The Living Word

Pastor Danny teaches what the Bible says about heaven so we can understand the great future we have to look forward to if Jesus is our Savior.

It is easy to see how someone who changes their ways to allow others to keep their practices could be seen as someone who compromises. One day you are in the company of someone who doesn't eat meat, so you don't either. Yet the next day you partake in a BBQ. However, as Pastor Danny explains in today's lesson this person is a chameleon not a compromiser. They respect their friend's convictions so as not to tempt them. But if you give up righteousness then you become a compromiser.

When a person isn't following Jesus, they'll be blind to their sin. But as Pastor Danny shares in today's study, once you come into a relationship with Christ you have to face your sin with open eyes. In today's scripture reading, you'll see some Pharisees claiming to know the way all the while rejecting the Messiah. This rejection caused them to be blind to the truth and the sin that was in their life. If you claim to have no sin you are living in darkness. If you are living in the light you can see evil for what it is.

The whole of scripture describes, references and outlines the need for Jesus. As well as the fulfillment of that need in His death on the cross. None of it can be set aside or passed off as irrelevant. It's the work of God and he has orchestrated access to it for all of mankind. You and I are one of the ways He has done that. Today, Pastor Danny will challenge us to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. That doesn't necessarily mean that you need to travel to remote tribes, but at the very least take it to the ends of your earth.

What drives you in your life? Is it a desire for financial or relational security? Why do you do the things that you do? In today's message as Pastor Danny continues to lead us through the account of the early Christians found in the book Acts, he'll remind us that the Holy Spirit should be the driving force in our lives.

We are incredibly privileged to live after Jesus' incarnation, death and resurrection. We get to enjoy freedom and salvation from sin, because we know and trust in Him. For the Jews who lived before Jesus they knew that God had a plan to rescue them, but there were the big questions of when, who and how. As Pastor Danny will point out in today's message, despite those big unknowns we find many examples in scripture of people who trusted in God without seeing the answers to their questions in their lifetime.

We are apart of that mission, isn't that amazing? We've been recipients of that incredible gift of Christ and He calls us into sharing a life of compassion, grace and truth for the sake of rescuing the lost and broken of this world. As Pastor Danny continues our study of the book of Acts in today's message, we will be reminded that sharing the Gospel is at the core of who we are. And as the early church demonstrated, it is even worth the highest price to bring Christ to our world.

Suffering by nature is hard, it can push you to your limits. God knows that and he uses that to your advantage. We often go out of our way to avoid things that are hard, but it's in those hard times that we have an opportunity for growth. As Pastor Danny will remind us in today's message, not only did those hard times bring us to a place of strength that we couldn't find otherwise. It's those times that provide opportunities for us to demonstrate the peace and grace of Christ to the broken people around us.