11A Worship

Grace of Christ

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11A Worship

October 27, 2024 • 1 Peter 4:10, Galatians 5:1, John 17:18

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Some of you know, I’m no stranger to Sunday mornings. I grew up a preacher’s kid in a large family. ….A-Lotta kids, A-Lotta ministry, so as you can imagine: …Not a lotta room for nonsense! Our household was, well…. Structured… to put it gently 😊 We had a clear set of rules and expectations that helped keep the peace and ensure things ran smoothly.

But while God made me quite adept at honoring my parents and obeying the rules… (I was never a rebel) … God also gave me the qualities of a box breaker. Ya know that kitten or that puppy that’s the first one to bust out of the nesting box or the play pen? God gave me a little bit of that. I have a big, thick streak in me that longs to be eager and unrestrained and out of the box!

So, I’ll never forget when I was reading my Bible one day, as a kid, and I came across this familiar passage: I’d memorized it and knew it by heart because we had all learned it in the song. You know it: [The Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, etc .…. Gentleness and Self Con-troooool!] Right, well that’s where the song ends. But as I was reading, that wasn’t where the VERSE ended. You know how the verse ends??!

“AGAINST SUCH THINGS THERE IS NO LAW”!!! Man alive, that made me excited! I found something that the Bible says: I could do AS MUCH AS I WANT! There were NO RULES against doing these things. NO ONE can tell me NOT TO DO these things!! I can do them as much and as long and as far as I WANT!!

It might seem silly to you all now. “Of course, Kara, you can be good as much as you want cause that’s, well… GOOD! …Duh!” But that reaction of excitement and enthusiasm is the joy and elation of a kid who has been told: not what they CAN’T do… but what they CAN do!

And that is the topic I believe God wants us to hang out on today: What have you been SET FREE to do?? Who have you been set FREE to be??

Hebrews 12 says to “Fix your eyes on Jesus.” Psalms 119 talks about “Fixing our eyes on his Word.” Psalm 121 speaks of lifting our eyes to heaven for our strength and our direction.

Today we are being invited to stop and call to mind: What was the last directive you received? What is the current purpose and point of my Christian life? What have I been FREED to do, or who have I been FREED to be?

When you fix your eyes on God, what is the path He has set you on TODAY? What His current directive for you? When you go to The Lord in prayer, what does He speak to you? What has He revealed to you through His word? What passage of scripture has been highlighted in your spirit such that you know it's just for you? What has been the theme of how the Lord has been speaking, directing, revealing Himself to you recently?... or what has been His last directive or truth He’s given you to stand on? Or move on? f

More from ACTS: The Holy Spirit Working Through Us

11A Worship

November 10, 2024 • Curt McFarland • Acts 21:37, Acts 22:29, Acts 22:2–22

My freshman year at Whitworth I made friends easily. But there was one person, Greg, who did not like me. I couldn’t figure out why. How could he not like me? No matter how hard I tried to win him over it seemed to have the opposite effect. I finally stopped trying. 46 years later I still remember Greg. And, I still wonder why? There are times when others just don’t get us. They assume things about us that are not true. They believe the worst about us. They attack us. Dislike us. Maybe it’s just me … nope! Paul, the first century Christian leader, was the focal point for irrational anger. Not from one, or a few, but from a mob. They wanted him dead. His approach to such hatred … he told the story of how he met Jesus. The mob listened … for a while. And then they shouted, “he should not be allowed to live!” Tough crowd. Real life. Real faith.

9A Worship

November 10, 2024 • Curt McFarland • Acts 21:37, Acts 22:29, Acts 22:2–22

11A Worship: Jerusalem - Paul & Mob Justice

November 3, 2024 • Curt McFarland • Acts 21:1–36

In conversations, and in what I’m reading online and in print, there is a growing sense of anxiety about our lives, our community, our nation and world. Technology is advancing faster than we can process it (thank goodness for AI). Global conflicts seem poised to expand (thank goodness for the UN). It is a year of national and local elections (thank goodness for our political parties). Cultural divisions seem to be widening (thank goodness for our common values). What can and should a Christian do in such times? Pray, yes. Re-connect with the truths and promises of God, yes. Live in this troubled world with both Grace and Truth, yes. Remember who we belong to, yes. And … we live each day knowing that God knows, God cares, God remains sovereign, and He is with us.