"Looking unto Jesus" -- As we consider the amazing scenes of Jesus's life, the most important is that of the cross and resurrection. In our mini-series on the life of Jesus, I thought this Sunday would be an appropriate time to look at the scene of the cross because it's the same Sunday we are celebrating the Lord's Table. As Jesus died on the cross, He was "bearing our shame." This is the aspect we will delve into as we consider Christ condemned to make us free. He bore shame and reproach before man so that we might never bear shame or reproach before the Father.

The apparent infiniteness of how immense, and yet microscopically intricate the universe is can heighten our sense of insignificance. "Who notices my existence anyway!?" And yet, God, Who made all that is in Christ sees us individually and knows all there is to know about us. This is a comforting truth! We'll dive into this truth from John 1 as we continue the series -- "Looking Unto Jesus."

Jesus has all power! The storms of life threaten to topple our existence. The storms may be external or they may be internal. But in all these circumstances, we can trust our Lord Jesus Who calms our storms. He is all-powerful, and His command puts them to rest. Let us praise the Lord for His power over the storms of life and His power over all things.

If God is for us, who can be against us? What a glorious truth! We can move through the stages of God's glorious salvation with great confidence because He is bringing us to glory. He Who saved us will glorify us and along the way, nothing formed against His purposes for us will stand.

Our greatest goal in life is to be more like Jesus. Asking that age-old question, "WWJD - What Would Jesus Do?" is the easier part. Knowing what He would do is different from doing it. The Lord must give us grace to live that out consistently. God's plan for you -- His promise to you is to make you more like His Son. He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ (Romans 8:28-30).

One important concept to keep in mind in a Christian's warfare is that God is for you. We are not in the battle alone. Through the Gospel of Jesus we have gained eternal blessings but that is also true of our daily struggles. God is for you and can enable you to live victoriously every day. Let's praise the Lord in scripture, prayer and song for God is for us! We've enjoyed a few sessions together with Pastor Jon Crocker. He will be sharing amessage from 1 Peter 5:8-11"Pilgrim Resistance." I know the Lord will use this challenge to encourage and help us forward in our Christian walk.

This Sunday we'll look at Jesus' Parable of the Prodigal Son which really teaches how God is our Father's of glorious merciful and love toward us. What a beautiful parable to consider this Sunday. Celebrate His great love toward us this Sunday as we gather for worship.

Last week, we enjoyed dwelling on the amazing truth that God makes all things work together for good! That is a joy and brings comfort knowing that all details of life are under His control and will work to our good. This is what He purposes by His great power and control. The "God causing all things to work together for good" truth is founded on the next verse—the fact that He has been doing this for us for a very long time. Even from eternity past! Let's praise the Lord for the first of the "five golden chains" of God's saving grace.