Once upon a time, there were three little pigs. The first built his house out of straw. The second built his out of sticks. The last pig built his house out of bricks. We all know this familiar story and the result of the decisions made by these three pigs. The moral of the story is clear to any who has heard it. The first two pigs chose the easy, convenient route to housing only to find themselves in jeopardy when the wolf came to the door. We use this story to tell our children to make good decisions and to put in the extra effort to build something that will last. The moral of this story applies to our spiritual life too. We face an enemy too. The way we build our spiritual houses matters against the spiritual equivalent of the wolf at the door—the materials and the way we build our spiritual house to stand against the enemy matter even more.

The story of Jacob is familiar. In this text, Jacob is at the of his life. His son Joseph brings his grandchildren to be blessed. Jacob begins by describing an encounter with God, but his story started much earlier than that. From the beginning, he is a schemer, a lier, and a cheating man. He was born reaching for his bother’s heel, and from then to when he cheated that brother out of his birthright. So went Jacob’s life until he as an encounter at Bethel described in Genesis 35. When Jacob looked back over his life at the end, the encounter with God at Luz changed everything about his life, perspective, and path forward. Until that moment, Jacob did not understand what God was doing in his life. He spent his life up to that point fighting against what God was doing. At that moment, something changed, and Jacob marked his life from that moment forward. At that moment, he realized that he had been his own worst enemy. Something happened to him that day that caused all the lies, cheating, and scheming to fall away. An experience with God can break the hold that our past has on us. It can put us on a path to a bright future that leaves our dark past behind. God can write a new story for our future that does not include what condemned us in the past. An encounter with God can create a point that we look back on as a new beginning like Jacob. A moment where our life is no longer held back by old memories, but that begins a story with divine purpose.

The story of Jacob is familiar. In this text, Jacob is at the of his life. His son Joseph brings his grandchildren to be blessed. Jacob begins by describing an encounter with God, but his story started much earlier than that. From the beginning, he is a schemer, a lier, and a cheating man. He was born reaching for his bother’s heel, and from then to when he cheated that brother out of his birthright. So went Jacob’s life until he as an encounter at Bethel described in Genesis 35. When Jacob looked back over his life at the end, the encounter with God at Luz changed everything about his life, perspective, and path forward. Until that moment, Jacob did not understand what God was doing in his life. He spent his life up to that point fighting against what God was doing. At that moment, something changed, and Jacob marked his life from that moment forward. At that moment, he realized that he had been his own worst enemy. Something happened to him that day that caused all the lies, cheating, and scheming to fall away. An experience with God can break the hold that our past has on us. It can put us on a path to a bright future that leaves our dark past behind. God can write a new story for our future that does not include what condemned us in the past. An encounter with God can create a point that we look back on as a new beginning like Jacob. A moment where our life is no longer held back by old memories, but that begins a story with divine purpose.

The story of Jacob is familiar. In this text, Jacob is at the of his life. His son Joseph brings his grandchildren to be blessed. Jacob begins by describing an encounter with God, but his story started much earlier than that. From the beginning, he is a schemer, a lier, and a cheating man. He was born reaching for his bother’s heel, and from then to when he cheated that brother out of his birthright. So went Jacob’s life until he as an encounter at Bethel described in Genesis 35. When Jacob looked back over his life at the end, the encounter with God at Luz changed everything about his life, perspective, and path forward. Until that moment, Jacob did not understand what God was doing in his life. He spent his life up to that point fighting against what God was doing. At that moment, something changed, and Jacob marked his life from that moment forward. At that moment, he realized that he had been his own worst enemy. Something happened to him that day that caused all the lies, cheating, and scheming to fall away. An experience with God can break the hold that our past has on us. It can put us on a path to a bright future that leaves our dark past behind. God can write a new story for our future that does not include what condemned us in the past. An encounter with God can create a point that we look back on as a new beginning like Jacob. A moment where our life is no longer held back by old memories, but that begins a story with divine purpose.

Our text portrays utter desperation in this father who came to Jesus to deliver his son from the spirit that possessed him. Many of us have experienced this level of hopelessness and doubt. It is common to feel this pain and blame ourselves for it because of our lack of faith. There are things in life that are overwhelming. Financial issues, family problems, health concerns, and stress on the job can all close in on us. We face situations that we are unable to understand or to see a way through. We have to rely on faith. It is too easy to feel that faith is not enough, but the bible is clear that even a little faith is enough. There are times in life when having faith is easy. However, when we need faith the most is when it is not easy. As humans, we focus more on what we do not have rather than what we do have. In these times of trial, it is too easy to concentrate on our lack of faith and not focus on the faith that we do have.

We do not like to admit that we doubt and lack faith, but it will come to us all. The battle between faith and doubt will challenge us. The desperate father says to Jesus, “Help me in my unbelief.” Jesus redirects him away from what he did not have and told him to focus on what he did have. There are times when we need that. It could be that the father was simply asking Jesus to help him despite his unbelief. There are times when we need that too. Sometimes we think the amount of faith that we have is what moves God. Jesus tells us in Matthew that even a little faith is enough to get God’s attention. It is the same with worship and prayer. We offer what little we have, and God will respond. When Jesus fed the multitude, He did not say that He only had a few loaves and some fish; He offered thanks for what he Had and began to hand it out.

The father in Mark 9 came to Jesus, magnifying his son’s condition, but he changed his focus to his belief in Jesus. He shifted his faith to before his problem. Too many of us look at our problem and then look to see how small our faith is. But if we put our faith in front, the mountain will be cast away. We have to move our worship in front of our problem. We need to shift our prayer to before our problem. God said, come with what we have, and He will supply what we need. Where we place our faith is critical

Our text portrays utter desperation in this father who came to Jesus to deliver his son from the spirit that possessed him. Many of us have experienced this level of hopelessness and doubt. It is common to feel this pain and blame ourselves for it because of our lack of faith. There are things in life that are overwhelming. Financial issues, family problems, health concerns, and stress on the job can all close in on us. We face situations that we are unable to understand or to see a way through. We have to rely on faith. It is too easy to feel that faith is not enough, but the bible is clear that even a little faith is enough. There are times in life when having faith is easy. However, when we need faith the most is when it is not easy. As humans, we focus more on what we do not have rather than what we do have. In these times of trial, it is too easy to concentrate on our lack of faith and not focus on the faith that we do have.

We do not like to admit that we doubt and lack faith, but it will come to us all. The battle between faith and doubt will challenge us. The desperate father says to Jesus, “Help me in my unbelief.” Jesus redirects him away from what he did not have and told him to focus on what he did have. There are times when we need that. It could be that the father was simply asking Jesus to help him despite his unbelief. There are times when we need that too. Sometimes we think the amount of faith that we have is what moves God. Jesus tells us in Matthew that even a little faith is enough to get God’s attention. It is the same with worship and prayer. We offer what little we have, and God will respond. When Jesus fed the multitude, He did not say that He only had a few loaves and some fish; He offered thanks for what he Had and began to hand it out.

The father in Mark 9 came to Jesus, magnifying his son’s condition, but he changed his focus to his belief in Jesus. He shifted his faith to before his problem. Too many of us look at our problem and then look to see how small our faith is. But if we put our faith in front, the mountain will be cast away. We have to move our worship in front of our problem. We need to shift our prayer to before our problem. God said, come with what we have, and He will supply what we need. Where we place our faith is critical

Our text portrays utter desperation in this father who came to Jesus to deliver his son from the spirit that possessed him. Many of us have experienced this level of hopelessness and doubt. It is common to feel this pain and blame ourselves for it because of our lack of faith. There are things in life that are overwhelming. Financial issues, family problems, health concerns, and stress on the job can all close in on us. We face situations that we are unable to understand or to see a way through. We have to rely on faith. It is too easy to feel that faith is not enough, but the bible is clear that even a little faith is enough. There are times in life when having faith is easy. However, when we need faith the most is when it is not easy. As humans, we focus more on what we do not have rather than what we do have. In these times of trial, it is too easy to concentrate on our lack of faith and not focus on the faith that we do have.

We do not like to admit that we doubt and lack faith, but it will come to us all. The battle between faith and doubt will challenge us. The desperate father says to Jesus, “Help me in my unbelief.” Jesus redirects him away from what he did not have and told him to focus on what he did have. There are times when we need that. It could be that the father was simply asking Jesus to help him despite his unbelief. There are times when we need that too. Sometimes we think the amount of faith that we have is what moves God. Jesus tells us in Matthew that even a little faith is enough to get God’s attention. It is the same with worship and prayer. We offer what little we have, and God will respond. When Jesus fed the multitude, He did not say that He only had a few loaves and some fish; He offered thanks for what he Had and began to hand it out.

The father in Mark 9 came to Jesus, magnifying his son’s condition, but he changed his focus to his belief in Jesus. He shifted his faith to before his problem. Too many of us look at our problem and then look to see how small our faith is. But if we put our faith in front, the mountain will be cast away. We have to move our worship in front of our problem. We need to shift our prayer to before our problem. God said, come with what we have, and He will supply what we need. Where we place our faith is critical

Greater Life Church

Greater Life Church

Greater Life Church