Jesus gave us an example to follow as it pertains to the world around us. He wants us to share the message of the Gospel with those we know. Neither criticism nor busyness distracted Jesus from His mission.

We cannot focus on Jesus if we are focusing on ourselves. The Apostle Paul instructs the believers in Philippi to know Jesus and to pursue a relationsihp with Him above all else. Paul said this in spite of his own spiritual credentials and his own pedrigee as a pharisee and a Jew. Jesus was all he needed.

Jesus gave Himself for the church and purchased it with His own blood. This means that it's important to Him, and since it's important to Him, it should be important to us. In Acts 2 we see that the Church is a gathering of belivers.

Jesus came to earth to serve His heavenly Father and the world. As believers, we are called to do the same thing and God has given each of us gifts and talents to use in His service. Using our gifts to serve others is what Jesus calls each of us to do.

Evangelism - Being a Christian isn't just about getting you into heaven, it's about getting heaven into you. When we are connected to God and to His church, it will create in us a desire to reach out and connect others with God. Our mission as the church is to connect the world to Jesus-this is why we are here.

Connecting through small groups - Life is not meant to be lived alone. We were designed to do life with others. The early New Testament church met, not just as a large group, but in smaller settings like homes. in these small groups they prayed together, ate together, and gre closer to God together. That is what God wants for us today.

Submission or Sin? - When we plan, we must leave room for God to work and perhaps even change our plans. This is what James 4:13-17 teaches us. Our life is like a vapor, and things don't always go the way we planned, but we can always be sure that God is in control and that He is sovereign over everything. File Downloads: https://dq5pwpg1q8ru0.cloudfront.net/2020/10/30/03/51/43/a5d0c17b-42cf-474c-a6ae-b4466ce02a03/Sovereignty.webarchive

When we obey, we can overcome. In James 4, the believers were pursuing destructive desires and this led them to conflit, division, and emptiness. But we don't have to. We can pursue new things. We can pursue Jesus.

James gives us an understanding of how to be marked and forever changed by God's wisdom. One of the most important things we can have is wisdom.