When Jesus Barely Matters

ALL – Psalm 119:156-176
ALL – Proverbs 28:23-24
OT – Daniel 7:1-28
NT – 1 John 1:1-10

Interesting passage for the day: So if we say we are his friends, but go on living in spiritual darkness and sin, we are lying. – 1 John 1:6, The Living Bible

Thought: If we want to make friends with someone, we will usually try to fit in with them. We will relate to them. We will do what pleases them, and if we’re doing things that upset them, we’ll stop.

Would our lives say that we’re friends with Jesus? Jesus lives in truth and righteousness and joy and grace. Are we fitting in with Him? Are we relating to Him? Are we doing what pleases Him?

If not, you may need to consider whether or not your belief that you know Him is true. You are deceiving yourself if you say that you know Jesus but your life isn’t conforming to His.

On the other hand, some of you are super-sensitive. You love Jesus very much, and your life has changed greatly because you have received His gift, the Holy Spirit. You are doing everything you can to please Jesus. But you are deeply aware of the times you have not pleased Him. You pretty much despise yourself because you’ve sinned against Him. And when you hear that those who aren’t pleasing Jesus are lying about a relationship with Him, you begin to fear because you know you haven’t walked perfectly in His light.

Take heart. For you who love Jesus and give yourselves wholeheartedly to Him, sensitive to each time you fail Him, there is an encouragement for you a few verses down (v 9): “But if we confess our sins to him, he can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.”

So let’s not be half-hearted about our relationship with Jesus. Living as though Jesus barely matters to you is a good reason to question whether you know Him at all. But for us who are devoted to Jesus, grace is available even when we hurt Him and sin against Him. What a wonderful, kind God! Why give Him any less than our best?

Question: If Jesus were not a part of your life, would you be any different? Ok, you probably wouldn’t attend church. But would there be any differences from Monday to Saturday? How do you believe Jesus would like you to demonstrate your friendship with Him?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: Push Back the Darkness

The message, preached on October 31st, 2010, covered Romans 15:20-22, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. Our ambition to push back the darkness calls us to lay new foundations, talk to strangers, and make tough choices. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: Responding to The God Who Is Light

The message, preached on January 17th, 2010, covered 1 John 1:5-10, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. John announces one life-altering truth: God is Light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we want fellowship with this God, we must walk in the light and confess our sins, finding that the God who is Light forgives and purifies us, too. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

Let There Be Light

ALL – Psalm 4:1-8
ALL – Proverbs 1:20-23
OT – Genesis 8:1-10:32
NT – Matthew 4:12-25

What would the world be like without light? Not just without the sun, but without stars, electric lights, candles, fireflies—without any light whatsoever? Would the world just be dark? Or would it be dead?

When God created the world (as we read about in Genesis 1), He said, “Let there be light.” That was day 1. The creation of a world of life began with light.

And yet we sometimes miss the significance of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, a ministry of creating new life in a world that was dead because of sin. Listen to what Matthew says about Jesus’ move from Judea to Nazareth and Capernaum, just as His ministry was about to start:

This fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, beside the lake, and the countryside beyond the Jordan River, and Upper Galilee where so many foreigners live—there the people who sat in darkness have seen a great Light; they sat in the land of death, and the Light broke through upon them.” – Matthew 4:14-16, The Living Bible

Jesus’ ministry was the beginning of God’s new work of creation. God was again bringing life to the world, and His new work of creation through Jesus Christ began with sending Light into darkness.

We carry on that ministry even now, because there are still many who sit in darkness. God calls us to share the Light, Jesus Christ, as He continues His new work of creation in the lives of sinful men.

What is your next step in taking the Light into lives of darkness?