When Christians call Jesus Christ our Lord, it's not just an empty title. It's a radical statement that means Jesus is our supreme ruler and that no one and no thing can challenge or rival his authority in our lives. In week 2 of We Believe, Pastor Mark shares how this statement can change our lives.
What does it mean to believe? In week one of our sermon series, “We Believe: What Christians
Believe and Why” we look at some of the earliest Christian statements of belief and how they
came to be. We start with “I believe in God the Father Almighty.”
Jesus came to set us free, and in Galatians 6, we find an outline of specific ways we can live into our new freedom that Jesus brought and now shares with us by the power of the Holy Spirit.
When anxiety is high, it’s hard to know what to do next. Galatians 5 teaches how to live in anxious and divisive times in a way that is unified, guided by the Holy Spirit, and full of love, joy, and peace.
When it comes to get faith, what really matters? It’s easy to get caught up in rules and requirements, but when it comes to your salvation, it’s Jesus Plus Nothing.
What is the story you tell about yourself? Our stories define our identities, and when we find ourselves in Jesus’ story, we realize there is much more to the world than we previously believed.
We have access to more information than our ancestors could have ever dreamed of, but when it comes to making important decisions, we don’t need more information. We need wisdom. In Galatians 2, Paul shows us how to discern wisely.
When the ground seems to be falling away beneath us, we need solid ground to stand upon. We’re tempted to cling to fixed rules and structures to give us a sense of security, but these are a poor substitute for what really matters. In the book of Galatians, we find ancient wisdom that can help us thrive in anxious times so that we can experience the freedom Jesus gives.
So often it can seem that the problems of the world are too big for us, but small things done with great love can change the world. When the Holy Spirit leads us, we can make waves of love and kindness in the world.
Most of us do our best to avoid thinking about death, and if we’re honest, we’re often in denial. Yet facing the hard truth that we are going to die can enable us to live fully in the time we have — and to allow Jesus to transform our life before and beyond death.
