Helping people in need can be easier said than done. Whether we're engrossed in our own little world with its to-do lists, or we don't want to be inconvenienced, or if we get overwhelmed by our lack of plausible solutions, it's easy to become anxious about reaching out to help the needy.

Peter and John certainly weren't well-to-do enough to solve the world's problems. They knew they didn't have much to offer regarding finances or physical goods. They knew, however, that what they did have to offer was of far greater value than anyone around them realized.

We have the very same thing to offer the world, God's Holy Spirit, and God made it quite simple. If we will just listen and obey rather than worry or ignore, we will discover that we have much more to offer the world than we realize.

Loving everyone sounds nice. It makes great bumper stickers and t-shirt slogans, but it isn't always that easy. The challenge of loving people doesn't make it any less true or necessary, but it's often easier said than done. If we're honest, loving people is hard. It costs us something. We may have to give up our comforts, our time, our energy, or our resources. It's what Jesus did, and it's what He commissioned us to do. So why is it so hard to love people?

Jesus saw people differently. He didn't just see them with His physical eyes. He saw them with spiritual eyes. He saw the hunger, the brokenness, and the desperation within every person, which moved Him with compassion. That compassion compelled Him to heal them, share a meal with them, teach them, and ultimately die for them. We, however, fail to look with spiritual eyes and therefore have the same compassion for people who, frankly, challenge us in our flesh.

It's time to look beyond the physical. It's time to see the spiritual condition of the people around us, and to remember that we, ourselves, are in just as much need of a savior as they are.

It's one thing to feel sorry for the circumstances of others. It's another thing to be so moved by love that you'll do something about it. That's what it means to have compassion for someone or a group. It's the characteristic of God that compelled Him to have mercy on His people.

We often find it difficult to have compassion for others, however. Perhaps we just don't care enough, or perhaps we find ourselves passing judgment, relegating them to the bed of their own making.

In the story of The Prodigal Son, we have three characters by which to view ourselves. Unfortunately, we may not like which character we most resemble. It's in this story, though, that we see the compassionate love of the Father and the value He places on all of us. From there, we are commissioned to have the same compassion towards the world around us.

Why? It's a question that we all ask at some point in our lives, especially during our early childhood years. It's this desire to understand the world around us or to understand ourselves.

As Christians, we struggle and wrestle with the part of us that is new in Christ and the part of us that is still "fleshly," that is desiring sin and rebellion towards the things of God. Paul describes it eloquently in Romans 7, "I do the very things I do not wish to do." It's this same war within us that begs the question, "Why do I keep doing these things?".

As we hear from guest speaker, Dr. David Ferguson and his wife, Theresa, we can begin to see that there are often unseen bruises from our past that play a big role in our reactions to life events.

The good news is that there is hope for healing and freedom. The secret to finding freedom from these unseen bruises lies in a "who" and not a "what."

Peter became known as one of the most significant of Jesus' disciples. The start of his journey, however, was a little, pun intended, rocky.

He was called by Jesus but returned to fishing. He respected Jesus. He obeyed Jesus. But he had not yet submitted himself wholly to Jesus. Jesus was not yet Lord to him. It wasn't until the miraculous haul of fish that Peter recognized Who exactly Jesus was. It was then that Peter confessed he was a sinful man in the presence of the One Holy God.

So many times we find ourselves in a similar situation, especially in our culture. We might do good things, try to obey Jesus, go to church, be an overall "good" person, send positive vibes, and all that. But many have not yet invited Jesus into their life to be "captain," Lord, of their world. Until that happens, we are just as lost as anyone who's never set foot in a church.

When we do see Who Jesus really is, He is so quick to embrace, forgive, restore, and renew, it's almost unfathomable. Jesus picks us up and shows us how He will establish us in our true purpose. For Peter the fisherman, Jesus made him a fisher of men. Similarly, there is a divine purpose for which you have been preparing all of your life. All it takes is a willingness to surrender to the great Captain of our souls.

Today, it can be discomforting to be a foreigner in another country as we can easily be sidetracked by the discomforts, withdraw and become ineffective in those foreign places. How we approach our time in those kinds of places matter. We are living in a difficult time and place and in a divided country. Our challenges today are growing. How we approach them and respond is important and challenging. It is uncomfortable but at the same time, there should be brokenness in us as we seek to understand what hurt is underneath and what healing could and needs to take place. As Christians, we tend to focus more and more on eternity. But are we called to be focused on eternal life so much that we distance ourselves from this world and its problems? Are we as believers insulating ourselves from the problems and people around us?

While baptism does not save us, it does illustrate a personal willingness to obey Christ.

Baptism is a sign for those who have chosen to follow Jesus Christ. What is the Biblical doctrine of baptism? Why are we baptized? What is baptism as supported by God's Word? Baptism is when a person gets submerged in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Greek word, Baptisma, is used 77 times in the New Testament, and every time it refers to complete submersion in water. (Pastor James in this sermon covers some beliefs on baptism that are not supported by God's Word.) It is so important to build doctrine on God's Word and look to His Word for clarity. 

The gospels give an account of John baptizing people. What was John's baptism for? It was for repentance, a sign of the old covenant for confession of sins. It was different than Jesus' baptism which represents salvation for us that was paid for on the cross. God's Word tells us that Jesus came to his cousin, John, to be baptized. 

Jesus connects baptism to the righteousness that He gave on the cross. Righteousness came through Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. Luke 12:50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! Jesus is alluding to His death on the cross - the death, burial, and resurrection that He was to undergo. Jesus' view of death and resurrection was best described in baptism. Baptism accurately portrays what Christ has done for each of us. Baptism answers the question of "what happened" in our life - a response to a changed life that others can see.

Baptism is not tied to our salvation but gives testimony to what Christ has done. Baptism is not a part of salvation but in response to salvation. In that day, circumcision was much more than a procedure - it was a mark on a child's life. 

We are saved by grace through faith only and baptism shows the world around us what happened. We are baptized into Christ and are not baptized into a church or into a denomination. Baptism is for the believer. Baptism is a physical picture of a spiritual reality by which we reveal to the world what Christ has done for us. 

Why be baptized? Because Christ commanded it. We are to bring others to salvation, and then it is demonstrated with a willingness to be baptized. That's the great commission. It is what Jesus wants us to do... preach the gospel, make disciples, and baptize. If we are not being baptized then we are disobeying Jesus on a basic element. Luke 6:46 Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? Baptism is not about a personal experience as much as it is about your personal obedience. Baptism was always about obedience to Jesus Christ. John 14:15 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

What do you see if you look around the world? How do you see what you are experiencing in your life? Are you concerned about what you see? There are challenges as we hear what people are concerned about. 

There is nothing hidden from our God. God knows even the plots of the enemy and even when we are unaware.

For everyone that is called, there is a gift that resides inside. When that gift is used to glorify God, it will disrupt the plans of the enemy. The enemy will try to distract us from what God has called us to. 

There is a desire to be generous within us especially when we understand that we have been given something that does not belong to us. Then we are free to give. When we become Christian, we become conformed to His image - God is a giver.

What hinders generosity? It is not a lack of desire but a lack of stewardship. We need to understand what we hold in our hands and our lives. Stewardship is the management of the property of someone else. When we are a steward of something there is a responsibility. Understanding our position in this world is significant.

We tend to hang on to possessions because of fear and forget that God is faithful, good, loving, and trustworthy. God told Abraham that he would be blessed and that he would bless others. Blessings are the experience of God's faithfulness and favor toward us. If you want blessings, then choose to give up ownership of your life to Jesus. If you want peace, give God your burden. God wants us to pass on that favor and be a blessing to others.

The final meal that Jesus shared with His disciples was the Passover Meal. It was familiar for the Jews. The Passover was to celebrate what God had done in releasing the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. God used Moses to pronounce 10 judgments on the Egyptians so that they would release the Jews but Pharaoh kept hardening his heart and would not release them. The final and 10th punishment was the death of each firstborn. The Jews were not exempt and so God provided a passing over. The night before the angel of the Lord came to take each firstborn, the Israelites were to mark their doorposts with the blood of a lamb and then have a meal together. That blood protected them from the death of each firstborn. Anyone without blood was not protected and Pharaoh finds his firstborn dead and so released the Jews.

Jesus on His final night was breaking bread and offering a blessing. Jesus changed focus from looking back at what God had done and was now pointing forward to what will come. Matthew 22:19 "This is My body, which is being given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Jesus added the remembrance of His work to this breaking of bread. After Jesus' resurrection, they continued breaking bread but with a new significance.