How would you answer a question regarding the health and effectiveness of your prayer life? If you are like many people, you would respond with frustration that your prayer life is not what you would hope it would be. For many, prayer is not the practice that we know it should be.

God calls us to urgent and passionate prayer. An essential component of following Christ is consistent, passionate and importunate prayer.

But, what does that mean for us in the daily rhythm of life? How does prayer influence the power of God in my life?

Everyone wants a happy and meaningful life. We want to be blessed. But how is that possible? This week we will be looking at Psalm 67 and examining what it says about God's blessing, where it comes from and what its results are. The implications of God's blessings are probably much larger than most of us realize.

Ask ten Christians what it means to follow Christ and you will likely hear at least ten different answers. Many voices have many opinions on what the focus of a disciple, a follower of Christ, should be in our day. Today, we will begin a study of God’s Word on what it means to follow Christ in our day. In today’s text, Jesus makes it vividly clear what the choice and the cost is to following Him. His teaching will lead us directly to the intersection of God’s will and our own selfishness. The call to each of us? Pick up your cross and follow Christ.

On this first day of our fall season, it is good to join together in worship as God’s family here at Valley Free. When the Church gathers to worship, there is a sense of God’s presence among us. It is a wonderful thing and a beautiful picture!

The idea of “church” can be taken for granted by those who have been part of it for a long time. We risk losing our appreciation for the gift of community found in the church. The world, on the other hand, confuses the definition and purpose of the church, distorting what God intends for His church. Today, we will pause to consider the church and God’s design for her. A fresh look at the church will also help us to see its role in our lives and the blessing of being part of God’s “Spirit-filled community."

Our world loves choices. We celebrate the choosing of worldviews, the options of philosophies, the variety of lifestyles. The frontiers of choice are constantly expanding. By our human perspective, we are even custom-designing babies or choosing from a long list of available gender identities. We love our choices!

The Sermon on the Mount also focuses on choices. But, as Jesus unveils His kingdom instructions, there are only two choices: His kingdom or the world’s kingdom. God’s way or your way. The truth of Scripture or the wisdom of man.

As Jesus closed His teaching that day, the two choices came out clearly. Using several analogies, Jesus left no place for neutrality. To follow Him is life and wisdom. To ignore His invitation leaves us the choice of deception and destruction.

In our final study of the Sermon on the Mount, we will dial in on the closing chapter and the vivid choices that confront us.

Jumping to conclusions seems to be approaching that of an Olympic sport these days! Our culture and the people around us seem to be quite adept at skipping facts or circumstances and moving right to name-calling and labeling. It would seem a rational discussion or debate has been removed from our normal pattern of discourse.

Judging that devolves into judgmentalism is not limited to the world around us. As followers of Christ, we are all too eager to join in the sport of judging.

In our study today, Jesus leads us into the kingdom truth of godly discernment. He also warns very sternly about judging that leads off with condemnation. It is a lesson that hits too close to home for most of us!

Love in the name of Christ presentation

1 Kings 17