.
God provides. It’s a simple statement, yet we can be quick to forget it when challenges in life make us think that our needs won’t be met. When Jesus miraculously provides food for thousands of people from a single meal, he teaches his disciples an important lesson about God’s provision, love and care for His people. God doesn’t just provide - He provides in abundance.
What does it look like to proclaim God’s Kingdom to the people around you? Just as Jesus gave his disciples a mission to go out into the world to tell people about the Kingdom of God, we have that same mission today. No matter where our day-to-day lives takes us - work, school, family, sports, hobbies and more - we have an opportunity to point others toward the hope of God’s Kingdom. Are you ready to be sent by Jesus?
The most desperate moments of life are what often draw us most strongly to Jesus. The stories of Jairus’ daughter and the woman with the flow of blood show us that when life brings its biggest challenges, we can find hope, comfort, and peace through the power of Christ and his love for us. But our desperation for Jesus should also extend beyond the times of trial we face and into our everyday lives. Through these stories we’re faced with the question: are we desperate for Jesus every day?
Jesus has power and authority over the powers of darkness - Satan and his demons. While it can be easy to be distracted by the preoccupation our culture has with the demonic, God’s Word is clear in its warning against any association with those powers. Instead, the Bible calls us to focus on the beauty and power of Christ: the one who has overcome every power of darkness, who saved us through His sacrifice, and who called us out of darkness into His glorious light.
Knowing the good news about Jesus and the redemption we have in him is an incredible gift. But Jesus calls us to do more than just know the gospel - he calls us to live it out. When we truly understand the truth about the gift of grace we’ve received, it should motivate us to share that truth with the people around us. Jesus calls us to be his light in the world, reflecting his love everywhere we go and sharing - in both words and actions - the hope we have in him.
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Sermons by: Thomas Slager
The Ideal Walk
Healthy things grow. Jesus wants us to be learning, going deeper in our...
The Rich Fool
Everything we have is a gift from God, and He calls us to be humble, do...
Good Samaritan
The call from Jesus to love our neighbor doesn't just mean loving the...
The Sermon on the Move
There are storms and trials that we will face in our lives, but how we...
The Golden Rule and the Narrow Gate
"The Golden Rule" challenges us to treat those around us as we would...
Sunrise Service 2020
What Do You Treasure?
What do you value the most? Jesus calls us to not place our devotion...
The Lord's Prayer - Part 1
Jesus gives us the Lord's prayer as an example of how we should pray...