Paul teaches us there are two cultural pressures tempting us to compromise our faith: the worship of many gods (that Jesus conquered on the cross) and the observance of the Jewish laws (that He fulfilled). As believers hidden in Christ, we take off the pressures of our culture and rest in the easy yoke of our Savior.

Paul does not see his imprisonment as punishment but as his participation in Christ's suffering as Messiah. Our challenge is to see our own hardships as joy.

Relationship with Christ is the point and the plan of the gospel. When we have Christ we have everything. Everything we pray about concerns Christ because he is in everything and all things are held together through him.

Paul is imprisoned and writes a letter to a group he has never met and a church he did not found. The church is going well, but experiencing cultural pressure. Paul gives two prayers to the church: 1. Grow in wisdom & understanding. 2. A poem about the Messiah.

On Generation Sunday, Youth & Family Pastor Josh Cordell shares on the life of faith. Drawing from Hebrews 11, he studies the individuals who lived by faith and the significance of their stories for our own lives. Josh also discusses the power of repentance and turning towards God, calling for a reorientation and a focus on Jesus.

We become like Jesus as we learn to recognize and respond to holy moments.

In declaring Himself to be the Good Shepherd, Jesus stood out from false messiahs (thieves) and Pharisees (bad shepherds) alike. Jesus modeled the heart of the Father for people, one that willingly lays down religious rules to rescue those who are lost and broken. As found people, our allegiance is to our Good Shepherd alone.

Commissioning prayer acknowledges our participation in the move of the Holy Spirit in our world.

The early church devoted themselves to prayer. They practiced regular times of prayer and set aside space in their lives for ongoing and continuous prayer. How important it is for us to pray at all times during these uncertain days and to maintain a deep connection with God.