Loving God. Loving our Neighbours.
Consider it PURE JOY when we face trials… ARE YOU KIDDING ME? But that’s what James is teaching us. We dive in today to learn to Trust God in those trials — those tough, dry times where we can’t see him. We learn that God has a plan, even for this trial. And in that, his plan will bring about our best in him. He is there. He loves us. He is actually fighting for us, if we will just let him.
Having issues trusting God’s plan? Does his way seem to contraict what you’re seeing? You’re not alone. We all go through that. But what we’re talking about today is how to trust God un those questionable, uncertain moments. How do you even FIND that plan to follow it? Let’s dig in and find out together.
Life throws some hard things at us. How do we stand firm in those times where we feel like the bottom has fallen away? Sometimes, it is not us who is standing, but Christ who is holding us through those turbulent moments. Let’s look at the full depth of Psalm 46. What does it mean to truly trust God?
We all make mistakes. And sometimes, in making those mistakes, we hurt someone. Yes, it is the responsibility of the person who caused offense to make it right. But… it’s also important to those who have been hurt to be readily, eagerly, graciously offering forgiveness. This can be a difficult thing to do, but let’s look a little more at how that looks and what it means to truly forgive in that kind of freedom.
Do you ever need help getting back on track? We all do! We all need help in our community of believers. No one is perfect, and we lean heavily on each other at different seasons in our lives. We are called to mutual support, gentleness and love. How do we care for one another? That is our witness to the world.
Ever feel like you don’t fit? That’s the unique thing about the Body of Christ… EVERYONE has a role. A part. A place. Let’s explore what your place is.
In the early days of the church — the believers fresh from pentecost — they didn’t have massive instruction manuals and page-upon-page of literature of how God expected this new love-centric group of believers to behave. But He did give us the Holy Spirit, and He left the right people in place to train them up to become the very model that we look to today. Love, community, hope, help and nurturing. Let’s dive in today to what that looks like in their world, and how that applies to ours.
While you may have an amazing human father, or someone that really, really hurt you — or maybe don’t even know your father. But God is our Heavenly Father. He is our hope in what a father should be. Integrity. Lacking selfish gain. Just authentic love. As the men in our church body guide, protect and love our members, we hope that you see God in their words and actions. And in that, we strive to point to God as the perfection of that concept.
Love. Trust. Integrity.
God is still moving. Still filling. Still making his precence known. We want to be filled by God in the same way, declaring how amazing our Father is. The church behaved like the unified church that God designed and wanted. It was HIS church, not belonging to any one group, person or sect. That’s what we want to be, too. Are you willing to step out in unpredictable outcomes to see what He is about to do?
The word of God has the authority to change and set our entire lives. That may sound scary, but God has nothing but your best in store. So let’s look at how God can use it to teach, rebuke, correct, train and equip us for all that He has in store!