Gateway Church, St. Peters MO

 Everyone likes to be liked. In fact, our need to be liked is so strong that we'll almost anything to make other people happy. But the truth is that we spend far more time worrying about what people think about us than other people spend thinking about us and a fear of what people think becomes a trap. However, God has called us to live lives that please him, not others. And even though pleasing God means sometimes disappointing people. Faith in Him sets us free from the trap of fear.

Have you ever looked at where you are in life and wondered if you were really making a difference? It's not an uncommon worry. Most of us want to do something special, but we are also scared of what God might call us to do. After all, we're just ordinary people with nothing special to offer. But believe it or not, God is calling you to do something extraordinary, because God calls ordinary people to extraordinary purpose.

Most people assume that following Jesus will make our lives easier. We expect that following him will eliminate our frustrations, our pain, and our difficulties. We expect that, since we've signed on to follow Jesus, things must get easier. But the reality is that following Jesus will not make our lives easier. In fact, because following Jesus goes against the grain of our culture, it will actually make our lives harder. But, the satisfaction, peace and life lived to the fullest that comes with following Jesus makes life it worth the challenge. Following Jesus will not make our lives easier, but it will make them better.

When we choose to follow Jesus, we often expect him to do the hard work for us. We assume that because he loves us, he'll do the hard stuff that we don't want to do or can't do. But the truth is, Jesus never promised to do everything for us or that life would get smoother. However, he did promise that when we surrender to him, he will give us the power we need to be the people he has called us to be.

The common expectation of Jesus is that, when I follow him, he will make me a better person. The problem is that we don't need to be better. We need to be radically transformed. Self-help books and pop-psychology podcasts can help us be better. But only Jesus can transform us. Once again, Jesus exceeds expectations. Jesus doesn't make me a better person. Jesus makes me a new person.

Most people expect death to be the end. And a cursory look at the way the world works makes that a realistic expectation. Both his enemies and his followers expected Jesus to stay dead after he was crucified. But Jesus defied that expectation. More than that, he promises that those who follow him can expect the same reality. In Jesus, death isn't the end. In fact, through his resurrection a new world begins. A world that is radically different than the one we've come to expect. If Jesus is alive, then everything is different.

We have all wrestled with shame. Maybe someone did something to us that left us hurting and broken; and we felt shame. Perhaps we said or did something that hurt others and with our guilt came shame. When we are carrying shame, it's easy to assume that no-one, including God, wants anything to do with us. But the truth is much different. God pursues us, not to punish us, but to invite us to come and sit at his table where his grace covers our shame.

Dr. Devon Smith, our District Superintendent, delivers a message on the distinction between expressing our desires to God and seeking guidance on our needs. While expressing our emotions to God may be a natural response, it does not necessarily convey our specific requirements or demonstrate the faith necessary to interpret and act upon God's response.

Faith. It's a word that conjures up a host of ideas and feelings. As followers of Jesus, our relationship with him is founded on faith. But far too often we assume having faith is simply claiming to believe something we've been taught. Real faith is deeper. Real faith requires action on our part, and it is always costly. But when we begin to exercise a costly faith, it has eternal consequences for us and for others.

Sometimes it looks like we have everything put together. We like to look like we have our feet on solid ground and our faith firmly in hand. But when we try to pretend to follow Jesus, the only person we fool is ourselves.  Our fake faith pushes others away from Jesus and keeps us from drawing near in humble repentance.  We may look good, but Jesus sees behind the façade to what we really are.

Stress, pain, frustration, difficulty and opposition can shake our world. And when our work gets shaken, we have two choices. We can give up and run and hide or we can look for solid ground. When life hurts, it's tempting to want to let go of our faith and blame God. But when we hold tight to our faith, we find that Jesus keeps us on solid ground even if everything else is shaken.

When we get too comfortable, it's easy to fall asleep; and not just on the couch. It happens at work, behind the wheel, in our relationships and sometimes even in our faith. When we get too comfortable we tend to think everything is ok and we have nothing to worry about. But as followers of Jesus, we must always be on guard, keeping our faith in focus and our relationship with Jesus squarely on track. When we get comfortable and fall asleep at the wheel, our faith can end up shipwrecked on the rocks of life.

“A hard task is given to me—to call the darkness darkness, evil evil, and the demon demon. By remaining vague I can avoid commitment and drift along in the mainstream of our society. But Jesus does not allow me to stay there. He requires a clear choice for truth, light, and life.” Henri Nouwen

Sometimes we have to set aside what we want and do what's best for the other. Sometimes, in relationships, we need to go along to get along. And that's fine if we're talking about the color of the carpet or where we're going to eat dinner. But when the church chooses to go along with our culture to avoid conflict, we've already lost the battle. We cannot trade the values of Jesus for comfort and expect him to bless the church. Standing strong against the tide of culture is not an option. When it comes to the Kingdom of Jesus, compromise is the first step to defeat. If I am going to follow Jesus, I must be all in because with Jesus there is no middle ground.

What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you? When you stop to think about it, it really can be quite terrible. And in the middle of our worst days and our worst situations it's easy to think everything is over and all is lost. But for the follower of Jesus, we know that he is bigger than the worst things life can throw at us and he challenges us to stay strong and stay faithful to him, even when it doesn't make sense. Because with Jesus, the worst things are never the last thing.

Falling out of love. It sounds like something that happens in soap operas and bad love songs. But it actually happens. When we take our focus and attention off of the one we love and the reason we love them, that love can grow cold. Churches and individual followers of Jesus do the same thing. When we take our focus off of Jesus and off of what he has done for us, our love can grow cold. If we want to avoid losing that loving feeling, we need to focus on Jesus and practice loving him by loving others, even when its messy and uncomfortable.

Spiritual maturity; the concept of Jesus followers growing to be more and more like Jesus every day. Sometimes we think we can coast along and that's good enough. Because of that, we tend to put off doing the hard work of growing spiritually to be like Jesus. But Jesus didn't give us that option. He made it clear that being a disciple was about laying down your life and choosing the discipline required to follow him.

Time is a resource we often overlook. We let it slip by, wishing for more. The issue isn't how much time we have but how we use it. As followers of Jesus, we must steward our time wisely, just like our money or other resources. When invested wisely, our time blesses us, honors God, and helps transform our world.

Relationships are the only thing we take from this life into eternity. God made us to live in relationship with him and one another. Becoming like Jesus means that we are growing in those relationships and learning to love others more and more like he does.

Choosing to do what is best for others, for yourself and ultimately for the Kingdom of Jesus is challenging. It can make life more difficult in the present. Choosing to ignore what is best often makes life easier now, but much more challenging and much more costly later. We have to choose our challenge. If we allow him to speak into our lives, Jesus helps us to choose the challenge wisely.

Choosing to do what is best for others, for yourself and ultimately for the Kingdom of Jesus is challenging. It can make life more difficult in the present. Choosing to ignore what is best often makes life easier now, but much more challenging and much more costly later. We have to choose our challenge. If we allow him to speak into our lives, Jesus helps us to choose the challenge wisely.

Everyone loves a compelling story. We especially love to tell a compelling story when we're one of the characters. There is no story more compelling than the story of what God has done for us through sending Jesus to live, die and rise again. One of the most impactful things you can do for the Kingdom of God, is tell others what Jesus has done for you.

When life is painful or feels out of control, it's easy to think that we are stranded and alone. That's how the people of ancient Israel felt as they lived under Roman occupation awaiting God to deliver them. When the birth of Jesus was announced, we are told he would be called Emanuel. Emanuel means ‘God is with us.' The birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus show us that God is with us in every season of life.

When we hear “Away in a manger” we think of a little baby, asleep with his mother and father in a stable. But the lyrics to this carol point out something we often miss about the baby Jesus, something critical. He is the little LORD Jesus. When someone is Lord, that means they are ruler, and it means we are called to surrender and submit to them. As we celebrate Christmas this year, let's take the time to remind ourselves that we must submit to the lordship of Jesus if we are going to know life to the fullest.

‘There's something about a new day. Things feel fresh. We feel like we have a chance to start over. We feel new. But too often our days quickly descend into frustration, chaos, fear or hurt. Christmas reminds us that Jesus came to overcome our fear and hurt and to give us a new life, a life worth living. This carol reminds us that each new day with Jesus provides exactly what we need to overcome and thrive in his grace.

 ‘O Come All Ye Faithful' may be the most iconic of all the Christmas carols. It's the one song most of us think of when we think of Christmas songs. But what is it really about? This song is an invitation to come and worship the God who loved us so much that he accepted us just as we are but loved us too much to leave us that way.

Jesus said, “You cannot serve two masters.” Many of us claim we follow Jesus, but we want to maintain allegiance our nation, our party, our tribe, or ourselves. But to follow Jesus means we die to ourselves, surrender fully and serve Jesus without reservation. As much as we may struggle to accept it, following Jesus means submitting to him to the exclusion of all other allegiances.

As Americans, we love our independence. We want to make it on our own. We want the right to choose what's best for us. And we certainly don't want to submit to someone else. And for most of us, we exercise our faith with that same level of independence. But the kingdom of Jesus has always been collective in nature. In fact, it's impossible to fully live out your faith in isolation from others. The kingdom of Jesus is about WE and not just ME.

Empires grow through force. The strong rule and the weak serve. That's how kingdoms work. But Jesus is a king who turned things upside down. In his kingdom, the humble are lifted up and the greatest serve the least. It's a kingdom that upsets the established order and changes the world. The kingdom of Jesus is an upside-down kingdom where serving rather than ruling brings transformation.

Typical rulers, regardless of how they came into power, like to wield power and display their strength. That's how the kingdoms and empires of our world work. And we like to think that if our side can rule, we'll get things figured out. But time after time our leaders fail because the rule from a position of power. The truth is it doesn't matter which party is in power. It doesn't matter who sits in the Whitehouse. Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And regardless of who rules, Jesus reigns.  

A little salt can make a bland meal delicious A little bit of light can take the fear out of a dark room. In the same way, when the church grows and multiplies in our world, things change. God's Kingdom brings light and hope to a world that his dark and hurting. When we grow the Kingdom, we transform the world.

Famous last words. Those are the words we share when we know we aren't going to see someone for a long time and we want to make sure we tell them what really matters. Jesus' last words to his disciples before he returned to the father were a command to go and make disciples. As followers of Jesus, making disciples is how we co-mission with Jesus.

God has blessed each of us with different kinds and amounts of resources. But he didn't bless us to we can spend those blessings on ourselves. He blessed us so that we can partner with him in building His Kingdom. When we refuse to be generous, we limit the reach of God's Kingdom. When we share what we have, God does amazing things. Our generosity helps build God's Kingdom.

Jesus followers are supposed to be all about advancing the Kingdom of God. And many, if not most of us are willing to work ourselves to exhaustion to build that kingdom. However, even at our best, we are limited. But if we will focus more on praying for God's Kingdom to come than we do on figuring out how to make it happen, God will show up and carry the load. When we work, we work. But when we pray, God works.

Too many of us expect too little out of life. We choose to live lives that seem insignificant or lives that don't make an impact. But that has never been God's plan for us. God wants more from us and more for us. God wants us to live an exclamation point life!

God's plan, from the very beginning, was to partner with us to be his imagers in our world. Our job is to build a kingdom that represent God. We are to build a kingdom full of mercy and justice. However, his people have tended to build kingdoms that focus on comfort and self. We must choose which kingdom we will build. Choosing to follow Jesus means choosing wisely.

Followers of Jesus believe he is coming back. Popular Christian culture in America is filled with stories and images that are disturbing, confusing and frightening. However, unlike what many would have us believe, the return of Jesus is not something to fear. Scripture paints a picture of his return being like that of a king who has returned to rescue his people from slavery. For Jesus followers, his promised return is not a dark and dreadful event, it is a promise of hope and victory to look forward to.

We've all been a part of a restoration project that took longer, cost more and was way more involved than we ever thought it would be. But in the end, it was worth it. The hardest part of most restoration projects is starting. Restoring relationships is no different. It's hard, but the hardest part is starting. In relationships, the process of restoration begins the moment we forgive. It's hard, it's painful, it doesn't usually happen quickly, but it's worth it, and it's what Jesus modeled for us and calls us to do. If we are going to represent Jesus well, we have to begin the process of restoration by offering forgiveness to others.

Peace. It's not merely the absence of conflict, it's the presence of wholeness. Peace seems to allude so many of us and most of us would pay almost any price to know real peace in our lives. Jesus, the King of Peace, offers his peace to us if we will simply surrender and let him lead. It's not easy, it's incredibly demanding but the price of peace, surrender, is worth the cost.

Life gets heavy. Stress, worry, anxiety, keeping up the Joneses and keeping up appearances begins to weigh us down. When we add to that our tendency to try to perform well enough to make God like us, the whole thing is just too heavy to carry. But Jesus offers to take that load from us. If we will come to him and lay down our burden, we will find the rest our weary souls need.

Most of us have no problem showing grace to others who are like us. We may not like what they've done, but we assume the best and offer them a form of grace. But the grace of Jesus is much wider than that. The grace of Jesus extended to those who were like him but also to different and to those who were opposed to him. It's surprising, even shocking, but the grace of Jesus is wider than we expect and he calls us to offer that same grace to those who are not like us and those who do not like us.

Greatness. We all want it. We may have different ideas of what makes us great, most of them involve popularity, wealth, power and prestige. Movie stars are great. Presidents are great. CEOs are great. But Jesus had a different perspective. Jesus said that if we want to know what true greatness is then we have to become like children; insignificant, lacking power, and unassuming. It's completely backwards from what the world expects and demands. But until we learn to be humble and serve others the way Jesus served us, we'll never know what true greatness is.