Forgiving someone who's hurt you may be the hardest thing you will ever do in your life. 

Which is why it's much easier to theorize about forgiveness than to do it. But without forgiveness, we'll never be free to pursue a future that is unhindered by the past. 

The destructive power of unforgiveness is that it convinces us we're somehow punishing our offender by building up walls of resentment and bitterness around our hearts. Only forgiveness has the power to set us free.

In this week's passage, we're looking at one of the most hard hitting of Jesus' parables.Forgiveness is easy in theory, but incredibly difficult in real life. But the mercy God shows us should soften our hearts to forgive others just as we've been forgiven.

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Do you ever feel like God is distant rather than up close and personal? 

In this week's passage, Jesus' disciples ask him to teach them how to pray. 

But rather than offering them a treatise or a lecture on the mechanics of prayer or the theological underpinnings of communication with an omniscient and all-powerful God, Jesus paints for them a picture of a caring Father who listens to us and provides what we need. 

A personal God who loves us more than we can fathom.

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When you think of God, what comes to your mind? 

When you imagine God's view of you, how do you think he sees you? 

With love? Judgment? Grace? Anger? Disappointment? Compassion? 

A.W. Tozer wrote that the most important thing about anyone is what comes into their mind when they think about God.

Sadly, many people run from God because their understanding of God is wrongly shaped by people who've done a poor job of reflecting who God truly is.

In Luke 15, Jesus tells three parables that reveal the true heart of God, a heart full of compassion and love for his children. Jesus' message is for anyone who's ever felt alienated from God. But it's also a challenge for those who claim to know God but have failed to share his love with a lost and hurting world.

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Have you ever wondered if God was really there? Or maybe you've felt discouraged or afraid because you couldn't see God at work in the world. 

In this week's parables from the Gospel of Mark, Jesus explains that the kingdom of God is present, but it doesn't look like what we often expect. 

To our eyes, it may seem unimpressive, unspectacular, even mundane. And yet, Jesus says, it has a hidden power that cannot be stopped, unchecked by our failures or by evil in the world, finally culminating one day in the full realization of God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

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If you were a type of soil, what kind would you be? 

In Jesus' parable about a farmer (or sower) who tosses seed on the ground, Jesus describes four different kinds of soil: hard, rocky, thorn-infested, and fertile soils. 

Each soil receives the seed in different ways with different results. 

Jesus' implicit challenge to each of us is, how do you receive God's word in your life? Because what you do with God's word will determine what kind of value ("fruit") your life produces in the world, with differing results.

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In order to run our best race, sometimes we need to admit we are injured and go through the rehabilitation process.  

We need to first ADMIT we are broken, BELIEVE God is the only one that can and wants to fix us, and TRUST that He will.  

Most of us get hung up on at least one of these steps.  We’re either too proud or scared to Admit, don’t think we deserve God’s grace (which we don’t’) or don’t Trust him with our recovery. 

Letting others see our scars and what God has done in our life is sometimes the best cure.

Thank You for joining our Worship Pastor Steve Johansson for the final message of our Soul Health series.

More info https://www.ebc.org or call (609.267.4755), email ([email protected]), DM us on Instagram or Facebook, or come see us in person at Easton Bible Church. Thank you for subscribing and sharing.

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It's one thing to know what to do to have a healthier soul. 

The real question is whether we do what we know to do. Knowing the four steps won't help your soul to thrive without the self-discipline to make them part of our lives. 

In this week's passage from 1 Corinthians 9, Paul explains how the Christian life requires us to train our souls, to practice self-mastery, so that we can run our best race and win the prize

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Imagine your own personal bit of heaven... maybe it's a favorite vacation spot or your hometown. Maybe it's where you meet up with friends or get alone. 

Now, imagine you wanted to share that place with someone else, but they'd never been before. How could you convince them to come with you?

When Jesus gives his famous Sermon on the Mount, he begins with the Beatitudes, a list of blessings describing the kinds of people who belong to his kingdom. It's not a list of requirements for entrance into the kingdom; they describe the kind of person who's at home in the kingdom, and the kind of person you become when align your life with kingdom values. 

As a result, when you share your life-a kingdom-flavored life-with others, you give them a walking-talking advertisement for Jesus' kingdom.

More info https://www.ebc.org or call (609.267.4755), email ([email protected]), DM us on Instagram or Facebook, or come see us in person at Easton Bible Church. 

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How do you measure greatness? 

Like a violinist who makes first chair in the orchestra, a lawyer who makes partner in their firm, or a politician who is elected to a higher office, greatness is most often measured by one's status: the higher the rank, the better the pay, the nicer the office, the greater you are. 

But Jesus redefines greatness as we understand it. Instead of greatness that is measured by accolades and rewards, Jesus tells us that true greatness is found in service that frees our souls from the debilitating idolatry of self-absorption and replaces it with the life-giving joy of self-forgetfulness.

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Have you ever had to "go it alone" in life?

Despite the fact that we've never been more connected through digital communication, more and more people report feeling isolated and lonely. 

The UK went so far as to create a Minister for Loneliness in attempt to address the issue. And yet, for many people, finding community and connection has, in many ways, never been more challenging.

But none of us were created to do life on our own. As humans, we have a double identity, individual and corporate. And while, in the West, we tend to focus predominantly on our individual identities, we were created for deep connection and relationship. 

What's more, when we're connected to the community of faith, the Church, God uses those relationships to do some of his most powerful work in us.

More info https://www.ebc.org or call (609.267.4755), email ([email protected]), DM us on Instagram or Facebook, or come see us in person at Easton Bible Church. 

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