Category: Sermons

This is the audio portion of the special service from June 30. Due to issues of security for the speaker, I can not mentione their name in print. If you have chosen to listen to this you know who it is and you will hear their name in the audio portion. Enjoy, be encouraged and be blessed

Fearless

Luke 21: 10 – 28

Then he added, “Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and plagues in many lands, and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven.

12 “But before all this occurs, there will be a time of great persecution. You will be dragged into synagogues and prisons, and you will stand trial before kings and governors because you are my followers. 13 But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me. 14 So don’t worry in advance about how to answer the charges against you, 15 for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you! 16 Even those closest to you—your parents, brothers, relatives, and friends—will betray you. They will even kill some of you. 17 And everyone will hate you because you are my followers. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish! 19 By standing firm, you will win your souls. 20 “And when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that the time of its destruction has arrived. 21 Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. Those in Jerusalem must get out, and those out in the country should not return to the city. 22 For those will be days of God’s vengeance, and the prophetic words of the Scriptures will be fulfilled. 23 How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. For there will be disaster in the land and great anger against this people. 24 They will be killed by the sword or sent away as captives to all the nations of the world. And Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the period of the Gentiles comes to an end. 25 “And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth, the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides. 26 People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory. 28 So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!”

North Korea, road rage, vehicles slamming into people, 1700 murdered in Chicago, cyber attacks everywhere banks, hospitals, every institution coming under attack. Opiod epidemic, a potentially nuclear equipped Iran global warming, cooling or Climate change fearful huh!!!

But if you realize the threat we have to our nation because of the division we do have some things to be concerned about

What happened to…

A few years ago it was anthrax, MRSA, AIDS, menacing hurricanes.

Before that the world was coming to a screeching halt in Y2K thank you Jim Quinn and all of the pundit conservative talk show host and crazy Christian commentators. I am not belittling the threats to our world and nation now just need us to realize there will always be something

How can we be fearless with all of this looming over our heads?

Where is your hope and what are your fears today? This room is filled with people battling all kinds of fears….future, sickness, financial ruin, what will happen to our children, others suffer from rejection of a marriage that has failed, job that has been lost, all of these fears are rooted in one thing…Intimacy

Bare with me as I explain how fearing the end of the world, economic collapse, war and my kids on drugs is rooted in intimacy.

Intimacy – is the deep desire to know someone and be known by them especially God and it alludes most of us because of our fear of rejection.

Henri Nouwen (famous catholic writer) – I deserve to be pushed aside, forgotten and rejected…self rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us His beloved that being the beloved transformed the core truth of our existence.

If you see yourself as the beloved everything else about you becomes transformed.

Luke 7: 36 – 50

³⁶Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. ³⁷And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, ³⁸and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. ³⁹Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” So he said, “Teacher, say it.” ⁴¹“There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴²And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?” ⁴³Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” ⁴⁴Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. ⁴⁵You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. ⁴⁶You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. ⁴⁷Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

Pharisees believed their adherence to the law would justify them to God.

Sinful woman (prostitute) Mary, Martha, and Lazarus’ sister

Recognizing our many sins

Accept forgiveness for our sins 47

• focusing only on sins creates a sense of legalism and failure
• Forgiveness frees us from legalism
• She was forgiven for what she did
• She was weeping tears of joy somewhere along the line she had had an encounter with Jesus “therefore” verse 47 suggest this

–     Be thankful for your forgiveness and relationship with Him

• when you recognize that you are truly forgiven you have no weight of sin or burden of guilt

She recognized her great forgiveness don’t forget what He has done for you.

Beware of the Simon the Pharisee (the leper in Matthew and Mark) kind of attitude.

• It is easy to forget where we came from and all that the Lord has done for us (Simon had to have been healed of his leprosy to be able to host such a dinner)
• I am not asking you to rehash every sin, you are forgiven, I am asking you to remember how very much you are loved, the price that was paid and continue to have an attitude of gratitude
• There is a place of security when we remember that we are loved so much that a price was paid for us.
• There is nothing more contagious than being loved and nothing more deadly than a judgmental attitude this attitude by its nature causes rejection.

The woman went there knowing that she could be rejected or could have been stoned or could have been solicited for prostitution but she went anyway because she knows what it is to be loved much.

When we are secure in our love nothing can shake us. Isaiah’s fires and the flood came come our way, we can face death like Daniel in the lion’s den, or Shadrack, Meshach and Abed-nego and the furnace. We can face giants like David, Joshua, and Caleb and not be afraid. We can face all the trauma from Luke 21

Remember Luke 21:18,19 not a hair will be lost… by your standing firm possess your souls.

In other words be cool you know God is in control don’t freak worry or doubt He will take care of you as He has promised.

LET’S READ THE REST

Luke 7:48-50

⁴⁸Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” ⁴⁹And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

Coming back to the woman verse 48 Jesus makes this statement “Your sins are forgiven”, she already knew her sins were forgiven, that is why she was weeping at his feet with joy but He made it known to all of those in that room that this woman was his family and one that he loved

She had accepted that love at some point and that gave her the security to face all that she would face in that room that day and for the rest of her life so she came she became fearless because now as Jesus wrapped up this conversation he says to her “your faith has saved you”

What about you today?

Where do your fears or insecurities lie is it a tangible fear about the economy, war, a divorce, kids on drugs, potential job loss or something else

Or is it intangible like basic insecurity, lack of self-confidence or worth, allowing rejection to control your life?

Or are you possibly like those who have forgotten that they too have been forgiven much and rather than loving much they sit in judgment because like Simon they have simply forgotten. When people lift their hands in worship or dance or show any sign of emotion they sit in judgment. When someone is broken and weeps they sit in judgment. They have forgotten to love much.

There is no security in judgment. There is no fearlessness in insecurity or low self worth or worry. Remember that you are loved much He holds your life and the world in his hands.

Simon became more in bondage and the woman left freer. What will you do today?

Do you realize how loved you are today?

Do you realize how much and how often you have been forgiven?

Do you realize when God looks at you He doesn’t see your sin, failures, warts, rejections but instead his beautiful child?

If you really do then you can be secure…you can become fearless!

Here is what Paul said to 1 Timothy 1:12 – 19

¹²I’m so grateful to Christ Jesus for making me adequate to do this work. He went out on a limb, you know, in trusting me with this ministry. ¹³The only credentials I brought to it were invective and witch hunts and arrogance. But I was treated mercifully because I didn’t know what I was doing—didn’t know Who I was doing it against! ¹⁴Grace mixed with faith and love poured over me and into me. And all because of Jesus. ¹⁵Here’s a word you can take to heart and depend on: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. I’m proof—Public Sinner Number One— ¹⁶of someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy. And now he shows me off—evidence of his endless patience—to those who are right on the edge of trusting him forever. ¹⁷Deep honor and bright glory to the King of All Time—One God, Immortal, Invisible, ever and always. Oh, yes!

¹⁸I’m passing this work on to you, my son Timothy. The prophetic word that was directed to you prepared us for this. All those prayers are coming together now so you will do this well, fearless in your struggle, ¹⁹keeping a firm grip on your faith and on yourself. After all, this is a fight we’re in.

Paul recognized his own sin and the great love Christ has for him and passed it on to his disciple Timothy so that he might be fearless.

This is the perfect love that John talks about ridding us of all fear. All means all

What about you, will you become fearless today?

Rania Sayegh – HOPE house of prayer and exploits June 30 arab Christian living in Israel prophetic insight into what the Lord is doing in the Middle East

Last week

We began and I asked a series of questions

Does God love everyone? Is there anyone God does not love? Did Jesus die on the cross for everyone?

Then I asked why He did this

Jesus bottom line was

Luke 19:10 “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

What compelled him to do this?

John 3:16,17

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Last week we mainly dealt with our hearts

• We must always affirm God’s love – Jesus was always touching the lepers, tax collectors, sinners, prostitutes, those in need of love and forgiveness

His love was always radical and extreme and he places this challenge on us

John 20:21

“As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”

Jesus sends us to do and be exactly like Him in all things. We must love just as radically and extreme…First

We also learned that we must extend grace especially when people don’t understand

-People need hope and they need love regardless of the nature of their sin

– we can’t look for people to be changed from the outside in but instead from the inside out

– we need to remember God’s great grace on our own lives

Romans 5:6

“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.”

We all came to Christ with our own bag of messes and Christ reached each of us when we too were helpless to do so

• Jesus affirms God’s plan for human sexuality

Jesus knew the woman at the well was in sin but he started out loving her then explained to her that God’s plan for human sexuality is for one man and one woman

Genesis 2:24 “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.”

That is the highlights from last week and this is where we begin today

Jesus approached a Samaritan woman and enemy of the Jews, asked for a drink, told her about the life she could have believing in the Messiah, that God had a plan for her life

Please don’t ask me…“Why do you condemn homosexuality when God obviously made gays and lesbians and that He loves all people the same?” Part 2

4) Telling the truth about God’s will

You may have noticed that I have not gone into the Biblical condemnation of gay life…there are two reasons for that first I wanted to establish that God’s idea of sexual relationships is established by Jesus that it is between one man and one woman any other form is wrong…I think it is important that we make the case for Biblical sexuality rather than simply against homosexual sex

Second, those who see this issue differently often try to explain away the texts that do seem to prohibit sex between members of the same gender. Therefore we risk getting embroiled in the particulars of interpreting those texts instead of putting the issue back into the broader context of God’s stated purpose for sex.

However, in the interest of completeness, we do need to look at some of these scriptures not in order to condemn homosexuality but to be faithful to God and His Word

While Jesus did not openly condemn homosexuality you can not make the argument because he did not condemn it that He thought it was OK otherwise the old testament standards against bestiality, pedophilia, polygamy, slavery, child trafficking, or even the new testament oppression of the Roman government you would need to presume he thought were OK.

Jesus held a strong standard for sexuality

The apostle Paul set the standard high speaking specifically about same-sex acts Romans 1:24-27

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way, the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

Paul also lovingly and clearly warns about same-sex relationships in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

The apostle Paul makes it clear that some in the church had practiced these things not just sexual sin but drunkards, slanders and so on but where all able to stop.

One of the arguments for homosexuality is as we see in the question that some are born this way…I don’t want to get into the argument but let’s suppose that they are right just for a moment…I am not saying I agree with it but I will for the sake of argument

If someone has a desire toward homosexual behavior it doesn’t mean that they need to follow up on it. Many people have desires for things for food if it is not curbed they can become a glutton and obese and it kills them. For recreation and they can become a hedonist and put all focus on pleasure over productive activity and they either become obsessed or lazy or both. Desires can be from God but they must be disciplined to function to be God honoring

Secondly, if someone says they were born this way

Then it should also be true that someone that is a pedophile or drunk, or who has uncontrollable anger, or a liar too are born this way. Someone may have a tendency to act this way but that does not mean they have to fulfill those tendencies.

This logic played out then justifies the homophobe as well because they could say they too were born that way and there should be no disgust with a person who hates homosexuals.

We all have tendencies to sin in one direction or another. We all have areas of weakness in out lives but God wants to strengthen us in those areas to cause us to overcome

We see in this last scripture even if we totally fail in these areas that Paul shows us we don’t need to stay that way we can choose to walk away.

When you recognize that anything in your life is a sin. It is hindering your relationship with the Lord and you must overcome it.

Last, temptation in itself is not sin

Some people may be more inclined to be tempted in the area of homosexuality but just because someone feels the temptation does not mean they need to surrender to it.

The Lord will give us the strength to overcome because he understands temptation Hebrews 4:15,16

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Whatever we need to overcome any temptation he will give it to us if we cry out to him.

5) Grace is available to anyone who is willing to come to him

Jesus ends his discussion with the woman, with this… John 4:23-26

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” 25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

One of the absolutely most broken women in the Bible is one of the very few who Jesus reveals himself to why?

Because sometimes those who we would regard as not worthy, or those we would dislike the most are the ones most hurting and most willing to impact the world…he who is forgiven much loves much

If you hate homosexuals or lesbians you are violating Jesus’ heart but to allow them to continue in their sin is also to hate them because you are allowing them to go to hell.

If we are not intentional about loving all people despite their sin preferences then how will they see Jesus in us!

What I want to talk about is a complaining heart or an ungrateful attitude.

dictionary.com
Complain,
to express dissatisfaction, pain, uneasiness, censure, resentment, or grief; find fault:

is It ever okay to complain?

We certainly need to sometimes express concerns.

We have to be real
Life Happens

But if we are always focused on the negative aspects of life, we are more likely to see them, which creates a vicious cycle of more and more complaining.

Let’s look at the last part of that definition.
Finding fault..

focusing on the bad rather than the good

What is the fruit of a complaining heart?

it poisons those around us
it’s emotionally draining to us and those around us
it fuels the sin of gossip and rumors
it can divide families
it can divide churches

I can allow myself to be agitated with the simplest things sometimes.

I can’t let things like this steal my joy or control my emotions and thoughts.

This is what happens when I allow my eyes and heart to be fixed on me.

What does the Bible say about complaining?
Philippians 2:12-15 (NLT)
12 Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
14 Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.

How does God view complaining?

Let’s look at The Story of a man named Job

Job 1:1-3 (NLT) 1 There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters. 3 He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He also had many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area.

2 points
#1    He was blameless—a man of complete integrity
#2    He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area.
Job 1:13-19 (NLT) 13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger arrived at Job’s home with this news: “Your oxen were plowing, with the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 when the Sabeans raided us. They stole all the animals and killed all the farmhands. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”
16 While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “The fire of God has fallen from heaven and burned up your sheep and all the shepherds. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”
17 While he was still speaking, a third messenger arrived with this news: “Three bands of Chaldean raiders have stolen your camels and killed your servants. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”
18 While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “Your sons and daughters were feasting in their oldest brother’s home. 19 Suddenly, a powerful wind swept in from the wilderness and hit the house on all sides. The house collapsed, and all your children are dead. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

In a moment of time, Everything was Gone!

Job 1:20-22 (NLT) 20 Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. 21 He said,
“I came naked from my mother’s womb,
and I will be naked when I leave.
The Lord gave me what I had,
and the Lord has taken it away.
Praise the name of the Lord!”
22 In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.

The Man knew who he was
and he knew who his God was

Job 2:4-8 (NLT) 4 Satan replied to the Lord, “Skin for skin! A man will give up everything he has to save his life. 5 But reach out and take away his health, and he will surely curse you to your face!”
6 “All right, do with him as you please,” the Lord said to Satan. “But spare his life.” 7 So Satan left the Lord’s presence, and he struck Job with terrible boils from head to foot.
8 Job scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes.

Now the emotional pain turned to physical pain

Job 2:9-10 (NLT) 9 His wife said to him, “Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.”
10 But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.

28 chapters later, after Job has been influenced by his three friends his outlook has changed.

Job 30:15-23 (NLT) 15 I live in terror now.
My honor has blown away in the wind,
and my prosperity has vanished like a cloud.
16 “And now my life seeps away.
Depression haunts my days.
17 At night my bones are filled with pain,
which gnaws at me relentlessly.
18 With a strong hand, God grabs my shirt.
He grips me by the collar of my coat.
19 He has thrown me into the mud.
I’m nothing more than dust and ashes.
20 “I cry to you, O God, but you don’t answer.
I stand before you, but you don’t even look.
21 You have become cruel toward me.
You use your power to persecute me.
22 You throw me into the whirlwind
and destroy me in the storm.
23 And I know you are sending me to my death—
the destination of all who live.

Chapter 31 is all about Job protesting his innocence and him bragging about all the good he has done.

Job 38:1-13 (NLT) The Lord Challenges Job
1 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:
2 “Who is this that questions my wisdom
with such ignorant words?
3 Brace yourself like a man,
because I have some questions for you,
and you must answer them.
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell me, if you know so much.
5 Who determined its dimensions
and stretched out the surveying line?
6 What supports its foundations,
and who laid its cornerstone
7 as the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?
8 “Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
as it burst from the womb,
9 and as I clothed it with clouds
and wrapped it in thick darkness?
10 For I locked it behind barred gates,
limiting its shores.
11 I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
Here your proud waves must stop!’
12 “Have you ever commanded the morning to appear
and caused the dawn to rise in the east?
13 Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth,
to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?

This Conversation between God and Job goes on through chapter 41.

At The end of the book of Job, Job fully repents and God restores his life to him.
Now, lets take a look at the Israelites in the desert

Numbers 11:1-2 (NLT) 1 Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the Lord heard everything they said.

What does God think about complaining?

Then the Lord’s anger blazed against them, and he sent a fire to rage among them, and he destroyed some of the people in the outskirts of the camp.

Why does a complaining  heart so anger God?

Complaining is a symptom of;
Selfishness
Faithlessness
Pride
And it says to God, you’re not good enough.

2 Then the people screamed to Moses for help, and when he prayed to the Lord, the fire stopped.

Moses was able to calm God’s wrath because he had God’s heart.   Moses only wanted what God wanted!

Numbers 11:4-6 (NLT) 4 Then the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to complain. “Oh, for some meat!” they exclaimed. 5 “We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted. 6 But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!”
The people forgot how bad it was when they were slaves in Egypt
They forgot how God was good to them and rescued them.
They took their eyes off the Lord and onto their circumstances.
Just like them, we are a forgetful people.

Who are we to express our concerns and opinions?

Chain of command, Gripes go up.

Now, it is Moses’s turn to gripe.

Numbers 11:11-15 (NLT) 11 And Moses said to the Lord, “Why are you treating me, your servant, so harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people?

Look at who he is talking to. He is talking directly to the Lord in prayer.

12 Did I give birth to them? Did I bring them into the world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother carries a nursing baby? How can I carry them to the land you swore to give their ancestors?

13 Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people? They keep whining to me, saying, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 14 I can’t carry all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy! 15 If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favor and spare me this misery!”
What is the difference here between Moses’s complaining and people complaining?
#1  God measures attitude of the heart.
The people want more things.     Moses wants his people to trust the Lord.

#2  Moses is griping to the one who can make a difference, not to people around     him

Psalms 142:1-3 (NLT)
1 I cry out to the Lord;
I plead for the Lord’s mercy.
2 I pour out my complaints before him
and tell him all my troubles.
3 When I am overwhelmed,
you alone know the way I should turn.

Give it all to the Lord. He cannot only handle it, but he can do something about it.

So, practically, how do we do this?

Romans 12:2
2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Paul says that we must be transformed by changing the way we think.”

The mind is the key to our Christian life.

The gospel is a call for each one of us to repent of our sin and embrace Christ by faith.

Our thinking must be changed (transformed) from old, ungodly ways of thinking into new, godly ways of thinking.

What we know in our minds to be true
forms a conviction in our hearts of that truth,
and that conviction in our hearts translates into action.

So, we must first renew our minds.

The only way to replace the error of the world’s way of thinking
is to replace it with God’s truth,
and the only infallible source of God’s truth is His revealed Word, the Bible.

Transformation through renewed minds
comes as we expose ourselves to God’s Word
through the church,
personal, and group Bible study.

We need to get into our Bibles.

Church alone is not enough

We must fill our minds with God’s Word.

In John 17:17 Jesus prayed to the Father,
17 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.

Romans 10:17 (NLT)
17 So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.

When we are reading it, we are hearing it.

What do we have to be thankful for?

#1 Salvation

Ephesians 2:8-10
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.