Gateway Church - MO

What is love? It’s a question that has filled pages of poetry and hours of songs. But has anyone ever actually come up with the answer? The answer to that question is, ‘yes’. God, through Jesus, has displayed the beauty and power of real love. As Jesus followers, the world needs us to reveal that kind of love in all of our relationships. Real love is different and different makes a difference.

Who cares? It's a phrase we've all used thousands of times. But it also a question that our world asks. When I am alone, "who cares?" When I am hurt, "who cares?" When I have been rejected, betrayed or wronged, the natural question is "who cares?" And, when I am celebrating, "who cares?" If we are followers of Jesus, the answer to that question should be "I do!" The fact is, when others hurt we can feel awkward and uncertain of how to respond. When others have victories we tend to feel jealous. But if we are going to make a difference, then we need to be willing to be different. When everyone else says, "who cares." We need to stand up and say. "I do!"

Unity. Togetherness. It’s something we all want, even need. It also seems to be the one thing most absent in our culture today. From politics to pandemics to personal identity issues to which sports team you support, our world feels very divided. Jesus’ desire for his church was that we be unified. When we choose unity over our own personal interests or even needs, it marks us as different from the world. It’s a difference that gets noticed. A difference that’s attractive. The world is coming apart. We make a difference when we come together.

While most of us are not influential or powerful in our world, that’s OK. God doesn’t need us to be. What he wants is for us to be fully surrendered. When I surrender all of me, the good the bad and the ugly and when I allow God to use what I have in the way he sees best, I become a powerful force for the Kingdom.

Most of the time we hate to be interrupted.  Especially when those interruption are going to cost us something.  We don’t like spending time, energy, or money on unwanted interruptions.  For most of us, interruptions are inconveniences.  But what if those interruptions were actually God at work for us and through us.  If we’ll stop seeing interruptions as inconveniences and instead see them as divine appointments, we might be surprised to see what God is up to.

Our culture has connected our identity as a person with what we do for a living. We value people based on what they can do and the value they add to society. God doesn't operate that way. Even if I am not educated, talented or trained to do anything ‘special’, if I will make myself available and stay surrendered to Jesus, he will use me to change the world.

Let’s admit it. Sometimes we overthink things, especially our challenges and difficulties. When we were kids, we thought anything was possible. But as we get older, we become more jaded, more cynical and less sure of the outcomes of our challenges. This is partially why Jesus told us we need to become like children. When we have a childlike faith and focus on God, he turns our toughest challenges into God-sized victories.

If you're a parent, there are times when you wonder if what you are doing even matters. Do all the laundry, housework, sleepless nights, stubborn conflicts and constant pushback really matter. We think, "I'm just a parent. I can't change the world." But if we will choose to be intentional about praying and surrendering to God today, he will use us to shape the world tomorrow. What you're doing matters when you leave it in the hands of God.

We are not meant to do life alone. God created us to live in community. God’s plan, from the very beginning was that we are to do life together.  Jesus established and died for the church so that we can have a community that represent Him and moves His kingdom forward. Whether we realize it or not, we cannot live our faith out in isolation. The Christian life is meant to be a life lived in community.

Jesus left us with one mission: Go and make disciples. We are not called to keep our faith to ourselves, we are called to share it. This doesn’t mean forcing it on others. It means living like Jesus in our world and inviting others to join us. Making disciples is about helping others connect with Jesus and experience lasting life change through him.