1 Thing Matters

If you’re a #dad, Father’s Day might be a mixed bag. Your wife and children might do something special to express their appreciation. At the same time, a day set apart to recognize your role as a dad might also serve as a sober reminder of past failings as a #father. God has good news for you today: he specializes in making faithful fathers from deficient dads.  

Sermon Info: "God Calls Me a Dad with Proper Priorities”  •  Deuteronomy 6:4-9 •  Summer Vocation series

If God is so great, then why does he need us to #glorify him? Is he that full of himself? Does he actually struggle with insecurity? Truthfully, God does not need us to give him #glory. He doesn’t call us to glorify him for HIS benefit, but for ours.

Sermon Info: "God Calls Me to Glorify Him”  •  Colossians 3:15-17 •  Summer Vocation series

“All the church cares about is #money.” Maybe you’ve heard it. Maybe you believe it. Financial giving is a struggle for many. Why are some able to give so generously while others struggle to give at all? The difference is found in realizing who is really doing the #giving. Spoiler alert: it’s not us.  

Sermon Info: "God Calls Me to Manage His Gifts Faithfully”  •  1 Corinthians 8:1-15 •  Summer Vocation series

Jesus described characteristics that apply to his #disciples. They will hold to his teachings, love others, and bear fruit, to name a few. But as challenging as any of them is Jesus’ call to bear our #cross. What makes it so hard? The better question is, what makes it so worth it?

Sermon Info: "God Calls Me to Bear My Cross”  •  Luke 9:21-26 •  Summer Vocation series

When God called you to faith in Jesus, he made you a part of something big: his body, the #Church. As a member of the body, each part is uniquely #gifted. That means YOU are uniquely gifted. And what are we to do with gifts? We use them.

Sermon Info: "God Calls Me to Use My Unique Gifts"  •  1 Corinthians 12:12-27  •  Summer Vocation series

#Violence is everywhere. #Conflict and war, shootings, assaults, oppression - these all flood our newsfeed daily. What is wrong with our world? Has the #GoldenRule become outdated? When will we #heal? How do we heal? We realize that “we” starts with “me.” God has called you to #love and serve your #neighbor. What are you waiting for?

(Summer Vocation series: "God Calls Me to Love and Serve My Neighbor" [Luke 10:25-37])

God calls everyone to various roles in life. As a matter of fact, everyone from young to old has multiple roles. He gifts us in unique ways to carry out those roles. In each of these roles he connects us to other unique people we can love and serve. So, who are you? Who are the people God has placed in your life? How can you glorify God as you carry out your unique role - caring for others even as others care for you?

Today we give thanks to God for the vocation of motherhood, a vocation by which we all have been blessed, for we would not be here were it not for our mothers. Mothers carry out a unique - and challenging! - role. When so many depend on mothers for so much, where do mothers turn for the strength to carry out their calling?

Fear, shame, and sadness. Those are just a few of the emotions and thoughts that were going through the hearts and minds of the disciples after Jesus was crucified. 2000 years later, these are still feelings we experience when we don't understand why life happens the way it does. When Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples multiple times, he opened their eyes to the reality of his resurrection and how it could change their emotions, attitudes and actions.

He can open our eyes, too, and do the same for us. He can help us see that he keeps his promises. Always. Right? So… why doesn’t it always seem like it?

Fear, shame, and sadness. Those are just a few of the emotions and thoughts that were going through the hearts and minds of the disciples after Jesus was crucified. 2000 years later, these are still feelings we experience when we don't understand why life happens the way it does. When Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples multiple times, he opened their eyes to the reality of his resurrection and how it could change their emotions, attitudes and actions.

He can open our eyes, too, and do the same for us. When we feel isolated and alone, it is easy to feel as if no one cares about us or knows us. But if Jesus rose, then not even death could keep him from caring so deeply for us. Jesus’ resurrection means we do have a Good Shepherd - one who cares for and knows each and every one of his sheep.

Fear, shame, and sadness. Those are just a few of the emotions and thoughts that were going through the hearts and minds of the disciples after Jesus was crucified. 2000 years later, these are still feelings we experience when we don't understand why life happens the way it does. When Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples multiple times, he opened their eyes to the reality of his resurrection and how it could change their emotions, attitudes, and actions.

He can open our eyes, too, and do the same for us. We often struggle to see our purpose in life, which can lead to despondency or indifference. But Jesus’ resurrection hasn’t just removed fear and doubt from our lives and left a vacuum; in their place it fills us with purpose. The empty tomb means our life is significant. It means your life has purpose.