You find out what you really believe when others mistreat you. Sometimes the real test of your faith is what you don’t do.
Text: Matthew 5:11We need an infusion of God’s love to make us open in our friendships, open in our churches, and open on Sunday morning to new people who love the Lord but don’t fit our particular target group.
Text: Galatians 2:11-14Maybe we should make 2010 a Year of Good Riddance in which we say farewell to anger, bitterness, blaming, finger pointing, self-justification and a critical spirit, and ask God to grant us a fresh infusion of his grace in all of our relationships.
Text: 2 Corinthians 2:5-11When others twist your words, do not despair. Speak the truth, explain yourself clearly, and then entrust your future to the Lord. If we trust in him, the time of chaos will pass, and we will be stronger for having gone through the struggle.
Text: 2 Corinthians 1:12-2:4“Your kingdom come” is not a passive prayer. If you ever decide to make the kingdom of God the first priority in your life, you may not become a missionary, but you will become fundamentally different from the world around you.
Text: Matthew 6:10When you pray, “Hallowed be your name,” you are both the voice and the feet of that petition. As the very words leave your lips, your life is part of the answer.
Text: Matthew 6:9Through prayer we have the privilege of lifting the burden from our brothers and sisters. Through prayer we may become agents of healing to those who are sick. What an honor to be used of God in this way. When we pray for the sick, we are doing the work of Jesus in the world.
Text: James 5:14-16If we pray at all, sooner or later we will spend time paying for the sick. Our prayers matter to him. Our prayers matter to the sick. When we pray for the sick, we are bringing God’s mercy into the hospital room and inviting the Great Physician to take up the case.
Text: James 5:14-15Here is God’s dream for every church. That through preaching the gospel men and women everywhere can experience the life-changing power of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And to be the kind of place where, no matter what kind of week you’ve had, you can come in and say, “Ahh, I’ve made it.”
Text: Romans 12:13-15Jesus said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful if that were true of your church? My church? Every church?
Text: Ephesians 6:18-20