Gateway Church - MO

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:11b-13

SUFFERING IS TEMPORARY AND DEATH DOES NOT HAVE THE FINAL WORD.  WHEN WE HAVE FAITH IN THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS WE MOVE FROM SORROW TO JOY

We all experience bitterness in some form and we hate the way it feels. If left unchecked it drains life from us and the people we interact with. Bitterness is our internal response to our personal pain. We find healing from our bitterness when we follow God’s example and allow God to heal our heart. When we choose to give our pain to God instead of dealing with it ourselves, we will truly find the freedom we are looking for.

The pathway from fear to peace is one that requires a change of perspective. When we focus on the size of our problem, we can be overwhelmed by fear. When we choose to focus on the size of our God, our perspective changes and our problems are less overwhelming in view of a God who is greater than all our fears. Worship is how we change our perspective.

Listen to Dr. Devon Smith our district superintendent for the Tri-State District. He breaks down what it means to be a Christian and a church that God wants you to be.

Jesus predicted that he would start a gathering, a movement . . . what we call church. And that church would spread all over the earth and outlast the Roman Empire. It would change the world. His prediction must have sounded outlandish to even his closest followers. But here we are, two thousand years later, and the Roman Empire exists only in history books, while Jesus’ gathering is still going strong. The church is the hope of the world because the church is the vehicle by which God is bringing the solution to mankind’s greatest problems: sin, sorrow, and death.

It takes a step of faith for an individual to trust Christ—not a blind leap of faith—one that is informed and supported by some compelling evidence. Christians don’t believe just because the Bible tells them to but because of the number of eyewitnesses who claimed to have seen a risen Jesus.

We all have mess up – sinned – and need to be forgiven. The good news is that through Christ’s death, we have already been forgiven. God has, in effect, canceled our sin and released us from the burden created by our guilt and regret. Other faith systems give us things to do; God offers something that has already been done for us. This is God’s great gift to us. But like any gift, it must be received.

As Abraham worried about the fulfillment of God’s promises, God reassured him that what he had said would come to pass. Abraham responded to this reassurance with belief. In that moment of faith, God declared him righteous (having right standing or reconciled). Thousands of years later, Paul tells Christians that, like Abraham, our righteousness is based on faith as well.

Sin separates us from God. Embracing our status as sinners allows us to recognize our need for the forgiveness and restoration God offers through Jesus. Saying “I am a sinner” opens the door to an authentic relationship with God.