When you make a mistake, and someone calls you out on it, would you rather they react in anger or with mercy? Pastor Bill reminds you today that the way you treat others is the way you will be treated. If you want to be shown mercy, then you should show mercy to others when they make mistakes. That doesn’t mean that you should ignore the harm that they caused, but you can correct someone while still showing mercy to the person who made the mistake. That’s how Jesus treats us when we sin! 

Have you ever gone back and read an old journal? Every once in a while, I’ll pull out that small notebook and read about the things that were on my mind several years ago. Many times, I’ll realize that there were prayers I had several years ago that the Lord had answered without me even knowing it! Pastor Bill reminds you today that when you come to the Lord in prayer with thanksgiving, you remind yourself of what He has already done, and you realize your current issue isn’t too big for God.

Every Thanksgiving, videos of grease fires go viral online because oil and water don’t get along nicely! In today’s message, Pastor Bill reminds you that you can’t mix your priorities in life. You can’t serve God and yourself; you have to choose one! So when your priorities begin to shift away from the things of God, it’s up to you to recognize what is going on and take action to correct it! God is a jealous God, and He does not want His children trying to serve two masters.

Spending your effort on the things of God instead of following your own agenda is like keeping your money in a bank vault instead of in your pocket. In the bank, there are security measures in place to keep everyday thieves from stealing what you have worked hard to earn. But if you keep your money hanging out of your pocket, you may draw attention from those who want to hinder you and harm you. Pastor Bill reminds you today that when you serve God, those wages go straight to the bank!

Being hurt by people and forgiving them is hard. Being hurt by someone you are close to makes it even harder to forgive. Have you been hurt by others close to you, and you haven’t fully forgiven them? He might have stolen something from you or broken your trust. In today’s message, Pastor Bill helps you see that when you hold onto unforgiveness, it doesn’t hurt the other person, but it hurts your relationship with God. God calls you to forgive others because Christ has forgiven you through His sacrifice. 

We all have that favorite song that we can sing off the top of our heads, without having to think of the words. What is a song that you can sing by heart, without having to think about the lyrics? Now, think about the words you might pray to God.  Do you start the same way every time, where it just comes out without thinking about it? Has it become a routine without meaning? Today, Pastor Bill shares the importance of your prayers to God, which aren’t just empty words, but a meaningful conversation.  

Motivations are a great thing. They can help us get things done. We can feel compelled to look good, so we work out.  We want to learn, so we study. We all have motivations. What is yours? What pushes you to do good things, or to get up in the morning, or work at becoming a better person? What rewards are you seeking, and from whom? In today’s message, Pastor Bill shares that being motivated to earn a reward from God is not a bad thing - when the intentions are in the right place. 

Have you allowed your emotions to get the better of you in certain situations? It can be easy to allow your feelings to control you in stressful situations. How about other people? Think of a time where a person’s actions caused you to “act out of character.” A car cutting you off in traffic, someone yelling at you for missing a deadline, or your kids not listening to you – are just a few examples. Today, Pastor Bill shares how you can rely on God to help you respond kindly to others, even when they are unkind to you. 

The videos you see online of a person doing a thoughtful deed for another can be heartwarming.  It’s uplifting to see good things being done for others.  What’s the outcome if that nice deed gets met with hatred by the one receiving it? The giver might get upset, angry, or want the kind deed to be taken back. That feeling was justified, because what you saw was wrong and evil. Today, Pastor Bill shares how hard it is to do something nice when a person might do evil in return.  But God will work it out for your good!

Have you heard the phrase, “You cannot love others until you learn to love yourself?” You might have heard this from a TV show, a self-help book, or a quote in a school building. This idea that you have to love yourself first, in order to love others, might not mean what you think it means. You get so focused on yourself that you forget how to love the people in your life.  Today, Pastor Bill teaches that God does not tell you to love yourself; rather, He calls you to love others more than yourself.