In a time when it seems easy for the church to disengage from culture around us, the call for the church is to intentionally engage. We are called to be light, salt, and the hope of the world. This call isn't a burden, but a great privilege. We have been invited into a marvelous adventure. 

It's hard to live in this world. The Deceiver does his best to delude us and turn us from God. But, being "ALL IN" means standing firm in our faith when everything tells us otherwise. It means not growing weary in doing good. Why? Because God is faithful and will establish and protect us against the evil one, if we remain faithful to Him. Join us this morning as we study through 2 Thessalonians and discover how God makes us holy by directing our hearts toward His love and the steadfastness of Christ.

Who are you trying to please? Is it your parents, your spouse, your kids, your neighbors or friends? What about God? Do you care whether God is pleased with your life?  Maybe another way of asking this is: Do you want God’s will for your life? Do you want to live to fulfill God’s will and calling on your life? In chapter four of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, he instructed the believers to live in a way that would please God.  Living to please God equals Holy Living equals “ALL IN” Living.

Those who are ALL IN seek a whole life in holiness. But how are we to do that? Paul is discussing the Christian way of living a holy life when he tells the Colossians too set heir minds on things above. Our minds are our reasoning capacities, and when we use them to seek Christ, God empowers a new and better way of life. We become able to kill off the parasitic influence of evil, and our souls are clothed in the life of Christ as we place ourselves at the disposal of God. It is as we increase in holiness that we find ourselves being made whole by God.  

Jesus Christ is supreme. He's supreme over creation, life, and death. The false teachers in Colossae, like many in our day, would not deny the importance of Jesus Christ. They would dethrone Him, giving Him prominence but not preeminence. In his letter to them, Paul wants to make sure that the church not just sees Jesus as supreme but that he is supreme over their lives. An "All In" life recognizes the importance of living holy lives that are wholly devoted to Jesus.

Christ's ambassadors are sent out into a dark world, but they are to be shining lights for all to see. They are to work out their salvation with fear and trembling with the attitude of Christ. A study of Philippians passages.

What does it mean to be "ALL IN" for Jesus? Jesus said, "Lose your life and you will find it." This is not an easy thing to do, but it is exactly what Jesus has called us to (Matthew 16:25). This sort of life is a life of risk, but also of great reward. A life lived "ALL IN" is a life fully surrendered to Jesus—a life full of joy but requiring great sacrifice. The opposite of "ALL IN" is a life of simply being aware of who Jesus is and wanting to receive His great promises without any inconvenience to our lives. This sort of life always leads to disappointment and disillusionment. Join us this morning as we begin to discover what it means to truly be "ALL IN" for Jesus.

As we go "ALL IN" in our faith, we are moved to living a deeper faith. We are not satisfied with a shallow, surface kind of faith. We want to go and live deeply in Christ in every aspect of our lives. In the Casting Crowns song Somewhere in the Middle they have a line “Deep water faith in the shallow end”. That phrase sums up where many of us are in our walk with God. We are in the shallow end of the pool of life, in far enough to get a bit wet, but not out of our safety zone. We are still in the area that our feet can touch the ground. We are in control, we have yet to take the plunge and go beyond where we can stand on our own to where we need to fully trust in God for safety and protection. But we need to go deeper. We can’t spend our whole life stuck where we feel safe; otherwise we will miss out on much that God wants to do through us.

When we are "ALL IN", it is more than just an hour a week, but every moment of every day. What do we do with the other 167 hours in our week? So, who are you when no one is looking? This morning we explore living "ALL IN" through 168 hours a week vs. 1. As we seek to live "ALL IN" lives for Christ, we want to help every member "work out their salvation" before God. It is important to remember that salvation is not only received, but lived. To do this, FXCC will use four "E" words to prepare our family members for "ALL IN" living: Encourage (vs. Complain), Equip (vs. Take), Empower (vs. Prohibit), and Engage (vs. Sit). Join us this morning as we consider how we are to "work out our salvation" in an "ALL IN" life. 

Who is your God? While our first thought may be, "God of course," is He really. Jesus tells us that where our treasure is, there our heart is also. Who or what owns your heart is your god. Jesus wants your heart and nothing less. Living "ALL IN" means seeking first the kingdom of God, above all else. Today we live in a society filled with idolatry. Unfortunately, we can be caught up in idolatry (just like the Israelites) and not even know it. Join us as we examine passages in Matthew that help us understand the necessity of claiming our God and following hard after Him in order to be "ALL IN".