The Porch (Video)

The parable of the Prodigal Son is not just a story about a "sinner" who receives forgiveness. It is about how we try to earn God's favor through our own works. You can't earn the title of son or daughter. The proper response to God's gift of grace is to celebrate and rest in your new identity.

When facing trials, it can be difficult to trust that God is in control. But God makes everything beautiful in its time; we just can't always see it or understand its purpose from our limited perspective.

Your experiences, stuff, wisdom, work, and successes will not satisfy you. Solomon had everything you could ever want and did everything you could ever hope to accomplish, and found that it was all meaningless. True satisfaction can be found in God alone.

Everything you could possibly accumulate on this earth or accomplish for your own name's sake is meaningless. You can't take it with you, and it will be quickly forgotten after you are gone. The only things that do have meaning and purpose, and that you can take with you, are the things you do to advance God's kingdom and build into the eternal souls of those around you.

Like King Joash, many young adults follow God for only a season. When they leave the positive influence of their family, community, or mentor, they quickly fall away and follow the world's foolish wisdom. Instead of following a mentor or having a temporary religious experience, choose to follow Jesus and develop an eternal relationship with Him.

In this message we discover the secret to avoiding a relapse to sin, but practicing repentance to God. When a person trusts Christ they enter into Rehab. In this process we are called to kill sin. This can only be done effectively by relying on God's Spirit and believing the truth of Jesus Christ.

All of us have sin in our lives. If you don't deal with it, you'll never heal from it. When we confess to God, ourselves, and others the nature of our sin, it brings fellowship, forgiveness, and healing.

All of us have a sinful nature that we cannot overcome on our own. As believers, we are in a lifelong rehab, also known as sanctification. But we must admit that we do need help, believe that God alone is able to help us overcome, and trust Him with our life and will.

When you doubt, search for answers. Look to who Jesus was: the fulfillment of hundreds of prophesies. Look to what He did: He rose from the dead, a fact witnessed by many people who chose death over denying it was true. And look to what He is going to do: the assurance that this life and our present circumstances are a temporary prologue to eternity with Him.