All for your consideration.
After enduring the anxiety of death and all the chaos of hell, Jesus rose as the King of kings, the crowned Prince of heaven who was victorious over all his enemies. And the first words this champion king spoke to his fearful disciples was “Peace be with you.”
The whole world was created to be a temple, and in the center of his temple God places his own image: humanity. Man and woman were meant to be the image of God in the world—not lifeless idols made of stone reflecting dead pagan gods, but living breathing humans reflecting the living God.
When Jesus enters into the chaos of your life, he doesn’t just tell you to get over yourself. He tells you to look at him in it, because the storms in your life are the very ways Jesus shows you who he is.
When we come to Jesus, he’s not a superhero shaming you for not saving the world like he is. He’s a man who knows what it feels like to be exhausted and burdened by work, and he’s the God who took all our burdens upon himself on the cross.
Are Christians delusionally optimistic or toxically positive in the face of suffering? Is religion just a sad excuse for a crutch in the face of our crushing circumstances? I would say: absolutely not! Christianity avoids both delusional optimism and toxic positivity, and our text this morning shows us how.
Is sex just a biological urge, or is it the most important thing about you? The Bible offers a better perspective.
Is Jesus disappointed in us when we sin, and if so, what would stop Jesus from being disappointed in us all the time when we mess up? Do we have to re-earn his favor?
Stop trying to prove to yourself whether or not you’re lovable if that’s what you’re doing. If you’re anything like me, you’ll never find a reason within yourself. Instead, search the heart of God and listen to Him say to you “I love you.”
There’s something in us that longs for deep family connection and unity, and when we find it, it becomes precious to us. Family is home. Who is your family? Who feels like home for you?
Patrick introduces the first Take Note Of This Podcast.
“You know there’s a fine line between imagination and the reality of things…Whatever you might say, it was real to me.” That’s a common sentiment of people who experience paranormal encounters like this. Whatever really happened, whatever the reality of the situation was, the experience felt real. No matter where we ultimately end up on the reality of ghosts or spirits or whatever you might want to call these things, those experiences can’t be dismissed. My hope is that this series might help shine some new light on how we think about ghosts, whether we’re watching Ghost Busters, telling old ghost stories around a camp fire, reading our Bibles, or wondering what’s on the other side of the grave.