Obedience is a topic we might avoid in the church. Oh, we want our children to be obedient–but we are hesitant to think about ourselves as being obedient. However, the Bible tells us that God prefers obedience to sacrifice. Even more importantly, since we are called to be warriors, we must become obedient warriors.

Giving is always a touchy subject. The Apostle Paul made a very clear point about giving–the more you seed you sow, the greater the harvest! There are blessings when we give cheerfully, willingly and freely.

Giving gets a bad rap–especially when churches start talking about giving. However, if we read the Bible, we find out that giving is meant to be an act of grace, and it is meant to be a normal part of the Christian experience.

Humans are weird–we are easily addicted to things. All of humanity shares one addiction, that of being addicted to sin. It makes each of us somewhat broken, and until we are reconciled to God, fully, we will remain broken.

We have been the recipients of a wonderful gift–God’s grace! In 2 Corinthians 6, Paul warns his readers not to waste this gift. Rather, they are to embrace whatever path their life takes, and act freely to share this gift with others. So, do you have the freedom to act in accordance with God’s grace?

We can probably all agree that anyone who is a disciple of Jesus Christ is called to “do good.” We are supposed to be a people who are known by their good works. What can be debatable is what exactly those good works look like…

“I believed, and so I spoke.” Those were the words of Paul, quoting from Psalm 116:10. He also declared that we are the “jars of clay” that contain a great treasure, a light that has been planted into our hearts. Our job is to share this light…

The problem many Christians have in sharing the gospel is that they share more religion than they do a relationship. Jesus didn’t come to earth to start a new religion…

As disciples of Jesus Christ, sharing the gospel isn’t an optional part of our spiritual journey. We are called to be the very aroma of Christ. The question becomes, have we spent enough time with Jesus so that His aroma has worn off on us?

As we enter 2018, as a church, we’re going to be stressing three things. Doing good, being generous, and seeking to share. This week, we’re going to look at sharing something we all need–comfort and encouragement during suffering.