October 31, 2010 - Hebrews 10:19-25
God wants to teach us to trust Him, to have confidence in Him so that we have a growing and intimate relationship with him. The Bible makes it clear that God uses people in our lives to grow our faith. If we really want to have a growing faith, it becomes a big decision to hang around and build friendships with others who have a growing faith. Christian community is designed by God to be a healthy spiritual environment where everyone is encouraged to step out and grow in the faith, growing a confident and trust based relationship with the God of the universe.
Faith Fertilizer: Fidelity
October 24, 2010 - Matthew 6:1-6
Jesus spoke of "acts of righteousness," done in secret, that are an expression of genuine faith. These are things that God expects from us, that are not to be seen by man. These are to be done as an expression of faith, "not by sight." Whether anybody ever knows that we are practicing "acts of righteousness," it does not really matter, because God sees and God will reward. In fact, if we do these "acts of righteousness" to be seen and honored by men, that will be all the honor we will receive.
Jesus spoke of "acts of righteousness," done in secret, that are an expression of genuine faith. These are things that God expects from us, that are not to be seen by man. These are to be done as an expression of faith, "not by sight." Whether anybody ever knows that we are practicing "acts of righteousness," it does not really matter, because God sees and God will reward. In fact, if we do these "acts of righteousness" to be seen and honored by men, that will be all the honor we will receive.
Faith Fertilizer
October 17, 2010 - When Jesus spoke, it was not uncommon that He made people angry. One time people wanted to throw Him off a cliff after a short sermon. Why? Because Jesus didn't just tell people what to believe; He told them how to live and what to do. Jesus' preaching was application oriented, giving people direction on how to actually walk by faith in a way that pleases our Heavenly Father.
Why Am I Not Dead?
October 10, 2010 - From the beginning, God's agenda has been to call to Himself, a people of faith who would worship Him and trust Him in the midst of a sin cursed world. He provided miracles, prophets and the scriptures to give people what they need to develop faith and trust in Him. That trust was violated, leading to a broken fellowship with God, broken by a lack of trust in God who provided that perfect Garden of Eden. Because the relationship was broken through lack of trust, the way back to a right relationship with God comes through trust, through faith in God. There are many things we can do on this earth but only one that brings pleasure to God, and that is living a life of faith.
Hell: Ditching The Diabolical
October 3, 2010 - Matthew 25, Luke 16
It's not popular to talk about hell. It's not surprising that in one survey, 76 percent of the people polled believed in heaven, and only six-percent believed in hell. A lot of people cope with the idea of hell by denying its reality. Some argue that hell is a leftover superstition from the Dark Ages and that we are too enlightened in the twenty-first century to believe in such an antiquated concept. It's definitely not politically correct to believe in and teach hell today. But our job is not to be politically correct, but to be eternally accurate.
It's not popular to talk about hell. It's not surprising that in one survey, 76 percent of the people polled believed in heaven, and only six-percent believed in hell. A lot of people cope with the idea of hell by denying its reality. Some argue that hell is a leftover superstition from the Dark Ages and that we are too enlightened in the twenty-first century to believe in such an antiquated concept. It's definitely not politically correct to believe in and teach hell today. But our job is not to be politically correct, but to be eternally accurate.
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