Encouragment as you run the race of life on All Saints' Day 2015

On the 498th year of the Reformation, we remember the heritage and blessing of God's Word as that solid foundation on which to build our faith and life as we live in the assurance of our salvation for we are saved by grace through the gift of faith in Jesus alone.

Jesus Christ is the greatest servant ever! One of the marks of the followers of Jesus is the way that they serve for in serving they are not only blessing other people but their service can help strengthen their faith too.

Proclaiming the things of God begin not with talking, but with listening. Silence can be a little bit uncomfortable in our lives especially when it seems that God is one the one being silent. Yet in the midst of silence we are being trained to proclaim Jesus!

The 3rd Commandment is a beautiful invitation and gift that God gives to us in the Sabbath. The Sabbath is more than just about rest but it is about remembering all that God has given to us and continues to give to us. As we learn to use the Sabbath in the way got created it our reliance on Him grows which builds our faith and gives us the opportunity to experience life today to the full and anticipate the perfect rest coming one day in the presence of Jesus.

The spiritual discipline of fasting can be very helpful in doing a checkup on our spiritual health. Join us as we look at the benefits of fasting, what fasting is about, and when we might want to fast. Gameday is everyday in the life of the Christian. We must be prepared everyday to bear a witness to Christ and His salvation.

We kick off a new series that is all about getting us ready for Game Day! Game Day for Jesus followers is not just on Sunday morning but is every day as we are called to follow Jesus and invite others to follow Jesus. This week in Game Day we focus on the spiritual discipline/training of prayer. Prayer is an awesome gift that we desperately need and something that God desires to hear. We can all step our game when it comes to prayer by following our coach and the creator of prayer, Jesus, as He teaches us what prayer is all about.

Failure. We have all failed ourselves, the people we love, and even God! Failure brings with it feelings of guilt, shame and sorrow. Failure many times feels like the end of our relationships and story. Yet it doesn't have to be that way thanks to Jesus. Jesus gets the final word about what our failure deserves and instead of counting us out he gives us forgiveness. Our failures in the hands of Jesus don't mean the end of our story but an opportunity for God to use even our failure to the good of ourselves and especially other people through whom we hold out the hope and forgiveness found in the presence of Jesus.

Condemnation is a horrible feeling and place to be. Sometimes that condemnation comes from people around us and is even deserved because of what we have done or haven't done. Other times that voice of condemnation comes from with in speaking harsh words that make us think that our identity is found in our battle against sin. Jesus the perfect one could condemn everyone because of their sin but instead of giving you what you deserve He treats you better than that and gives your mercy.

Rejection is something that we all have to deal with at some time in our lives. Some rejections are little but others leave wounds for life. When it comes to our relationship with God we may feel like we deserve rejection too especially in our struggle against sin and Satan. But Jesus treats us better than we deserve and instead of rejection offers us acceptance. Listen to the story of a fellow reject named Zacchaeus and the way that an encounter with Jesus changed his today and eternity in a matter of moments. Something that Jesus still does today assuring us that we are accepted too through the gift of baptism.