Wiregrass Church

Are you good news? What if you’re the only news someone gets?

It’s good news because we’re not all that good.

If it’s not good news, you may have the wrong version. It’s not a good story. It’s good news.

Whether it's a possession, time, or a talent, we all have access to something God can use for the sake of others. But nothing is usable unless we first make it available.

Pay attention to the voices of wisdom around you.

Isn’t it strange how we have conversations with ourselves? So often the conversation goes, “I really should, or I really shouldn’t. I ought to, or I better not.” If you’re a materialist and believe all there is in life is just matter and no god, for you there is no self.

Pay attention to the tension. As soon as you start selling yourself on anything, you should hit pause. We rarely have to sell ourselves on a good idea.

After the resurrection, the disciples were completely different people. They boldly spread the message of the gospel, even in the face of death. As Christians, we have the exact same Spirit of God in our lives, so why don’t our lives look more like Peter or John’s? We’ll explore this in Part 3 of Holy Ghost Stories.

We tend to think God was involved in the beginning, Jesus came later, and the Holy Spirit followed. But that isn’t the case. From the beginning, the Holy Spirit brought order to chaos and light to the darkness. That was true in creation, and that can be true in your life too.

Most of us know something about God, and we know a little more about Jesus. But what—or who—is the Holy Spirit? Is it a ghost? Is it a force? Is it even an “it”? The Holy Spirit is a mysterious part of our faith. In this message, we’ll remove some of the mystery and in doing so, we’ll discover the path to a fulfilling life in an empty world.

When we see someone we care about make bad decisions, we can either confront them about it or hope someone else does. But we should ask ourselves: are we really being kind, or are we letting fear, discomfort, or indifference be the boss of us?

You don’t have to be afraid even when there’s something to be afraid of.

When we take a step back and acknowledge that part of the problem is that we’re not getting our own way, anger will no longer be the boss of us.

Envy brings arrogance when we’re winning and discouragement when we’re not. It robs us of contentment and causes us to feel like—as an ancient king put it—we’re chasing after the wind.

We are guilty, but not condemned. Our guilt can remind us of something, but not define us.

Our emotions don’t have to be the boss. In fact, Christians already have a boss—a better boss than anger, envy, insecurity, guilt, fear, or greed.

The unity and diversity of the early church shocked and intrigued the ancient world. Ours should as well. 

Our political views are shaped by a number of variables: our backgrounds, education, and personal experiences to name a few. It’s easy to feel like our view is the right one, but the person beside you is more precious to God than your political view. 

Your favorite candidate will win or lose based on how our country votes this November. However, the church will win or lose based on our behavior between now and then. 

Becoming a Christian is easy. It won't cost you anything. But Jesus never invited anyone to become a Christian. He invites us to follow. 

The reason we often struggle to love “those” people is that we don’t agree with them. That’s problematic when “those” people are over there, but it gets infinitely more difficult when “those” people become “that” person—in our families, our neighborhoods, or even our workplaces. Paul had lots of “those” people, and he gives us some great advice on dealing with them.

“Those” people are the worst. In most cases, we believe we can keep “those” people over there, and when they are over there, we can avoid dealing with them and relating to them. But what if being over there doesn’t actually keep them out of our relationships? And what if what’s “over there” is hurting us?

Those people can be the worst. You know who “those people” are, right? We all have them, and they are difficult to like, much less love. So it’s helpful to know that Jesus had “those people” too, and his love for them drove him to understand them.

There is more to your circumstances than meets the eye. Your current circumstances are a chapter. They are not the full story.

While we don't always choose our circumstances, we do have the ability to choose our responses. But the response that has the potential to reverse the natural course of things isn't natural at all.

For many of us, there's something we wish we'd been doing all along to prepare for what is happening now. Whatever lessons we’re learning, now is the time to start putting them into practice.

Perhaps nothing characterized the life of Jesus more than his pursuit of people whose lives and lifestyles did not look like his. If we fail to listen to people who don't experience the world the way we do, we will never bear their burden.

We avoid things we don’t like. But sometimes things come our way that we can’t avoid. When our circumstances deteriorate, what do we do when there’s nothing we can do?

Christians have never believed in a God who doesn’t allow bad things to happen to good people. Christians believe the worst possible thing happened to the best possible person.

When we’re in the midst of pain and suffering, it can feel like we’ll never be happy again, nothing good can come from our circumstances, and there’s no reason to continue living. But those are lies. God can redeem, use, and work through our pain. And when he does, we eventually have the opportunity to comfort others. There is a “Fellowship of Suffering.” People who’ve suffered are uniquely equipped and qualified to comfort people who are suffering.

Jesus told his followers that unavoidable trials aren’t aberrations; they are expectations. They can actually serve a beneficial purpose. Why? Because God can redeem, use, or work through the undeserved, unavoidable, circumstantial trials in our lives. But in order for that to happen, we have to believe and persevere.

What do you do when there’s nothing you can do? Relationally, financially, professionally, physically, or academically, It just is what it is. There’s nothing you can do to change your situation. Challenging circumstances can make you jealous or resentful. They can make you angry with God. They can breed discontentment. But the problem with discontentment is that it can drive you in self-destructive directions that will eventually leave you with regret. So, what is the secret of finding contentment even when times are tough?

Every once in a while, we run into people stuck in unchangeable, unalterable, in-the-meantime circumstances who get to the place where they’re able and willing to receive their circumstances, their afflictions, their illnesses, their losses, and their disabilities as coming from the hand of their heavenly Father. How do these people maintain extraordinary faith despite extraordinarily difficult circumstances? Where do they find the peace that characterizes their lives?

What do we do when our circumstances are so challenging there’s no way forward and no way out? We have problems for which there seem to be no solutions. We have questions without answers. During times like these, we’re tempted to run or give up. We’re tempted to give in to jealousy, resentment, and anger . . . especially anger toward God. That’s because when life gets hard, it feels like God is absent, apathetic, or angry. But what if he isn’t? Is it possible to hang on to joy, hope, and patience in the meantime?

The Church is remarkable. And against all odds, it changed the world. There is still a great deal that needs changing. By God’s grace and with your help, perhaps we can be a small part of bringing about that change.

Following Jesus’s crucifixion, his followers expected what anyone expects after someone dies—that they would remain that way. But one of Jesus’s followers, John, gave an eyewitness account that summarized the main event surrounding Christianity: Jesus rose from the dead. In this seventh and final sign John documents, he makes the case that Jesus is exactly who he claimed to be.

At different points in our lives, many of us wonder why a good God would allow bad things to happen. And without a clear response, that dilemma could cause us to question God’s existence altogether. The gospel writer John documented an occasion where Jesus not only brought his friend Lazarus back to life, but demonstrated how God can exist in the midst of a world of evil and suffering.

There are many products we buy, use, and put our confidence in without having all the information or fully understanding how they work. In the Gospel of John, we see a man begin to follow Jesus based on limited information. This man, who was born blind, said he only knew one main thing—and that one thing was enough to make him curious about who Jesus really was.

Perhaps one of the most famous signs performed by Jesus is feeding over 5000+ people with five loaves of bread and two fish. Those that followed Jesus thought he was finally getting to the point of what he could do for them. They were more enamored with the signs instead of what the signs were pointing to.

Just outside of Jerusalem, Jesus performed a miracle that changed a man’s life forever. For 38 years, this man was unable to walk. But when Jesus said, “Get up,” the man was healed. However, it’s what Jesus said next that made this miracle a clear sign of who Jesus really was.

In order to demonstrate who he was, Jesus performed a number of miracles—which the apostle John referred to as “signs.” The first of those signs was at a joyous occasion where Jesus turned water into wine. The second sign was in the midst of a heartbreaking circumstance in which a father desperately asks Jesus to heal his dying son.

The first of Jesus' miracles that John documents is when Jesus–with a nudge from his mother—attended a wedding and turned water into wine. It was the first sign of many that gives evidence of who Jesus is.

I’m easy to keep up with, but I’m difficult to catch up with. Keep up or you’ll be playing catch up. Keep up with me and I’ll keep up with you.

Are you mastering your money or being mastered by it? Maybe it’s time to flip the script. Instead of striving to have enough money to satisfy a me-first appetite, Jesus encouraged his listeners to have an others-first approach.

If our money could talk what would it tell us? You might be shocked to find that what our money would say is pretty close to what Jesus did say - and what we should still consider today.

We all want to win. After all, winning is better than not winning. In a game a win is defined, but life is not a game. And winning in the most important areas of our lives isn’t always clear. So, how do we win?

For years people have tried to predict or understand behavior in an attempt to strengthen communication. One of the best keys to better communication is to understand the four temperaments.

Resolutions are pretty self-focused. After all, I’m the one who wants to lose weight, exercise, or read more this year. Sure, those things might make you better, but why settle for better when great is available? Jesus’ Disciples wanted to be great, but their path to greatest wasn’t what Jesus had in mind for his followers. He showed them a better way to greatness, and it’s the same for us today, too.

Most of us want this year to be better. But “better” requires a bit of honest and awkward evaluation. So what are you holding onto that’s holding you back?