Sermon Scripture: Romans 13:8-10, Philippians 2:1-8 According to Jesus, the whole point of the Old Testament law, and of all the commandments, was to teach Israel how to love God and to love their neighbor. (Matthew 22:36-40). Last week we spoke about the generosity of God as demonstrated by Jesus and we focused on the
Sermon Scripture: Luke 12:22-34 Creation is an expression of God’s generous love. He’s the host, and we are his guests in a world of opportunity and abundance. But God does not stop there. We’re then called to keep the party going and to spread his goodness. This is a beautiful picture, but it’s not the
Sermon Scripture: Isaiah 58:1-12 Fasting is a way to bridge this gap, between “the haves” and “the have nots.” Going back at least as far as Isaiah 58, it has long been a vehicle for biblical justice, a way for those with too much food to share with those in need of food. This simple
Sermon Scripture: Acts 13:1-3, Jonah 3:3-10 Fasting and prayer go together. Like two wings of a bird, together they take flight. You can pray without fasting, and you can fast without praying, but when you combine the two, there’s a noticeable amplification of our prayer before God. This comes as no surprise, since fasting is
Sermon Scripture: Matthew 6:16-18, Romans 12:1-2 When we fast, at least four things are happening in our body and soul; it’s weaning us off the pleasure principle, it’s revealing what’s in our heart, it’s re-ordering our desires, and it’s drawing on the power of God to overcome sin. Our fight is not against the body
Sermon Scripture: Matthew 6:16-18, Romans 12:1-2 When we fast FROM food or activities we also fast TO something. We fast TO Jesus. After all, hunger only results when you long for something more of what you do not have, and in Jesus, there is always more for us if we seek. The body is the
Sermon Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 In prayer, we learn with quiet confidence that God is at work building a place for himself in our hearts and mind. This is not done by painful deconstruction of our lives but is simply accomplished when we intently look at God’s glory as revealed in Jesus and are being
Sermon Scripture: John 10:2-5, Deuteronomy 6:4-5 As we mature, we begin to pray our own words, but in time, we desire not just to speak to God, but to listen to God — to hear God’s voice. The desire to hear and understand God’s voice in prayer is a Spirit-generated desire in the heart of
Sermon Scripture: Luke 11:5-13 This week we will be focusing on talking WITH God, which simply means, “sharing with God what is on our mind.” In this, our prayers will include a few critical elements. Gratitude — talking with God about what is good in your life and world Lament — talking with God about
Sermon Scripture: Luke 11:1-8 Jesus did all sorts of amazing things, but the disciples do not ask Jesus to teach them how to heal the sick, or to cast out demons, or perform miracles. They ask him to teach them how to pray. The disciples were smart enough to know that Jesus was experiencing something
