Gateway Church - MO

Almost everyone wants to be happy. Happiness is so important to us that we’ll spend all the time and money we have just to get it. We’ll trade cars, careers, and relationships just to be happy. The problem is that happiness comes and goes. Happiness is based on what HAPPENS. What we need is joy. Joy isn’t based on what happens, it doesn’t come and go. Even when life hurts, we can have joy. It’s just a matter of having the right focus.

“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 7:12

So, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Philippians 2:1-8

God is good even in the bad times, remember He does not take the storm away but promises to be with us in it. He is in control of the outcome always working for His glory and our good.

Peace is something that is conspicuously absent in our society today. Whether political issues, social issues, or just in our relationships, there is a tension and a conflict that indicates peace is missing.  We want peace, but most of us assume peace is just the absence of conflict and we think we can get it by getting others to submit. But peace is so much more than just not fighting. It changes our relationships and helps us be whole and complete. It's worth fighting for. But in the fight for peace we need to make sure we fight against the right enemy.

Usually, when we think of religion, we think of doing all the right things and NOT DOING all the wrong things. We tend to think in terms of lists of rules we have to follow. And while it’s true that as a follower of Jesus we certainly need to honor Him with our lives and avoid sin, there’s more to getting it right than just avoiding the wrong. We also need to love others the way Jesus did.

Words matter.  Words have weight.  And we have all been wounded by other people’s words.  Things they have said to us or things they have said about us have hurt us.  And when we’re wounded, we have a choice to make.  We can spread the pain, giving it back to those who have hurt us and spreading to those around us, or we can bring healing.  The words we use when we’re wounded will either bring healing or more hurt.  The choice is up to us.  As followers of Jesus, there’s only one choice; bring healing.  It’s different than what the world is used to and different makes a difference.

Sometimes if feels like we are chained to our past. Old hurts, ruined relationships, doubts, fears, and uncertainty all tied to things that have been done or said to us in the past.  And when we drag our past around with us, we become angry and bitter. It keeps us from moving forward and it ties us to a time and place we don't want to be a part of anymore. So, how do we get free? We must make a choice. When we choose to forgive others for what they have done and set, the past falls away.  Forgiveness is the choice that unchains us from our past.

What do selfies, being impatient in traffic and the inability to maintain healthy relationships all have in common? They’re all symptoms of a disease that is ripping our lives, families, and nation apart. The disease of ME. Most of our culture is self-focused, self-absorbed, and self-obsessed and the cult of self is poisoning our relationships and destroying lives. But there is an antidote. The antidote for the disease of ME is to develop true humility and it works every time.

What do we do when someone has a need, and we can help meet it. Do we roll up our sleeves and dive in, or do we say we’ll pray about it and move along? The truth is most of us try to avoid the complications of other people’s messes. But Jesus showed us what compassion looks like. Compassion always moves us to act on behalf of others to meet their needs, even when it’s uncomfortable and costly.