Sometimes we have this picture of what makes a Christian - someone who is dressed in nice clothes and knows a lot about the Bible. And while those things aren't bad, they aren't what the Bible teaches us is a sign of a Christian. Jesus invites us to be something that could really change our life, so how do we do it?
BE: Generous
What does it mean to be generous? And why should we even bother being generous? Many of us have grown up being taught to that what we earn is ours. But is that the best way to do things? Is that really how Jesus wants us to be?
BE: Kind
Often times we think following Jesus is about following a series of Dos and Don'ts. But actually following Jesus is more about being than doing. Over the next 5 weeks, we are going to look at key things Jesus invites us to Be that can change our daily lives.
There is an old adage that states we are human beings, not human doings. But do we ever take the time to consider how we should be being? This week we are going to look at an encounter Jesus had with someone where he wasn't really very nice, but he was kind, and explore together why being kind is most important of all.
The Most Important Thing
When we as followers of Jesus live life with the Holy Spirit there should be evidence of that relationship. So what is that evidence? Paul calls it the fruit of the spirit, and it should be evidence of our faith life.
The Gifts of the Spirit
The Apostle Paul tells us that we are gifted by the Holy Spirit for a purpose. But how does that work? What are the gifts and what do they look like? And why are we given them?
What the Holy Spirit Does
When we talk about God from the Christian perspective, there are some thoughts about God we are more comfortable with than others. We know that God the Father is the creator, and God the Son died for our sins, but what exactly does the Holy Spirit do? Many of us are uncomfortable with the Holy Spirit maybe because we don't understand His role in our life. Together we will explore the difference the Spirit can make in our lives.
What Are We Talking About When We Talk About God?
A key distinction in Christianity is that it is trinitarian, meaning one God is expressed in three persons: God the Father, Jesus the son and the holy spirit. While we talk a lot about the Father and the Son, we sometimes ignore the Holy Spirit. So what or who is the Holy Spirit?
Dry Bones
Have you ever felt like your spiritual life was dry? Maybe non-existent? Maybe dead? Together we are going to explore through the words of a prophet long ago the ingredients we need to revitalize our life with God.
Fighting Doubt
We have all watched movies or read books where we knew the ending before we were halfway through. And often the stories we really enjoy are the ones with a twist at the end that goes against our preconceived ideas, we love plot twists, but not in our own lives! Sometimes when our plans don't go as planned we can question and doubt if God has our best in mind.