Sunday Message

Blessed Assurance: Dying to Love

The Apostle John reveals three key marks of true Christianity: believing in Jesus, walking in obedience, and loving fellow believers. In 1 John 3:11-18, he exposes two dangerous lies about love that our culture promotes. First, that love comes later after we get our doctrine right, when actually love has been foundational from the beginning. Second, that love comes naturally, when true Christian love is actually supernatural and only possible through God's Spirit. Real love follows Christ's example of laying down His life for us, moving beyond words to concrete actions that serve others in practical ways.

Blessed Assurance: Search and Destroy

Jesus didn't come to earth just to show love and mercy—He came on a search and destroy mission against sin and the devil's works. According to 1 John 3, real Christians don't take sin lightly because they understand it separates us from God. We can't settle for sin management, constantly asking for forgiveness while never addressing the root problem. God's plan required two moves: His incarnation as a sinless man to take our place, and our rebirth through being born again. When we receive a new nature in Christ, we react differently to sin—like a sheep that flees from mud rather than wallowing in it like a pig. This doesn't mean perfection, but it means progress in our walk with God.

Blessed Assurance: In His Image

From the beginning, God created us to bear His image and share in the family resemblance. When sin entered through Adam and Eve's disobedience, we lost that image and experienced shame and separation from God. But God chose to pursue us rather than abandon us, sending Jesus to restore our capacity to bear His image. Through faith in Christ, God adopts us as His children and begins transforming us from the inside out. This isn't just about forgiveness - it's about being remade into God's likeness with ever-increasing glory. One day we will see Jesus face to face and be completely like Him, with no shame or reason to hide.

While We Wait: Show Love

During seasons of waiting, Christians are called to demonstrate love that goes beyond feelings to active service. Jesus modeled this radical love throughout His ministry by putting others' welfare first, even loving His enemies. When we show love to others - whether family, strangers, or those who oppose us - God counts it as love shown to Him. True Christian love seeks the good of others above our own comfort, serves those who cannot repay us, and extends grace to those who have wronged us. This love transforms our waiting periods into opportunities to live out kingdom values now.

While We Wait: Choosing Joy

Life is filled with waiting seasons that can easily lead to anxiety and impatience. However, we can find joy during these times by focusing on two powerful truths. First, we can rejoice in God's incredible mercy, which becomes most evident during our trials and is ultimately demonstrated through Christ's incarnation. Second, we can choose to be joy for others who are also waiting by offering simple acts of kindness like genuine smiles, using people's names, and showing sincere interest in their lives. These small gestures create ripple effects that extend far beyond what we can see, transforming both our own experience and the lives of those around us.

While We Wait: Experiencing Peace

True peace isn't just the absence of conflict but complete wholeness, described by the Hebrew word shalom. Jesus didn't come to end all earthly troubles but to bring peace between humanity and God through his sacrifice. Paul provides practical steps for experiencing supernatural peace even during difficult circumstances: choose joy, be gentle with others, live with eternity in mind, turn worry into worship, pray about everything, and be grateful. Your thought life directly impacts your peace, so be mindful of what you consume through news and social media. While circumstances may not change, God can transform you from within, allowing you to experience peace that surpasses understanding.

While We Wait: Don't Lose Hope

Life is filled with seasons of waiting, from medical results to relationship healing. Throughout Scripture, God's people have always been waiting people - Noah, Abraham, Joseph, and even Jesus all experienced extended periods of waiting. The Hebrew word for wait is the same as hope, revealing that biblical waiting is active and expectant. During waiting seasons, we can maintain hope through three key practices: establishing consistent prayer to commune with God, trusting His character and timing rather than forcing our own solutions, and actively doing good works right where we are. Our hope as Christians is different because it's a living hope found in Jesus, who experienced waiting just as we do and serves as both our example and foundation.

Blessed Assurance: Reasons for a New Anointing

In these uncertain times, believers have been given a powerful gift - the anointing of the Holy Spirit. John warns that we're living in the last days, where many antichrists seek to diminish Jesus rather than deny Him outright. These false teachers don't reject Jesus entirely but reduce Him to merely a good teacher rather than the unique Son of God. However, every believer has received the Holy Spirit's anointing, which always points us to Jesus and reminds us of His truth. To remain faithful, we must hold onto three essentials: the apostolic teachings about Jesus, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and active participation in the body of Christ.

Blessed Assurance: World Class

Living as a Christian requires choosing between loving God and loving the world system that opposes Him. The world, under Satan's influence since the Fall, operates with values and philosophies contrary to God's truth. We cannot serve both masters - loving the world squeezes out love for the Father. Christians have been rescued from darkness into light through Christ's victory on the cross. Understanding that this world is temporary while God's kingdom is eternal helps us maintain proper perspective. Spiritual maturity involves growing beyond spiritual childhood and working together as a church family across all generations. We're called to be in the world as light and salt while rejecting its values.

Blessed Assurance: Authentic Relationships

Authentic faith in Jesus is marked by three key characteristics: obedience to His commands, living like Jesus, and loving others. True obedience flows from love rather than obligation, showing evidence of genuine faith rather than earning salvation. Living like Jesus isn't about perfect imitation but about abiding in Him and allowing Christ to transform us from within. The command to love others is both ancient and revolutionary, as Jesus redefined love by His own example of sacrificial care for all people. These marks aren't about achieving perfection but about staying connected to Jesus and allowing Him to produce authentic spiritual fruit in our lives.