Fellowship Bible Church Waco Sunday Messages

Not long before she died in 1988, in a moment of surprising candor on TV, well-known British secular humanist novelist and avowed atheist Marghanita Laski said, “What I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness. I have nobody to forgive me.” One of the greatest features of those who follow Christ is their ability to forgive people from the heart. This Sunday we are going to learn essentia...

Every skill and ability that you are good at didn’t come about without being intentional. Whether it be at home, on the job, or in school, development of these abilities wasn’t automatic. It was actually a process. Time and energy were invested, and you likely learned a lot from others. The same is true with how God develops our spiritual lives, as we see from Matthew 6:9-18.

It is one thing to know about God, but it is another to know Him deeply. There are many people who would like to know how to have a significant relationship with God but have settled for superficiality. They simply do not know how to grow any deeper. What is needed is Matthew 5:48-6:8, which shows us the way to a personal and powerful relationship with the living God of the universe.

In the midst of raging social turmoil and political conflict, followers of Jesus Christ need God’s wisdom to pursue peace, address conflicts and engage people with spiritual credibility. Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:43-48 focuses on these issues with penetrating significance for our current challenges.

Suffering unjustly can create a lot of heartache. Likely, you have had some experience with your family, at work, at school, or in the community in which the words and actions of others have hurt you. Instead of retaliation, Jesus calls for, and develops, our transformation. As we will see this Sunday, when we live out Matthew 5:38-42 in His strength, the watching world sees a powerful display of...

Why do people have so much trouble with telling the truth? It turns out, this problem has existed from the very beginning of humanity. In order to have trust we need to have truth. For those who are trusting in the King, telling the truth is to become our way of life. As we will see on Sunday, Jesus reveals how to become truth-tellers in Matthew 5:33-37.

The statistics on marriages making it for the long haul continue to remain sobering and staggering. It’s as if people move forward with marriage with very little idea of what it is and how it works. That is why Matthew 5:31-32 and 19:4-6 are so critical. Jesus not only addresses the issue of divorce, but also presents the building blocks of God-glorifying marriages, as we will see this Sunday.

There is not a person alive who has not been affected by sexual lust. But how do we get control of it when it burns so deep and when it's fanned into flame by our hyper-sexualized society? This Sunday we will see Jesus teaching His kingdom citizens how to overcome the lust issues in their lives from Matthew 5:27-30. His message is heavy hitting, but just what our hearts need.*

All of us have first-hand experience with anger. As a country we are dealing with the significant implications of a pandemic, economic fallout, and civil unrest. Anger seems to be one of the leading responses to this cauldron of calamities. As we will see in our sermon on Sunday from Matthew 5:21-26, Jesus shows how He addresses the anger issues in the hearts of His kingdom citizens.

If you own a car and have a place to live, you are fully aware of how important it is to have the right key and to know how to use it. Matthew 5:17-20 is the key to the kingdom and is the focus of our sermon this Sunday. The message Jesus gives is one that you cannot miss. If you misunderstand how to apply what He says, you miss out on genuine relationship with God altogether.

God has a plan to use your life that is better than you can imagine (Eph. 3:20-21). In Ephesians 4, Paul explains that humility and honesty are essential building blocks for a mature, fruitful life that blesses others.

If you have ever visited or taken a tour of a lighthouse, you likely have a whole new appreciation for its role. Lighthouses are lifesavers. When Jesus told His disciples that they are the, “light of the world,” he gave them an unforgettable word picture of the role God intended them to have in society. Like a lighthouse, we have a LIFE-giving mission in this world,as Jesus explains in Matthew 5:1...

What role does God intend for His people to have in this world? Until we have clarity as to our calling, we likely are living with a lot of confusion. Jesus gives His disciples the insight we need for living as kingdom citizens in this broken world in Matthew 5:13. By living out this one verse, Christ makes a significant difference through us in our world.

Why would Christians be willing to undergo persecution? Following Jesus when there are no costs to doing so is easy enough. But why would a person stay committed to Christ when there are consequences for doing so? The answer to this significant question is given by Jesus in Matthew 5:10-12 and will be the focus of our message as part of our worship service this Sunday.

Persecution. The word alone is unsettling. Its reality is sobering. Yet, Jesus not only tells His followers that they will face it, but also gives what we need to know when living through it. Without His words we will quickly lose hope. This Sunday, during our worship service, we will discover how believers can live when their faith is under fire from Matthew 5:10.

There is a role that God’s people are to have in this world that is rarely discussed. When Jesus addressed His disciples in Matthew 5:9, He told them, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” This Sunday, during our online worship service, we will discover what a peacemaker really is and how we can grow in this role. There is power in peacemaking.

How does the pursuit of purity rate in your priorities? As we look at how Kingdom Citizens live in a broken world, Jesus make a startling statement in Matthew 5:8 when He declares, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." This Sunday, during our worship service ,we are going to take a life-giving look at what every disciple needs to know about purity.

If you have ever been lost, you know how valuable a map can be. In Acts 1:6-8, God has given us just that: a road map and strategy for His mission of making disciples of all the nations. It is clear, concise and reveals the keys to “living on mission”. This Sunday we are going to take a close look at this strategy God has given us and see how it is being manifested in our church’s mission strategy...

As we continue our study of “Kingdom Living in a Broken World”, we are learning that relationship with Christ is to lead to sharing and showing the values of His kingdom. This is exactly what is needed in our country today: Followers of Jesus living out their identity in Christ, bringing the hope of the gospel and healing to the hurt in our society. This Sunday we will see from Matthew 5:7 why we...

How are you doing with the “pursuit of happiness?” If you are like most Americans, you long to be happy, but are looking for it in all the wrong places. That is why taking to heart what Jesus describes in Mathew 5:1-16 is critical. To really be blessed, you need to really know God. Everyone desires “Soul Satisfaction”, and this Sunday we will see that is exactly what Jesus offers in Matthew 5:6.

When was the last time that you considered the importance of “gentleness”? It has probably been awhile. It is a trait that is often overlooked, not highly esteemed, and not usually seen as a strength. Yet, according to Jesus, this often misunderstood and discounted quality is central to His disciples’ development. This Sunday, we will continue looking at how to live as kingdom citizens in a broken...

Living in this world has times of great grief. No person is exempt from the pain of sorrow and loss. It is in these seasons of deep hurt in our heart, that God brings the grace of His comfort. Jesus even promised this in Matthew 5:4. Comfort is often a process. It takes time and can’t be rushed. This Sunday we will look at the comfort our broken hearts and our world need and how God provides this...

We are living in unprecedented times. Between the pandemic that has ravaged our world and the pain and civil unrest being experienced in our society, the need for hope is great. How does God bring hope to broken hearts, broken lives, and a broken world? The answer is clearly seen in Matthew 4:23-5:3. This Sunday we are going to begin a series on, “Kingdom Living in a Broken World” as we journey to...

Is there really a purpose in the painful problems we face? Until we know the answer to that question, the challenges and struggles we face will often times become overwhelming and leave us discouraged and confused. This Sunday, as we conclude our series on how God uses adversity to forge our faith, we will take a close look at 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. In this passage, the Apostle Paul shows how God...

Graduations are celebrations of milestones reached and anticipation of the future next steps to be taken. This morning we are celebrating our high school graduates. As they begin this new season of their lives, I would like to encourage all of us with the timeless words recorded in 2 Timothy 1:1-7. In the beginning of his final letter, God has the Apostle Paul record the key to running the race of...