Sunday Messages - Sheboygan eFree Church Sunday Messages

Times of trouble can bring anxiety and doubt. And the questions we may find ourselves asking about God and our relationship with Him can be uncomfortable: How could a good God allow this to happen? Does this tragedy mean that I have fallen out of favor with God? Has God turned His back on me altogether?

In 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul reminds us that it is often in times of trouble that God’s comfort can be felt most deeply and meaningfully.

In Genesis 39, Joseph, having been promoted to a position of leadership, immediately faces a test of his loyalty to Yahweh. For the first time in a long time, it seems that things are going well for Joseph, and he can see how his dreams (Gen 37:1-11) may be coming true. He’s so close!

Each of us must learn that sinning is the forfeiture of our most treasured possession, namely, a close relationship with God. How can we develop a righteous resolve to honor the LORD when we are tempted?

In Genesis 3, we see the fall of mankind as Adam and Eve forfeit paradise for the promise of a lie. Sin promises to give, but it always takes. The real result of all sin is loss, damage, destruction, and death. Each of us should keep our eyes on what God is doing, even when we have failed him because he will not leave us without a promise.

As we take the Lord’s Supper today, we will seek to   answer the questions, “What does it mean to know Christ?” And, “How can each of us learn to treasure knowing Christ as our most valuable possession?”

This verse describes how the gospel was to spread, geographically, from Jerusalem, into Judea and Samaria, and finally to the whole world. It would begin with the devout Jews in Jerusalem and Samaria and eventually be offered to the Gentiles in the farthest reaches of the earth. God’s gospel has not reached its final destination if people in our lives have not heard about Jesus. We must recognize that in addition to those missionaries sharing the gospel around the world, we are called to be missionaries where we are planted, to share the gospel around the corner. Are you on mission?

The good news that “the Lord reigns” (v. 10) has always been for all the nations. From Genesis 3:15 and 12:3, all the way to the end of Revelation, the hope for all nations is to dwell with God by trusting his faithfulness to keep all his promises forever—”to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).

Our mission, spelled out clearly in Psalm 96, is to bring the good news of God’s grace in Jesus Christ to the families (“tribes”) scattered throughout the earth. It’s for all our good and flourishing to recognize that “the Lord reigns.”

No matter how impressive they are, human achievements can’t earn a person salvation and eternal life with God. Paul had impressive credentials, but his conversion to faith in Christ wasn’t based on what he had done but on God’s grace.

When Paul considered everything he had accomplished in his life, he said it was all “loss” compared to the greatness of knowing Christ. This is a profound statement about values. To know Christ should be our ultimate goal.

Pastor Aaron shares a message today from Philippians 3:1-3 that examines Paul’s instructions to rejoice in the Lord and to be wary of false prophets.

Many letters in the New Testament end with a travelogue, sending greetings and revealing travel plans or intentions of specific friends.  But the extensive focus (12 verses) on Timothy and Epaphroditus in the middle of this epistle is meant to communicate something deeper. Paul is absolutely dependent upon his “son” Timothy (2:22) and his “brother” Epaphroditus (2:25), and he is “sending” these friends (2:19, 23, 25, 28) to Philippi at great personal sacrifice.

May God work in our hearts, exalting Christ Jesus and stoking our affections for each other through faithful and unstoppable gospel ministry.

We have reached our church family memory work for the month of January: Philippians 2:14-16. If you have not yet committed these verses to memory, we commend them even today. With a friend or as a family, devote three 5-minute    sessions, reading and reciting the passage out loud.

The wording of verses 14-16 is complicated, but the general meaning is not. Our spiritual legacy is impacted by our willingness to complain because “out of the abundance of the heart [our mouths] speaks” (Luke 6:45). We cannot make a clean Christian hand-off if we grumble or dispute, and here, Paul is our example.