How do you know that you’re FOR something or someone? You’ll know based on what you’re willing to sacrifice. Are you FOR your family? You are if you’re willing to sacrifice for them. Are you FOR a particular hobby? You are if you’re willing to sacrifice for it. God is FOR the world. How do you know, because He gave His own Son for it. For the world – FOR you.
In the familiar story about the Good Samaritan, Jesus calls out the priest and the Levite for not stopping to help. Why the priest and the Levite? Because they were the ones who should have known better? Because they are people you would expect to show mercy? Or could it be that they were in a hurry to get to the temple to take care of their religious responsibilities that they had no time for the true religion spoken of by James 1:27? Join us for worship on Sunday unless you first need to show mercy to your neighbor.
Imagine someone sitting at home while you gather for worship on Sunday morning. You wonder, “Why aren’t they in worship?” Years ago, attending a worship service may have been a consideration, but for a growing majority today, gathering for a worship service isn’t even on their radar. Why is that? Could one reason be Church isn’t for them because the Church isn’t FOR them? Join us this Sunday as we gather as the people of God who are FOR people because He is FOR people.
We are made for hospitality. Every single person in your household is hungry for purpose. God wants us to relate to the wider world with hospitality. And the more we do, the more spiritually vibrant our homes will become.
Loud tables are tables where "God stuff" is talked about. Spiritually vibrant households are places where meaningful conversations happen regularly. This week we consider the importance of eating and talking together as households.
If applying spiritual disciplines together in your household seems like a daunting new endeavor, remember that your household is made for this. Not only is your household made for messy prayers, remember that Jesus came to help us be in a living relationship with God. As we take practical steps to nurture messy prayer in our homes, it is encouraging to remember that Jesus worked, and still works, to help us with this task.
Households matter to Jesus. Your household matters to Jesus. The foundation of every spiritually vibrant home is the Lord Jesus. Afterall, He is the one who created us and placed us in our households for His purpose. Join us this week as we discover His greater purpose for our households.
Have you ever wondered why the disciples worshipped Jesus and returned to Jerusalem with “great joy?” Would you have been so joyful to see Jesus return to the Father? Perhaps they understood something that we do not. That His Ripple Effect continues and is even greater through His ascended reign.
A Ripple Effect does not only go forward but it also goes backwards and sideways. The death and resurrection not only forces us to look forward into eternity but also look backwards to recognize His faithfulness in the past. Some of the greatest blessings in life are found when we look again.
The name Gethsemane means oil press. Here in the garden, the pressure of the cross had reached the point where blood is pouring out like sweat. Under such intense pressure, Jesus declares, “Not what I will but what you will.” His commitment to bearing your cross has caused an eternal Ripple Effect.