Realities for Navigating Life

Prepare to Worship

This week Pastor Matt preaches through Ecclesiastes 5:1-3. In this passage Solomon writes about how we are to worship God in the right way. These first three verses of chapter 5 tell us that our approach to God matters. We are to approach God intentionally. The worship of God in the Old and New Testament are very different. We are to make a priority of gathering with other believers because the Holy Spirit now resides in us and not a temple. This approach. matters to worship, it is more than just showing up to a worship service.

Genuine Faith Lived Out As A Citizen

This week we study Matthew 22:15-18. In this passage Jesus teaches 3 ways to live as citizens of a heavenly kingdom in a foreign land. First we are to be obedient to God as a thoughtful example. Our obedience to God should stand out and be an example to others around us of how to live on mission as a Christian. Second, we should be obedient to God first while we live out our citizenship here. Even though we are citizens of the United States, we are still to be obedient first to God our Creator. Finally, our obedience to God is our top priority. When you live obedient to God above all else, the rest is going to come together. When we live obedient to God alone, we do not need to worry because of the control that God has on our situation.

Enough Humility to Keep Growing

In Ecclesiastes 4:13-16 Solomon writes 2 ways to ensure that you are motivated by character, and not by achievement. First, we must be humble enough to grow. Growth often takes much humility. The arrogant king is the one who stops growing, but the humble king will continue to grow. Second, we are to live in obedience to God because all of us will be forgotten by people. Our earthly legacy will not last. Maybe it will survive a generation or two, but in the end our legacy will be forgotten. This challenges us to live our life in obedience to God, and remain humble enough to the end of our lives. This comes from a fear for the lord that will cause us to turn away from evil and towards Jesus.

God's Plan Through Others

This week Pastor Matt takes us through Ecclesiastes 4:4-12. Here we see 2 practical ways that God accomplishes His plan. First God accomplishes His plan in you through others. You were created for others, and you see that from the earliest pages of Scripture in Genesis 1:26. Second, God accomplishes His plan by what He has given you to serve others. What you have been given and what you have has been given to you so that you can serve others and reach them with the Gospel. It is not an accident or by your skills that you have obtained all that you have.

The Calling to Our Roles in Ministry

This week Pastor Cam takes us through John 4:31-38 where Jesus discusses the calling that has been placed on His life. Jesus then gives 2 roles for the disciples as they follow in the calling that has been placed on their lives. The first role is to be the harvester. There are some who serve in the role of harvester, where they have the responsibility of examining the fruit and picking the fruit that is ready to be harvested. The second role is the role of the believer who has been called to being a sower. The sower has the responsibility of sowing seeds that may one day lead to fruit. Their role is not harvesting, their role is to plant seeds.