Clearing The Path for Pentecost

“He is not enthusiasm. He is not courage. He is not energy. He is not the personification of all good qualities, like Jack Frost is the personification of cold weather. Actually, the Holy Spirit is not the personification of anything. He is a person, the same as you are a person, but not material substance. He has individuality. He is one being and not another, He has will and intelligence. He has hearing. He has knowledge and sympathy and ability to love and see and think. He can hear, speak, desire, grieve and rejoice. He is a Person.”

- AW Tozer “The Counselor”

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. // John 14:12

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

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The Limit of Powerlessness, the Gift of Turbulence

Following Jesus sounds great in theory, but obedience is scary. We only discover how we’re going to do what Jesus calls us to do after stepping out in obedience. That seems backwards. But when we focus on Jesus – the one calling us to obey – it gets easier because we learn to take comfort in Him.

Matthew 14:28-29 (NIV) - “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus."

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

The Limit of Fear, the Gift of Faith

It is safe to say that we all experience emotional fears that grip us, and that have the ability to limit our yes to God. Fear is not an uncommon or an unnatural emotion in life, and God knew that we would feel it. He tells his people, us, throughout the Bible, “Do not be afraid.” He already knew that we would feel this emotion, and He promised to come alongside us to strengthen us and to help us fight and overcome fear. In that fight against fear, however, we are called to be faithful to His promises and to cling His sovereignty. So that we can look fear in the face and say ‘yes’ to God. And as a result, we get to step into God’s call and purpose for us.

Isaiah 41:10 (NLT) - "Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand."

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

Outline of the Gospel

Most people miss the voice of God not because it’s too strange but because it’s so familiar. “Why is it,” comedian Lily Tomlin asks, “that when we speak to God, we are said to be praying but when God speaks to us, we are said to be schizophrenic?” Dallas Willard wrote, “Such a response from ourselves or others to someone’s claim to have heard from God is especially likely today because of the lack of specific teaching and pastoral guidance on such matters.”

Matthew 4:4 (NLT) - But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

The Limit of Time, the Gift of No.

If you want to build margin in your life so that you can do the work God meant for you to do, you have to remember that you are only human. You have limits. Psalm 119:96 says, “I have learned that everything has limits” (GNT). God is the author of your limitations. He put them there for your good—because he loves you. So rather than fighting your limits, you need to accept your limits. Sadly, as human beings we’re not very adept at recognizing our limits. We constantly overestimate our abilities and underestimate obstacles and how much time it will take to do something. On top of that, we live in a culture that constantly tells us, “You can do it all! You can have it all! You can be whatever you want!” But it’s not true. You can be all that God wants you to be, but you cannot be whatever you want to be. There are limits in your life. 

Romans 12:3,6 - Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. 6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

The Limit of a Man, the Gift of a Father

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

The Limit of Self Knowledge, the Gift of the Bible

If you’re going to have a personal relationship with Jesus, if your religion is personal, you have to be utterly obedient to Him. Jesus says that it’s in obedience where we find freedom … Not freedom to do what we feel, or freedom from the pain of the world, but freedom to experience life as it were meant to be lived … with Jesus. The reason we’re freed by obedience and allegiance to Jesus is because we’re obeying the will of our Designer. We no longer carry the weight of trying to figure out life on our own.

Matthew 11:28-29 (NLT) - "Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org

The Limit of Autonomy. The Gift of Freedom 

Freedom is not the ability to do anything you want – it is the ability to accept your limits, to say no to that which robs you of what you most deeply desire. Almost everyone agrees (Christians and non-Christians) freedom is the fulfillment that comes from doing what you most deeply desire. The Bible says that only happens when you are willing to be completely dependent on God. “I will obey You and Your Word and not all of my contradictory, conflicting impulses. I will do what You say, and I know, then, I’ll find myself because I was built to obey You.” The essence of Freedom is not dos and don’ts but personal allegiance to a relationship with Jesus.

“Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.”

-Psalm 1:1-2 (NLT)-

Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.

EthosOH.com

Small Groups: EthosOH.com/Community

ServeColumbus.org