re we living like the resurrection happened? We all are born into sin. We do have a choice, however, to be consumed with the mindset of worry and fear, or live with the thought process of knowing how it ends. The beautiful thing about the resurrection and its significance is that Jesus chose us to be resurrected with Him forever. Are we living as though that is true?

What is the core of Christianity? It is the gospel. Yet we too often forsake good news and fall to the most fundamental human problem: sin. We should bear the punishment for the sin in us, yet Jesus fights for us, Jesus pays and He bears what we couldn’t bear.

Don’t be so noisy. As followers of Christ, we are each given different gifts. These gifts are unique to the individual and meant for the benefit of the church. Hint: it’s not about you! As wonderful as it may be to speak in tongues or prophesy, if we lack love and keep them to ourselves, it is simply noise. God wants us to be built up together!

We’ve got a connection. Because of Jesus death, scripture isn’t simply lost in translation to us, it is given understanding and meaning. With that understanding, we are given insight into how God desires us to exercise spiritual gifts. God does have a message for the people in our lives, and we are given spiritual gifts for the benefit of the church as a body, not only to be used by ourselves. Spiritual gifts are an incredible light meant to be building up those around us!

How do we really love? This is not your ordinary Easter sermon, but it is the Resurrection story! What does it look like to truly love like Christ? Is that even possible to accomplish? We learn that to love others, we first need to receive the love of Christ. To love is simple like this: love towards others the way God loves us. We can not live and love like this on our own, but it can only be done through Jesus Christ. As believers, our focus should be on Christ and because of his death & resurrection we can find love and be love to the world around us.

What is the purpose of having a body? The body of Christ is beautiful, because of its diversity, unity, and mutual importance. We are all given different spiritual gifts from Jesus Christ. We are the body of Christ, and we each have been given specific gifts to display his love and grace to the world around us. The body of Christ needs YOUR gift. How do you know what your gift is? When others start calling them out in you!

Are we asking ourselves the hard questions? When was the last time we asked ourselves the hard questions before taking communion? It is easy to eat the cracker and drink the grape juice every month without truly reflexing on where we are at with God. We can see in the Bible that Jesus constantly meets the people where they are at by restoring dignity; we are called to do the same. As Christians, we are told to discern our body/life. These questions are a great practice that allows the Church to be united. Next month, will you plan on examining yourself before taking communion?

Are you truly honoring authority? This weekend we unwrap the importance of knowing that we are all equal and unique. Both men and women are free to worship and honor God; who is the head of our life. Paul challenges all of us in this passage to understand the weight of respecting authority by culturally honoring the “role order.” Do you find it hard to submit to authority? As followers of God, we must live by the greatest commandment: loving God vertically and horizontally loving our neighbors. Let’s love God, and honor the people He has placed to lead us.

What is the key to the controversial areas of our life? It is love. We should be living our lives in such a way that God is publicly praised in us. As followers of Christ, even eating and drinking should bring glory to God. As we are on this journey together of knowing our Father, let us be guided by love, while glorifying God and loving His people.

Demons. Idolatry. Flesh. Blood. This week Pastor Jeff took us into the spiritual realm and showed how these concepts actually have a lot to do with real life. Are there ways we are putting our hope in things that will fail us? Making idols out of everyday life? Are there ways we are “participating with demons” without even knowing it?