Jesus made it very clear that if you and I want to

line up with him; if we really want to follow him then

our life needs to be characterized by surrender. And

Jesus shows us how. (Luke 9:23, 24; Matthew 26:42, 52, 53; Matthew 27:32-44)

In the story of the Calming of the storm in Luke

8:22-25 the disciples concluded they were in an

impossible situation and they paniced. Jesus'

only question to them as a group was "Where is

your faith?" That is the question Jesus asks each

one of us. (Lk. 8:22-25)

Jesus modeled obedience. Jesus taught

obedience. Our only appropriate response should

be to obey. We will obey for many different

reasons, but ultimately it is because we love

Jesus and are becoming more like him.

Because we are the most forgiven people in the

world, we should be the most forgiving. Jesus

provided great lessons and a great example about

the priority and practice of forgiveness.

(Matthew 5:23, 24; Matthew 6:12, 14,15; Romans 12:18; Ephesians 4:31, 32)

If times of solitude were so important and

necessary for Jesus, why do we think we can live

without them in our own lives? Jesus not only

models the importance of solitude but also gives us

some lessons to guide its practice. (Luke 4:42; 5:15, 16; 6:12; 9:28; 22:39-42 Mark 6:30-32)

Jesus considered the Scripture as the very words of

God revealing Himself to the world. Because the

Scripture is the Word of God we should value and

follow it as closely as Christ did when He was here

on earth.

Jesus proclaims God's profound passion for the

poor as a defining component of His ministry in Luke

4. His followers are bound to personally own and

effectively act on that passion. (Luke 4:16-22, Isaiah 58:6-7, Job 29: 12-17)

Worship is the greatest privilege and responsibility

of every disciple of Jesus Christ. It was one of

Jesus' highest priorities and he tells us what it

really involves. (John 4:20-24)

If Christians don't share the gospel with others, no

one else will. The Republican or Democratic parties

won't do it. The board of education won't. The

Rotary club won't. The church has a unique calling

no other organization has to share the Gospel. (Matthew 9:35-38 and John 4:1-42)

Bottom line, if we want to experience the transforming power of Christ in our lives and in our church, we need to pray more than we do. So the question is, What is that going to look like for you? I hope it looks like Jesus. (Luke 11:1-4; Matthew 6:5-8; Matthew 7:7-11)