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Forward Church Kitchener Sermons

Author: Forward Church

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A weekly podcast of Forward Kitchener's Sunday sermons.
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As human beings we have an innate need for meaning. We want our lives to matter, but do they? In the grand scheme of things, where generations come and generations go, where we’re told that we inhabit a universe that has existed for billions and billions of years and is made up of hundreds of billions of stars and planets, what value and meaning do our lives hold? In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon seeks an answer to the question that all of us ask at some point: “What is the meaning of life?” As we travel through this book together the answers will challenge and surprise us, but most importantly, they should lead us to examine whether we are investing our lives in things that truly matter.
If we are going to be the type of church that God wants us to be, if we are going to have the type of friendships, families, and marriages that God desires for us to have, it’s going to requires putting off and putting on in the areas of communication and conflict resolution. To love others well we need to be people who put off deception and put on truth. We need to be those who put off resentment and slander and instead put on the boldness to speak directly with others. People who use our words to build up rather than tear down and who replace bitterness and a judgemental spirit with forgiveness and empathy. Ephesians 4:17-32
In John 14:15 Jesus says to His disciples: “if you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Loving God evidences itself through changed actions and attitudes. But how does this change take place? Paul gives us the answer in Ephesians 4:22-24 where he calls us to: “Take off our former way of life, the old self and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness.” If we are going to grow in our love for God this year it’s going to require that we identify those things we need to take off: actions and attitudes that no longer fit who we are in Christ. We then need to identify those things we need to put on: new priorities and patterns of behaviour that fit our new identity in Christ.
As we approach the end of one year and beginning of a new year it can be overwhelming to think of all that change that has taken place. For some of us, the extent of change that has taken place over the course of our lifetime is staggering to consider and it’s easy to wonder if there is anything that doesn’t change? Is there anything that we can truly anchor ourselves to? The answer is yes, because even if everything around us changes we believe in and serve a God who is immutable, a God who does not change. The unchanging nature of God means that everything we have learned about God over the past 10 weeks provides us a firm foundation upon which we can build our lives. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.
As we approach the end of one year and beginning of a new year it can be overwhelming to think of all that change that has taken place. For some of us, the extent of change that has taken place over the course of our lifetime is staggering to consider and it’s easy to wonder if there is anything that doesn’t change? Is there anything that we can truly anchor ourselves to? The answer is yes, because even if everything around us changes we believe in and serve a God who is immutable, a God who does not change. The unchanging nature of God means that everything we have learned about God over the past 10 weeks provides us a firm foundation upon which we can build our lives. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.
At Christmas we celebrate the immeasurable love of God shown to us in the incarnation. The staggering truth that the God who is holy, omnipotent, omniscient, just, self-sufficient, merciful, faithful, sovereign, and good took on humanity, being born as baby to ultimately demonstrate the immensity of His love by dying on the cross to save and redeem us. God is not only a God who loves us, He is the very source and standard of love.
On survey after survey when people are asked what they want most the answer they give is “to be happy.” Most of the world spends their lives perpetually searching for the next hit of happiness, but those hits always seem to fade. There is however a joy that is available to us that never ends and never fades. A joy that transcends circumstances and can be had even in the midst of suffering and that joy is found in knowing a God who is good. Good in all that He is, and good in all that He does.
God is infinite. He existed before anything or anyone else. He alone is uncreated. He alone is without any needs. As Father, Son and Spirit He even has perfect relationship within Himself, which means He did not create humanity because He was lonely or in need of companionship or love. God needs nothing! When He asks us to give, first ourselves but also our time and our treasure, it is not because He needs. Instead, it is an invitation that He extends to us for our benefit and good and for His glory.
In Psalm 139 the Psalmist declares that the knowledge of God is so extensive that He knows every thought and action He takes. This is true but it only begins to scratch the surface of what we mean when we say that God is omniscient. When we say God is omniscient we say there is nothing in all creation or all history (past, present, future) that God does not know. As the Psalmist states it is a knowledge that “too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.” The omniscience of God has implications for all sorts of things: on what we pray for and how we pray, on where we ought to turn for wisdom, on the trustworthiness of what God promises to us, but maybe most importantly it changes how we understand His love for us. It means that even though God knows everything about us, He still loves us and chose to send His son to redeem us.
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