There are various places where Jesus speaks of people who think they will inherit the kingdom but in fact will not. This shows the importance of seeking the kingdom only and to uphold and maintain the truth of God's word. Kingdom only.
When Jesus told the parable of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price he was telling us that the kingdom of God has more value than everything that we possess. It begs the question: is the kingdom first in our lives?
Moses' father-in-law gave good advice when he told Moses that he could not do it all. The Bible says that the church will grow as each part of the body does its work. Can we commit ourselves to do our part for the kingdom?
Words are powerful and can have a negative effect or a positive effect. Being free from the effects of negative words spoken against us is essential for us to look like Jesus. This sermon considers the power of the Word of God to help us do that.
Jesus told his disciples that if they loved him then they would obey his command to love one another. Not only that but he said, 'Love one another as I have loved you'. Now that is a challenge. This sermon looks at how we might do that.
The story of the feeding of the 5000 shows us that God can take the little that we have to give and He can multiply it to bless many. He is the multiplying factor.
Jacob wrestled with God and would not let Him go until He blessed him. To get our personal breakthrough we need to wrestle in prayer with God. Breakthrough will come if we do not give up.
Do we really trust God? I'm sure that the answer is 'Yes' to some degree, but we need to trust Him more and more. This message encourages us to do that using some of the teaching of Jesus found in Luke.
God is concerned about the poor and says so repeatedly through the Old and New Testaments. We also need to care for the poor where we are able, which means that we need to have our eyes open to the needs around us, and deliberate about helping where we can
The Bible shows that God wants us to be able to praise him in an uninhibited, joyful way, through dancing, clapping, shouting, and singing. A religious spirit will try to suppress this, calling suppressed emotions dignity, reverence and proper decorum. It is not biblical and we should not tolerate it! Don't suppress, express!
This sermon talks about the meaning behind the miracle when Jesus turned water into wine. There are many aspects to this, but one points to us being Spirit-filled, joyful vessels, rather than empty, dry religious vessels.
