It’s Labor Day weekend. Summer’s over. Many schools have already begun and the rest will get underway this week. The first day of Fall will soon be upon us and the autumn leaves are about to explode in the bright colors of a new season. In many ways, September is a unique opportunity for a fresh start. It may be that after the change of schedule that summer often brings, you also need a fresh start spiritually. One of the most important parts of your spiritual life is the church. So, as you get back into your routine, I believe it’s a great time for us to be reminded about the significance of the church. And that’s why we have designed a three-week series that we’re calling . . . WHY CHURCH?
Over the years I have learned that if I am going to experience any measure of success or accomplishment in anything, I’m going to have to put in the time and effort to make that happen. To use the theme of our summer message series, it takes an ALL IN attitude! So whether it’s music, soccer, volleyball, golf, good grades in school, your job, marriage, finances, hunting, fishing, your family, relationships with whoever . . . you will have to give it your best. Success in anything will require willingness and commitment. This is also true of your spiritual life. And yet so many seem to struggle with their walk with God because they simply don’t understand that just like everything else in life . . . it takes a willingness to give Him our best! Listen as we examine the lives of a couple of the most famous brothers in the Bible and see what made the difference in their relationship with the LORD.
Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
What are the desires, dreams or directions that shape the choices you make each day? How willing would you be to set all of them aside to allow God to accomplish something different than you have in mind? What if we wanted to do something in your children’s life or in the lives of those you lead, but it required that kind of sacrifice on your part? Would you willingly surrender them? This Sunday we will be continuing our ALL IN series by looking at the sacrifices Joseph and Mary made, and the outcome those sacrifices allowed. From their example, we will be able to examine our own willingness to make sacrifices to see if in fact we are ALL IN.
Would our church or community feel the difference if you left the area? Do you think you are leaving an eternal impact on the people around you? These questions are questions of value and worth. As followers of Jesus, we can often make decisions to minimize our value and worth in this life without even knowing it. The story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego goes far beyond a group of three men standing up to their government. It goes beyond their choice of obedience over disobedience. These men pursued a life to bring rightful glory to God over themselves no matter what it cost them. How can we stay faithful to the pursuit of lasting impact when we can be so easily tripped up with the worthless? How does being ALL IN aid in our pursuit of a valuable life? Join us as we answer these questions!
We sometimes view our circumstances as the measure of God’s love for us. If life is going well and we’re feeling good, it’s easy to acknowledge God’s love. But if life gets a little messy and knocks us out of our comfort zone, we begin to wonder about how much God really does love us. The book of Ruth is a love story. It is first about the love of individuals for the LORD. It is also about the love of a mother (in-law) for her daughter (in-law) and vice versa, as well as the love of a man and a woman for each other. But ultimately, Ruth is the story about the love of God for His people. Ruth has a storybook ending, but life isn’t always like that. How do we remain ALL IN when life gets chaotic and downright painful?
The story of Gideon usually focuses on Gideon’s hesitance to believe that God could really use him to defeat the Midianites . . . remember the fleece? But the defeat of the Midianites was only a means to the end. Israel was told not to worship the gods of the land in which they lived, but they did not listen to the LORD. They forgot that the LORD is the one and only God and they were to love Him alone! Israel had a heart problem and they were suffering for it. God chose Gideon to bring Israel back to a place of ALL IN DEVOTION to the LORD.
Do you ever wish you could just isolate yourself from the world and all of its evil influences? Or have you ever found yourself under pressure to compromise your biblical convictions to get along or get ahead in this world? Could there be another option between these two extremes? Listen as we learn from Daniel that obedience without compromise can open doors to influence our world.
If you look back on the last four weeks of your life, would you say that time was characterized by joy? What about the last six months? A year? At the deepest level of our souls is a yearning for true, lasting, constant joy. However, often joy only comes in seasons and is based on specific circumstances. Listen as we examine the life of Paul to see how to find true joy in all seasons of life.