Grace Sagola Church

The family of God is a family. We care for one another, love one another, pray for one another, and watch over one another. This isn't the sole task of a shepherd or pastor - we each must learn how to speak sensitively and responsibly to encourage each other in the faith. 

The disciples of Jesus Christ will be known by their love for one another. However, it is unfortunately all too easy for churches today to remain cold, individual, distant, and unconcerned for each other. These moments of apathy and disconnectedness are modern expressions of "playing church." 

The process of building each other up in the faith is the job of every believer. This is most clearly seen in the lives of those who are weak and doubting. In the struggles of this life we are created in Jesus to be one another's strength. 

Prayer is both a blessing to the believer and a spiritual discipline. However, it is often too easy to take prayer for granted and also to fail at the Bibilcal practice of prayer that makes it more than a Christian ritual. 

Playing church is the compromise of God's new creation, it's a performance driven façade of spirituality, and it's a kind of illness within the body of Christ that can lead to the removal of His presence.

The resurrection of Jesus is the historical account of God's definitive judgment of "man's" justice. Where we repeatedly fail and fall short, God has given vindication of Jesus' life in the miracle of the resurrection - that graciously comes along with an invitation for us to join with the Judge of all creation.

The cross of Christ is the pinnacle of fulfillment for God's answer to man's sinfulness. And when received by faith, the cross is our initiation into a transformation that allows us to supernaturally see and serve our neighbors to advance forth God's justice. 

There is a tangible undercurrent to God's Kingdom - it's the place where we find Biblical Justice-for-all. Throughout the ages, sin has left us with those who have a permeant expression of harm: the hurt, the widow, the orphan, the poor, and the immigrant. We desire to live patterned after Jesus' promises to make all things new and restore the broken. 

The Justice of God has been accomplished in the gospel such that we are offered, not only forgiveness FROM God, but the ability to forgive LIKE God. However, without the evidence of God's forgiveness, we are remaining under His wrath, storing up future judgement for us on the day of Jesus' return. 

God has given the church a message for the world. Although we are in the world, we must be careful to avoid being like the world and advancing its values. Rather, we are called to be distinctively Christian while we live like Jesus. 

There is no other teaching on earth that fully encapsulates the depths of justice than the gospel. It is only in the completed work of Jesus Christ on behalf of sinners that we find God's commitment to be both "just" and the One who "justifies" sinners. 

Our world has insulated itself from any adherence to objective truth. This has been a slow, deliberate and subtle deception. Christ's followers are called to pursue Justice with a clear proclamation of the truth, especially to a world that has deafened itself to the gospel. 

The Justice of our Lord is always aimed at those most needing it. Throughout the scriptures “the poor” are at the top of the list for those who our Lord advocates justice.

God has abounding patience for us, and He steadfastly watches over his children. We will do well to remember that it is only by His Lordship that we can see every wrong righted and true justice delivered - anything else becomes a counterfeit. 

Our ability to serve the Lord in unity is dependent upon our status before God. As we have been those justified by God's grace, we become those who can advance His work of reconciliation together. 

Our culture has distorted the image of God's church to blind us in dividing between the bubble of God's blessings and the hurt in the world in and around us. The family of God has been tasked with bringing restorative justice to those "least of these" our brothers and sisters, and then to extend this influence of life to the rest of the world through the message of the gospel. 

The kindness of God is core feature of His definition of Justice. When we act, serve, and live like God we will draw from His own dealings with us, for He has again and again showed us what He requires from His followers. 

The Justice of God is good, because it flows from His character. Any expression of Biblical Justice in our world that is displayed by Christians must also extend His character. Our "good" must be motivated from Godly compassion. 

Jesus is the light of the world and the one who brings God and mankind together. If we truly believe what He says and what God has revealed we will reflect God's light to carry on Jesus' illumination into the world.

Jesus' role in our salvation is from start to finish. Unless we embrace that He has done it all, we will be left with an impossible task of maintaining our faith. Praise the Lord - we are saved by His faithfulness! 

Observations: Problem #1 – We don’t see the need Problem #2 – We don’t want the gift Problem #3 – We want Jesus on our own terms Conclusions:  Jesus is God’s gift Given to you That changes your identity Application:  Let the gift of Jesus CHANGE your life

We need a high priest - One who can stand in our place in the presence of God. Because of the incarnation, Jesus not only fulfills the representative aspect of a priest, but He is also able to deal mercifully with us - as one who has been through and experienced the difficulties of earth. 

Where Jesus leads, we are to follow. This is often a challenge for the church, but perhaps most so where we must learn to trust in Jesus that is accompanied by the brokenness of this world, in its pain and suffering.

The necessity of Jesus' body as a sacrifice is a humbling truth. However, there's even more that God has done in the incarnation of Jesus. Not only is he an appropriate sacrifice as living fully human, but Jesus is also the only one who truly does the "will of God" - and by this will, He establishes for us the New Covenant.

"Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it?   Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?"

“Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first-fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.”

Definition: A verbal expression or thought flowing from the heart against God’s will and against His design for your life

The sin of worry has been cloaked with justifications that all flow from our ability to control our lives and the world around us. While or finger-biting and scheming do indeed produce results, they cannot compare to the freedom found in trusting the Lord with our lives. 

Definition of Pride: Inappropriately valuing yourself in relation to others and to God

Almost universally everyone think that they are a "good" person. When we examine the claims of our own righteousness we will see that this kind of wisdom only exists in our own eyes. 

The sin of lust has been mostly categorized with sexual immorality, but there are many other expressions of lust that go unaddressed. The inward curvature of lust's direction to serve "the self" is evident wherever sins are causing abuse to the desires that God originally made good. 

Because of this broken world we will be wrestling against the forces of evil and against the retained depravity of our flesh. This resistance takes work. It takes effort. The enemy to our discipleship is the permission to be lazy - a spiritual sluggard. 

The central Christian hope is the resurrection of Jesus that affirms our resurrection at the return of our Savior. Until that day, we are given a freedom in the gospel that enables us to face death without fear.

The Christian hope is resurrection. Until that day we are preserved in Christ by the love of God. This hope and love motivates us towards a work of preservation for those who belong to God. 

The Christian life is one of repeatedly encountering the patience of God. Perhaps the one area of our lives that we are most reluctant to yield over to God's sovereign control is our death. Yet, even here, we will find God's grace and patience to reveal His glory. 

The Christian life is lived out in a world that is saturated with pride, ego, and boasting. We can so easily become shaped by the attitudes around us that we forget to consider a submission to the will of God and remembering that we are only here for a short while. 

When we view our lives as interconnected by our faith, we will see the importance of presenting and passing on our faith to our loved ones. If life is a relay race, then our greatest challenge is a clean transfer of the baton.

The impending reality of death is one that our world fears more than anything. But for the Apostle Peter it affords a unique opportunity to invest in the lives of his loved ones reminders for growing in the faith. 

Without intention, we often adopt perspectives that aren't Christian. When getting old acquaintances, and in the context of joking about death, we will often hear people exclaim the phrase, "Its better than the alternative." Today we will see that it's only under very specific circumstances that that saying can be proven true. 

The danger of idolatry is one that will not go away for the believer. We must categorize it as the sin that it is, and flee from it by clinging to Jesus. 

John writes with direct revelation of God about the testimony of where eternal life is found. Because this life comes from God, it follows that we must experience it according to His design and purpose. 

Our presentation of God to others will influence their understanding of Him. Unfortunately, it is too easy for Christians to misrepresent God both accidentally and intentionally according to the world's designs and definitions. 

There are many voices out there that all claim to stand for truth or an expression of truth. How can a Christian know that they're living according to the truth today? 

The Apostle John's main concern is for the authenticity of eternal life found evidenced in the church. There is no greater example for the presence of God's Spirit than in a love for God's children that reflects the love of Jesus.

Belonging to Jesus means that we will live like Jesus. This process of transformational growth requires practice. For those who are born of God, we are led through this practice by God's Spirit. 

The reality of salvation for 1st century Christians was their adoption into Christ as evidenced through their participation and perseverance with God's family. 

For assurance of eternal life, John draws our attention to the key which is personal knowledge of God - a relationship with our Heavenly Father. This saving relationship is the source for discipleship in how we live and act, in what we love, and in defining who and whose we are. 

The Apostle John's emphasis to his readers centers around our Christian commitment to the family of God. The unity of the body is under attack - Jesus has taught us and shown us how to preserve that unity with love. 

The action of confession of sins is quite varied in today's Christianity. In John's first epistle he focuses on confession as the central ingredient for a discipleship that has eternal life. 

The world around us is fixated on self-promotion, self-posting, and selfies! Wherever there is someone to impress we'll find a temptation to pursue worldly strategies and strength. The Bible shows us another way...