Freedom comes with great cost. When we think about the freedom that we enjoy in America we need to realize that there have been men and women who gave great sacrifices to form the country we live in today. For many the sacrifice was life. When we turn and look toward our spiritual life there is great cost associated with our freedom here as well. Romans 5:8 says that, "God has demonstrated his love toward us in that we were still sinners Christ died for us.” Jesus died that we might be free from sin. He died to give us the opportunity to be in a relationship with the Father. He died to give true life. The cost of my freedom was the life of Jesus. God died for me. Thankfully the story
Graduation is an accomplishment and a milestone in life. This accomplishment demonstrates discipline, perseverance and the ability to succeed. We celebrate and applaud our graduates. Graduation is also a time of transition, a time of moving on. With this in mind, I want to share a few important pieces of advice. No matter where you go, no matter what you do, no matter your accomplishments or failures, God is never changing (Heb 13:8). This provides encouragement to us that at any moment we can turn and find direction. True north on a compass helps us to navigate unfamiliar terrain. Jesus is our true north. As we go through life, we will encounter many “first time” events and decisions
Jesus invested his life in a small group of followers. The journey they took with Jesus was amazing, full of ups and downs. At the close of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) as Jesus ascends back to heaven, He gives His disciples their marching orders until His return. Matthew 28:18-20 is known as the Great Commission. In this passage Jesus commands His followers to reach the world with the life changing news of Jesus and help people develop into fully devoted followers of Jesus. This small group of followers poured their lives into people. This happened to large crowds like the day of Pentecost, to families (Cornelius), to foreigners (Ethiopian eunuch), to Jailers, Jews and Gent
The evidence of lostness and brokenness are found everywhere in our world. Young and old are stressed about life. Anxiety and depression are at all-time highs. Alcohol, drug abuse and broken homes litter the landscape of life. We encounter this brokenness at work, at school, in our friendships and even in our own homes. Pride and shame keep us from acknowledging and sharing these struggles with others and especially our church family. Somehow Satan has convinced Christians that if we are "real Christians" that we won’t have these types of struggles. If we do, the story goes, we are doing something wrong and we are better off to hide them so everyone will think we have it together. Wha
