Sermons on Spiritual Growth (Page 17)
Walking with Abraham: God’s Test
In so many ways Abraham’s life has always been moving here. It’s been 40+ years since God first appeared to him, making him the promise about a land, a nation, and a blessing. It’s been 15+ years since the promised son Isaac was born, and Abraham and Sarah have certainly been thinking about the future. All of their hopes were bound up in this young man. Or so it seemed. And now this. God asks the unthinkable. A human sacrifice?…
Walking with Abraham: Faith, Not Sight
Broadly speaking, we look at the world in two ways: by sight and by faith. Looking by sight is viewing the world around us in an unspiritual way–the way most of the world looks at things. So we make decisions based on what makes us most comfortable, what’s the easiest, what will bring the most immediate and greatest pleasures, etc. Looking by faith is looking at the world through a spiritual lens. We look beneath the surface to the true…
Do you love me more than these?
Our 2018 theme is “Love God. Love People. Change the World,” and this Sunday we’re going to continue this emphasis by studying Jesus’ post-resurrection interaction with Peter. Just a few weeks earlier Peter had infamously denied any connection to Jesus and had almost certainly been dealing with overwhelming guilt and regret since then. Corresponding to Peter’s denial of Jesus three times, Jesus asked Peter if he loved him three times. We’re going to focus primarily on the first question: “Do…
Learning to Trust God: He is “for us”
Last Sunday we studied the importance of trusting God: it changes everything about us, from the way we face tragedies to the consistency with which we obey. All of us want to trust God more, but how do we? That’s the point of the message this Sunday. Romans 8 is one of the most beautiful and most-loved chapters in the whole Bible. In the culminating paragraph at the end, Paul encourages the Christians at Rome to know that nothing can…
Trust Changes Everything
The more I read the Bible and try to follow Jesus, the more I realize that the basis of our relationship with God—at least on our part—is learning to trust him completely and unreservedly. Most of us struggle at times with doubt, anxiety, fear, and uncertainty. We don’t obey God as fully or consistently as we should. Sometimes (often?) we make choices based on what WE think is best rather than trusting that God’s way is best. Why is that?…
