God the Father

Hard Life, Good God

Believers often tell unbelievers, “Give your life to Jesus. Go to heaven.” They often leave out the middle, the hard part called “life.” But James is more forthright, saying it’ll get harder before it gets easier, and sometimes the closer you are to Jesus, the more difficult it’ll be.

X. DO NOT COVET

If you could have anyone’s car, home, abilities, physical appearance, spouse, or life, whose would you have? If you answered, what was just awakened in you is coveting—an ungodly, discontented desire for what’s not ours. If you answered, you’re a coveter; if you didn’t, you’re a liar. How do we come to want what God wants for us?

VI. DO NOT MURDER

The sixth commandment consists of two words in the Hebrew, “no” and “murder.” While the first word is not really debated, the second is. This sermon examines the meaning of “murder” in the Bible and discusses its implications for the issues of capital punishment and abortion.

V. HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER

What comes to mind when you think of your father or mother? For some, the thought is uplifting. For others, it’s devastating. Yet the Bible says, “Honor your father and mother” and provides no exception clause for those of us who have had horrific experiences at the hands of our parents. So what does it means to honor them? How do we do this?

I. HAVE NO OTHER GODS

In Jesus, God has fulfilled the law and set us free. Still, many of us prefer being enslaved to rebellion and sin. Like the children of Israel, we keep circling the desert, stuck. The truth is, we can’t begin to live free until we realize there’s only one God—and we’re not him. God is our Father, and he desires for us to experience the freedom that comes with living according to his loving will.

I Am Fathered

The most important person in your life is your father. He has more power than anyone to influence you—for good or for evil. Hearing the word “father,” does it conjure up amazing memories, or does it cause you to sense loss because he has abandoned, betrayed, failed you? What kind of father are or will you be? Strive to become like Father God and bless your children the way he has blessed you.

I Am Adopted

As a Christian, you’ve been adopted by God the Father, given a new identity, and welcomed into a family with Jesus as your big Brother. You’ve been adopted to worship. So, do not engage in sinful behavior. Do imitate God by walking in love as children of light, discerning what pleases him, making the best use of time, being filled with the Spirit, giving thanks, and submitting to one another.

I Am Heard

When we pray, we’re talking to our Dad. Prayer can be silent or aloud. You can pray alone or in a group. God always answers prayer with: yes, no, or later. Prayer can cause God to act, but oftentimes prayer is to change us. Praying also keeps us from grumbling and gossiping. From Paul’s prayer for his church, we learn that prayer is personal, relational, asking, yearning, expecting, and revealing.

I Am Reconciled

Despite a literal and spiritual dividing wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles—centuries of conflict starting with Abraham—in Christ, they are reconciled. Their identity is no longer circumcised or uncircumcised, it is a new people, “Christian.” Even more amazingly, in Christ, God and sinners are reconciled. Christians are reconciled to one another and together are a dwelling place for God.

I Am Saved

Your own works cannot save you; only Jesus’ works save. Salvation means saved from the penalty of sin in the past, from the power of sin in the present, and from the presence of sin forever in the future. Those who are in Christ are saved from death, sin, worldly living, Satan and demons, the old nature/old desires, and God’s wrath. We’re saved by grace, then empowered by grace to do good works.

I Am Blessed

We oftentimes assume that God doesn’t want to bless us, or, if he does, that we have to pay him back. But God is good; we don’t have to make him bless us. His people are blessed in Christ with holiness, predestination, adoption, redemption, forgiveness, grace, and are sealed by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit—all to the praise of God’s glory. We bless the God who has blessed us.

Jesus Is a Better Servant

Through the story of God’s covenant people in Esther, we learn to not question God’s providence, but assume it. “Coincidence” is the non-Christian’s word for providence. We learn from the examples of Haman and Mordecai that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. And grieving accomplishes nothing without repenting, as we see when Haman only has worldly sorrow and never truly repents.