We have watched many people succumb to temptation. There are several court cases that are being tried right now of people who are unable to resist temptation. It is easy to compromise our ethics and morals. Jesus faced temptation and triumphed over it and in doing so he taught us something important about why we should resist it.
How might the story of Jesus as we near Easter cause us to come alive? How might it give us hope? How might it give us new direction? How might we be resurrected?
If we don’t build a strong financial foundation, we will struggle our whole lives. But once we build that foundation we find that we are able to give, save and live on the rest. In this message we will focus on how to build that foundation.
We know the scriptures say, “God loves a cheerful giver.” A cheerful giver doesn’t give reluctantly or out of compulsion. A cheerful giver gives out of thanks for all that God does for him or her. Maybe that was Cain’s problem.
We live in a world of conflict. People hate each other. But Jesus tells us to love each other. Are there any limits to this love? We want to know who is our neighbor so we can put borders around who we must love. So who is our neighbor? Who must we love?
There are some Christians who think that if someone doesn’t believe exactly like they do their salvation is in question. Is this true? Do we need to say certain words to make sure our salvation is not in question? Christians give different answers to these questions. Our answer depends on how wide is God’s mercy?
Joseph frequently gets left out of the Christmas story. He doesn’t seem to be one of the main characters. Some people have even called him the forgotten man. But Joseph is talked about seven times in the Gospels as Jesus grows to be a man. Each time he is mentioned there is sorrow and difficulty. So how does Joseph find joy?
Mary came from an insignificant town named Nazareth. Most people who knew of Nazareth looked down on it. Yet God selects a girl from Nazareth to bring Jesus into the world. A young girl from a nowhere place plays a big role in the beginning of Christianity. God’s choice of Mary tells us about God’s preference to use the lowly and the least likely to do His work in the world.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:16 we are told to give thanks in all circumstances. That is hard to stomach. It’s hard to believe we should give thanks for cancer, death of a child, war or other tragedies. Fortunately there is one word that clarifies the whole issue and makes this verse extremely helpful.