There are so many things which we believers can give our attention to in the Kingdom of God. We can talk about sacrifice, about service and about sanctification. We dwell on mercy, ministry or maturity. Social change, humanitarian projects and influencing the culture are all possibilities which we might invest time and effort. When it comes to the bottom line, however, our inner purpose and outward mission focus on one lone component in the spotlight: Jesus Christ himself. This message follows the counsel of the apostle John concerning the immeasurable benefits of keeping Jesus as the purposed focus of our hearts and lives. Boldness, peace, assurance and power all flow from a concerted commitment to let our eyes rest on the King.
Spotlighting Jesus
1 John 5:6-12
May 27, 2015 • Jeff Lyle
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Authentic Trust
Retiring From the Game
June 3, 2015 • Jeff Lyle
Many times when a professional athlete holds a press conference to announce his retirement he will give his reason as, "The game just wasn't fun anymore. I don't want to play if I don't enjoy it anymore." After that moment, the athlete moves on to whatever is next for him. In a similar fashion, we should consider the call on our lives as Jesus-followers to exit a different sort of game. The world system is not the reality for which the Christian should live. We have been saved out of one kingdom to live in another Kingdom of a far greater value. As John closes out his letter he calls believers to abandon the world and to flee from its idols. This exhortation must be applied to our lives today as the lure of the temporary world cries loud to us in order to seduce us from investing ourselves in God's everlasting Kingdom.
The Benefits of Obedience
May 13, 2015 • Jeff Lyle
When I first started preaching I talked about obedience in every third sentence which proceeded from my mouth. As a former rebel I was convinced that the most important thing for the believer was to obey. While I would never back off my assertion that obedience is a key component of the Christian life, I do not speak of it as often now as I did back then. Why not, you ask? Because obedience apart from trust and love has little to no value in the Kingdom. We can teach dogs, doves and dolphins to obey… but we cannot teach them to love, and Christ has called us to love God with everything that we are and have. This message infuses the call to obey with the power to love. Transformation is the work of the Holy Spirit and the fruit of this is loving obedience unto Christ. Listen and be stretched, empowered and encouraged.
Love Dogma
May 6, 2015 • Jeff Lyle
How many people have left the Church full of discouragement, guilt and fear? Too many to number! In many places the message of Jesus Christ and His Apostles has been transformed from surrender, love and follow unto the message of rules, traditions and man-crafted laws which presume to make us right or keep us right with God. This message continues the line of thinking from the apostle John as he reminds us that it is our love for others that authenticates and motivates our journey of faith. There are some very dogmatic statements in Scripture about love and it will surprise many who have been trained under theologies and philosophies of performance and outward piety. When we make loving God first and loving others second our life's priorities then we will be Christians who fulfill the will of God.