Sermons | Local Church in Wabash, Indiana | Bachelor Creek

So often we fail to come to God in prayer because we think we’re bothering Him, that He’s too busy, or that He’s taking care of bigger problems. Sometimes we pray for something once, but when we don’t receive an answer, we stop. The parable of the persistent widow teaches us to pray and never give up. It also teaches us that the God we pray to is a just God. When we come to Him, He hears us as a caring and compassionate Father.

In most contexts we know a lost and found pile is a desolate wasteland of items that get donated. Items that are long forgotten and no longer claimed or wanted. In Luke 15:1-10 we find the bottom line that Jesus wants lost things to be found. So what is our response? In this message we look at what Jesus calls us to do in his desire for lost things to be found again.

In Luke 13:1-9, Jesus shares the parable of the barren fig tree, teaching us that repentance is urgent and God is patient. We don’t know how much time we have, so it’s vital that our lives bear fruit in keeping with repentance. In this message, we see what genuine repentance looks like and the means God has given us to bear good fruit.

Affluenza is the disease of greed; it’s the materialistic mindset that says getting more money and possessions is the ultimate aim of life. It describes the rich fool in Luke 12:13-21, and sadly, many of us, too. In order to release ourselves from the grip of greed, we need the Lord to slice through the layers of greed we’ve taken on, because we can’t change by ourselves.

The book of Hebrews describes Jesus as our intercessor. That means that He appears in the presence of God and prays for us. Can you believe it? The reality is that Jesus is praying for you today, right now. This amazing truth gives us great comfort and encouragement to take all of our struggles and needs to Him.

Christians today are recipients of God’s promise to Abraham. If we understand the promise God made to him, we will have an anchor for our lives today. We know this promise is true because Jesus has gone before us. Because He entered the throne room of God, we can, too.

Jesus is our source of eternal salvation in His exaltation, empathy, and example. Because of this, we will hold on, draw near, and follow Him.

Before we understand what Jesus is doing, we have to understand who Jesus is. The first verses in the book of Hebrews tell us that God has spoken definitively through His Son, Jesus. When we see Jesus, we see God Himself. That means that when Scripture speaks we need to listen, because we’re hearing God’s Word.

Bold predictions backed up with bold actions change the course of history. Jesus made a bold prediction, saying he would die and then three days later rise again, and it happened. The tomb is empty. Jesus made some predictions about us, too. They’re called promises. We can trust Jesus because when he precuts something, it happens.

We live in a world fractured by division. Division comes naturally, but we are designed for unity. Psalm 133 paints a compelling picture of what happens when we pursue unity in the body of Christ. Life is better and we are better at life when commit to living in community.