What God asks of us won’t always make sense, and it won’t always be easy. But there’s only one response that we should have when God speaks: “Obedience… No Matter What”.

We’re dedicating the entire morning to communion. It’s the time we set aside to reflect on the greatest gift ever given…the sacrifice that Jesus made for each of us on the cross.

Demas is only mentioned a couple of times in Scripture, but there’s a world of difference between the first mention and the last. He started out so strong with so much promise but ended in complete defeat. And what we need to learn from Demas’ life is that, at the end of the day, compromise leads to ruin.

God used two of Jesus’ own disciples to give us a very important example of what a follower of Christ should be like. When Andrew and Philip met Jesus, they didn’t just follow after Him and keep it to themselves… they went and found others who needed to meet Jesus, too.

Ever heard the saying, “the days are long, but the years are short”?

When it comes to parenting, it’s so very true. And raising kids God’s way is so important that we can’t afford to let the early years slip by.

Because when it comes to God’s way of parenting, they aren’t the “early” years. They are “The Most Strategic Years.”

She didn’t know going to the well that day was a Divine appointment with the Savior of the world. She just needed water for the day, but Jesus showed her He could provide what she needed for all eternity. And after that one meeting at the well, her mission became clear… tell everyone she knew to come and see what Jesus had done.

Changed… Different… Set apart. It’s what God wants us to be. The saying “God loves you just the way you are” is true… He really does. But that’s not the end; it’s just the beginning. Because God loves us far too much to leave us that way.

Once we meet the Savior, He’s all about the transformation… the old being made new because He placed us here in this world that desperately needs to see the difference in us. And as believers… His children… we wear His name. And God wants our life to be “A Marked Life” that says to the world around us, I have decided to follow Jesus… no turning back.

As humans, we like options. But while options work for some aspects of life, when it comes to how a person receives salvation, there are no options. Jesus didn’t give us add-ons or a process… it’s clearly spelled out in John 3 …“When Jesus Said ‘You Must!’”

God has a mission for each of us. But we can allow our doubt and fear to get in the way of His mission being accomplished through us. We’ll look at the life of Gideon to see how when God says “go,” He gives us everything we need.

The words “I have learned the secret of being content…” were written by a man who had been shipwrecked… beaten… imprisoned… stoned… and more.

But rather than be discontent in his circumstances, Paul kept his focus on his Savior, knowing that no matter how big the trials he faced, his God was bigger.

It’s a given that you’re going to go through hard times… the question is, “How Big Is Your God?”