5 things God uses to GROW your faith - Pivotal Circumstances

PIVOTAL CIRCUMSTANCES

My Grandmother was one of the most active women I have ever known.  She swam in the icy cold waters of Long Island Sound every morning from Memorial Day through Labor Day.  She served her family, friends, church and community in a variety of ways and was one of the most well read people I have known.  She was the kind of person who did the NYT crossword puzzles every week and usually finished them.  I was blessed to spend a lot of time with my grandmother, often standing on the rocks early in the morning watching her swim because there was no way I was getting into the cold water.  My grandmother remained active into her 80’s and after she moved into a retirement center, she began to volunteer in a local elementary school where she learned from the children how to use a computer.  To remain active, she needed a hip replacement and during her rehab suffered a stroke.

The stroke took my Grandmother’s ability to talk and read so all her means of communication were gone – which was devastating to her.  Her stroke also woke me up.  My grandmother always wanted me to be a minister but I was at a place in my life where I was pushing that calling aside and working at a movie theater.  In the months after her stroke, the #1 movie at the theater was Dead Poet’s Society which made popular the phrase, Carpe Diem or Seize the Day.  I kept asking myself what I was doing with my life and if I was making the most if it.  If a woman as vital and active as my Grandmother could have her life changed in a moment, then life for all of us was short and I needed to make the most of it – I needed to Seize the Day.

My Grandmother’s stroke was a pivotal circumstance in my life because as I look back, it was the event which got me thinking about my life, my goals and God’s calling.  It was that defining moment that helped me make the decision to quit my job and step out on a journey that led to Seminary, which is where my Grandmother always wanted me to go, and to ministry in the local church, which is where my Grandmother always wanted me to be.  In all of our lives there are these pivotal circumstances that change us.  Sometimes they wake us up, sometimes they bring us to our knees, sometimes they are filled with joy, but all of them can be used by God to grow our faith.

While God can and does use good circumstances to grow us, it often seems like it is the difficult and painful ones that are the most pivotal.  C.S. Lewis said, God whispers to us in our pleasure, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts to us in our pain.  The painful circumstances often give God the most opportunity to grow our faith because it is during the painful times of life that we often look to God for help.  These pivotal circumstances can come when the doctor gives us the diagnosis of cancer, or when our spouse leaves a note saying the marriage is over.  Pivotal circumstances come when we are turned down for a job or given our two week’s notice.  It comes with accidents, bankruptcies or when we or our children hit rock bottom and come face to face with our addictions.  Chances are you have faced some kind of situation like this – maybe you are walking through it today – the good news is that through this period of despair and desperation – God is present and God can actually grow our faith through it.

That God uses negative and painful situations to grow our faith is made clear to us in James 1:2-4.  Let’s be honest, none of us really rejoices when life hands us these difficult challenges, sometimes the joy only comes after it is all over and we have made it through, but even then that joy is tempered with the pain of loss, but James is making it clear that God uses negative circumstances in our lives to grow us.  Trials produce perseverance and perseverance is needed if we are going to become mature – or grow – in our faith.

Paul says something similar in Romans 5:3-5.  Again, we may not celebrate when problems come, but if we will endure through them with God – then our hope will not disappoint – or our faith and trust in God will grow.  While we should not ask God to bring painful trials into our lives so that we can grow – the Bible is pretty clear that these trials are part of our lives and God does not always take them away, instead God uses them to grow our faith, mature our trust and deepen our relationship with Him.

One of the most difficult questions for me to answer is the question of why bad things happen and why they happen to good, innocent people.  If God really loves us, then why do these things happen?  I don’t know and the reality is that most of the time there is not a good answer.  I have found myself in so many situations where all I have been able to say is, I don’t know why this happened, but I do know this, God is with you.  My very first funeral was for a still born child so I realized from the beginning that at times there are simply no answers to life’s pain and problems, but there is a truth to share and that truth is this: God is with us and God still loves us.  What we learn from Jesus is that if we will trust him, God will use pivotal and painful circumstances to grow our faith.

The story of Jesus we are going to look at today is one that troubles many people because it seems to go against our understanding of Jesus and his unconditional love.  What the story teaches us is that Jesus loves us so much and the growth of our faith is so important to Him that instead of taking away our pain and changing bad circumstances, God will sometimes use them to grow our faith.  The story is found in John 11.

John 11:1-3.  Mary, Martha and Lazarus were close friends of Jesus.  As Jesus traveled through the region he would often stay at their home and the bond he shared with this family was strong.  We can see that when the message Mary and Martha send to Jesus is simply that the one Jesus loves is sick.  They don’t have to mention Lazarus’ name because they know Jesus will understand who they are talking about.  This sets up the pivotal circumstance that will grow everyone’s faith.  The best friend of Jesus is sick and everyone now assumes that Jesus will drop everything to come and heal Lazarus, but that is not what happens.

John 11:4-6.  Jesus states from the beginning that this situation is going to glorify God and anytime God is glorified among the disciples it’s an opportunity to increase people’s faith, so we know that Jesus is going to do something significant here, but he doesn’t do what we might expect.  It says that Jesus stayed where he was for two more days and it was during those days that Lazarus died.  This is what makes the story so difficult.  Why didn’t Jesus return sooner?  Why didn’t Jesus heal Lazarus from afar the way he healed others from a distance?  Why didn’t Jesus do something - anything?  It seems like Jesus just allows Lazarus to die and the truth is that he does.  Jesus allows this tragic death because he knows it will be an opportunity to grow everyone’s faith in the days to come.

It’s important to see that while Jesus didn’t prevent Lazarus from dying, it was not Jesus who caused him to die.  Painful things happen in all of our lives and while God doesn’t always take them away it is not God who causes them. God doesn’t keep disease, divorce, financial ruin, job loss and even death from taking place in our lives – these tragic things happen because we live in a broken and sinful world, but if we are willing to hang in there with God, these circumstances can be used by God to grow our faith.  This is not an easy thing to wrap our hearts and minds around, especially when we are going through the difficult times, but it is a truth we need to hear and remember so that we can hang on when these circumstances come, because they will come.

So Jesus’ friend Lazarus was sick and Jesus waited two days before he headed off to help him and it was during those days that Lazarus died.  Jesus then returns to Bethany and this is where we pick up the story in John 11:17-21.  And when Mary heard that Jesus arrived she said the same thing.  John 11:32-35.

Both Mary and Martha said the same thing to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died, and this is often the cry of our hearts when we are in pain.  Lord, if you had been here, this situation would not have happened.  Most of us have prayed this prayer or cried out to God in anger, frustration or desperation with similar words.  God, you could have done something to change this.  If we face these circumstances believing that God has abandoned us, then the pivotal circumstance turns us away from God, but if we can face the situation with just a thread of faith trusting that somehow and in some way God is with us, God will use it to grow our faith.  Martha chose to look at this situation with faith, John 11:22.  Even now there is hope.  Even now – even though everything seems lost – with Jesus there is hope.  If this can be our cry – the pivotal circumstance will grow our faith.

So here is Jesus, facing his friends and the crowds, who also wonder why Jesus didn’t come and help sooner, and he sees and feels the pain and heartache that they are feeling and it says, Jesus wept.  This is the shortest verse in the Bible and it is one that reflects the amazing love of Jesus.  Jesus weeps because he knows the pain and confusion that Mary and Martha are feeling.  Even though Jesus knows he is going to do something to turn this situation around, he weeps because he knows that situations like this bring real pain and heartache to our lives.  God doesn’t take all of our pain away – bad things happen and tragic circumstances take place and while God doesn’t take them all away – God is with us through it and he cares for us..  Jesus weeps with us, he is with us in the pain and if we can hold on to this truth, then this can become a defining moment and a pivotal time of growth in our lives.  

It is easy to say all of this when we are not in the middle of the pain, but if you are facing a painful and heartbreaking situation today, all I really want you to know and hear is that God knows your pain.  God loves you and cares for you.  Jesus weeps with you and he is not done with you.  

What also helps us make it through these moments with faith are the people who surround us.  If we are surrounded by people who help us keep looking to Jesus and remind us that no matter what happens God is with us, then we find these situations often grow our faith.  Without the support and faith of others, we often find these circumstances turn us away from God.  That’s why they are pivotal – they can send us off in two different directions which is why we need to support people during their times of need.  This is why small groups and being part of a church are so important because when the hard times come – and they come to all of us – we need the strength and faith of others to help us through.

Jesus weeps, but then he does something to turn the situation around.  John 11:38-44.  Jesus had the people roll away the stone from the tomb and everyone was quick to remind Jesus that this was not a good idea because after 4 days, the body of Lazarus was going to smell awful.  Even after Jesus has told people to believe that he is the resurrection and the life, they don’t see opening the grave as a good situation – but Jesus continues to tell the people to believe and if they do their faith will grow stronger.  So the stone is rolled away and Lazarus rises from the dead and is returned to his family.  As the people rejoice - their faith and trust in Jesus grows.  

Not every painful and tragic situation in our lives is resolved this way, but they all have the potential to grow our faith if we will trust God to be with us.  If we will trust God through the disappointment and despair – our faith will grow because God brings grace into despair, light into darkness and life into death.  God doesn’t keep bad situations from happening but God does redeem those situations to bring about His glory and through God’s glory come opportunities for us to see God and develop a stronger faith.

This is the story of Jesus and the cross.  God could have taken the cross away or come in at the last moment to rescue his son, but he didn’t.  Suffering and pain are part of Jesus’ story and suffering and pain is part of our story, but God will use that circumstance to grow our faith if will simply hold on.  Beyond our own cross comes a resurrection.  If you are going through a painful circumstance like this today and are struggling to hold on or struggling to have even a thread of faith – then ask God to help you see His presence because He is with you and as long as we can see him or have faith that he is with us – there is hope.

Pivotal circumstances are one way that God grows our faith.  The good circumstances are easy to get through and it’s easy to see in them the power of God, but the difficult and painful ones are not – but they can be more powerful because it is making it through moments of defeat and despair that become the defining moments of faith development in our lives.   



Next Steps
Pivotal Circumstances

1.  Can you identify a pivotal circumstance in your life that God used to grow your faith?
• Was it a good event or a painful one?
• Describe what you had to go through.
• How did God reveal Himself to you through this time?
• What growth did you see after you made it through?


2.  As you have gone through painful times in life, have there been people of faith who have helped you through?  What did they do support you?


3.  If you are going through a difficult and painful circumstance today, seek out the support and help of others.  Mary and Martha turned to their friend Jesus, who can you turn to?


4.  Who in your life might need support today?  How can you offer it to them in a practical way this week?


5 Through this series we have seen that God grows our faith through:
• Practical Teaching
• Providential Relationships
• Private Disciplines
• Personal Ministry
• Pivotal Circumstances
Which of these 5 principles do you see God using in your life and faith right now?  What can you do this week and during the upcoming season of Lent to keep the growth?

5 things God uses to GROW your faith - Personal Ministry

PERSONAL MINISTRY

Today our series on the 5 things God uses to grow our faith turns to personal ministry and as it does, I want to make something clear.  What really grows our faith is learning to trust God more not doing more.  We are brought back into a relationship with God not through good deeds but through faith.  The Bible says it is by grace we are saved through faith and that faith is trusting the work of Jesus to forgive us and set us right with God.  So it is faith and trust that restores and strengthens our relationship with God so it is always trusting God more that grows our faith.  If we go back to the story of Adam and Eve we see that what broke their relationship with God was the lack of faith.  They didn’t trust God to know what was best for them so they took matters in their own hands and took from the one tree God told them not to.  So we see that is the lack of faith and trust that breaks our relationship with God which means that it needs to be an act of faith and trust that restores and strengthens our relationship with God.

The reason this is important today is because as we talk about how personal ministry can grow our faith we need to remember that we are not doing these things in ministry to earn our salvation.  It’s not the work that grows our faith it is the trust we place in God to do the work that grows our faith.  We need to think about personal ministry not as a means of doing more good things but a means of learning how to trust God which will grow our faith.

For everyone, personal ministry begins when we see or hear about a need.  Ministry begins when we are confronted by a need that we simply can’t stop thinking about.  After seeing the need for a period of time we might begin to feel compelled to do something to address the need in some way.  This nudge we feel within us is a desire to see things change and when we step out and do something to make this happen, God grows our faith not because it’s a good deed but because of the faith and trust needed to step out.

When I was the pastor of 2nd Ave. UMC, several of us began to see the needs of children who lived in our neighborhood.  While these children lived close to the church – their lives were far from God.  Family dysfunction, drugs and other bad influences led to the formation of what the local police called the 2nd & 2nd gang which was a group of noisy, unruly children who gathered on the steps of our church.  God was showing us a need.

One Sunday I arrived for worship and noticed that this gang had written their names on the door frame of our front door.  Fortunately they wrote in chalk so it was easy to clean up, but I couldn’t get out of my head how the children had written their names on the door of the church.  Again, God was showing us a need.  God didn’t want their names on the church door – God wanted their names in the book of life.  The question is would we do something about it.

As we talked about what to do to help these children, none of us felt equipped or prepared to do anything.  We weren’t trained in this kind of specialized ministry to children but we couldn’t stop thinking about them and so we ended up doing the one thing we could do, we opened the doors of the church.  Several afternoons a week, a group of us opened the front doors of the church and sat outside with a cooler of soda waiting to talk to kids.  While some of the gang just moved to another corner, some came to talk to us.  We invited them in to the church.  We invited them to our VBS.  Step by step the ministry of an afterschool program was formed and 20 years later, that program is still going strong and reaching out to children and families in vital ways.  Personal ministry always starts with seeing or hearing about a need and then feeling a nudge from God to do something to meet that need.  If we will step out in some way to meet that need, God will grow our faith.  If we walk away, our faith will die.  If we had chased those kids off our steps, we would not have grown in our faith and our church would have died.  But we did step out and trusted God and our faith and the church grew.
In the Bible, we can see this principle at work in the life of the disciples.  In Matthew 14 we find the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 and in the details of this story we see how the personal ministry of the disciples grew their faith.  Matthew 14:13-15.

So the disciples see a need and bring it to Jesus’ attention.  It has been a long day, it is late and they are in a remote location.  In time people are going to start asking for food so the disciples want Jesus to solve the problem by sending the people away.  Whether the disciples were really concerned about the people or whether it was their own stomachs growling that prompted them to go to Jesus, we don’t know, maybe it was a little of both, but once they have seen the need and pointed it out to Jesus it is Jesus who nudges them to do something about it, look at Matthew 14:16.

Jesus turns the tables on the disciples and tells them that they need to get involved in solving the problem.  Can you imagine how they must have felt?  How in the world could they do this?  They don’t have the time, resources or ability to feed all these people, in fact that is what they say to Jesus.  Matthew 14:17.  But the situation doesn’t go away and so the tension is still there.  There is a need and Jesus is telling them that they need to meet that need.  When we feel this tension in our lives it is God wanting to grow our faith.

As we have been looking at these practices, I have shared how God has grown my faith through these principles.  It was through the practical teaching of a Bible Study my freshman year that my faith grew.  It was through the providential relationship of my friend Dave who was part of a Bible study that my faith grew.  It may not come as a surprise, but once again through that Bible study my faith grew because I was given the opportunity for a personal ministry.  Over the course of the year our Bible study grew from about 8 students to almost 20 and it was so large that not everyone got to share or ask questions and I felt like the power of the group was slipping.  I shared this observation with Dave and he asked me what we should do about it.  I said we should break into two groups so that we all had a chance to share and learn and grow.  I told Dave this thinking that he would lead the other group.  Dave said, good idea why don’t you lead the new group.

Suddenly there was this tension in me.  I was the one who saw the need, but I couldn’t lead the other group, I didn’t know how.  I had just started studying the bible so there was no way I could lead a bible study.  Every person in that group was more capable than I was and I pointed this out to Dave but he held his ground.  When we see a need and feel compelled that something should be done and then are nudged to do something to meet that need, the tension we feel is God growing our faith.  When we are invited to help solve the problem and feel completely inadequate to do it, it is God growing our faith.  If we step out and simply do what we know how to do and trust God to do the rest, God will grow our faith, not because of the good works but because of the faith it takes to step out and trust God.  This is what happens to the disciples.  Matthew 14:18-21.

The disciples step up and do what they know how to do, they serve the bread and fish to the crowds.  They don’t know what will happen once they start, but they are trusting Jesus to do what he has asked them to do.  Jesus divided 5 loaves and 2 fish among twelve people, which meant they barely had enough for themselves, and yet they stepped out in faith to serve the first person, and then the second and then the third and they trusted God to keep it going.  They did what they knew how to do (serve people) and trusted Jesus to do the rest and it is that trust which grows our faith.  It is the trust we place in God that grows our faith and the faith of the disciples grew and we can see this if we will keep reading.  Matthew 14:22-29

So Jesus sent the disciples away and dismissed the crowds and then went off alone to pray.  I’m not sure Jesus needed to grow in his faith, but we do see him practicing the private discipline of prayer which reminds us just how important this practice is.  If Jesus needed times of prayer how much more do we need them for our faith to grow?

Then Jesus walked out to the disciples on the water and when he got close to the boat the disciples cried out in fear.  They weren’t expecting Jesus to be walking on the water so they assumed this was some kind of ghost, but once they see it is Jesus, Peter suddenly had this amazing idea.  The night before when we trusted Jesus, we did the impossible; we fed 5,000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish and then we collected leftovers.  If I could trust Jesus and do that, maybe I can actually do more.  Something moves in Peter and he asks Jesus if he can walk with him on the water.  This is Peter growing in his faith.  

Notice that Peter doesn’t ask to do this on his own, he asks for the invitation to do it with Jesus.  Peter isn’t trusting in his own strength and ability.  He understands if he is going to do this it will only be with Jesus.  Peter’s faith has grown.  He went from not thinking he could feed the crowds to asking if he could walk on water.  As Peter steps out here, once again all he does is offer to Jesus what he knows he can do.  Peter is a fisherman so he knows how to get in and out of a boat and Peter knows how to walk and so he offers what he knows how to do and trusts Jesus for the rest.   Peter has grown in his faith and it is because he trusted God to use him in a personal ministry.

Our faith will grow if we are willing to step out and trust God to use us.  Is there some need we have seen, some situation that needs attention or some nudging from God that we feel today?  Where is God inviting us to be at work?  Is it with children or youth?  Is it feeding the hungry or going on a mission trip?  God wants us all to grow in our faith and so today there is some area of ministry or some problem or need that God is laying on our heart.  What will we do about it?  Will we offer God what we can do and trust him to do the rest?  If we will, our faith will grow.  If we turn and walk away, our faith will grow cold.

What I love about these two stories is that no one felt equipped or able to do what Jesus asked them to do and that is usually how we feel when we step out in ministry.  I didn’t know how to lead a Bible study when I agreed to lead one at MSU and we at 2nd Avenue had no special training when it came to working with children who were far from God and far from the church.  We also had no experience in setting up an after-school program, we simply did what we knew how to do and allowed God to lead us from there.  Today you may be telling yourself that you have absolutely no skills, no gifts and no ability to do what God is laying on your heart – but if you will step out in faith and simply give to God what you know how to do – whatever that might be – God will use it and God will grow your faith and God will do more in you than you thought possible.

We are all here today because someone stepped out in faith and trusted God to use them in some kind of personal ministry.  We are here because there have been people who stepped out to teach us in Sunday School and guide us at youth meetings.  We are here because someone stepped out to talk to us about Jesus or invite us to worship or was willing to pray for us.  We are here because people stepped out and trusted God to start this church and generations have stepped out to sustain the mission of Faith Church.  Today God is inviting us to step out and do the same thing.  It is the personal ministry of each person that makes the church what it is and for generations people have done it for us and they grew in their faith and today if we will now step out not only will our faith grow but we will help others grow in their faith.

So again, what need is God laying on your heart?  What situation continues to come to your mind?  What ministry do you feel a nudging toward?  What ministry has been instrumental in your faith and so today you want to pay it forward for someone else?  Wherever God is nudging us – if we will step out and do what we know how to do and trust God to do the rest, God will grow our faith.
 
Next Steps
Personal Ministry

1. Read Matthew 14:13-33.

2. What need have you seen or heard about that God has placed on your heart?  How has God made this situation known to you?  How is God nudging you?  If you don’t sense God’s nudging, ask God to open your eyes and heart.

3. In what ways do you feel completely inadequate to help meet this need?

4 How might you be able to step out and do what you know how to do in this area and trust God to do what you cannot?  Identify the first step you could take.  What is holding you back?

5. Identify some of the people who have helped your faith grow.  Sunday school teachers, youth leaders, choir directors, mission team leaders, friends & leaders from small groups…
In what ways did they step out in faith and trust God?
In what ways can you step out and trust God to help you help and minister to others?

6. To identify different areas of need and opportunity in the life of Faith Church, please contact Cassie Marsh-Caldwell at cassie.marsh-caldwell@bellefontefaith.com.

5 things God uses to GROW your faith - Private Disciplines

PRIVATE DISCIPLINES

For there to be growth in any area of our lives, there needs to be discipline.  Discipline is not punishment, although it often feels that way because many times the area we need discipline can be a challenge to us.  Andy Stanley defines discipline as those things we are supposed to do but don’t want to, and the list is endless...

eat better, eat les, exercise more,
spend time with our families, call our parents, call our children,
work harder, sleep more, save more, give more, volunteer more …

While many of these things might start as a discipline, something we do just because we are supposed to, if we persist in them we often find ourselves actually enjoying the new habits and eventually find them a pleasurable part of our lives and lifestyle.  Many people find this true with a new diet or exercise program.  While at first it is difficult and painful, over time we grow accustomed to it and then we find it hard to imagine that we ever lived another way.  The first time I ran, I wanted to throw up after about ¼ mile.  I told myself if I didn’t go out the next day and do it again; I would never do it again.  We don’t start these disciplines because we like them, many times it starts as a chore, but in time we find some of these things can bring freedom and be a blessing to our lives.  

In this way we see that discipline is a form of delayed gratification.  If we work hard now we will enjoy the benefits of that work later on.  We can see this in the area of sports and finances where our discipline now brings a blessing later on, but many people have also experienced this in the field of music.  The discipline of practicing the piano allows you to enjoy the gift of music for a lifetime.  I always wanted this.  I played violin, guitar and piano when I was in school and I loved the idea of sitting down and just playing for fun and enjoyment, but I didn’t like the discipline of practicing, so today I don’t play the violin, guitar or piano.  Discipline takes hard work and it is not always enjoyable but if we persist we will experience the reward of growth and the same is true with our faith.

This month we are talking about the 5 things God uses to grow our faith and while we will never find these things listed in the Bible, they are principles we see at work there and in our lives.  We have seen how God uses practical teaching and providential relationships to grow our faith and today we are going to look at private disciplines.  While there are many disciplines or practices of our faith we could look at, we are only going to talk about three because these three were given to us by Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount and are found in Matthew 6.  Let’s start with Matthew 6:1-4.

The acts of righteousness that Jesus mentions here are the disciplines that need to be part of our lives and in each case Jesus shows us why they need to be private.  If we make a big show out of these actions then the reward we get is the recognition of others, but if we do these acts privately there is still a reward, but the reward comes from God and in each case the reward leads to a bigger, stronger faith.  There is nothing wrong with bringing these disciplines into our lives to receive a reward, remember, discipline is like a delayed gratification which means there is a reward we get if we follow through; we just need to make sure we are seeking the right reward.  If the reward comes from the people around us, it is temporary and superficial, but if it comes from God it lasts and leads to a deeper and stronger faith.

The first discipline Jesus gives here is Giving.  The giving that Jesus is talking about is not the tithe that everyone was called by God to give to the church to keep the Temple going and to care for all the priests and their families, that giving was expected.  This was the giving of alms to the poor.  In every community, but especially in Jerusalem, there were those who were sick and lame and begged for money at the Temple.  While the community was called to help care for them, their needs were great and so they often begged and asked people for more help.  There was no systematic way to give alms; people simply gave because they were moved with compassion and mercy when they saw a particular need.  Some person or situation would touch their heart and they would give to that person.

You can still see this at work in the Holy Land today.  As we toured a church there was a man who was severely deformed and he was being pushed in a wheelchair asking for money.  We had been told not to just give money to people because it can be difficult to get them to leave you alone, so we all kind of looked at each other and asked our tour guide what to do.  He told us that if we wanted to give we could.  Somehow he knew the people who were genuine and grateful and would not become a problem and so several people gave to this man as he begged.

The day we spent walking the streets of Jerusalem we encountered many people asking for help and there was one man we saw who I would have said was clearly mentally ill.  We encountered him in the market place right after our guide stopped and bought us some kind of candy that is well known in the area but honestly not very good.  Our guide gave him a piece and so he hung around with us for a while.  As I looked into his eyes and saw all the problems he had, I just felt compelled to give him something, so I did, but I made the mistake of taking several coins out of my pocket which he immediately saw.  While I gave him one, he wanted more and there was no telling him I didn’t have any more because he had already seen them.  Eventually I just gave him what I had which meant that he continued to follow us and talk to me and ask for more.  I’m not sure our guide was very happy with me but he came and ran some interference and got them man to leave our group.  I don’t know if it was the same in Jesus day, but sometimes you just have to give and that’s the kind of giving Jesus is talking about here.  But unlike my sharing this story with you, Jesus encourages us to do this in secret.

Now if the only reason we give is to be recognized by others so they think more highly of us, then our reward is that recognition, but if we give in secret so that our left hand doesn’t know what our right hand is doing, then it says God will reward us.  While we shouldn’t seek the reward of recognition of others, we should strive for the recognition and reward of God because that reward is the growth of our faith.   Part of the reward we receive when we follow these disciplines is that God honors us and that honor brings strength to our lives and depth to our faith.  But another reward to giving away money is that money then loses its hold on our lives and we learn to trust God more and live in spiritual freedom.

So why don’t we do this?  Why don’t we live this way?  Why aren’t we giving more of our money away?  Why aren’t we more generous when we hear about or see a need?  Many times we don’t give this way because we don’t really trust God to honor us on the other side of the giving.  We don’t give because we think we need our money.  If we really believed that God would honor us in the fullest sense of what it means to be honored by God, and that God would truly care for us in all things and in all ways, then we would give more but we struggle to believe and trust God and so we don’t give.

It is not a coincidence that the first private discipline Jesus chooses to talk about is the giving away our money.   Jesus chose this because for most of us this is the thing we struggle with the most.  We believe it is money that will bring us security and happiness.  We believe that money will make our life easier and better and it is hard to argue this point when all we have seen for several weeks now is people lining up to buy their Powerball tickets.  Let’s be honest, the thought of winning $1.5 billion dollars was a huge temptation.  People who never played the lottery suddenly started buying tickets because we all believe that $1.5 billion would make life better and easier, and that’s the temptation right there, we believe it is money that will make the difference.  As long as we have this attitude, then giving is going to be hard.  It is hard to give money away freely and anonymously when we are trusting that money to make our lives better or to make us happy.

The only way to really trust God alone is to give up what we trust in more than anything else and Jesus makes clear that for most of us this is our financial wealth and resources.  God doesn’t call us to give because God needs our money or God wants our money, God calls us to give because God wants us.  God wants our hearts and lives and God wants our full trust and devotion.  This is what God has always wanted.  The first of the 10 commandments says I am the Lord your God and you will have no other gods before me.  Money can become that god in our lives if we don’t free ourselves from its hold on us and so if we are to give God our full hearts we have to cut the hold that money has on our hearts.  The only way to trust God completely is to give away those things in which we trust which for many of us is money.

While we believe money is our greatest asset, there is something that is even more valuable and that is our time.  While we can work to get more money, we are all given a limited amount of time and there is nothing we can do to get more and so it is no surprise that the second act of righteousness or private discipline Jesus address is the time we need to give God in Prayer, Matthew 6:5-8.  

The kind of prayer Jesus is talking about here is the private and personal time each one of us needs to give God every day.  There is a time and place for us to pray with others, but we also need to give God our personal time in prayer.  Just like with giving, we see that when we give time to God, there is a reward, Matthew 6:6.  The reward for those who make a show of their prayers is to be noticed by men and women, but the reward when we pray in private is to be noticed by God.  God sees us and hears us when we pray in secret and God will use this time to grow our faith and deepen our trust in Him, but giving God this time on a consistent basis is difficult and requires discipline

We are all busy and our days are full so it is hard to think about giving up some of our time to spend with God in prayer.  The kind of prayer we are talking about is not the kind we do as we drive to work, see our kids off to school or utter when that test paper is given out in class.  Jesus is talking about a very intentional time we set aside to spend with God each day.  It’s taking time in the morning or evening or during our lunch hour to simply go away by ourselves to be with God.  When it seems we hardly have enough time for what we need to do in a day, it’s hard to think about setting aside our valuable time to be with God – but again, it is that struggle which helps grow our faith.

Now we don’t have time to look in depth at the third discipline Jesus offers here, but let me at least identify it so we can give it some thought during the week, it is Fasting - Matthew 6:16-18.  Again, there is a reward if we are willing to discipline ourselves when it comes to food, and the reward is not weight loss, the reward is that once again God sees us and honors us.  God will grow our faith if we are willing to discipline our lives in this area and I would encourage you to think about fasting not as a diet but as a discipline to grow closer to God.  Read more about fasting and consider how it can be used as a spiritual discipline.

When we look at these three disciplines given to us by Jesus, Giving – Prayer – Fasting, we see that none of them are easy.  We also see that money, time and food and some of the things we hold most dear and trust in to make our lives meaningful and secure.  We can give these things up to draw closer to God but if we do it in very public ways, our reward is the honor and recognition we receive from others.  If we are willing to discipline ourselves in these areas in private ways then our faith will grow.

Now, my guess is that I have probably made everyone here today a little uncomfortable.  No one likes to be told how to live and what to do with their money or time.  The tension we are feeling is the struggle we go through when God wants to grow our faith.  It’s ok to be uncomfortable and it’s ok to struggle and do these things with some resistance.  It’s like diet, exercise or financial stewardship, they aren’t fun and it’s not easy but the more we do these things the more we will be rewarded by God and the reward isn’t life in heaven when we die, the reward is a deeper faith right here and now which will lift our hearts and bring abundance to our lives.  The reward is the ability to trust God more and experience more of the life God has for us.  The reward is that God will grow our faith.

 
Next Steps
Private Disciplines

Andy Stanley defines disciplines as those things we are supposed to do but don’t want to.

In his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:1-18), Jesus identifies three acts of righteousness or disciplines that we should do in private.  Practice these disciplines during this coming week.

Give God:
1. First Few Minutes of the Day
• Set aside 10 minutes each morning to spend in prayer.
• Find a private place to pray.
• Use the Bible as a means of listening to God in prayer.

2. First Few Dollars we make
• Set aside a few dollars to simply give away this week.
• Look for opportunities where you could give anonymously.
• If you do not currently tithe, give proportionally of your income.
• If you currently tithe, increase your giving by one percent.

3. Favorite Foods or one day of Food this week
Please consider all health concerns before entering into any kind of fast from food.
• Give up a favorite food.
• Give up eating food for one day a week.
• Take some time to learn more about fasting.*


* Learn more about fasting and other spiritual disciplines, check out The Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster.

5 things God uses to GROW your faith - Providential Relationships

PROVIDENTIAL RELATIONSHIPS

This month we are exploring the 5 things God uses to grow our faith and while these 5 things aren’t listed in the Bible, we clearly see God using them in the faith development of His people. Today, as we turn to look at how God uses relationships to grow our faith, I want to invite you to take out the next steps found in the bulletin and ask you spend just a few moments considering the first 2 questions.
#1  Can you identify a particular person who helped spark your interest in God?
#2  Can you think of a person or persons God has used to help make your faith bigger and stronger?  

Last week I shared how I grew up in the church and the truth is that there are many people I could name who helped spark my interest in God.  There was Judy Mack, our youth choir director who inspired and challenged us to do amazing things musically and she made church fun.  There was Mrs. Barrett my 5th Grade Sunday School teacher who I liked so much I asked to stay in her class for a second year.  Then there was Ed and JoAnn Foster, my youth group advisors, who loved us like we were their own children.  Ed and Jo willingly gave up huge amounts of their time to hang out with a goofy group of High School students.  They constantly reminded us that we were part of the church and that made it possible for us to do so much through the years.  These people all helped spark an interest in God.  They made me want to know more and experience more and simply be part of the great family of faith we call the church.

I have also shared several times about a person God used to make my faith bigger and stronger.  His name was David DeGraaf.  I met Dave in that Bible Study that met in the frat house my freshman year of college.  I thought Dave was an amazing man because he was majoring in linguistics because he wanted to spend his life translating the Bible into new languages.  He talked about God like he actually knew God and it was through Dave’s life that I began to actually see and experience the fullness of Jesus.  There is no doubt in my mind that God brought Dave into my life for just that purpose and as I look back I can see God’s hand at work making that relationship happen.  For me this was a providential relationship.

That’s the kind of relationships we are talking about today, providential relationships, or those relationships that when we look back we can clearly see how God was working to make it happen.  That I even met Dave was an act of God that tied back into all those people from my home church.  I met Dave in a Bible Study sponsored by IVCF and I first attended IV because a friend from my youth group told me I should check out the group because her sister had been part of it years earlier when she had been a student at MSU.  My friend told me that IV would be like our youth group and would be a good place to make friends – which I desperately needed.  So because of my youth leaders who helped me stay connected to my friends in the church during high school, I was led to IV at MSU and to a Bible Study where I meet a man named Dave DeGraaf who set as his life goal being a bible translator and who translated the life of Jesus into a living breathing person in my life.  God used Dave to grow my faith.  It was a providential relationship.

I hope you can identify someone in your life that helped open the door for you to experience a deeper faith.  I hope you can name somewhere who has either challenged you or inspired you or invited you to check out God in new ways which has led to deeper faith.  None of us gets to Jesus on our own; someone invites us or leads us to him.  Someone shows us Jesus in how they live or how they pray or how the love and care for us and it’s in seeing Jesus that we want to know more.  There is always a person involved somewhere and God uses those persons in our lives go to grow our faith.  One of the clearest examples of how God does this is found in Acts 8:26-39.

At just the right moment, God sent Philip to a chariot where a man just happened to be reading from the book of Isaiah.  Philip asked the man what he was reading and at that very moment the man was reading about how the Messiah was going to suffer.  This is a providential relationship.  God ordained this.  God made it all possible and God used Philip to grow this man’s faith.  Now not all relationships are going to be this spectacular, but many of us can look back and see God’s hand at work in bringing people into our lives to help us grow in our faith at just the right moment.
I still remember getting a letter in the mail from my friend Cindy telling me to look for a group called IVCF.  I got the letter right after walking by a huge banner for IV at the freshman orientation.  I went back to the banner and found the students working there, Gary and Ruth Abbot who invited me to the large group meeting which was that night and it was at that meeting I met a bunch of students from my dorm complex and was invited to a Bible Study where I met Dave.  At the time, I didn’t think anything about it – it was just life, but looking back, God’s timing was perfect and people were brought into my life at just the right moment to grow my faith.

Whenever we hear a story about someone’s faith growing it is a story of a relationship because God uses human relationships to grow our faith.  God could simply implant information in our brains or speak solely through books or nature, but God doesn’t, God uses people.  Think about it, God came as a living breathing human being in the person of Jesus because God wants to use relationships to grow our faith.  God used his word spoken through the prophets in the Old Testament, but God knew that real power in our faith comes through human relationships so God came as a human being.  God uses relationships to grow our faith, but the opposite is also true.  Human relationships can undermine our faith.  God doesn’t use them for that, but the truth is that some of our relationships have the potential to pull us away from God.  I could ask you to reflect on those 2 questions we asked earlier, but just in a different way:
#1  Can you identify a particular person who pulled you away from God?
#2  Can you think of a person or persons that during a period of time in your life undermined your faith?  

We all wrestle with peer pressure from those who might not believe in God or people who find our faith and trust in Jesus foolish.  It might be people we work with or an influential teacher or coach who doesn’t acknowledge the presence or power of God.  It might be a family member or friend whose presence in our lives just slowly undermines our faith until we get to the point where our faith or the living out of our faith just isn’t important anymore.  When many people look back and reflect on what happened to their faith and how it eroded over time, they are often able to identify a person or persons who were part of that journey away from God.  Relationships can impact our lives for good or for bad and relationships can impact our faith for good or for bad.  Relationships can grow or faith or undermine our faith and this is a principle that is made clear to us in the Bible.

In the Old Testament we hear this from Proverbs 13:20.  He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.  So when we surround ourselves with good and faithful people we grow wise.  We learn how to live faithfully because we see the power of faith and righteousness lived out in others.  But if we surround ourselves with fools we will suffer harm.  We might be pulled away from God or simply pulled into unhealthy behavior.  Intuitively we just know that this proverb is just true.  We will be shaped by the people around us and God is telling us that our faith and spiritual life will also be shaped by the relationships in our lives.

We also hear this teaching in the New Testament when Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:33,  Bad company corrupts good character.  This highlights the impact of negative relationships.  It’s not that we are to only surround ourselves with people who are righteous and faithful and simply ignore or disregard the rest, not at all.  Jesus spent a lot of time with bad company – but of course he was Jesus so he could handle it.  What we do need to understand is that the bad company is going to be there in the places we work, the classes we take and the people in our lives which is why it is so important to make sure we have good people around us as well.  We can’t handle the bad company without the balance of good and faithful people to keep us focused.

So God uses providential relationships to grow our faith, but we can’t make these relationships happen.  We can’t go out and make that God ordained relationship appear in our lives, but we can do something to increase the potential of these relationships forming.  When we put ourselves in places where we will be surrounded by people of faith, God can then can use to grow our faith.  When we are willing to move from rows in worship to a circle in a small group  and really get to know people, we are giving God the opportunity to bring the right kind of relationships into our lives.  When we get involved with others who are seeking to learn and serve and live more faithfully we are providing God the opportunity to form those providential relationships.  If I had not gone to IV and if I had not tried a Bible Study, I would never have met Dave Degraaf and my faith would not have grown.  We stress small groups not just because it’s a program of the church but because of the relationships that can be formed.  Those relationships are what God uses to grow our faith.

God uses the relationship to grow our faith so the groups we join don’t have to be centered on teaching.  You could join the choir, work with children, meet with the Prayer Quilt ministry or healthy steps.  You could serve with a group at the Faith Centre or volunteer to help at the Soup Kitchen.  The group doesn’t matter, what matters is opening ourselves up to the relationships God can use in our lives.  So it’s not about the programs it is about the people we meet.

Not only do we need to put ourselves in places where God can grow our faith but we need to be aware that God might want to use us to grow the faith of others.  By joining a group, we might be the person that God uses to spark faith in someone else.  We might be the person that inspires, encourages or challenges someone else to grow in their faith and so we have to look at these providential relationships from both sides.  Who are the people God can use to grow our faith and who are those people that we can help.  Today there is a Philip or Phyllis who God is calling to reach out to someone who is looking for a deeper faith.  Are we willing to be that person even though we may feel ill equipped and?

God uses relationships to grow our faith.  God brings people into our lives at the right time for the purpose of deepening our faith and while we can’t make those relationships happen, we can put ourselves in places where God can bring those people to us.  This week I challenge us all to identify those whom God is using in our lives so we can maximize those relationships and may we also be intentionally in reaching out to others in order to help grow the faith of those around us.

 
Next Steps
Providential Relationships

1.  Can you identify a particular person who helped spark your interest in God?



2.  Can you think of a person or persons God has used to help make your faith bigger and stronger?



3. Read Proverbs 13:20 and 1 Corinthians 15:33.  Can you identify the wise and foolish are part of your life today?
• How can you increase the influence of the wise?
• How can you decrease the influence of the foolish?


4. While we can’t bring Providential Relationships into our lives we can provide the potential for God to by placing ourselves among others in small groups.  If you are not already part of a small group through Faith Church, consider joining one today.  Please contact Cassie Marsh-Caldwell for more information cassie.marsh-caldwell@bellefontefaith.com


5.  Sometimes we are the person God wants to bring into someone else’s life to grow their faith.  (Read Acts 8:26-40)  To whom might God be leading you?  Pray for them and then take a step of faith to deepen your relationship with them.

5 things God uses to GROW your faith - Practical Teaching

PRACTICAL TEACHING

I’m not one for making New Year’s resolutions.  It’s not that I don’t want to have better habits and routines in the New Year, or live a healthier lifestyle – I want that very much, it’s just that I’ll make a resolution, have no plan for following through on it and then get discouraged and give up sometime about January 3rd.  What is important in any changes we are going to make in life is to have some kind of road map on how we are going to get there. It’s not enough to say, I’m going on a diet, we have to look at what foods we are going to eat, plan our meals, shop for the healthy foods and then make sure all those extra cookies are out of the house.  If we resolve to live within our means financially then we need to sit down and track our income and our expenses and create a workable budget.  The same is true with our faith.  Many people may resolve to deepen their faith in the New Year, but without any plan on how to do that, they give up and then feel discouraged and unworthy.

Well, whether you have made a resolution to grow deeper in your faith or not, this month we are going explore the 5 things that God has consistently used to deepen faith in people.  We can’t find this list in the Bible, it’s not like God told Moses to write these 5 things down in stone, but they are things God has used throughout history to draw His people closer to him.  And what is wonderful about these 5 things is that it doesn’t matter where we are in our faith, these 5 things will work.  Whether you are brand new in your faith and starting the year right by being in church today for the first time, or the first time in a long time, or whether you are well along in the journey but feeling a desire to simply go deeper, these 5 things work in all of us.  The 5 things God uses to grow our faith:
• Practical Teaching
• Providential Relationships
• Private Disciplines
• Personal Ministry
• Pivotal Circumstances

Today we start with practical teaching.  The key word here isn’t teaching but practical.  For teaching to really change us and grow us it has be practical and something we can apply to our lives.  Practical teaching needs to be relevant, understandable and applicable to our lives.  If it is not, it can still be good information but it will not grow us.

I grew up in the church and attended worship and Sunday School on a regular basis.  I sang in the children’s choir, played in our bell choir, was a leader in the youth group and loved being part of the church.  I learned a lot about God while I grew up and I knew a lot of information about God, the Bible and Jesus.  Even if people didn’t grow up in church, many still know something about God, the Bible and Jesus.  People know some of the stories like Noah and the flood or David and Goliath.  Many people know the Christmas story and how Jesus was born in a manger and they know he died on the cross and may have heard that he rose from the grave.  Many people hear about God and learn about God and have the information but it doesn’t change them because it is just information.  What really opens the door to greater faith is when suddenly the teaching we hear becomes practical and we see how it connects and fits with our daily lives.

Jesus was really the master of this because while he taught people about God and life, he taught for application more than information.  Jesus sermons were filled with practical applications for life and his teaching called people to change, to actually live differently.  The greatest example of this comes from Jesus Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5-7.  In this sermon, Jesus said that if people wanted to have a strong faith and really experience the fullness of God, then this was how they should live.  He said, if you really want to trust God then do these things:  Matthew 5:39-42, Matthew 7:1

So the practical teaching of Jesus is right here, but that is only half the equation.  For growth to take place, we have to actually live this way.  It really is obedience to the practical teaching that changes us and it really does.  Our faith would grow by leaps and bounds if we would obey the teaching of Jesus and the reason is because when we obey we are stepping out to trust God in some really big ways, and when it comes right down to it, what grows our faith is trusting God.
Let’s go back to the beginning and look at what destroyed our faith with God.  In the Garden, Adam and Eve failed to obey God.  They ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil because they thought they knew better, they didn’t trust God.  They lived life their way and their lack of trust broke our relationship with God.  Ever since that moment, God has been trying to reestablish a relationship of trust with us.  Throughout history God has worked to prove he is trustworthy and God’s faithfulness calls us to trust Him and once we do – once we fully trust God and show that trust by acting on it in obedience to God’s word – God comes alive within us, our lives change and our faith grows.

So what shows God that we trust him is not listening to God’s word, but putting that practical teaching into practice and this is exactly what Jesus said at the end of his Sermon on the Mount - Matthew 7:24-29.  Jesus has just spent many hours teaching people how to live with faith and how to really trust God and experience God’s faithfulness and at the end he says, none of what I have told you is any good if you don’t act on it.  Jesus didn’t preach to simply give information, he preached for application.  Jesus told us how we needed to live our lives so that when we did we would experience the fullness of God but none of it is any good if we don’t do it.

Now let me be clear on something, Jesus is not saying that we need to be obedient to God’s word to earn God’s love or favor and we don’t obey God to earn our salvation.  God’s love is unconditional and our salvation is a free gift of God through faith in Jesus.  What Jesus is saying is that if we want to experience the fullness of life and really the fullness and power of God – then this is how we need to live.  Obedience to the practical teaching of Jesus grows our faith and exposes us to the power of God because when we do these things we are showing God just how much we trust him and when we take that step of faith – God is right there to show us his faithfulness and power.  When God shows up in our lives with this kind of power, we are taken to a deeper level of faith – we are taken to deeper level in life.  When we step out in faith, God honors that obedience by showing up in very real ways.
Peter had a few moments like this.  One came when he was on the Sea of Galilee in a storm.  The disciples feared for their lives and in the middle of the storm Jesus came out to them walking on the water.  Peter asked Jesus if he could come to him on the water and Jesus said come.  Peter obeyed that practical teaching and stepped out of the boat and in that moment his faith and trust in Jesus met the faithfulness and power of Jesus and Peter walked on the water.  When our obedience meet’s God’s faithfulness – life is simply amazing and it leads us to trust God more.  It leads us to a deeper faith.

Another moment for Peter came after Jesus had ascended into heaven.  We don’t have any record of Peter teaching the crowds before and he certainly had not been courageous enough to publically proclaim his faith in Jesus during these dangerous times, but after Jesus was gone, Peter stood up in the crowded streets of Jerusalem during the feast of Pentecost and preached to thousands of people.  In that moment, Peter’s obedience to God met the faithfulness of God through the Holy Spirit and at the end of his sermon, 3,000 people placed their faith in Jesus as the Messiah.  When our obedience meet’s God’s faithfulness – life is simply amazing and it leads us to trust God more.  It leads us to a deeper faith.

When we are obedient to the practical teaching of Jesus, God meets us and deepens our faith.  It doesn’t always mean that things will go well or that we get our way, in fact, many times when we step out in faith we end up facing conflict or persecution.  Many times when Paul was obedient to God and went into a new community to tell people about Jesus he ended up in jail.  He was often dragged before the religious and community leaders and was event sent to Rome to stand trial.  Through all the turmoil Paul went through, the power of God was right there and those moments of conflict strengthened Paul’s faith.  The truth is that many times we grow most in our faith through times of conflict.  Standing firm in the face of persecution is not easy but it strengthens our resolve and we often see the hand of God providing and caring for us in some pretty remarkable ways.
When I was a new pastor in Altoona and we faced some conflict for trying to do some new things and reach out to new people.  It was not an easy time to get through but we saw the hand of God move in some pretty remarkable ways.  When someone on our staff quit, many people thought that was going to be the end of the church, but we found another person who was even more gifted.  When people thought the church would die, we grew.  We saw the faithfulness of God.  God honored our faithful obedience by showing up in many ways that encouraged us to trust him more.

I think about what it must be like for our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world.  They are being obedient to the practical teaching of Jesus by holding fast to their faith and many have lost their lives and many more are being driven from their homes because of it.  What keeps them going is that they are experiencing the presence and power and peace of God.  Their faith is strong because as they are being obedient to God’s word – God is showing up in their lives with power.  We not only need to pray for them but we need to learn from them how to stand strong in our faith and be obedient to the word of God.

God grows our faith through practical teaching – but only if we are willing to live it out.  This means in the coming year two things are needed.  First we need to put ourselves in places where we can learn the practical teaching of God’s word.  This can be worship, but we will learn so much more and understand how to apply all of God’s word if we will study with others in small groups.  Sunday School classes, Bible studies and small groups are so important to our faith because this is often where the application is learned and where we find encouragement, support and challenge to live it out.  If you are not part of a small group of some kind that centers on the word of God, I want to encourage you to be part of one.

If you are currently part of a small group, Sunday School or Bible Study, I want to encourage you to think about leading a group because you will grow deeper as a leader.  We grow as a leader for two reasons, first it is a step of faith and every time we step out in faith God is there to meet us with his faithfulness and power.  Second, as a leader you wrestle with God’s word in different ways and spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to make it practical and applicable for others.  Every single leader will tell you that they learned more by leading then they did by being a participant in a group.  So I want to invite you to consider being a leader of a group this year and if you are interested in exploring this then please talk with Cassie who can help you in this journey.

So listening to God’s practical teaching is important and we have provided 2 classic teachings of God for you to consider this week, the 10 Commandments and Jesus Sermon on the Mount.  But as Jesus said, listening is only half the equation and growth doesn’t come with just listening so the second thing we all need to do is live out our faith.  Growth comes with doing.  Growth happens when we apply God’s word and live it out, so I invite you this week to take the practical teaching of God apply it – live it out and watch your faith grow.  .


 
Next Steps
Practical Teaching

1.  Each day this week read these Scriptures and name the practical teaching provided.  Identify at least one teaching you can live out during the week in a specific ways.  Do it.

Monday – Deuteronomy 5:1-16
The first 5 of the 10 Commandments

Tuesday – Deuteronomy 5:17-21
The second 5 of the 10 Commandments

Wednesday- Matthew 5:21-37
Jesus Sermon on the Mount, Part 1

Thursday – Matthew 5:38-6:18
Jesus Sermon on the Mount, Part 2

Friday- Matthew 6:19 – 7:7
Jesus Sermon on the Mount, Part 3

Saturday- Review and Reflection
Which teaching, when put into practice, had the most impact on your life?  Which helped you trust God more?

2. In this New Year, consider being part of a small group, Sunday School class or Bible study to learn God’s word in more depth.

3. If you are already part of one of these groups, take a step of faith and become a leader of a new group.  We look to start new groups during the season of Lent which begins February 10.  Contact Cassie Marsh-Caldwell for information on available groups and becoming a leader.
Email:  cassie.marsh-caldwell@bellefontefaith.com