Father, we are not what we want to be. We fail You at every turn. We give up easily and struggle to get back on track. Thank you for loving us, encouraging us to move forward and not letting us remain this way. Amen.
Have you felt the freedom? Laying all of our brokenness down, at the feet of Jesus, can give us new life. As we continue to turn to Jesus, He continues to intercede for us with the Father. The law has served its purpose. It points us toward the One who made the sacrifice required to justify us in the eyes of the Father. Claim the freedom! Stay close to Jesus, in His holy name, I pray.
Verses: Romans 8:1-3a (NIV)
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.
Today’s Passage: Luke 5:1-11
Opening Prayer:
Have you ever asked yourself, “What do I want to do with the rest of my life”? No matter what your age, you probably can answer yes to that question. God’s call, however, is different than what job you will get or what career you will choose or how will you spend your retirement. When we are called by God, we are called to join Him in reaching out to others, possibly throughout the world, with the gospel – a message of love, of salvation, and of eternal life. Father God, may we hear Your call on our lives and may we choose to submit to Your purposes. May we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. May we not be fearful of how we will handle the challenges of everyday life. In the precious name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Opening Song: “Let It Start With Me” (Official Music Video) – No Other Name
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H_hmNqls7A
Message [used with permission from A Sermon for Every Sunday]: “What should I do with my life?” – by William H. Willimon, bishop in the United Methodist Church and Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at Duke Divinity School.
In his work with college students, Will Willimon often dealt with young adults asking the proverbial question, “What should I do with my life?” In today’s sermon, he confronts the question of vocation, a question that often confuses us. What is it? Where does it come from? How does it play out in our lives? Willimon calls today’s passage from Luke 5:1-11–the call of Simon Peter–a corrective for some of our misconceptions about Christian vocation. What are those misconceptions and how can they change our view of calling? Listen as Willimon answers this question and gives us an alternative to the age old question, “What should I do with my life?”
or at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ybXbFUF8RQ
Closing Prayer: Everyone has been called by God to do something. We may feel we are not “good enough” to be of use to God, but Scripture tells us something different. As we submit to Him, He takes us wherever He finds us and molds us into whatever He can use to move His agenda and purposes forward. Lord God, may we see clearly how you desire to use us. May we feel worthy to be called according to Your purposes and may we be open to the changes You seek to make in us.
Closing Song: Lauren Daigle – You Say (Official Music Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIaT8Jl2zpI
Epilogue: Help us Lord. This is my prayer, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
“For This Purpose (Live)” – SEU Worship
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkiEYJuZ6Ck
Love God and He will enable you to love others even when they disappoint you. Francine Rivers
Even if we have proclaimed to follow Jesus Christ, we may find ourselves struggling to do what we should do. It can be frustrating to feel like you cannot do anything right. Even if we have managed to change how we do things, it is often easy to fall into old patterns or behaviors. We are a work in progress. God will not abandon us. He will work to complete the work that has been started in us.
Verses: Romans 7:15, 21-23 (NIV)
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.
1 John 4:18-19 (NASB)
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us.
Baptism is a sacrament that we associate with new Christians. In the Christian church, it symbolizes death to our old way of life and rebirth into a new and better way of living. The water used in baptism symbolically washes away the dirt, shame, and sins of our old life, while emerging out from under the water depicts someone starting life anew. However, it is a new life that we live for God. May our lives be lived for Him anew each day.
Verses: Romans 6:8-11, 23 (NIV)
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Those who have been genuinely changed by God no longer settle for empty words of love – they know love is a verb.
Chris Brown [Taken from Chris’ sermon, Love is a Verb
(http://www.worshiphousemedia.com/church-media-blog/media/free-wallpaper-love-verb/)
If we have claimed the promise in the below Scripture verses, then we are different. We think differently, act differently, and seek a different way of life. Do you see, feel, or know how you are different now? Do others think you have changed for the better since claiming to be a follower of Jesus, the Christ? Do you look for and value different things out of life? A changed way of life, for the better, is a sign that Christ lives within us and that the Holy Spirit has become our guide. May we claim the promise and grow to be more Christlike with each passing day. Amen.
Verses: Romans 6:5-7 (NIV)
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
Father, our will is to do your will. Your will is that we love one another as you have loved us. Teach us to lose ourselves in your love so that we might better love others. Amen
Faithfully Yours Forever 