Imagine someone sitting at home while you gather for worship on Sunday morning. You wonder, “Why aren’t they in worship?” Years ago, attending a worship service may have been a consideration, but for a growing majority today, gathering for a worship service isn’t even on their radar. Why is that? Could one reason be Church isn’t for them because the Church isn’t FOR them? Join us this Sunday as we gather as the people of God who are FOR people because He is FOR people.
We are made for hospitality. Every single person in your household is hungry for purpose. God wants us to relate to the wider world with hospitality. And the more we do, the more spiritually vibrant our homes will become.
Loud tables are tables where "God stuff" is talked about. Spiritually vibrant households are places where meaningful conversations happen regularly. This week we consider the importance of eating and talking together as households.
If applying spiritual disciplines together in your household seems like a daunting new endeavor, remember that your household is made for this. Not only is your household made for messy prayers, remember that Jesus came to help us be in a living relationship with God. As we take practical steps to nurture messy prayer in our homes, it is encouraging to remember that Jesus worked, and still works, to help us with this task.
Households matter to Jesus. Your household matters to Jesus. The foundation of every spiritually vibrant home is the Lord Jesus. Afterall, He is the one who created us and placed us in our households for His purpose. Join us this week as we discover His greater purpose for our households.
Have you ever wondered why the disciples worshipped Jesus and returned to Jerusalem with “great joy?” Would you have been so joyful to see Jesus return to the Father? Perhaps they understood something that we do not. That His Ripple Effect continues and is even greater through His ascended reign.
A Ripple Effect does not only go forward but it also goes backwards and sideways. The death and resurrection not only forces us to look forward into eternity but also look backwards to recognize His faithfulness in the past. Some of the greatest blessings in life are found when we look again.
The name Gethsemane means oil press. Here in the garden, the pressure of the cross had reached the point where blood is pouring out like sweat. Under such intense pressure, Jesus declares, “Not what I will but what you will.” His commitment to bearing your cross has caused an eternal Ripple Effect.
How rude! Can you believe that Jesus came into Jericho and ignored everyone else but Zacchaeus who was not only a tax collector but the chief tax collector. It almost seems as if Jesus doesn’t care about them – but wait! Look at the Ripple Effect Jesus left in Jericho – one that impacted everyone in town. Perhaps this is how Jesus chooses to impact people. Could that still be true today? Could Jesus be working through you the same way He worked through Zacchaeus?
Let’s face it, evil has a Ripple Effect as well. Paul was pursuing his passions to persecute Jesus and His Church. The Ripple Effect Jesus creates is one that flips our passions and directs them according to His purpose. How has or is the Lord Jesus flipping your passions?