Gateway Church - MO

Join us as pastor Steve finishes a few remaining questions while wrapping up the series.

When I Begin To LOVE What God VALUES, I Begin To VALUE What God LOVES.

Rules, a part of every religion, are often the main reason people are turned off to religion. Even people who consider themselves religious are constantly looking for ways around the rules of their own faith traditions, which breeds the well-earned reputation for hypocrisy. Rules always assume a relationship. Two relational models built on rules are the family model and the club model. God desires a relationship first and foremost. His rules are for the protection and provision of those in his family.

GRACE IS NOT ABOUT WHAT WE DO, IT’S ALL ABOUT WHAT GOD HAS DONE

We say we want rest—but we don’t trust it. Deep down, we believe everything depends on us. Our schedules, our success, even our security. Sabbath challenges that belief. It teaches us that we are not the savior of our own lives. In Week 2, we learn that true rest flows from trust. When we stop working for a moment, we remember who really holds it all together.

Sabbath. For many of us, it feels outdated, restrictive, or irrelevant—just another rule about stopping work. Some see it as a reward for productivity; others assume it’s boring and impractical in a nonstop world. But what if we’ve misunderstood it entirely? What if Sabbath isn’t a burdensome command, but a gracious gift woven into creation itself? Here’s the thing, Sabbath isn’t about earning rest—it’s about receiving it. It’s God’s design to protect us from burnout, restore our souls, and draw us back to the One who created us.

In a world where love is often reduced to emotion or feeling, this message reminds us that real love begins with God Himself. Scripture tells us that God is love, that He showed that love by giving His Son for us, and that through Jesus we are offered new life—both now and forever. This sermon answers two honest questions we all ask: Where is God’s love when life is hard? and What am I supposed to do with it? The answer is simple and life-changing: receive God’s love through Jesus, then show it and tell it to others. Love is more than a feeling—it’s a choice, a response, and a calling to live and love the way Jesus loves us.

One of the toughest realities we face about love is that sometimes love is hard—but we still have to choose it. Jesus challenges the excuses we use to limit love and he pushes us beyond what’s comfortable, familiar, or convenient. He makes it clear that real love doesn’t stop at our comfort zones, our preferences, or our prejudices—it crosses the road, gets involved, and pays the cost. Jesus Himself models this kind of love by loving the unlovely, the enemy, and even the people we’ve started to treat as invisible. The call is simple but not easy: even when love is hard, I must choose to love—and when we lean in, God has a way of filling us with a love we didn’t know we had and letting His love flow through us to others.

Whether we realize it or not, when we love those on the margins, we are loving Jesus. In Matthew 25, Jesus reminds us that he intentionally identifies Himself the “least of these” and He tells us plainly, “Whatever you did for one of them, you did for Me.” If we are followers of Jesus, we must move beyond comfortable, easy love and begin loving the people right in front of us—especially those our world overlooks or pushes aside. Love is more than a feeling… and one of the clearest ways we show it is by stepping into the margins with the love of Jesus.

Love is more than a feeling—it is a choice to live like Jesus. Scripture shows us that biblical love is not driven by emotion or convenience, but by a deliberate decision to reflect the character of Christ in the way we live, act, and respond. When we choose to love as Jesus loves, that choice reshapes our daily lives, forming a way of life that honors God in everything we do. And as love becomes our pattern, it becomes a visible signpost that points others to Jesus. Real love changes us, shapes our character, and reveals our faith to the world. When we choose to live like Jesus, love becomes the force God uses to transform us—and through us, our world.

Spiritual maturity isn’t measured by how much we know, but by how much we love. This final message calls us to follow Jesus by serving others with humility and compassion. When we serve, our faith becomes active, our hearts become softer, and our lives begin to reflect Jesus to the world around us. You’ll be encouraged to see the everyday opportunities God places right in front of you—and to respond with a servant’s heart that lives sent into your neighborhood, your workplace, and your community.

We were never meant to follow Jesus alone. In Week 3, we explore how God uses relationships, friendships, and the church family to grow and mature our faith. From the early church in Acts to the encouragement of Hebrews, Scripture shows us that discipleship happens best when we are connected to one another. This message will challenge and inspire us to take real steps toward meaningful, life-giving Christian community—because we grow deeper when we grow together.

Prayer is more than something we do—it’s the lifeline that keeps us connected to God. This message explores how prayer moves us from stress to peace, from self-reliance to trusting God, and from distance to daily closeness. Jesus didn’t teach His disciples what to say—He taught them how to stay connected. You’ll walk away with practical, doable rhythms that help you build a praying life, not just a prayer list.

Just like our bodies need nourishment to survive and thrive, so do our souls. What we feed our bodies impacts our health and our fitness. In the same way, what we feed our minds and souls shapes, nourishes our faith, shapes our decisions and anchors us when life gets shaky. Whether you are new to the faith or have been a believer for years, the Bible is what you need to feed your soul. It isn’t just information – it’s formation. The Bible doesn’t just tell us the truth, if feeds our souls.

If you’ve ever felt like your life doesn’t matter, like you’re just so… ordinary, you’re not alone. But God loves to take what seems ordinary to us and use it to change the world. When we allow Jesus to take center stage in our lives, even the most ordinary of things become opportunities for God to use us to make a meaningful change in the world.

Have you ever felt like a “Scrooge”. You felt small, distant, trapped in the darkness by your past or stuck in the present. There’s good news. Jesus came to transform us. We don’t have to be stuck in the past with its pain and disappointment. We don’t have to drown in the mundane present or face a hopeless future. Jesus, who is ‘God with us’ came to transform our lives and offer us transformation from start to finish.