When we faithfully seek God’s will and obey it, we can expect increasing spiritual attack from our great enemy. Therefore, it is essential that we not only seek God’s will and faithfully obey, but also continually keep ourselves focused upon Him and His Word, and take up His full armor daily to protect us from the enemy’s attacks.
On the night He was betrayed to die on the cross in our place so that we might be forgiven of our sins and restored into fellowship with God, Jesus gave His disciples “a new commandment” that we love one another, saying that people would recognize that we are His disciples through the love we exhibit for one another. But exactly how do we show this love that Jesus has commanded for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul tells us that our love for one another must be genuine, and gives some concise characteristics of this love in Romans 12:9-17.
Paul wants us to recognize how blessed we truly are as believers. Paul provides some foundational truths about our faith and works to help us understand how these truths can help us grow stronger as disciples of Jesus Christ. God has blessed us with our salvation through Jesus Christ. He has blessed us in our relationships. He has blessed us in our families, both at home and in our churches. He has blessed us with a new identity in Christ. He has blessed us with an eternal inheritance. Paul wants us to follow his lead and give praises to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because He “has blesses us in Christ with every blessing in the heavenly places”.
This message begins a new series focused on Paul’s epistle to the churches surrounding Ephesus. It’s no secret that Christians are called to be different. We are to be “new” and not hold on to the “old”. In Ephesians Paul teaches what it’s truly like to be different. We live in a world of rapid moral decline. Therefore, as followers of Jesus Christ, we must train ourselves to function differently than the world. We must learn to fully commit to living a surrendered life and allow the power of God’s Spirit to help us walk in God’s ways and not our own.
None of us are perfect and all of us need God’s power to help us make it in this world. The holy ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are two of the greatest gifts given to us directly from Jesus, our Savior and Lord. Baptism allows the believer the opportunity to announce to the world that they have given their heart and control of their life to Jesus. It symbolizes death to self, burial into Jesus Christ, and resurrection into a new life. Participation in the Lord’s Supper helps us proclaim the death of Christ as necessary for our salvation and proclaim our anticipation for His eventual return. Participation in the Lord’s Supper requires us to be in right relationship with Jesus and unifies the bride of Christ, His Church, together around the supper table of the Lord.
Every believer understands the command by Jesus to “Go therefore and make disciples”, but very few strive to make evangelism part of their daily lives. When we allow our hearts to be in tune with our Savior’s, evangelism then becomes something which will flow from our mouths and our actions more naturally. It is the duty and privilege of every Jesus follower to set their life on a course which helps fulfill this great command from Jesus. Lives are at stake, and we must train ourselves for the work of an evangelist, whether we want to or not.
Biblical illiteracy and lack of spiritual maturity is quickly becoming an alarming trend across Christian churches. God – since the moment He granted Adam dominion over the earth has always encouraged His children to pursue knowledge, understanding and wisdom. He did this because He knew how desperately we would need His laws and His structure as we daily face the trials and tribulations our current culture is forcing onto the believer. We must develop a personal plan of discipleship, we must teach the next generation about God, Jesus, Salvation, and the Holy Spirit. No longer should it be acceptable to sit at home or in the pew with the attitude of, “the church doesn’t need me anymore. They have plenty of others to do that.” God expects every believer to study and then teach someone else all that God has taught them.
Paul, in his letter to the church of Galatia lets us know; true freedom doesn’t come through putting self-first. Freedom comes when we have an authentic relationship with Jesus and through Him, we live to serve one another. It is our faith that frees us to follow the words of Christ, as repeated by Paul in verse 14. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Christian freedom means freedom together. We are better together. We are stronger together. In Christ, we are free to love others as Christ loves others.
Psalm 19 is one of the greatest theological writings in all the Bible. In this poem, King David did a phenomenal job communicating about how awesome our Creator truly is. His words draw us to a place where all of creation can be better understood. David also informs us, that as much as God uses creation to reveal Himself to us, it is His Word, where even more is revealed. As we’ll discover in his closing prayer, King David’s intention was not to be perfect, but rather to stand before God as one who sought purity of heart and blamelessness. His desire was to avoid the things which displeased God. We can work towards this if we trust God and His Word.
Look around you sometime. Have you ever noticed how flawed we really are? I often find myself saying, “C’Mon Man!” more frequently than I should. Unfortunately, there is a devastating trend in the local church. Men are absent. Only 1/10 men who regularly attend church will serve as leaders in the church. This staggering statistic is not God’s way. It breaks my heart to say it, but men have become lazy, they have become complacent, they have become fat, happy, and content to sit back and let the women do all the work. It makes me say, “C’Mon Man!” and makes me wonder what it’s going to take to wake us up? Doing it God’s way is a must and needs to become our priority!
Sunday School - 9:30 AM
Sunday Worship - 10:30 AM
Sunday Evening - 6:00 PM
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2026
Mt. Freedom Baptist Church
