Christian?
Christian
When we hear that word, most of us have some kind of definition come to mind. That definition may be positive and it may be negative, but it is rarely neutral. But what is the definition of, “Christian”? And where did that definition come from? One place it didn’t come from is…….the Bible.
Jesus didn’t call His followers Christians. He used a different word; a clearly defined word; a word that leaves no ambiguity as to the definition of the word itself. What if we, as Christians, embodied this one word? What if our behavior was so consistent with this word that people around us were drawn to us – and to God?
A BIGGER Story
Most of us have heard the story of Jesus’ resurrection multiple times, and when we hear it or read it we tend to miss some of the key elements of the events that took place. In this message we will explore some of those elements that we tend to go right on past. In the process we learn that this isn’t just another Bible story. This is THE story! This is the story that intersects with our story, and when we understand it and trust in Jesus, that’s when we find forgiveness, joy, hope and the promise of eternal life. This “Bigger Story” is the story that makes all of the difference in the world.
Restoring Values
We all have values, whether we know it or not, whether we think about it or not. It’s your core values, or core beliefs, that shape everything you do in life. There are those who would say, “It really doesn’t matter what you believe” but that’s just not true. It does matter what you believe. Your beliefs determine your behavior and your behavior determines what you become. So the kind of person you are, if you look at the foundation, is based on the things you’ve chosen to value.
So it’s critically important to have the right core values in life because those values determine your direction, your salvation, your stress level, your success and many other things. If you want to build a lasting life of success and significance you must build it on lasting values. That’s what we’re going to look at in this series.
You, 5 Years Later
5 years ago, to the day, we launched a series titled, “You in 5 Years”. Over several weeks we talked about implementing God’s plan in our lives to that you would be a better version of you in 5 years. This message is a 5-year review of you 5 years later. How did you do?
Also, below, you will find links to the original series from 2020 so you can go back and review the 7 principles in full. This matters because there are some things you can do, some choices you can make, some changes to put in place that will help you set the course for your life to be exactly where you want it to be 5 years from now.
Week 1 (January 5, 2020) – Stuck
Week 2 (January 12, 2020) – In Pursuit of God’s Plan
Week 3 (January 19, 2020) – The Journey Begins
Week 4 (January 26, 2020) – Thoughts
Week 5 (February 2, 2020) – Words
Week 6 (February 9, 2020) – Actions
Week 7 (February 16, 2020) – Faithful
Thrive in ’25
You and I are on the outskirts of the coming year wondering what comes next. Will it be a joyful year, or a challenging year? Will it be a year of success and achievement, or will it be a year of discouragement and headwinds? I don’t have a crystal ball and neither did Moses or the people of Israel, but as we consider their experience 3,400 years ago we can learn some lessons that will help us navigate ’25 successfully and help us to Thrive in ’25!.