We talk a lot about pride here at Key Radio, and the reason is simple – it keeps lurking it’s evil head and we just don’t see it until it wrecks lives and relationships. It’s not enough to “be humble.” We need to wage war on our abominable pride.

It’s quite striking the number of times Jesus commands his people to pray. Whether for the persecuted or the persecutor, to ask or to praise, we are to pray without ceasing, and not to lose heart.

Anxiety is a huge problem in our society. In fact, depression and anxiety medications accounted for 9% of all prescriptions filled in Utah – one of the highest in the nation! Throughout history, tyrannical kings have used anxiety to overpower people, who would be more than willing to acquiesce to the king’s demands if only to have food and shelter. Unlike those kings, there is no room for anxiety in Jesus’s kingdom.

It is striking that Jesus was a man of sorrows – not many see Jesus as a happy-go-lucky person, and yet his command is clear: “Rejoice.”

Today we address two commands of Jesus: One is to love God completely, and the other is to worship Him rightly. Obeying one command should flow into obedience into the other, and on a very practical level, we’re going to consider how this all plays out.

In an effort to express a perceived sacrifice for the greater good, a person will often exclaim, “It’s just the cross I bear!” But in the sage words of Inigo Montoya, “I do not think it means what you think it means.” We conveniently omit the last clause, which gives the real purpose for taking up your cross.

The world is one noisy place, but that is no excuse to turn a deaf ear to Jesus. Repeatedly throughout the Gospels, Jesus commands his audiences to listen up. Today we discuss why we should listen to Jesus, which is one of the most important discussions we will have. Why? Because if we don’t listen, it will be to our peril.

Following Jesus isn’t a lifestyle – it’s simply life – a new one, actually. Jesus commands that we abide in him. Abide is a word we don’t often use, and many consider it “Christian-eze.” Even so, it is a command of Jesus, and therefore it has a significant impact in how we are to live our lives.

It’s quite striking how many demands Jesus puts on people. Once you dive into the Bible to determine what those commands are, there can be no mistake – Jesus is after your heart. One thing is for certain, once you encounter Jesus, it’s impossible to be a casual believer!

One of Jesus’s last command to his disciples was to teach the nations to observe all that he commanded. This insinuates that; one, there were quite a number of commandments to learn; and two, that it’s not enough to know them – they need to be practiced. The first command is perhaps the hardest – repent.