Gateway Church - MO

There is a conventional wisdom that says “me first.” It’s common sense in our world: Take care of yourself. But what if conventional wisdom isn’t working? What if instead of conventional wisdom, we ask God to give us real wisdom? It will change us and it will change the world around us.

We can talk about our faith all day long. We can have the t-shirts, bumper stickers and perfect social media posts, but until we live out our faith by caring for those on the margins, our faith is hollow. Real faith isn’t talked about, it’s lived out loud.

Our words are more powerful and carry far more weight than we realize. That’s why it is so important for us to tame our tongues. The problem is that our tongues tend to be untamable. It is only when we surrender to the power of Christ that our words can become a source of life rather than a tool for death.

None of us likes to go out looking like we have never seen a mirror. When we're going out, we look in a mirror and change what needs to be changed. James compares the scriptures to a mirror that shows us the truth about ourselves. And when it comes to the mirror of scripture, when see something, I need to do something.

Most of the time we focus on the gift. We like presents. But when God gave us the gifts of HOPE, LOVE, PEACE, and JOY, the package was better than all of the gifts combined. The truth is we need God's presence more than we need His presents. God with us is more powerful than the things God does for us.

Our circumstances change, and with them, our happiness comes and goes. But joy is an attitude we choose based on our hope in God's love and promises. When you choose Joy, the weary world takes note.

God loved the world so much that he gave. He gave his son, Jesus, to show us what love looks like and, ultimately, to love us completely. When we look at the words and actions of Jesus we learn what it means to love and when we imitate Him, we give the weary world a reason to rejoice.

When I understand my sin and God’s grace, the natural response is to say “Send Me” when God asks who will go.