work Archives – Embrace What Matters

The Lord Will See

March 10, 2021

What does it mean to be a man? The answer to this question isn't always easy to arrive at, especially given the confusion we see in our modern culture. Like everything in creation, man was created with a certain design and purpose, but that design was corrupted by the fall. This sermon examines what is perhaps the chief launching point for God's answer to this problem—the restoration of God's purposes for men in the calling and ultimate test of Abraham. Abraham was the father of all who believe. And it was his belief in God as his ultimate provision that led him to leave a legacy for other men that will echo into eternity.

Entering God's Rest

There Remains a Sabbath Rest

May 3, 2021

Part 1 of the series, "Entering God's Rest" (July 2019). If you're like most modern people, you have some trouble with rest. Most of us spend our week chasing the never-ending demands of work, whether it's job deadlines, needy children, or unending laundry. But as disciples of God we don't only have the benefit of rest promised to us, it is also a holy expectation. Are Christians meant to observe the Sabbath? Perhaps not in the way they did in the Old Testament. But our very growth and health in the Christian walk is dependent upon us following the rhythm of God's creation. This starts with regularly stopping what we are doing to conquer our world...to pause and sanctify the God who created everything. Entering God's rest is the only way we can give our work the dignity and effectiveness we so greatly desire.

Entering God's Rest

Rest Areas

May 10, 2021

Part 2 of the series, "Entering God's Rest" (July 2019). As developed in Part 1 of this series, Christians aren't required to observe the Sabbath in the ways Israel was in the Old Testament, but Hebrews 4 does encourage us to strive to enter into God's rest. This message suggests practical ways we can do so. Like the relief we felt when our parents pulled off the interstate on summer vacations to stop and regroup at a rest area, there are many rest areas we can enjoy with God as well. These rest areas are accessed by first detaching from our own works (or the things that pull us away from focusing on God as our Creator and Provider), and then attaching to the things of the Spirit. Disciplining ourselves to regularly pull off to the side of the road in our daily lives to rest in God will give us strength and purpose for life's journey.