**If you haven’t RSVP’D for Saturday’s catered meal at Hurricane First Baptist at 5pm, please call us at 304-757-9222. Kids can be dropped here at the church at 4:45.
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1 Peter 2:21- “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”
Sunday we finished a three-week series on walking like Jesus. I shared yesterday that we need to walk in love, peace and generosity.
Some highlights:
Ephesians 5:1-2 (NKJV) “Therefore be followers of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (Eph. 5:1-2).
Jesus walked in love as He humbled Himself. Before He performed any miracle, before He preached any sermon, before He called any disciples, He humbled Himself. He emptied Himself of His divinity before even coming to earth as a baby. He let go of all of His “rights.”
True love requires humility and sacrifice!
Walking in love will prepare the way for us to secondly, walk in peace.
Jesus said in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Jesus said He was leaving His peace with His followers. If you are in Christ, you have peace. You simply have to walk in it. If you are a Christian and you don’t have peace, you are doing something or you are allowing something to disrupt that peace because Jesus has already given it to you.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled.” You have a choice whether you are going to live a peace-filled life or not.
I Peter 3:10:1110 For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. 11 He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.
Don’t disrupt your peace by retaliating with angry words! Jesus could pray for others to be forgiven because He never lost His peace over what other people did to Him! I’m talking to several people this morning!! Exodus 14:14 (NKJV) reiterates I Peter 2:23, “The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
We are to walk in generosity. 1 Timothy 6:17-19 says 17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
Just as I said last week that it is not ok to be a fruitless Christian, it is also not ok to be a stingy Christian.
Your commitment to give a gift above your tithes over the next three years to our capital campaign isn’t about building a building. It is about generously loving people.
Everyone Jesus encountered got more than they were hoping for from the encounter. That is what generosity is!! It is about giving people more than they could hope for. Through “Mission Possible” could we give our community more than they could ever hope for?
Walk in Jesus’ footprints. Walk in love. Walk in peace. Walk in generosity. Let’s walk that way, together.
Believing God for all things to be made possible,
Pastor Melissa
