Even in Jesus' day, racism was an issue. Jesus' teaching challenged his hearers to go beyond loving people who were easy for them to love. He taught them even to love their enemies—like Samaritans. And when we love God and love neighbor, unity happens.
When we go through events like a global pandemic, we desperately want things to be different than they are. Yet if we don’t learn to take life as it comes, we will always be waiting for our real lives to begin, and God’s desires for the world through us will go unrealized. In the stories of the Babylonian Exile and the early church, the Bible teaches us how to take life as it comes so that we can experience the abundant life that Jesus offers to all.
In the midst of a global pandemic, problems abound, and we often want out of those problems as quickly as possible. But God is not as concerned about getting us out of problems as in getting us through them. Problems bring us to the end of ourselves, and they teach us to rely on God, who uses those problems to help us grow. While it's uncomfortable, when life is disrupted, we can learn to embrace problems as gifts.
Blame feels good at first, but ruins us over time. It keeps us stuck in shame. But when we learn to own our stuff, Jesus helps us create a new life of freedom and joy.
If we don't leave our baggage behind, our past will become our present. But baggage we carry around does not go away until we deal with it. In week 4 of the Disrupted sermon series, Dr. Mark Foster shares how acknowledging, grieving, and forgiving can set us free to enjoy the freedom God has for us.
When we don't know what to do, we need wisdom—skill and knowledge applied to living. The Bible promises that if we lack knowledge, we can ask God. And Jesus promises that if we seek, we will find him.
The happiest people regularly surround themselves with spiritually mature, well-grounded people. God is sending supportive people into our lives to help us get to the next step. In this sermon, Dr. Mark Foster shares how to find and become the kind of friends who can help us find the way God is creating.
We need someone greater than ourselves to tell us what to do when we don’t know what to do. God made us, so God knows what we need. When we ask God for help, everything changes. Most of the time, God helps us through other people. God can be trusted to take care of us. God’s power and resources are not just for special people; they are for all people like you and me.
The first step in God making a way for you is for you to say yes to God. God promises when you say yes to God first, everything else you need will be provided for you.
When we say yes to God, a whole new world can open up.
