New Life Church Downtown Little Rock

God is calling you to the light not for condemnation but for freedom! There are things in your life right now that you see plain as day but you are steadily tripping over them. We must bring things to his light if we want to live in freedom and walk in the wholeness he is calling us to.“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”1 John 1:8“‘Walking' involves progress, and Christians are supposed to advance in the spiritual life. Just as a child must learn to walk and must overcome many difficulties in doing so, a Christian must learn to ‘walk in the light.'  And the difficulty involved here is this matter of sin.”Warren Wiersbe

This week we continue in 1 John with Pastor Duane Clayton teaching us about the power of showing Christ's love to everyone around us – not only those it's easy to love.

The bible says that by our love for one another they will know that we are his disciples! The reason why God wants you to love is because he is love. God showed that love by sending Jesus Christ to earth to die for you. Out of that great love, he is asking us to pour it back out on our friends, neighbors, family, and community so that they would see his love through us.“For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.”1 John 3:11-15 (NIV)“Giving up on reality as a whole, either we place ourselves in one of the two realms, wanting Christ without the world or the world without Christ-and in both cases we deceive ourselves. Or we try to stand in the two realms at the same time, thereby becoming people in eternal conflict, shaped by the post-Reformation era, who ever and again present ourselves as the only form of Christian existence that is in accord with reality.”Dietrich Bonhoeffer Ethics 57-58

We have to align ourselves with the way God sees the world and he commissioned the church to do it's part of his great rescue mission! God sees and hears his people! And his heart breaks for the Israelites back then, but also for his heart is breaking today for the people of Little Rock. What does he do? He acts! And his call to us is to be a part of what God is doing.“For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.”2 Corinthians 2:15“The Church is the only society that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members.”-William Temple

We must let the word and the Holy Spirit constantly challenge us to go deeper. This week we're asking you to let him search you and challenge you in what is next for you, whether you're ankle, knee, or waist deep - the call is go deeper. Not to be a fully devoted follower of Church - but a fully devoted follower of Christ."Then he said to them all: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.'"Luke 9:23-26 (NIV)

Unity must be a core value of our local church. Part of maturing and becoming a fully devoted follower of Christ is learning how to maintain a pure heart so we can maintain unity. This week let yourself be challenged and search your heart if there are any ways you can fight for unity in our community. We believe through the grace Christ gives us relationships can be mended. Church hurt can be healed. And trust can be restored!"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."Ephesians 4:31-32"The devil's work is to accuse and divide the family of God, and to sow discord among them. When we harbor anger in our heart, we do the devil's work for him."David Guzik

Have you ever thought of yourself as a leader? You are! And no one you influence is more important than your family. Leading your family requires loving sacrificially, building trust, and cherishing each other's differences. Doing this fosters a family culture full of understanding, support, and leadership.“Follow God's example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”Ephesians 5:1-2 (NIV)“Leadership is influence. Nothing more. Nothing less.”John Maxwell

As a believer do you know that you have access to this same power and spiritual riches that Paul Speaks of in Ephesians? The enemy doesn't want you to be secure in this identity. He doesn't want you to know how God truly feels about you. Because he never wants you to have the healthy relationship with God that God desires and longs for. “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.”Ephesians 1:4-6

Some of you are in a Spiritual battle — but still fighting a person. Your problem is not a person or a circumstance. Your battle is spiritual and God's will is to equip you for that battle in a spiritual way. Not with your own skills, talent, or equipment – but with the armor of God."...our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."Ephesians 6:12

Is Christ in you?

Our vision at New Life Church is that we are a community living in covenant love with each other. A covenant is distinct from a contract in that each side agrees to uphold their side of the agreement whether or not the other is faithful. We have to fight to stay in relationship with each other and we can only do that from the model and power of Christ's love. We want to live on fire in our faith, but without committed Christ centered relationships the fire will always go cold. “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”John 15:9-12 (NIV)“God brings people together from many different backgrounds and renames them ‘the people of God.' He then gives them a shared purpose in the world to build His Kingdom.”Jon Tyson | Kingdom Values

God uses missional disciples to disrupt a local community, to share the love of Christ with conviction. Then, through the testimony of changed lives, he will expand his kingdom and we can bring glory to him. This call should lead us to be believers who are bold and full of conviction walking in the power of the authority he has given us so we can use it to point others back to our source. “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.”Acts 4:13-14 (NIV)“It seems clear that the aim of Roman authorities was not particularly to execute Christians, but to turn them from what the authorities (and large numbers of the public at large) saw as their perverse and dangerous allegiance. That is, the object was not death but conformity to the demands of the imperial authority.”Larry W. Hurtado - Why on earth did anyone become a Christian in the first three Centuries

What we do forms our loves, and what we love or desire directs our lives. The problem comes when we don't recognize that our habits form what our hearts love and desire. This week we look at how we can - as Christians - resist seemingly innocent cultural practices and liturgies that so deeply are aspiring to recruit and form our hearts and imagination. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)“We unconsciously learn to love rival kingdoms because we don't realize we're participating in rival liturgies.”James K. A. Smith | You Are What You Love

What do we do when the odds are stacked against us? How do we respond when it seems like there's no way out? As the world changes we must stay true to our foundation which is the Word of God. "After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat. Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, 'A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar' (En Gedi). Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him."2 Chronicles 20:1-4 (NIV)

As we continue through the book of Daniel we're asking ourselves how can we avoid being formed by our culture and instead bring the kingdom into our culture."If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty's hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."Daniel 3:17

Jesus called anyone who wants to be his disciple to give up their live which means surrendering your mind, will, and emotions to him."Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.'"Matthew 16:24-25

Today we are going to stay in the book of Daniel and specifically look at how we can learn from Daniel and his friends about how we can intentionally build healthy guardrails as people of faith that can help keep us on the right path for the long term just like Daniel walked out over decades. As we bow our knee to Jesus and make him Lord, he begins a refining process in us of using conviction and care to mold us into who he wants us to be.“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us[c] from Your Majesty's hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.'”Daniel 3:16-18

We often feel we have one of two options when looking at the pressure of living in a secular culture: We can either separate or assimilate. The book of Daniel shows us there is a third option: We don't have to separate or assimilate, but we can redemptively participate in the cultural moment we find ourselves in. God has called us to radically integrate into our culture in order to accomplish His redemptive purpose on the earth. Daniel shows us in order to do that we must be consecrated people, set apart and obedient to the Lord, all the while being totally present to our current cultural moment. “Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. The king said to Daniel, ‘Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.'”Daniel 2:46-47(NIV)“Modern man, however, seeks to be ‘true to himself.' Rather than conform thoughts, feelings, and actions to objective reality, man's inner life itself becomes the source of truth. The modern self finds himself in the midst of what Robert Bellah has described as a culture of “expressive individualism”—where each of us seeks to give expression to our individual inner lives rather than seeing ourselves as embedded in communities and bound by natural and supernatural laws. Authenticity to inner feelings, rather than adherence to transcendent truths, becomes the norm. This modern self, then, is not accountable to the theologians who preach on how to conform oneself to God but to the therapists who counsel how to be true to oneself.”Carl Trueman - Strange New World

If you are wanting to live a life of faithfulness to Jesus in commitment to God's plan and His design, everything around you in our cultural moment will rage against that. We live in many ways in a digital Babylon that condemns moral guidelines, champions immorality, and condemns those who won't celebrate this new moral vision. God has called us to build a life, plant deep roots, grow our families, to bring prosperity to the cities we call home and to endure.“But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs,”Daniel 1:8-9 (ESV)“We should pause and note how the story highlights Daniel's wisdom. For one thing, it suggests Daniel is wise simply in his recognition of how critical this moment and matter could be. This episode didn't have ‘crisis' written all over it like the raging fire of chapter 3 or the ravaging lions of chapter 6. The circumstances here are far less electrical and so all the more subtle. Sometimes ‘smaller' commitments made along the way fortify faith to plant its feet when it has to meet more severe threats.”Dale Ralph Davis - The Message of Daniel

Methods and vision can change as we adapt to the ever changing circumstances of life, but it's our values that determine who we become and what we do with our lives! Values form our decision making, our priorities, and our financial decisions. As a church we have strong values that shape the way we look at things and how we make our calls regardless of what the political climate is, what the cultural pressures are and what our personal preferences are!“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV)

A weakness is a known bad trait someone has and they try to hide it even though it's visible — it's insecurity. Vulnerability is different. It's the openness and honesty about a weakness or pain with a full desire and willingness to fix it. To grow in our faith and toward the callings God has for us we must be vulnerable with those in our community so we can be challenged and find new strength through healing.“On the other side of the lake the crowds welcomed Jesus, because they had been waiting for him. Then a man named Jairus, a leader of the local synagogue, came and fell at Jesus' feet, pleading with him to come home with him. His only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying. As Jesus went with him, he was surrounded by the crowds. A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped. ‘Who touched me?' Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, ‘Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.' But Jesus said, ‘Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.' When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. ‘Daughter,' he said to her, ‘your faith has made you well. Go in peace.'”Luke 8:40-48 (NLT)

What if you could be content with nothing but hunger and need: That is the absurdity of what Paul is telling us in Philippians 4. But the truth is you are most fulfilled not when your plate is full or your bank account is full but when your heart and mind is full of the hope of Christ Jesus.“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”Philippians 4:11-12b (NIV)“Realize how strong a claim this is. Remember Paul's circumstances. We all want inner peace, but you and I are trying to get inner peace to face what? Our bills, competition at work, a difficult boss, our big date or a lack of dates. But Paul was facing torture and death.”Timothy Keller | Walking With God Through Pain and Suffering

How does a relationship with God provide us the tools we need to live above the anxiety in our world and not carry this in our lives? How do we become people of peace in an anxious world? If we live in a world of systemic anxiety, it takes a person who is a differentiated (able to separate) non-anxious presence to lead people out of it. Here is what this scripture promises us: God is our very present help in trouble. The Lord is near. "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything."Philippians 4:4-6 (NIV)"The ability to be continually connected empowered those who relied upon the telegraph, enabling them to ship goods across the world or trade stocks in foreign markets. However, it also spread anxiety across the globe."Mark Sayers - A Non-Anxious Presence

Righteousness – a right standing with God – is never ever grounded on your accomplishments. It's not about what you have done or don't do for God. It's about what Jesus has done. You can only Christ through faith & repentance as you commit yourself to Christ. And after we become one, we press into our righteousness, we press into the perfect creatures God has in store. We work with God to shape and mold ourselves into the perfectly righteous creatures he intends us to be.“I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God's way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!”Philippians 3:7-11 (NIV)

You will not become who God made you to be by winging it on your own. When you repent of sins and turn towards God you become part of a new family called the Church. God designed the church brilliantly with everything we need to grow and become like Jesus.“I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel.”Philippians 2:20-22 (NIV)

In our faith the intention to obey and the cultivation of a life of obedience is our responsibility but at the same time, God doesn't just call us to obey, he gives us the ability to obey. This is saying God gives us the desire to obey and has given us the power to do it. In this power we can go from people who are warped and crooked, bent in on ourselves, to shining examples of what humanity can be. Like a child crawls then walks, we are Christians that are maturing progressively to overflowing with gratitude and joy. “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling”Philippians 2:12 (NIV)“This is not the fear of a lost sinner before the Holy One, but the fear of a true child before the most loving of all fathers; not a fear of what he might do to us, but of the hurt we might do to him.”Alec Motyner | The Message of Philippians

It requires an incredible amount of humility to set aside our secondary preferences for the greater good of our community. It's a high goal and often seems impossible to live selflessly as Philippians calls us to because we often have great faith in God's ability to save our souls but often low faith in His ability to transform our hearts. The truth is - security in Christ is the only cure to a life of selfishness and that security that flows into service of others. “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.”Philippians 2:1-2 (NIV)“By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus.”Mother Teresa 

How can we have a life of overflow of joy in the midst of a world of consumption? We all have systems and we must evaluate what our systems are producing if we want to find the path to flourishing that God has for us. A path of flourishing that sets us apart from the world in that we have a joy that defies our circumstances through our peace and strength in our identity as citizens of heaven who are gifted with holiness.“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”Philippians 1:6 (ESV)“Through finding a missing element such as a soulmate, meaningful career, enjoyable experiences, material things, or through exercising our self-expression, our lives can be filled with pleasure and meaning. Our consumer-shaped culture then offers us endless promises to fill our “empty selves,” which it creates in the first place. Contemporary consumer culture offers medicine to cure the diseases it creates.”Mark Sayers | Reappearing Church

What are you searching for? Has what you have been going to to satisfy your searching delivered on what it promised? Jesus is reaching out to you right now. And if you'll answer this call, if you search for the risen Jesus, he'll deliver on what he promised. He'll change you from the inside out. He'll change your today and he'll change your future. Answer his call and find rest for your soul, purpose for your life, and a promise for your future.“And he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'”Mark 16:6-7 (ESV)“You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”St. Augustine | Confessions

You may have had needs for so long you've gone quiet. If you don't keep your needs accurately and honestly in front of Jesus your faith and hope will drift. Jesus is not focused on the amount of faith you have, he's focused on the object of your faith. But if you see yourself and your situation properly, you will bring your needs persistently, and you will humbly get the help you need.“Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”Mark 10:15 (NIV)“The child is entirely dependent upon the parent in the very nature of things. Total trust is the centre of a child's existence. So it must be for the disciple.”Donald English | The Message of Mark

In Mark 12, guest speaker Pastor Aaron Burke challenges us to go after the lost sheep and bring them into the kingdom. Whose life can you you start speaking into? Who has God put on your heart to pursue? If we love our savior, we have to love and pursue the lost around us!One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.' The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these.”Mark 12:28-31 (NLT)

If the goal is following Jesus what do you hope to get out of following him? Knowing what you hope to get out of something determines whether or not you'll be disappointed by what you actually get. In Mark 10, Jesus is clear what he offers us in the gospel - an inner renewal for your present life and a hope for your future that creates within a human-being not just the ability to endure hardship and suffering but to actually be made stronger by it.“When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'”Mark 10:41-45 (NIV)“There is a great deal of disappointment expressed today about the character and the effects of Christian people, about Christian institutions, and—at least by implication—about the Christian faith and understanding of reality. Most of the disappointment comes from Christians themselves, who find that what they profess ‘just isn't working'—not for themselves nor, so far as they can see, for those around them.”Dallas Willard | The Great Omission 

Jesus doesn't want to be our good teacher, he wants to be our God. Our full surrender unlocks the purpose-filled life of walking with Jesus with blessing and persecution. In Mark 10, Jesus challenges the rich young ruler to move from security in his wealth to security in the kingdom.“You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.'” “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” Jesus looked at him and loved him “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”Mark 10:19-21 (NIV)“The peculiar danger confronting the rich, however, lies in the false sense of security which wealth creates and in the temptation to trust in material resources and personal power when what is demanded by the Law and the gospel is a whole-hearted reliance upon God.”William L. Lane | The Gospel of Mark

Jesus walked this earth preaching and healing people, but his main target was always our heart and the forgiveness of sins. In that, he calls us to a higher standard than the law of the old covenant - he wants our hearts so he can liberate it from evil desires and produce in us a new heart, pleasing to him! He is more than just a sin forgiving healer, he is our Lord with a clear expectation on his followers.“Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”Mark 7:14-15 (NIV)“These acts and dispositions, Jesus affirms, are what defile a man and they have their source in a heart which is in open rebellion against God.”William L. Lane; The Gospel of Mark

Through the story of the woman with the issue of blood, we see how persistence in our faith, overcoming complacency, and getting in his presence touch the heart of God to move on our behalf. His work isn't dependent on ours - but out faith should drive us to pursue him and when we meet him he loves to bring breakthrough in our life.

In Mark chapter 4 Jesus challenges us with the parable of the sower and what kind of heart it takes to receive the good news of the gospel. Without humility, being tuned into the Holy Spirit, and his Word inside us we will not be able to keep the soil of our heart ready for deep roots. So be challenged to open up your heart to him and let him work new areas of the soil of your life.“Then Jesus said to them, ‘Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.'”Mark 4:13-20

Our desperation drives us to Jesus. But when we come to him we find Jesus' deliverance goes far deeper than we can ever imagine! In Mark 2, we see Jesus' deliverance in the healing of the paralyzed man with a far greater act of healing by forgiving his sins. This is a challenge for us to recognize our inherent brokenness of sin and absolute need for a savior. When we come to Jesus in that humble desperation, he gives us wholeness beyond what we ask for.“When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.'...‘But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.' So he said to the man, ‘I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.' He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!'”Mark 2:5,10-12 (NIV)“There can be no future unless there is peace. There can be no peace unless there is reconciliation.”Desmond Tutu

The good news of the kingdom can only be received through repentance and belief.  The gospel is the good news, the truth. If we see it and accept it as our reality - instead of just good advice - it should cause us to recognize our need for it and come into repentance as we evaluate our lives against it. Repent is the most gracious word in the English language. It's simply the opportunity to change your mind (repent), and act accordingly (believe).The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way, a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'”Mark 1:1-3 (NIV)“The essence of other religions is advice; Christianity is essentially news. Other religions say, ‘This is what you have to do in order to connect to God forever; this is how you have to live in order to earn your way to God.' But the gospel says, ‘This is what has been done in history. This is how Jesus lived and died to earn the way to God for you.' Christianity is completely different. It's joyful news.”Timothy Keller - Jesus the King

Who are you becoming and is God speaking to you to make some changes in that area? We are relationally created to live in committed, covenant relationships with fellow Christians to become more like Jesus, and through the love for another, reach out to those around us. Kingdom focused friendships will make you look in the mirror and drive you to growth, but also they will strengthen the gifts Christ has placed in you to serve others well.“You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.”John 15: 14-17 (NIV)“Just as our love for God begins with listening to God's Word, the beginning of love for other Christians is learning to listen to them. God's love for us is shown by the fact that God not only gives us God's Word, but also lends us God's ear.”Dietrich Bonhoeffer - Life TogetherTo plug into our daily bible study, text "DLR" to 501-200-3122 and follow the link to sign up. For more information on how to get connected at New Life Church - Downtown Little Rock, follow us on Instagram @nlcdowntownlittlerock or visit our website at newlifechurch.tv

The defining characteristic that we follow Jesus is not by sermons or miracles or services or songs – but by our love for each other. As we search his relationships we will learn a new way  – a new love – covenant love! This week we look at Jesus' relationships as an example of how to live in covenant with our church community and walk in a love that astounds the world.“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”John 13:35“Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”John 15:13To plug into our daily bible study, text "DLR" to 501-200-3122 and follow the link to sign up. For more information on how to get connected at New Life Church - Downtown Little Rock, follow us on Instagram @nlcdowntownlittlerock or visit our website at newlifechurch.tv

How do we stay rooted in Christ and built up in him? If something is rooted, it means it is connected to a source that is providing life and growth. If we are going to grow spiritually we must stay connected to Jesus every day. To walk with Jesus as a disciple, or an apprentice. The call of Jesus is to come and follow him, not just believe. “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”John 15:7-8 (NIV)“Everyone receives spiritual formation, just as everyone gets an education. The only question is whether it is a good one or a bad one. We need to take a conscious, intentional hand in the developmental process. We need to understand what the formation of the human spirit is, and how it can best be done as Christ would have it done. This is an indispensable aspect of developing a psychology that is adequate to human life. The reason for the recent abrupt emergence of the terminology into religious life is, I believe, a growing suspicion or realization that we have not done well with the reality and the need. We have counted on preaching, teaching, and knowledge or information to form faith in the hearer, and have counted on faith to form the inner life and outward behavior of the Christian. But, for whatever reason, this strategy has not turned out well. The result is that we have multitudes of professing Christians who well may be ready to die, but obviously are not ready to live, and can hardly get along with themselves, much less with others.”Dallas Willard - The Great OmissionTo plug into our daily bible study, text "DLR" to 501-200-3122 and follow the link to sign up. For more information on how to get connected at New Life Church - Downtown Little Rock, follow us on Instagram @nlcdowntownlittlerock or visit our website at newlifechurch.tv

With today's rapidly evolving culture it's easy to feel like we are fighting battles on all sides to hold the standards of our faith for ourselves, our kids, and even our church. We are called fight with love and grace, never giving up, and always holding to the truth. We must fight our battles with a sincere heart of love for those we feel are against us. Only God can solve the division in our country but we have a responsibility to make sure that we his body - the Church - remain in unity.“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”Philippians 2:1- 4To plug into our daily bible study, text "DLR" to 501-200-3122 and follow the link to sign up. For more information on how to get connected at New Life Church - Downtown Little Rock, follow us on Instagram @nlcdowntownlittlerock or visit our website at newlifechurch.tv

At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus who came as God came to us, not to bring judgment but to bear it. Not to judge the world, but to be judged for the world. Not to condemn us, but to save us. We want this season for you to be filled with Joy for what God has done and hopeful Anticipation for what God will do. Christ is our guiding light in the darkest of days and you cannot ruin the work he has done so rest in his love and be guided by his light!“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”John 1:1-5 (NIV)“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it but because by it, I see everything else.”C.S. LewisTo plug into our daily bible study, text "DLR" to 501-200-3122 and follow the link to sign up. For more information on how to get connected at New Life Church - Downtown Little Rock, follow us on Instagram @nlcdowntownlittlerock or visit our website at newlifechurch.tv

Why should we love God? What does it mean to love God wholeheartedly? Why is he ultimately deserving of our love? We have to see the value of a thing before we will worship it. Revelation is the precursor to worship, and worship is ultimately about love. We must recognize Jesus for who he is, and with childlike innocence, respond with the worship we recognize he is worthy of.“He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.”John 1:11-13 | NIV“Worship works from the top down, you might say. In worship we don't just come to show God our devotion and give him our praise; we are called to worship because in this encounter God (re)makes and molds us top-down. Worship is the arena in which God recalibrates our hearts, reforms our desires, and rehabituates our loves. Worship isn't just something we do; it is where God does something to us. Worship is the heart of discipleship because it is the gymnasium in which God retrains our hearts.”James K.A. Smith | You Are What You LoveTo plug into our daily bible study, text "DLR" to 501-200-3122 and follow the link to sign up. For more information on how to get connected at New Life Church - Downtown Little Rock, follow us on Instagram @nlcdowntownlittlerock or visit our website at newlifechurch.tv

As we continue celebrating the Advent season and anticipate the arrival of Christ, this week we want to discuss the coming of his Joy. Christ came to give us fullness of life and wants us to live in the joy of our salvation in him.To plug into our daily bible study, text "DLR" to 501-200-3122 and follow the link to sign up. For more information on how to get connected at New Life Church - Downtown Little Rock, follow us on Instagram @nlcdowntownlittlerock or visit our website at newlifechurch.tv

Are you at peace? One of the things we often find in our holiday seasons is that it often exposes  just how little peace there is in your life. If Jesus came as the Prince of Peace, how can we access this peace in this world at war? Peace that lasts. Peace that is secure. Today, we are challenged to find peace through true reconciliation - in recognition and repentance of our sin - and accepting the free payment for our sin. If we want peace in our lives, and more widely on earth, it must start through the transformation of individual hearts.“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”Isaiah 9:6 (NLT)“Forgiving and being reconciled to our enemies or our loved ones are not about pretending that things are other than they are. It is not about patting one another on the back and turning a blind eye to the wrong. True reconciliation exposes the awfulness, the abuse, the hurt, the truth. It could even sometimes make things worse. It is a risky undertaking but in the end it is worthwhile, because in the end only an honest confrontation with reality can bring real healing. Superficial reconciliation can bring only superficial healing.”Desmond TutuTo plug into our daily bible study, text "DLR" to 501-200-3122 and follow the link to sign up. For more information on how to get connected at New Life Church - Downtown Little Rock, follow us on Instagram @nlcdowntownlittlerock or visit our website at newlifechurch.tv

Hope according to the bible is “To trust in, wait for, look for, or desire something or someone; or to expect something beneficial in the future.” Hope, as Hebrews shows us, is the foundation of a strong faith as we read in Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Christian Hope is not like any other forms of hope our culture has to offer. And it differs from our culture in three ways. Christian hope is real. Christian hope is comprehensive. Christian hope is transformative.“Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?”Isaiah 40:26-27 (NLT)“Advent is a four-week season in the Church calendar dedicated to anticipating the arrival, or ‘advent,' of Jesus of Nazareth, the long-awaited Messiah and King. Christians from many backgrounds celebrate this time with reflections on hope, peace, love, and joy. And while their practices may look different, all focus on the hope-filled arrival of Jesus.”Tim Mackie - What is Advent?To plug into our daily bible study, text "DLR" to 501-200-3122 and follow the link to sign up. For more information on how to get connected at New Life Church - Downtown Little Rock, follow us on Instagram @nlcdowntownlittlerock or visit our website at newlifechurch.tv

We must familiarize ourselves with the way the enemy is attacking our culture, our families, our church, and each generation. Modern study of adverse childhood experiences document the lifelong trauma that developmental trauma can bring whether by abuse or broken families. We hope this message equips you to recognize and counter the work of the enemy, because the only way for this to get better is through Jesus.“Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph! Is my father still living?' But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come close to me.' When they had done so, he said, ‘I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here,because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.'”Genesis - 45:3-5To plug into our daily bible study, text "DLR" to 501-200-3122 and follow the link to sign up. For more information on how to get connected at New Life Church - Downtown Little Rock, follow us on Instagram @nlcdowntownlittlerock or visit our website at newlifechurch.tv

In the parable of the sower, Jesus is asking you which of the four soils best describes the condition of your heart right now? Are you seeing the fruit that you desire in your life or is there room for improvement? Certainly, for all of us, there are ways we can grow, and we must let God be the sifter of our seed and fertilizer of our ground. Be challenged to consider where you can let God cultivate your life this week.“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn't have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”Matthew 13:3b-9To plug into our daily bible study, text "DLR" to 501-200-3122 and follow the link to sign up. For more information on how to get connected at New Life Church - Downtown Little Rock, follow us on Instagram @nlcdowntownlittlerock or visit our website at newlifechurch.tv

It's impossible to avoid the temptation of hiding our sin - but no matter how much it might make us feel safe for a while - it leaves us no way to really get rid of our shame, guilt, or regret. Our good shepherd, who pursues us in spite of our rebellion, speaks to us through his voice and his word to bring us hope, healing, and restoration and restores our place and calling in him.“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?' He answered, ‘I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.' And he said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?'”Genesis 3:8-11To plug into our daily bible study, text "DLR" to 501-200-3122 and follow the link to sign up. For more information on how to get connected at New Life Church - Downtown Little Rock, follow us on Instagram @nlcdowntownlittlerock or visit our website at newlifechurch.tv

This week is all about global and local missions. Reaching out to the lost is core to God's heart and who we are at New Life Church. So this week we get to highlight a lot of different missions in and around our church and meet some of our friends who are making a huge difference in people's lives. As you hear about these opportunities, we challenge you to pray if God is calling you to sow into the Storehouse here at the church as we are supporting a lot of these efforts, give to one of these ministries, or sign up for one of the volunteer opportunities. Be in prayer. Get involved!“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'”Matthew 25:40“Empathy is the ability to relate to how the other person feels, while sympathy is feeling bad for them, but failing to relate to them emotionally.”Brené BrownTo plug into our daily bible study, text "DLR" to 501-200-3122 and follow the link to sign up. For more information on how to get connected at New Life Church - Downtown Little Rock, follow us on Instagram @nlcdowntownlittlerock or visit our website at newlifechurch.tv