There is no greater feeling in the world quite like knowing you have been forgiven. In our text we discover a beautiful picture of genuine forgiveness. In Jesus' parable, He describes a master who forgives a debt that could never, under any circumstances, be repaid. Yet, instead of being humbled by the experience, he wiped his feet on the grace and mercy that was extended to him by refusing to do the same for his own slave. The Bible reminds us that "To whom much is given, much is required." When we have been extended grace, we should be the first to do the same for others. Join us as we explore the parable of the unforgiving servant, and rediscover the Savior who was willing to forgive, each of us, a debt we could never repay.

At the beginning of this series we established that Jesus used parables (Earthly stories with a heavenly meaning) to clearly explain the Gospel message to the audiences who gathered to hear Him preach and teach.His purpose was to use familiar stories to make His message easy to understand to those of all ages. One of the favorite themes used throughout the teachings of Jesus and other writers of the New Testament was that of the Shepherd. In our text we will learn at least two important lessons. 1) It is the heart of God that all men, women, boys and girls come to find Salvation through a personal relationship with Christ. 2) It is God's will that all believers commit themselves to the task of assisting our Lord in bringing people to Jesus. Join us as we explore the story of the Shepherds' love for the lost sheep.

How many believer's in Christ were there when Jesus ended His time here on this earth? Some might guess thousands, other tens of thousands. The reality is more like 120. When we read passages like Acts 2, we see a picture of a growing and vibrant church where thousands were coming to Christ daily. Truth is, the New Testament Church had very humble beginnings. In our text we will rediscover this truth as Jesus shares the story of The Mustard Seed. Like the small mustard seed which is planted and grows to be 10 to 15 feet tall, so too the church had humble beginnings that today numbers more than 2.4 billion believers. From those humble beginnings, the church today is a source of blessing and refuge to our lost and dying world.

From my youngest years my parents made me aware of the words written in red in my Bible. They taught me that these were the words that Jesus spoke. When you pay close attention to the words that Jesus spoke you will quickly learn that He strongly desired for all people of all ages to understand what He was teaching. He often accomplished this by speaking and teaching using parables. In The Gospels there are at least 36 times He used a parable to get His point across. Parables are simply earthly stories that have heavenly meanings. Join us as we explore The Parable of the Sower.

In 1 Peter chapter one, we are told about our living hope. We have a living hope because our Savior is alive. Verse 13 transitions with a very important, “Therefore.” Peter is saying, “We have a Living Hope, therefore do this.”

Someone once said: "You can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep." In other words, if you really want to know a person, you need to take a close look at their friends. If that is true, our text for this message offers us a front row seat to take an up close look at a few of Paul's friends. As we walk through Philippians 2:19-30 we will be exposed to one of the primary sources of living a joy filled life. Pay close attention to how Paul speaks about both Timothy and Epaphroditus and you will come to understand that how we treat others has a direct link to living a life filled with joy.

One of the greatest mistakes anyone could ever make is to tie their source of joy to the circumstances of life. When a person makes that mistake they set themselves up for an emotional roller coaster ride that will inevitably end in frustration. Paul, writing from a Romans dungeon demonstrated how we can overcome that frustration and live a life of joy, despite our circumstances. The key was to make sure we tie our joy to the bedrock of the only source of genuine joy, our Lord Jesus Christ. In our text this morning Paul will go the extra step and reveal the secret of not just gaining joy, but giving joy away.

I suspect it would not take much effort on my part to convince you that we are living in an ever increasingly dark world. With recent studies showing that for the first time in the history of the United States the majority of people are not members of churches. With church attendance plummeting across our nation, it is as if the light of our nation is growing dim. As our world grows darker spiritually, it is more important than ever that believers shine bright in our society. In our text this morning we will discover exactly how we as followers of Jesus can become a lighthouse in our dark world.

The book of Philippians was written by the Apostle Paul from a Romans dungeon, yet in only 104 verses he mentioned the word Joy 16 times. How could a man chained in a prison maintain joy despite the horrible conditions he found himself in? In Chapter 1:19-21 Paul answers that very question by ultimately reminding the believers at Phillipi that his source of joy was not anything found in this world, but instead only found in his relationship with Christ. Specifically, he states in verse 21, "For Me To Live Is Christ, and to die is gain." Simply stated, Paul's joy was a result of how he filled in the blank in the statement: "For me to live is_________." If we fill in that blank with anything except Christ we sentence ourselves to live a life filled with constant disappointment and void of genuine joy. Little wonder we live in a grumpy world.