Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us ... There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect…
Read More
Let's be honest: The biggest obstacle between God and people trying to find him has often been Christians. It’s unfortunate, but it’s rare that a drunkard, drug addict, or prostitute would think of going to church because he or she just needed to feel loved and accepted.These people may turn to bars, fellow addicts, drug dealers, or pimps to find refuge and acceptance, but they would not think of going to a church. Perhaps it's because many Christians are better known for what they are against than what they are for. Our message this weekend reminds us that the distinctive mark of the reign of God in a person's life is how they love and do good to people they agree with and disagree with, to people who treat them well and to those who mistreat them.Hatred does not win the day. Liking someone is not the answer. Love makes the difference.
Read More
What does it mean to glorify God? The first part of our 3G mission statement challenges us to be a church that Glorifies God. That means individually and as a church, our words and deeds should honor God. We exist to make his name famous. Sometimes the best way to honor God is by refraining to do what comes naturally. Self-control is a way to glorify God. At other times, God is glorified when we act with bold faith, doing what might be unnatural for us. Either way, our overriding purpose as Christ-followers and as a Christ-centered church is to live in such a way as to bring credit to God. If you were to ask yourself the following question, how would it change your life? Here it is: Does what I'm about to say or do bring glory to God?
Read More
When was the last time you decided to go for a run without any thought of where you would go? "That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd run to the end of the town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd just run across Greenbow County. And I figured, since run this far, maybe I'd just run across the great state of Alabama. And that's what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason I just kept on goin'. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on goin'. When I got to another ocean, I figured, since I'd gone this far,…
Read More
The Bible uses two significant words to describe those of us who follow Jesus: aliens and ambassadors. On the one hand, we are to live as aliens in a world that rebels against God. Our values are not to be determined by opinion polls or who wins the Oscars, but are to be taken from Jesus himself. Morally and ethically, we are to live as foreignors in a land that doesn't follow Jesus. On the other hand, we are called to be ambassadors -- to represent our King to those we live among. The apostle Paul puts it this way: "We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us." We live in an age when the fastest-growing religious affiliation is "none." As aliens in a foreign land, we have an obligation to be different. As ambassadors, we have a responsibility to build bridges. Sound easy?
Read More