If your heart isn’t right with God, the church can sometimes feel like drudgery, an activity to check off, full of people you don’t quite click with.  Yet, as Pastor Cody will teach you today, the church is so much more than a gathering each Sunday in a building. It’s a gathering of family.  And everyone in this group of believers is made in the image of God.  They’re your family.  Ask God to soften your heart to those hard to love.  Ask God to open your eyes to the blessing of this family.   Enjoy the gift God has given you in the church!

There are some believers who’re fully convinced that to worship God well, you need an elaborate church or a large and boisterous congregation.  Yet, as Pastor Cody explains today, what makes a church a church is the presence of the Lord.  God is present in a slum church and in the fancy chapel in the suburbs.  He’s there with the underground churches around the world and in the mega-church in the city.  Seek the Lord where you’re at.  Worship Him with your whole heart.  He’s there with His people.

There are some believers who’re just going through the motions, just existing, waiting to really live in Heaven.  Yet, as Pastor Cody explains today, God has so much more for you in this life!  He’s given you abundant life and people to live it with!  Living life is always better with someone else!  Especially the Christian life.  You’re stronger and happier with other believers around you!  You’re meant for fellowship.  It’s a family that is full of love and encouragement.

There should be a major change happening in your life when you come to salvation. Your life should be different as you let God work through you and transform you into who He wants you to be. Today, you’ll get to be reminded by Pastor Cody that sin has no place in your life anymore when you come to Christ. People should be able to see the difference and tell that you’re a Christian. If there’s no evidence that the Scriptures are changing you as you learn Them more and more, do you really believe it?

God’s Word is the source of perfect truth about salvation. Pastor Cody is going to show you how Paul went to the very basics of God’s grace and forgiveness in the book of Romans. Everyone is born in sin, and that sin separates us from God. Jesus came to earth to live like a man and suffer and die for your sin so you can be saved, if you believe in Him and confess your sins. When you stray, being reminded of the truths of God’s Word like Paul did for the Roman church can help you get back in His will.

There can be a division that rises between Christians that are mature in their faith and Christians that are weaker in their faith. But, where there's been division, there should be unity. Pastor Cody is going to explain today how the hope and faith of a mature believer are for encouragement and an example to the weaker believer. And all believers should be encouraging each other to look to God and grow closer to Him. If that's not what you see around you, how can you point others to God through your life?

One of the greatest things you can receive from God is hope. Hope for eternity, hope for a future with God and for a life with Him at your side here on earth, and hope for good coming out of every seemingly bad thing that happens to you. Today, Pastor Cody is going to show you how it's not a thing to keep to yourself. Everyone needs hope. Fellow believers can be encouraged with the hope you have, and be encouraged themselves, and the lost need the hope you have for eternity in Christ.

The choice is yours to be gracious in telling less mature believers about Christ, or judging them for not being as far along in their faith as you. Today, as you look at what should be done, Pastor Cody is going to remind you that you're to live like Jesus on this earth. That means treating people with compassion and loving your fellow believers. If they're not as far along in their faith as you, it's an opportunity to help them grow in their faith out of love, being an example of how Jesus would live today.

The best way to teach someone less mature in their faith is to teach and lead by example out of love. The immature believer needs to grow in what they know about Jesus and to grow closer to Him. The mature believer needs to be patient in teaching God's ways to the less mature believer, and show them how to live. It sounds a little complicated, but Pastor Cody is going to take you to Romans today to show you how simple it really is, this relationship between mature and immature believers.

Do you see the growth in your life from when you came to Jesus to now? Have you matured in your walk with God since you became a believer and gotten closer to Him? Today, Pastor Cody is going to remind you that your walk with God is never finished. Every day is another opportunity to know more about Him and be closer to Him. God will move in your life more and more, and your joy in Him will grow. But, it takes an effort on your part. God wants you to seek Him, and to take the time to be with Him daily.