Gritty Faith

In order to experience freedom and abundant life we must take extreme ownership of our mistakes.  Owning our mistakes mends relationships, enables us to move forward, and frees us to focus on moving forward in life.

The Psalms are like the playlist of the early church. A good playlist will elicit thoughts, feels, and moods for the listener. Today we'll see how the words of Jesus and the words of the Psalmist can help us to overcome the worry we have in life.

We live in a world where love is transactional.  As long as you continue to demonstrate your love to me than I will continue to love you in return.  What if we have love all wrong?  Jesus teaches us that love is not base on what others do.  The only true source of love is God because God is love.  To experience true love in this life is a foretaste of eternity.

The Bible teaches us that character is seen in the little things and it formed through the trials.  Doing what’s right is rarely easy but it’s never regretted.

We find strength in the struggle.  God is always building you even when it seems like He’s breaking you.

Jeremiah see's God's people living apart from God and it breaks his heart.  Shouldn't our heart break for the things that breaks God's heart too?  When people refuse to repent...  When God's people reject the Word...  The simple fact that some will not be saved...  Or when we see people live a self-destructive pattern in their life.  Yet as Christians we can be the transformation we want to see.

Jeremiah is called to an impossible task and is full of excuses yet he faithfully follows God's call for his life.  Pastor Tim explain how we often make excuses and how if it is important to you, you will find a way.  If not, you’ll find an excuse.

Pursuing Jesus requires effort on our part and it will take us out of our comfort zone.

Have you had any interruptions this year?   What if the interruptions are your work?   God's love shines the brightest in the chaos.  Jesus was an interruption for Mary, Joseph, the Wise men, and Shepherds and He continues to be for us who believe.  If you truly believe that Jesus is the Son of God it places a demand on your life.  This demand will interrupt how you live, behave, and act.

Following God’s plan is not without valleys, difficulties or challenges. It may seem as though we are in a crisis, but we need to remember that God’s plan remains even we can’t see it.