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what are you afraid of?

8/16/2017

What am I afraid of? That’s what we’re asking ourselves in Week 6 of Follow, our summer message series. We said that following Jesus does not lead to a pain-free life, but it does lead to a faith that overwhelms fear. Reaching that place where our faith is so great that it overwhelms and overshadows our fear is a lifelong journey, but here are some ways you can move forward this week:

Identify what you’re afraid of. It may be obvious to you at first--a big presentation at work or a difficult conversation at home. Or it may be more subtle--it’s not a fear about the presentation itself, it’s a fear about not being qualified for the job; it’s not a fear about the difficult conversation, but the state of the relationship.
Spend some quiet time with God just talking to him about this fear. Ask God to help you take a step toward him. To figure out what that step might be, ask yourself: what would I do with this fear if I was completely confident that God was with me?

In this season of fear, hatred, and violence in our nation and in our world, it’s a good time to recall the witness of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who reminds us: “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” What’s your next step in faith?

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The tension

8/9/2017

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We’re in week 5 of our summer message series, Follow, which is all about the invitation to follow Jesus. (Missed the previous weeks? It’s not too late! Catch up by watching the message videos online.) This week we looked at a tension that all followers of Jesus experience at some point: the tension between God’s agenda and our agenda, the tension between what God wants and what we want. Maybe you’re experiencing this tension in a situation or relationship right now: your conscience is telling you to do something, but you don’t want to do it; God’s Word is inviting you to change a habit, but you want to hold onto it; a trusted friend is trying to help you with something, but you want nothing to do with it. It might sound scary to experience this tension, but it’s in this tension that you learn so much about yourself and have an incredible chance to grow your faith. Because when you experience this tension, you have a choice: you can follow your will--or--you can follow God’s will. Followers of Jesus choose to follow God’s will even when it’s at odds with their own will, wants, and desires. This is deeply challenging and ultimately requires surrendering control and surrendering to God. Spend some time today talking to God about how this message challenges you. Try praying with this song: Control

Oh how You love me
Somehow that frees me
To open my hands up
And give You control
-“Control” by Tenth Avenue North

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what do followers of jesus wear

8/2/2017

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It’s August (wow!) and that means we’re halfway through our summer message series, Follow. This past weekend, in week 4 of the series, we looked at the question: what do followers of Jesus wear?--not in terms of their clothing or physical appearance, but in terms of what they “put on,” how they treat others and what qualities form their identity. St. Paul tells us that followers of Jesus clothe themselves in “heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience” (Colossians 3:12). What does each of these virtues really mean?

Heartfelt compassion = feeling what other people are going through and experiencing on a deep level
Kindness = loaning your strength to someone else
Humility = seeing yourself as you really are, in relationship to other people and to God
Gentleness = responding to others in light of their strengths and weaknesses instead of responding to others out of your strength
Patience = deciding to operate at the speed of another person

The challenge for this week is to pick one virtue to focus on improving in the coming week. Did you pick one already? If so, how’s it going? If you didn’t pick one yet, today is a great day to pick one and start working on it. If you’re not sure what to pick or you feel stuck in taking a next step or making progress, offer that up to God in prayer today. Ask God to open your eyes to the situations and experiences in your daily life that are opportunities to grow in these virtues and for the courage to “clothe yourself” like Jesus.

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what are you afraid of?

The tension

what do followers of jesus wear

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