Sermons

We believe many myths about being busy. But busyness causes stress, unhappiness, and distance from God. Some practical things we can do to keep from feeling “too busy” are to simplify our lives by saying “no” to some things, slow down and make time for rest, and seek God by prioritizing time with Him daily.

A bewildered heart feels lost, confused, and doubtful. When we feel bewildered or perplexed, we can lean on the God who cares and gives peace, go to the God who gives peace, and be faithful to do the next right thing.

A broken heart is painful, weakening, and often puts distance between us and Jesus. When we feel broken, we can sit in that feeling or give it to Jesus, we can keep our emotions pent up or vent to Jesus, and we can keep our brokenness or let Jesus transform our brokenness into something beautiful.

Our heart is an important thing to guard and remember – everything we do in life comes from the heart. We can get a bitter heart if we let the negative things that happen to us live in us. We must learn to recognize bitterness when it’s small, and do all we can to kill it with kindness, compassion, and forgiveness.

God wants to grow our faith, but growth doesn’t happen in places of comfort. Our faith flourishes in the places between where we are and our future growth, our faith is grounded in the Bible, and our faith is tested in sacrifice. We must work out our faith to see growth.

Life as a Christian can be uncomfortable. Jesus told his disciples they needed to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Jesus. We can’t follow Jesus if we’re focused on or living for ourselves. We have to say “no” to our flesh, “yes” to a life of sacrifice, and make Jesus the focus.

As Christians, we build our lives on the foundation of Bible. When we dig deep into Scripture, we are able to survive the storm, discover freedom, and build higher and stronger than by ourselves.

In a list of Old Testament chronology, we find Jabez, a man who set himself apart through prayer. Through his short recorded prayer, we learn that the solution to our pain is prayer, and that we can pray to God for blessing, for growth, for God’s presence, and for protection.