Messages on Spiritual Growth (Page 4)
Humble Like Jesus
Philippians 2 tells us to have the same mindset as Christ Jesus and then tells of his humility in coming down from heaven to die on a cross for us. But we can’t do that for others. So how can we be humble like Jesus? Surprisingly it begins with what we need to STOP doing, and that is bring prideful. Message Last week we began a brief series about what it means to have “The Mind of Christ” and how…
The Mind of Christ
The apostle Paul tells us that as Christians we have the mind of Christ, but what does that mean? How is the world’s way of thinking incompatible with a believers way of thinking and are the two sides really that far apart? Message Today we begin a new series of messages in which we will learn what it means to have, as 1 Corinthians 2:16 says, the “Mind of Christ.” Perhaps you have heard this phrase before, but have you…
Psalm 119
Laws, decrees, precepts, ways, and commands are not something most of us love to talk about. But this Psalmist is different. He wrote the longest book of the Bible on this very topic. Why did he love God’s written word so much, and what does it mean for our lives today? And yes, Jesus plays a major role! Message: For the past several weeks we’ve been focusing on “Israel’s Greatest Hits” – the songbook of the Hebrew people – the…
Psalm 1
The first Psalm in the psalter begins with an epilogue that gives us the basic principle that people who do what is right in the eyes of the Lord will have all they need to survive the challenges of life while those who follow the path of other sinners and scoffers will have greater difficulty and eventually be cut off from God. What is a Psalm? Today we start a new sermon series, “Greatest Hits,” based on popular psalms from…
The Spirit Led Life
Many people think Christianity is just a bunch of rules to follow, but Jesus actually died on the cross so we could be set free from all the rules. But if we don’t have rules to follow, how can we know how to live? By the Spirit of God who acts as our guide in every moment of every day. This message from Galatians shows us how we are to walk in step with the Spirit. Rules Don’t Work Have…
Our Guide
One of the main tasks of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to be a messenger between us and God. And in so doing, he guides us through our lives on the path God wants for us. Looking through scripture we see that the 4 main messages the Holy Spirit communicates are: (1) convict the world, (2) guide us to truth, (3) teach us wisdom, and (4) intercede on our behalf. The Message Today is Mother’s Day! Do you…
An Easter Exodus
Have you ever noticed the similarities between the Exodus of Israel and the Resurrection of Jesus? Where the Israelites looked to the Exodus story as the moment God save them, Jesus came and made a new salvation story, one that set all of humanity free from sin and brought us into an eternal promised land with Jesus as our King! I love the hope and excitement of Easter and its focus on life and salvation! Good Friday is dark and…
The Passover
The 10th and final plague, the death of the first born, only impacted the Egyptians because God passed over the Israelites who sprinkled the blood of a perfect lamb over their door posts. This foreshadowed the work of Jesus, the spotless lamb of God who covers the sin of humanity for all who put his blood over the door posts of their heart. The Message I love the song “Hallelujah, Praise the Lamb”; but have you ever wondered how weird…
The Plagues
Many of us have heard the story of the plagues of Egypt but most of us miss what God is teaching the Israelites and the Egyptians about himself. More importantly, there are lessons for us today about who God is and how he relates to humanity. The Message The early chapters of Exodus read like an epic adventure; and today we begin the climax of the story – the final encounter between the hero and the villain, God and Pharaoh.…
Responding to “No”
In Exodus 5, The Israelites were excited to hear God was going to set them free, but instantly became upset when Pharaoh said “NO” and then increased their work load. Sadly, we often do the same thing; we are so happy with God when we feel like his hand of blessing is on our life but then mad at him at the first sign of adversity. We must learn how to respond when life doesn’t play out how we hoped.…