Rejoice in the Lord...Always!

Our sermon today is given by our 78th Homecoming Guest Rev. Joe Carpenter and focuses on Colossians 1:15-23. Jesus is all you need for salvation. Today's sermon gives us 7 attributes of Jesus.

JESUS IS . . . 1) God, 2) Sovereign, 3) Creator, 4) Sustainer, 5) Head of the Church, 6) Lord, and 7) Savior. We were made in God's image. Jesus is God and He laid down His life for us.

Matthew 5:6 What Are You Hungry For?

(Continuing our lessons on the Beatitudes)

When we talk about "daily bread" we are NOT referring to food in our belly. We are talking about the daily bread of God's Word for which our souls should hunger and thirst. A Christ-like lifestyle changes us from the inside out. We no longer seek the praise of others, but rather seek God's approval. While true righteousness can result in persecution, the reward can fill your soul with satisfaction.

Matthew 5:6 What Are You Hungry For?

The spiritually starving "hunger and thirst" for spiritual food. Our longings will not be filled by anything other than God. In most cases, we are so full of junk that there is no room for what we need. Develop an appetite for God's word. What have you been eating?

Matthew 5:5 Living the Good Life #4

Christ-like gentleness is defined as power under control. Gentle people trust in and delight in God. They commit their way to the Lord. They wait on God. Meekness is gentleness. A meek person refrains from revenge and leaves vindication to God.

Matthew 5:3 Declaring Spiritual Bankruptcy

Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." Poor in spirit does not mean physical or material poverty. Nor is it false humility. Jesus means "blessed are the spiritually bankrupt." We need to admit our spiritual emptiness and the Lord will bless us. The Kingdom of Heaven will be ours.

Matthew 5:1-12 The Beatitudes

Developing the Attitude of a Disciple . . . The Beatitudes are intended for every believer. Behavior must flow out of belief. We live a life of worship but we still have something to learn. God stands ready to do a new thing in your life. Are you ready?

I John 5:6-13

Jesus is God. The Holy Spirit, the water, and the blood are witnesses. Water being His baptism and blood His crucifixion. There were also human witnesses. John the baptizer, Simeon (Luke 2:34-35), and Anna (Luke 2:36-38). Believers have eternal life. Salvation is a gift, not something you earn. We are not saved by our own works, but by our faith.

I John 4:12-16

In this passage, John tells us who God is, what God did, and what God is doing. God uses us to witness to a dying world. We know that God lives through us by the Spirit living in us. The better we know and abide in God's love, the easier it is to live life as a Christian. Unless we love the lost with the same love God has for us, our verbal witness will be hindered. The world doesn't care how much we know, it cares how much we care.

Acts 12:24 and Acts 19:20

Both of these verses tell us that the Word of God was growing and multiplying by AD 54. God uses persecution as a means of forcing us out of our comfort zone. We need to be available and willing to be conduits between a lost world and Jesus. We must let go of our past and pray for boldness as we witness for Jesus Christ.

Acts 4:4 and 6:7

In Acts 4:4 we are told that the church had grown to about 5,000 followers and even priests were being saved. Yes, there were problems, so they appointed 7 men to work on the way they could spread the good news of Jesus Christ. They worked as a team to help them organize. In Acts 6:7 we are told that the Word of God increased and the number of disciples multiplied.