Tag: Jesus

Christian Living

Have You Really Met God?

Chris

If you have spent any amount of time in the church you know something about God. You have heard and sang songs, sermons have come to you from the Holy Bible, you partake in the bread and cup of Communion, and you have heard innumerable prayers. While all of these have a valuable place in our spiritual lives, you may enjoy them regularly and never experience the most important part of Christianity.

As the worship portion of our service ended on Sunday, in that transition time before the message that I have to make on those days when I lead worship before speaking, I felt the need to ask whether or not we have really met God.

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Bible, Christian Living

One Reason God Is Not Answering Your Prayers

Chris

Are you waiting for God to do something in your life? Is God providing in your time of need? Is He intervening in your relational problems? Has He brought healing to your life?

desperation

You have probably heard of various reasons why your prayers are not being answered. Some typical answers from Christians are, “It just isn’t God’s time,” or, “God is waiting to see if you continue to trust Him, praying until you receive.” Some harsher reasons might be, “You don’t have enough faith; you have to really believe,” or “There is sin in your life and you have to get rid of it first.” We also hear more biblical reasons such, “You aren’t asking for the right things.”

Jesus told His disciples about one key to answered prayer. If we are crying out to God and aren’t seeing results, we take a moment to see if this key is part of our lives.

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Christian Living

So, You Call Yourself A Christian?

Chris

Do you believe that you are a Christian? If so, 33 percent of the world’s population would agree with you, based on research by Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 2006.

CROSSES

How do you know that you are a Christian? What truths make an impact on your life to the point that you call yourself a Christian? There are four basic points we must understand, believe and live in light of before we can claim the name “Christian.”

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Christian Living

Christmas and Communion

Chris

At our church, the first Sunday of the month is Communion Sunday. Today it just felt like a great way to kick off the Christmas Season.

I also had the opportunity to lead worship this morning. We sang a couple of carols, and then built off of “O Come, All Ye Faithful” all the way to “Here I Am To Worship.” It was sort of going from Jesus’ birth to death all in 20 minutes.

Of course, Jesus’ death and resurrection are the point behind Jesus’ birth. If Jesus had just been a prophet or important man, but was unable to satisfy the requirements of the perfect sacrifice, we wouldn’t have much to celebrate. We don’t celebrate the birth of Abraham, Moses or David. We don’t all get together on Barack Obama’s or Stephen Harper’s or Queen Elizabeth’s birthday. We don’t put out lights and decorations for President’s Day in February (at least, not yet).

If weren’t for Christ’s body broken for you, and Christ’s blood shed for you, this time of year might not be much of a celebration at all.