God, Others, & Me
Be The Real Me
July 23, 2023 • Pastor Chad Thompson • Matthew 6:1–6
Bottom line: Overcoming hypocrisy is not achieved accidentally. I must intentionally choose to be real with myself, others, and God. Jesus encourages us in the Sermon on the Mount to not be like the Pharisees - hypocrites - who do what they do just to be seen of men. The Pharisees couldn't see it in the themselves, but they had gap between what they projected outwardly and what they were inwardly. Jesus said they were whitewashed sepulchers - clean on the outside and yet full of dead men's bones on the inside. Sometime we do what they did. We wear a mask. We project outwardly to others something different than what we are inwardly. That's hypocrisy. And hypocrisy is a big deal with God because hypocrisy turns people away from God. When I choose to be real with myself, I can be real with others and God. As long as we wear the mask of hypocrisy, we can't be real.
Forgive Others
July 16, 2023 • Pastor Chad Thompson • Ephesians 4:32, Matthew 18:21–35
Bottom line: When we forgive others, we receive freedom. When we are committed to growing in our willingness to forgive others, God helps us grow in our ability to forgive others. And we should be committed to growing in our willingness to forgive because we have a limited to capacity to carry the hurts, pains, and offenses that others have cause us. Forgiving others allows us to offload the hurt and get unburdened from the pain. We actually find freedom from things like resentment, revenge, and bitterness when we forgive. Because of the benefits of forgiveness we should seek to do it, but it is also God's desire for our lives. Paul said that we should be kind to one another, tenderhearted, and forgive one another even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven us. Since we've been forgiven, we should extend forgiveness to others.
Trust God
July 9, 2023 • Pastor Chad Thompson • Matthew 6:12–25
Bottom line: I can trust God today with tomorrow's concerns. Can we trust God? Yes we can. Jesus addressed this issue in the Sermon on the Mount. If God takes care of the birds of the air, then you can trust that He will take care of you too. Can we trust God? Yes. Do we trust God? That's a different question all together. Oftentimes we worry and drag tomorrow's concerns into today, but when we trade our worries for trust, we get peace in return. When we sense worry in our lives, we need to move in a different direction by seeking God's kingdom first (cf. Mt. 6:33). By seeking the kingdom first, we demonstrate our trust in God. Trading our worries for trust in God brings God's peace into our lives.