A Fresh Wind Sermons

Unlike Abraham, whose faith carried him to an unknown land, Jacob fled to a faraway place to escape a dangerous situation his own misdeeds had created. When the God of heaven approached him at Bethel—declaring promises of protection, blessing, and prosperity—Jacob was in awe, but he still wasn’t ready to trust Him. It’s one thing to hear about what God can do; it’s another to experience it in our own lives. So the longsuffering God of Abraham and Isaac took Jacob on a long journey of letting go. As everything comfortable and familiar crumbled around him, Jacob would learn that God can indeed be trusted.

Parenting can be daunting -- especially when you consider what is at stake. We have a job to protect our children and teach them how to know Christ, and that they are loved more than they could fathom by a God who will never leave nor forsake them. God needs to be at the center of our parenting. Thankfully, God has equipped us to lead our families well.

We often think of God as working in extremes. We expect Him to accomplish great things through the lives of exceptional people and to work through miracles and awesome displays of power. Rarely do we see His hand in the ordinary and every day. Could it be that God has already begun working behind the scenes to accomplish something extraordinary through you?

Jesus followers reengaged with the message of Jesus, not because the message of Jesus or the crucifixion of Jesus. Jesus followers didn't reengage because of something Jesus taught. Jesus followers reengaged because of someone they saw… Jesus. The living Christ. And because of this — they too are made alive.

Tonight we remember with grateful hearts the death of our Savior and the grief of our God. But the story doesn’t end here! We are on a journey through the cross and out the empty tomb.

The hailed Jesus as king. They cried out, "Save us!" Save us in a way that we can get our pride back. Jesus came and shed His blood for the forgiveness of your sins. You will never know the depths of your Savior until you stop trying to pay the price yourself. Will you come and lay that struggle at His feet?

So many of us spend a signifiant portion of our lives wondering what on earth we're here for — Jesus had no doubt. His purpose, His mission, the reason He came, was to testify to the truth. Jesus was not proposing to give the disciples a map to heaven or a theological description about Himself — Jesus gave them Himself. Truth has a name.

The enemy wants to condition your reflexes with guilt, but Jesus Christ came to recondition our reflexes with His amazing grace. He’s made the unforgiveable; forgivable.

The battle of submission Jesus won. The battle of prayer the disciples lost. The battle of fear is still being fought. Fought by you and me. Be strong and courageous. It is never too late to be the man or woman that God has called you to be.