Jesus’ character and the way he lived offers excellent examples of ways we can copy him. We can do this by doing our best to live peacefully with others, study the scriptures, be gentle and humble, trust God, help others, resist Satan’s attacks, and always obey God. Have your youngsters watch this short animated video Part 2 to learn about the ways they can be more like Jesus.
Faith brings life-changing trust. Faith is also a gift. There are three basic phases to Christian faith - what are they and how do they work? Watch this short vlog and then listen to the podcast of the same name.
Is Christian faith the same as having trust in other people? How does it compare to hope? Are we given faith or does it develop?
Betrayal devastates us because it violates trust...and trust is sacred. What do we do when we are betrayed? How do we cope? Is it even possible to rebuild?
We all value loyalty but should it be conditional? What happens when we misplace our loyalty? How do we know when our loyalties are good or even healthy?
God’s character is all-encompassing, but we generally think of Him as having four main attributes that everything rests on: Justice, Love, Wisdom and Power. How do those attributes work together? How does God's plan tell us more about who He is? Watch this short video to learn a little bit more about our amazing Creator.
Trust is a tricky thing. In some instances it comes to us with ease – as children we typically trust our parents above all others. As we become adolescents we often lose that trust, because we have replaced it with trusting our friends who are obviously much cooler and smarter than our parents. When adults, the door once again opens to trusting our parents because, well, because they have somehow become smart again! Now, let’s look at trust from the other side. Parents will or will not trust a child based upon what they see in them regarding maturity and integrity. A child really must earn their parent’s trust and that usually takes time and evidence. It is the same with God? We obviously should trust Him at all times and for all things. The real question here is can – should - God trust us? What must we do or be to warrant our Father in Heaven truly trusting in us?
…But do you trust me? Such a question pierces right down to the heart of any matter, for true trust is sacred. Any relationship - be it family, friends, business or otherwise - will thrive when trust is intact. With trust, growth, change and the conquering of obstacles are all not only possible but probable. With trust there is security. When trust is broken – and it can be broken in an instant with a single word or action – any relationship is headed for shipwreck upon the rocks of disappointment and despair. Rebuilding after such a shipwreck is a long and difficult process. So, how can we learn to trust the right things in a deep and secure fashion?
Promises, promises! Did you ever stop to think about how much of our lives revolve around promises? There are promises at every level of life – those made by a child to secure a privilege, those made when you agree to the conditions of your job, those made between a man and a woman at marriage, those made in political campaigns. Then there are the private promises we make to ourselves and to God. We judge character by the keeping of promises. A promise keeper is a trustworthy person. Then there are the promises God makes to us. It seems like there are a lot of them, but to many people it seems God has not kept them. So, is God a trustworthy promise keeper?
A few weeks ago we began to tell the story of the dramatic events that led up to the conversion of the Centurion Cornelius to Christianity. Because the expansion of Christianity to Gentiles was such a radical shift in God’s methods, radical measures had to be taken! Today we will finish the story and see how its conclusion would change the history of Christian faith by the inclusion of you and me!
