Don't

Whatever you do in this life, don't ever leave Christ!

"I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away."
John 16:1

It was a critical time for the apostles, Jesus was preparing them for His death. The next three days would be the hardest of their lives. Everything they believed in Him and everything they thought they had learned in the last three years would suddenly fall apart. Their King was to be crucified.

The sadness, the sense of failure, the loss of direction in their lives, would be overwhelming. Jesus prepares them with powerful words of assurance.

Abiding In Christ

"I am the vine, and my Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit."                  
                                                              John 15:1, 2

In our worship today we are taking a closer look at what it means to abide in Christ. During our worship service this morning and this evening I would encourage you to consider the following questions.

Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled!

In the first line of the 14th chapter of John he gives us an indication of the teaching that would follow. Jesus is preparing His apostles for His death on the cross. The conversation takes place during the last Passover meal when Jesus institutes the Lord's Supper. However, John's account does not go into detail about the Lord's Supper but rather explains Jesus' teaching during that meal. He gives His apostles a number of reasons why they should have peace during this incredibly difficult time.

He begins by assuring them that He will prepare for them a place in heaven. No matter what happens on this earth Christians can be confident that Christ has prepared a place for us to rest from our struggles.....John 14:2

The Powerful Church of Christ

"Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but my Father in Heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." Matthew 16:17, 18

There are two things we must never forget about the Lord's church; first we must never forget who the enemy is and how powerful he is. Our real enemy is Satan who wants our souls and he is constantly on the attack. Paul explains in Ephesians chapter six that there is a great war going on and it's taking place in realms that we cannot understand., Therefore, we must depend on Christ and the power of His body to keep us safe.

Short Powerful Parables

MATTHEW 13

Three quick parables about the kingdom of God are given in the middle of Matthew 13. In the parable of the mustard seed, Jesus explains that the kingdom is designed to grow. God gives his people the ability to reach out and touch the lost. The kingdom should always be growing larger and larger.

In the parable of the yeast, our Lord explains that we must be a part of society in a way that influences it. Today it seems society has more of an impact on Christianity than Christianity does on society. If we are to really be like Christ and the kingdom is to grow we must constantly be influencing others for Christ.