We are all used to deception. It is part of the advertising we watch, the entertainment we consume, the products we buy and the worldview our culture asks us to believe each day. Deception is all about creating a convincing appearance to mask a less preferable reality. We decide that having people believe lies is somehow better than them knowing who and what we really are. In the end, though, deception fools us, too - it can never compare to reality nor satisfy us like the Truth can!

No one wants to be a victim. Every single one of us has this desire to live a life that is in control, secure, stable and safe. Sometimes though those desires for control drive us to places where we are so overwhelmed with stress and anxiety that our pursuit of security really becomes a prison of loneliness and shame. We make ourselves the idol and can only see those around us as obstacles and prawns for our designs. This morning we will dive into a difficult story that points us ultimately to the true source of security and comfort and calls us to humility and grace.

Today's topic is a very serious one: Lust. Lust seems shiny and attractive, and it can create a very intoxicating feeling in those who indulge it. However, lust has a devastatingly dark and destructive shadow side that has the capability of utterly destroying a person. In fact, lust actually has the power to reduce people into mere objects; once that happens in the luster's heart, he or she able to degrade, misuse, and viciously hate the other person even more than they once desired him or her.

We've all head of the "Little Green Monster." Envy kicks in when we compare ourselves with others instead of finding contentment in God's unique plan for us. When we turn an envious eye toward others' lives, we end up feeling like we are getting a raw deal and that God isn't fair. Worse, we can end up turning people into competitors and eventually see them as obstacles to our own happiness. Today's Bad Guy of the Bible, Cain, did exactly that: he let envy lead him into committing the world's first murder.

Mark 10:17-31
Jesus calls us to put him and his kingdom above all else.

What is the canvas on which you paint the picture of your love for God? Most of the time, the Bible says, the best place to look is our relationships within the home, the church, and the community. In other words, we express much of our new life in Christ by living selflessly in Christian mission and service with others. Colossians teaches us how dying and rising with Jesus Christ gives us the power to escape selfishness and to care for one another willingly in Christian community.

Sin is a force in our lives. But if we are Christians, it has no dominion over us. We have been saved from the penalty of sin by Christ's death on the cross. One day we ill be saved from sin's presence when Jesus comes again. For now, we set our eyes on things above as we wrestle with sin's influence. God raised us with Christ and calls us to put to death our sinful natures.

Religious traditions are a huge part of spiritual formation. We learn from repetition, and it is amazing how much memorization, ritual, and habit can cement things into our minds. It's not surprising that all world religions have used rules and rituals to shape spirituality. The problem is, religiosity makes a very cruel master when it is idolized and worshiped. Jesus dies to put an end to empty religion and mere traditions so we can keep the deeper Spirit of the Law through his power.

This series is based on the book of Colossians, in the New Testament. In this letter to early Christians, the apostle Paul explains how Jesus’ death and resurrection mean death and defeat for all our enemies! Jesus has defeated death by his own, sacrificial death, and now believers are set free from the power of evil and sin! Jesus Christ redeems his people out of the kingdom of darkness and into his Kingdom of light, acceptance, and joy. Belonging to him means that dying gets turned into victory!

In this message, we take a little time to remind one another of all God has been doing at Sunshine over the last 5 years. His calling and leadership have been amazing, and out God is clearly a God on the move! He calls his people to move with him; the focus is not on comfort for us, but flourishing for others in the further. Today's passage shows us a glimpse of Abram (later Abraham) and his call to leave what he knew, take risks, and move into uncertainty that others might be blessed. We should all be so glad he obeyed!