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Reconciliation

Praying hands in the sun.

An Odd Week

I needed to be in church on Sunday.  I had an odd week.  It had no rhythm to it.  It was long.  I was frustrated with some things that went on, and I was battling through some heart issues.  Then, the church service started.  The lyrics from the songs began to re-speak the truth of the gospel to my soul.  My eyes were lifted upward, and my heart began to settle down.  When I got up to preach, I shared the story about ‘not doing more’ because ‘it is finished’ it was for my heart more than anyone else.

Hard Work With Heaven’s Hope

Rightfully so, Christians get frustrated and disillusioned by conflict. And many will say, “this isn’t how it’s supposed to be” or “this isn’t right.” But few Christians are willing to apply what God has taught us in His word to deal with conflict. The reason why God gave us instructions on how to be peacemakers…is because there is going to be conflict.

Maturity and Conflict

I picked out two of the most common sins that create division in the church: gossip and slander. I could’ve done more, but those are sadly the most common sins. Scripture gives us clear guidance on handling such things, but it does take courage and God’s power to deal with something like this.  

The Best Lesson Learned

When I began to believe that God loved me more than I could ever imagine because of Jesus, I stopped living for others’ approval because I didn’t “need” it anymore. Rather, in Christ, I had all the love I could ever want/need, and I had a reservoir of love to give out. Further, when I began to believe that God had judged me more than I could ever imagine because Jesus’ death for my sin reveals this, I stopped being crushed by others’ judgments of me because their judgments were not nearly as critical as God’s already was. In Christ, I was truly free.

Trust Over Time

The fact that there are two types of forgiveness listed in the Bible was new information for some of us. But when there is no confession of sin, there should not be spoken forgiveness to the sinner. Reasons for this are many, but we see this in the Bible. We are not granted forgiveness of our sins until we confess we’re sinners and believe in Jesus.

Plug Into the Gospel

Here’s the point:  for Christians, we’re the only people in the universe who have the power of Christ at our disposal to pursue peace and reconciliation.  Yet, most of the time, the issue is that we don’t plug into that power by humbly and obediently doing what Christ has commanded us and leaving the results in His hands.  Instead, we never try.  We avoid; we isolate, run, and stay in conflict. 

Sin’s Effects and Christ’s Role

As we noticed Sunday, God came to us in the person of Jesus. His coming to us shows us how reconciliation works. The offended party goes, ready to forgive. In reality, Christ came to us to reconcile us to God and then empowered us to be reconciled to one another. We cannot be peacemakers, without the power of THE PEACEMAKER, within us.

- March 29 | 6:30 PM | Jacoby Auditorium -

Come and reflect with us on Good Friday as we gather in remembrance of the ultimate sacrifice, finding grace in the cross.

- March 31 | 10:00 AM | Jacoby Auditorium -

Join us for an Easter Sunday celebration, as we rejoice in the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, filled with hope, love, and renewal..