An epic story of forgiveness, love and reunion. God is still working through us today for the good of His Kingdom and love for one another!
Pain - physical, emotional or spiritual - is a consequence of sin. Looking to Jesus and His cross, we have hope! Because of Jesus, we now have direct access to bring our pain to our heavenly Father, trusting that He will work these things for our good.
Just as God raised up Shiphrah and Puah to deliver Hebrew babies from the genocide planned for them, God raised up Jesus to deliver us from sin, death and the devil. Pastor Klebig takes us through a lesson from Exodus 1:16-18.
A Strange Combination of Ingredients Can Make A Great Recipe!
With the beginning of the new church year we're at a time where this is a unique combination of ingredients: thinking about the end of the world + looking forward to Jesus' coming + Thanksgiving. This unique combo makes for a beautiful recipe in a messy world!
1) We can feel that there is a darkness in the world. But in Advent we focus on the light of Jesus coming!
2) When the world turned against Jesus, He lovingly humbled Himself in order to save the world!
3) On the cross an exchange took place. Jesus took on the cold sin of the world and gave us the warm love of God.
4) Even in a challenging world, we feast on God's mercy.
5) A Christian shows Thanksgiving by showing love and sharing the light of Christ!
Heroic!
We all love heroes. But it can be a tall order trying to live up to them! Jesus, however, makes us heroic like Noah!
1) Some might say that Noah wasn't all that heroic. He just followed directions. But humans are notoriously bad at following directions, especially from God!
2) God has given us very simple directions in the 10 commandments but none of us follow them.
3) Jesus perfectly obeyed for us. We are saved through Him!
4) As Christians we aren't afraid because we're wrapped in Christ. We're safe in the ark!
5) We get to do something Noah didn't. We get to throw a lifeline out to others so they can be saved with us. We get to be heroic!
Not Natural. But Good!
There are many things in life that are not natural to us but are good for us! Jesus changes us for the good!
1) If someone were to tell us that we need to do something, it shows that we haven't been doing it!
2) If someone were to tell us, "You need to be zealous" for something, it would make it almost impossible to do so because then we would be doing it out of obligation.
3) Thankfully, the directives God gives us begin with His mercy!
4) Jesus is more than an example. Our evil was glued to Him. His goodness is now glued to us!
5) As we pursue righteousness in view of Christ's mercy, it changes us!
Take A Look Inside!
It's hard to look inside of ourselves. We might find something gross. But when we look inside, we can find the proper diagnosis!
1) People often say, "That just wasn't me." What we do often doesn't align with what we want to do.
2) There's a slave driver inside of us, preventing us from doing what we want to do.
3) Jesus has also planted Himself inside of us and He is perfectly. He and our sinful nature are completely at odds.
4) We get to walk with the cross of Christ. His cross crushes the old me so the new me can stand up tall.
5) God has this way of using even our weaknesses to draw us closer. When we lean on Him in weakness, He gives us strength!
Let Go! Forward!
Sometimes we cling to things that really serve no purpose anymore. Consider what you need to let go of by answering the question, "What Is The Destination?"
1) There's something about humanity, where we have a difficult time letting go of things, even when they no longer serve any purpose.
2) One of the challenges to being a Christian is that embracing the hope of the Gospel means letting go of what we once held onto:
a. We no longer depend on ourselves and our own attempts to make things right. We trust in Jesus.
b. We no longer look to this world for purpose, meaning or contentment. We look to the life to come.
3) While it may feel scary to let go, our lives can be beautifully transformed when we focus on what's ahead!
4) Leave behind the rubble. Take hold of the beautiful future!
An Epic Battle!
It might not have looked like it... no swords or shields... but in the wilderness, a battle took place between good and evil.
1) Jesus, being fully human, faced the same temptations we face. On the surface they might seem different. But at the root, they are the same.
2) The devil often doesn't start with luring us into actions. He plants a seed of doubt which leads to sinful actions.
3) The devil may try to get us to doubt God's Word, but Jesus kept going back to it and so should we.
4) The devil may try to convince us that we should give up because he's winning the battle. But Jesus won the war!
5) Jesus is exactly who He says He is. He overcome every temptation, died on the cross and rose again. Victory is ours!
The Center of Our Story
What Jesus accomplished when He was crucified on the cross is at the center of all of history!
1) Jesus took the worst this world has to offer head on.
2) We were created to be in the image of God but sin disassembled us.
3) Jesus took on Himself the undoing of humanity that sin caused.
4) Jesus' greatest act of ruling occurred on that cross.
5) By not saving Himself, He saved us!
See How Things Have Changed!
God often works in ways that seem odd or surprising because He is making things different for us! We get to open our eyes and see how things have changed!
1) Sometimes church can just look like a place we go to and our faith can feel like an obligation. But that's not what God has in mind.
2) When Jesus did miracles He always did what He came to do, undo something broken by sin.
3) Jesus went to the cross in order to give us the inheritance that comes with being God's children.
4) Just like you don't have to pay to go to your father's house, you also have free access to God the Father's house! It's now your house!
5) You don't just go to the Father's house. Now the Father's house is inside of you. That means that everything God did in the temple, He does in you!
Stop Trying to Be What You Already Are!
We all have a list of things we think we need to do in order to be who we want to be. But God wants us to live in the reality of who we already are in Him!
1) God has been working throughout history in order to make us His children.
a. Instead of sending a Savior right away, in His grace He first gave the law to show us our need for a Savior.
b. He knew the perfect time and conditions for a Savior to enter this world.
2) God's Son became us, so we could become God's Son.
3) When God looks at You, what He sees is His perfect Son!
4) Being a good Christian is not an objective to be achieved, it's a position of authority that we've already been given and from which we live!
Your Life Is About Something Greater!
What we prioritize in our lives says a lot about where we find our identity and security. Remember what your life is all about!
1) When we make ourselves number 1, it might seem like it will benefit us, but it never turns out well.
2) When we rob God of being first in our lives, we really rob ourselves.
3) God takes our lack of glory and gives us the glory of Christ.
4) We give God glory when we honor all that He's done and continues to do!
5) We reflect God's glory so all the nations can see what He has done!
Think About It!
It's not just what you do and say that matters, God cares about what is going on in your heart and in your mind. When things are moving in the right direction on the inside, it's amazing the difference that can take place on the outside. That's why this weekend we're studying Colossians 3:1-2.
Pastor Klebig leads us through a message of hope in Jeremiah as we can be confident that God DOES have a plan for us as we go through our "Babylons".
Hearing Check:
Most of us know by now that Pastor Krause is just a bit hard of hearing (that's why he asks people to repeat things when we are at worship). We can deal with a pastor who is hard of hearing, but what if it seems like God has that same problem? This week we forged on to our next nagging question having to do with God's response to our conversations with Him.
Message from 8.16.20 in Cottage Grove
Ouch! When life is good and all goes as we want, do we question God? Usually we don't. Often, it is not until we find ourselves struggling, even suffering, that we wonder if God is doing His job? This weekend we looked at the opening verses of John chapter 11 to see if we can find any good in our moments of suffering and asks the question: "Can suffering be good?"
Message from 8.9.20 in Cottage Grove
The world is dying, and Christians have been charged with taking the message of a Savior to that dying world. The challenges of being "in the world but not of it" can genuinely test a believer's faith, and can present a frightening time in the life of a Christian. What happens when we question our faith? For our place and God's role in this question, we'll be looking at Jude 22-23 and asking, "What If I Question My Faith?"
Freedom is on everyone's minds right now. The Fourth of July is a celebration of our freedom as Americans, but at the same time the current circumstances are making us feel less free than almost any other time in our lives. The tension between our two realities begs the question of how free are we really? The Bible offers special insight into the strange nature of freedom and captivity, and the implications for our lives as we study this Sunday under the theme, "Am I Really Free?" We'll be looking to John 8:36 for the answer.