Godly Examples Among Us (Philippians 2:25-30)

The Sin Of Self-Reliance (Genesis 32:24-31)

Self-reliance is the air that we breathe and the spirit of Western Individualism.Sayings like “You are enough. Believe in yourself. Work hard. Make it happen.”The underlying message is, “You can accomplish anything you want if only you put your mind to it.”But that’s a flat out lie. God did not create us to be independent. He created us to be dependant upon Him. So have you been depending on God this week? Or have you been relying on yourself?

How God Prepares His People (Joshua 5)

Israel had just experienced a great miracle in Joshua 4 where the Jordan River stopped flowing and the people crossed on dry ground. Then in Joshua 5, we read the hearts of the kings of Canaan melted with fear. Israel had momentum and if ever a time to strategize on what to do next and press forward, this was it.  But God does something unexpected – He tells them to stop. Why?  Because before God gives Israel victory in the Promised Land, He wants to remind them who they are as God’s people and who God is.  In other words, before God uses his people powerfully, He prepares them spiritually.

A Cross-Shaped Life (Mark 8:27-38)

Every disciple, every one of us who calls Jesus Christ, Lord, the question we will face of being asked is, “Who is your King?”Who do you worship? Do you have a cross-shaped life?In our culture today, the world is telling us that there is no God on the throne in heaven. They demand that we follow the ways of the world, and not the way of Christ.They want us to deny our allegiance to our Lord and Saviour. In Mark 8, we see what Jesus taught and what his first followers did.

Anchoring Faith In God's Past Faithfulness (Joshua 4)

Have you experienced a time in your life when the memory of God’s faithfulness just slowly fades into the background. At one point, God answers your prayer and you remark that you’ll never forget this. Or God provided exactly what you needed, and you thought I’m going to be forever grateful. Or maybe God carried you through a difficult season, and you thought God is so good all the time. But life happens. New responsibilities, new worries, and distractions.  Before long, you develop “gospel amnesia” which results in fear replacing faith, anxiety replacing gratitude, and we end up trying to face today’s challenges as though God has never helped us before. Joshua 4 tells us how we can anchor our faith in God’s past faithfulness.

Godly Examples Among Us (Philippians 2:25-30)

Notice all the emotional words used in Philippians 2:25-30: longing, distress, anguish, heaviness, sorrow, joy.  This full range of emotions when it comes to the relationships within the church family. Is this the way we feel about our church family? Do you long to see each other every week? Do you long to spend more time together? Are you in anguish when one of our church members is suffering? Do you rejoice when you see your brother and sister in Christ again? The church is to be highly relational and affectionate b/c of how much we love each other. And this love can only come from the love of Christ and the overflow of his love in our hearts towards his people. Christ centred, humbly serving others, and deep affection for one another: This is what the church is supposed to look like.