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If you’re not excited about something, chances are you won’t tell many people about it. For many Christians, the excitement of the Christian walk has been dulled by everyday distractions, materialistic pursuits, and unconfessed sin. We can stay excited about our relationship with Jesus Christ and, as a result, tell more people about Him.
Psalm 139 is like a heartfelt song that shows how close we can get to God. It talks about how God knows everything about us, is always with us, and loves us unconditionally. This Sunday, the sermon will remind us that we can enter God's presence anytime and experience His comforting and guiding presence in our lives, which is truly amazing!
Jesus taught that to be His disciple—His follower—the spiritual discipline of self-denial is required: “Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me’” Denying yourself is an essential part of the Christian life. Jesus called upon those who wish to be His followers to reject the natural human inclination toward selfishness.
Forgiveness can be one of the hardest things you have to do on your journey to growth and peace. When we hold on to hurt, pain, resentment, and anger it harms us far more than it harms the offender. Forgiveness frees us to live in the present. Forgiving yourself can be the hardest of all. Everyone makes mistakes and even worse, intentionally chooses the wrong way. But God’s love for us is overwhelming and covers a multitude of errors.
Did you know that your God wants you to really know Him? He wants you to know who He is, His character, and how He relates to you as a human. He wants you to know Him as your Father who loves you dearly. When you know Him, it is much easier to trust Him in whatever He chooses to do on your behalf.
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.
One of the biggest motivations that the Holy Spirit gives to Christian believers is a desire to get closer to God. To know Him more and to know His plan and purpose so that the Holy Spirit can move us out into the world to tell others about the love, joy, peace, and redemption found in and through His Son Jesus Christ. What we may feel at one given moment is not how the Holy Spirit operates. He is the motivator that is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He is constant while our emotions may change.
The song goes, “This is the day, this is the day, this is the day the Lord has made.” Each day is one the Lord gives for us to love Him and love others to build us up and become a kingdom of priests through the blood of Jesus. God is working, moving, forming and transforming us into the likeness of His Son, Jesus each and every day for it is the Lord’s Day.
There are five Women in the lineage of Jesus who played significant roles as mothers in the story of redemption in the Bible. Each of them had a unique story that demonstrates God's grace and faithfulness, and their inclusion in Jesus' lineage underscores the idea that God can use anyone, regardless of their background or circumstances, to accomplish His purposes.
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