Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

mission

The Birth of Jesus

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the meaning of Christmas,virgin birth,God with us,savior of the world,easter

What if Jesus had never been born? What if He had not come to walk among us? It’s Christmas Eve and tomorrow we celebrate the birth of our Savior a couple thousand years ago. How would your life be different today if you had never come to know Jesus? I’ll be honest, I’m not sure I’d be alive. There have been times in my life that if it weren’t for Jesus, I don’t think I would have made it through. I have often remarked that I don’t understand how people cope without Christ. To whom do they turn when everyone has failed them and everything has fallen apart? How do people without Jesus ever experience true peace? God created us for a purpose, and the only way to discover that purpose is through the person of Jesus Christ.

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When Life Works

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gifts,talents,spiritual gifts,sean stephenson,time to stand,WLW list,when life works

Following in the footsteps of Jesus is not easy. Christ was selfless, passionately driven, fiercely devoted, and unwavering in His mission. This is how He lived every second of His life; He never let up. How can we possibly ever achieve even a modicum of that in our lives? When we ask Jesus to be the Lord of our life and put our total trust in Him, His spirit empowers us to do everything He did, and more (John 14:12). It’s not up to us to figure out the “how”, we simply need to acknowledge our weakness and obey Jesus anyway.

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Using Your Talents

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talents,skills,god's will for your life,why am I here,life purpose,spiritual gifts

Most of us are familiar with the parable of the talents found in Matthew 25:14-30. In the story, the master gives his servants a varying number of talents before he goes away on a long trip. To one he gives five, to another two, and to the other one. When the master returns, he calls in his servants to see what they have done with what he gave them to use. The first two servants doubled what they received, but the other one simply offered back exactly what he had been given. The servants who multiplied what they had were praised, while the one who had done nothing received harsh judgment from his master; he was stripped of what he had and thrown out of his master’s presence.

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What Do You Value Most?

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Jesus first,discipleship,dave ramsey,total money makeover,financial peace,living for Jesus,values clrification,values

Are you living by the values of society or the values of God? It’s easy for the line to get blurred. Sometimes it can be difficult to discern whether something is God’s blessing or simply the result of selfish ambition. Especially for those of us in the West, the temptation to conform to what our culture considers to be normal can be overwhelming. We try to keep up with the Jones’s instead of humbly serving and loving them. Our focus tends to be on our personal enjoyment or on the size of our retirement nest egg. Satan is having a field day with our values, and too often Christians are excusing it in the name of God’s favor.

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A Small Group Primer

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intentional community,shane claiborne,the simple way,discipleship,small groups,life groups

Perhaps no single idea has been so universally embraced by the church over the past 30 years as that of the small group. It is the strategic backbone of larger and smaller congregations alike. Too often these groups become nothing more than just another clique or a social club. Friendships develop, and there is a passing attempt at working through a Bible study booklet, but rarely do you find these groups engaged in the mission of Christ. There are exceptions; perhaps you belong to one of these. I do know of groups building intentional communities with tremendous outreach; they exemplify the early church. However,  if you belong to one of the more common implementations of a small group – one not engaging your culture – then it’s time to ask some hard questions.

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