Celebration Center

We often know the process of being close to Jesus and making that jump, but sometimes it’s the first step that’s the hardest. As followers of Jesus we long for the “walk on water” moment, but before we ever get there we have to take the first step out of the boat.

Jesus shared clearly in the parable of the soils that there is only one soil you want to be on. As Jesus followers, we want to be on the fruitful & good soil but honestly, we better identify with the thorns. We will look at how this isn’t just a “next best” option for life, but rather that the two soils are the difference between death and life for you and generations to come.

A faith in Jesus that does not result in action is worthless. The Bible seems to suggest that true faith is demonstrated by our deeds. A powerful example of faith in the scriptures is that of the Centurion in Luke 7. This man asks for Jesus to come to His house because he believes Jesus is the only hope of healing for his servant. The centurion’s faith was not something that he only held in his heart; it was something he was willing to act upon. Jesus actually comments on how amazed he is by the man’s faith.

The early church shared a deep sense of fellowship around their belief in the risen Christ. They supported each other’s faith based on their shared love for Jesus and their commitment to living out His teachings. They shared with anyone who had a need, spent time reading the scripture, and fellowshipped together. This spirit of community was what allowed their numbers to grow each day and for the Gospel to spread far and wide. Today, believers can enjoy the community that comes from faith. Being a part of God’s family helps us experience all that God has for us.

One of the greatest obstacles to growing in our faith is the inability to fully accept the forgiveness of God. Our past mistakes, shortcomings, and failures too often hold us back from all that God has for us. God invites us to live with a future focus. Rather than dwelling on the past, we are called to live with eager anticipation for what lies ahead.

Easter morning revealed an empty tomb because Jesus had risen from the grave. The two women who first made the discovery had a choice to make. Do they trust the good news or do they ignore the evidence in front of them? The resurrection of Jesus was good news that changed the lives of the disciples and by their impact, the world. We have the same choice to make as the woman did. When we choose faith, we are found “in Christ” and our lives are made new.

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the people were excited! They so desperately wanted their savior to come and rescue them, but what they weren’t expecting is where he would start. He didn’t storm the palace and kick out the romans, in fact, he went to His own temple and started with His own people there. The people wanted a regime change, and Jesu brought it, but not at all in the way they were expecting.

The only imitation we should be striving for in our life is to imitate Jesus. This means we look like Him in how He loved others. This love was unbelievable to those on the receiving end. This love was unconditional and not based on performance. This love was self-sacrificial and not selfish. The only urge we should give into is the urge to be more like Jesus.

God, because He decided to use us to accomplish His mission in this world, calls us His “ambassadors.” We are called to be God’s voice to reconcile people to Himself. This includes the willingness to speak up and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.

As followers of Christ, we have been chosen by the God of the universe as His prized possession. We are chosen and set apart through Christ our Savior. This has all happened for a specific purpose which is to allow us to proclaim the goodness of God to those who still find themselves in the darkness.

The world has certain patterns to it that do not lead to a full life. Greed, anger, jealousy, materialism, and dishonesty are just a few of them. Paul instructs us in the book of Romans to no longer conform or blend in with the ways of the world, but instead we are to live as transformed people. Transformation doesn’t happen by accident; it is an intentional way of daily living.

Jesus was busy. But he was never in a hurry. He had counted the cost of his time, and knew exactly what he should do in order to fulfill his mission on earth. We can do the same by budgeting our time, and protecting it based on our priorities. However, we should always remember that our verdict is sealed regardless of our productivity. God doesn’t need us to finish our to-do lists. This freedom should allow us to work hard because we want to be a part of redeeming God’s creation.

If you’ve ever felt unequipped or unsure of yourself or your call from God, you’re certainly not alone. All throughout scripture God calls people who make excuses, feel insecure, don’t like themselves, ore don’t believe they’re the right person for the job. And guess what, he proved time and time again that His call on their lives and ours is ON purpose, FOR a purpose.

We live in a celebrity culture and often that affects the church as well and keeps God’s people from experiencing the powerful life He intended for us, because all through Scripture and down through history we see that God takes ordinary people, in ordinary places and empowers them to do extraordinary things!

We live in a “hustle” culture. If you want to get more done, the world will often tell you to “work harder,” “burn the midnight oil,” or “sleep when you’re dead.” But the biblically-based, scientifically-verified truth is that rest is a counterintuitive key to being wildly productive. In order to do more, most of us need to do less and rest more.

When Jesus came to earth, he temporarily traded in his Godly omnipresence and accepted the unipresence of being a human being. He could only be in one place at a time. He had to prioritize the many good things pulling at his attention because he was laser-focused on “finishing the work the Father gave him.” We can apply these principles of prioritizing our yeses and accepting our unipresence to our work and lives today.

As we look to the life of Christ for principles of time management, we notice that Jesus always ensured his “yes” was “yes,” from the smallest to the biggest commitments. He also fought to block out noise and create room for silence, stillness, and reflection, which we see all throughout the Gospels as he retreated to “lonely places.”

Time is something that if not managed well can easily feel like gets away from us very quickly. Have you even tried to manage your time, but feel like you just don’t have enough of it? How do we make sure that we are accomplishing our every day life tasks, as well as preparing ourselves for the work God has for us when there just doesn’t seem to be enough time? Today we will look at 5 biblical truths about our time, and how we can better manage the precious time God has given us.

At just the right time, Jesus came into the world. He came to free us from the crushing weight of the law. We could never be good enough to earn salvation, so Jesus lived a perfect life on our behalf. Why? Because of love. God wanted us to be a part of his family. Out of love, he adopted us through the work of Christ. We are now the sons and daughters of God. Jesus is our savior and we can rest in the love of the Father.

The circumstances of life have a way of robbing us of joy. Disappointment, frustration, and loss can suck the very life from us; however, Jesus’s birth reminds us that, no matter how hard life is, we don’t have to go through it alone. God has come to us full of grace and truth, and that should bring us joy. We can trust that Jesus’s presence with us will reveal the truth about our lives and at the same time offer us the grace to see things change.