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As believers, sharing our faith can sometimes feel challenging. There are many reasons why we hesitate, but at its heart, sharing our faith is simply about telling our story—what life was like before Christ came into the picture, and how it’s changed as we’ve embraced God’s design and purpose. It’s really that straightforward, yet we often make it more complicated than it needs to be.
Prayer is simply communicating with God, yet we often make it more complicated than it needs to be. Let's be honest—most of us could use a boost in our prayer life. If we took it a bit more seriously, we’d find that when we pray, we draw closer to God.
As believers and followers of Jesus Christ, our passion for serving the Lord should ignite our every action. It's not just about fleeting emotions; it's about a steadfast dedication to recognizing that every moment, every task, is an opportunity to honor Him. In this message, we will learn how to keep the flame burning bright so that it infuses our daily lives with purpose and devotion to our faith.
Peter and John meet a man along the way as they were heading to temple. The only thing that they could give him was the name of Jesus Christ and told him to stand up and walk. The man was healed and we know this story, but what happens next? Peter tells of the goodness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the crowds. Peter and John were committed to share the good news of Jesus as they went out.
At some point, we all feel unqualified and ill-equipped to tell someone else about what Christ has done for us. We may think we don’t have the right words to say or can’t do what God is calling us to do. Well, that’s good because then we aren’t relying on our own strength, but on the Holy Spirit to work in and through our words and actions. God equips those who are called. Since He has called you to Himself, He is the one who will help you through.
We all have a message to tell. It’s what we’ve been calling “Our Story.” You have a different story that will capture the attention of some people while another person has their story that will intrigue others. Yet in each one of our stories is the certain fact that Jesus Christ came into our lives to transform us into His character. Who has heard your story? Who has yet to hear it? God calls us to go tell it from the mountains that Jesus Christ has come to seek and save that which was lost.
Through and through, we know who Jesus is and have experienced His resurrection. We’ve taken root in Him. Now, it's time to go a bit deeper. Going deeper with God changes our entire being and how we live our lives. It is what will allow us to stand firm in times of testing, it is what will help us remain steadfast when the ways of the world glamour for our attention, and it is what will help us hold onto the truth we have found in Christ.
It’s essential that our prayers be controlled by the word of God. When our prayer life is soaked in the word of God not only are our prayers renewed and fresh, our mind is renewed as well. And when our minds are renewed by the word of God our lives are renewed by the Spirit of God.
Our prayers need to be seasoned with the word of God. When we pray using the Scriptures we talk to God in His language, using His way of speaking. With it, brings power. When we pray through the Bible, we are bringing God’s word directly into our prayers and His power into our praying.
How many of you want God to do something new in your life? *Raise your hand* Scripture reminds us that it takes faith, a small amount, a mustard size faith for the new to come, to change, but we must be willing to change. Making a fresh start begins by allowing God to do His will and way in and through us to make all things new. When we hold onto what we’ve always done, where we’ve always gone it doesn’t take faith. In fact we then are stuck in a rut. Let this Fresh Start Sunday become truly a fresh start walking with God, talking with God and allowing His to do some amazing new things through our faith in what He can and will do.
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