Conflict is guaranteed whenever a bunch of sinners like us come together. The only question is how we’ll respond to that conflict. Will it separate us or strengthen us? This week Paul will show us how to redeem conflict.
This is the month every year where the differences between Christianity and our culture are made clear. How do we respond to sin in the world? In the church? In ourselves? Paul will help us thread this needle with courageous love and unashamed truth.
Psychologists say the average high schooler today experiences more anxiety than the average psychiatric patient in the 1950’s. Nearly half of us take sleeping pills nightly to calm our nerves. Rising anxiety and insecurity are keeping many of us from reaching our full potential, but knowing and appreciating what we have in Christ will give us confidence to grow, serve, and lead.
Don't you love pleasant surprises? A year-end bonus you weren't expecting, or the bonus fries at the bottom of the McDonald's bag? Being in Christ is like that. At the beginning we think it's just about a restored relationship with God and a ticket to heaven. But it's so much more! This Sunday we'll see the unexpected blessings we receive when we're walking with Jesus.
How do you handle messiness in life? Stress over it? Ignore it? Confront it? Embrace it? Well, we’re about to get to know the messiest folks in the New Testament, the Corinthians. They were a hot mess, and Paul waded into the mess with them. Why? Because messiness is a sign of life! Only dead people and dead churches have no messes. Paul will help us see that the way to overcome messiness in our lives (whether it’s sin, conflict, or confusion) is to remember who were are in Christ.
It seems like everyone’s tired right now. Everything that was canceled or delayed during COVID is dropping on us all at once. Our schedules seem more crazy than they’ve ever been. That’s why it’s good news that Jesus offers rest even in the chaos, and we can pass that rest on to others.
We’re closing the book of Revelation with a bang! John’s giving us more thrilling glimpses of our eternal future with Jesus, and reminding us that this exhilarating future is coming sooner than we think.
What’s your idea of heaven on earth? You might have had a little taste at a beautiful place or with a loving group of people. But we’ll get the ultimate taste of heaven on earth when Jesus comes to reign on earth for 1000 years at the end of this age.
The sky is always most beautiful after the storm, and that’s what we’ll start to see as we get to the last few chapters of Revelation. After God’s storm puts an end to evil and suffering, we’ll celebrate with all of heaven and earth.
We have an ancient enemy who’s trying to peel away the disciples of Christ to worship him instead. The continual encouragement in Revelation is to endure, even when Satan makes life difficult for us. And as we’ll see in Revelation 14, we can be faithful today by remembering the harvest reward we’ll experience in the days to come.