First Lutheran Church Hot Springs AR

We are in the season of getting ready. Advent is a time of waiting. God wants us to live with an expectation of what is to come. We are in the time of faith. We are in the now and not yet time of life. We get what he has for us now but also the anticipation of what is to come.

Desires we long for, prayers, we've been praying, and news we're waiting to hear can tempt us to be impatient, discouraged, to worry, and even to wonder if God cares. He wants to restore His relationship with us and to give us peace, joy, health, and provision. God restores all things!

We want to fix our eyes on Jesus as our gift giver. Jesus is the gift giver of the Holy Spirit. This gift makes us fully alive in Him!

We live in the now and not yet of our Christian faith. Jesus came and he's coming again! We have victory now that he won for us on the cross and we will have it in all its fullness when he comes again. On one hand we don't have to wait because Jesus lives in us, but we still have to wait to experience life forever with him in heaven. So we wait.

Truth is the "what" of our lives. Love is the "why and how." The combination of real truth and real love is what God wants us to live out at work, at home, in the fellowship of others, and in the community.

We need to represent well our God who is a giver. He's the God who is always giving! God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son! Every good and perfect gift comes down from heaven from the Father.

People need to see us living for Jesus  so,  they too can join us on this journey in life where Jesus is everything and it  is all about Him. Paul describes this life in Galatians 2:20 where he says :  I have been crucified with Christ. I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. Paul is saying, it's no longer about me. It's now all about Christ.

People need to see us living in anticipation of Jesus. They need to see us living with faith and not fear, with hope and not despair, and with an unshakable attitude that shows we know the best is yet to come.

Be ready to spread the word whether or not the time is right. Point out errors, warn people and encourage them. Be patient when you teach.

We need to humble ourselves and empty ourselves of us so the Holy Spirit can fill us completely with the real Jesus as we then share our faith and joy in Him!

We need to live a life of repentance so we can help others receive the gift of repentance in being brought into or restored to the kingdom of God through Jesus.

We need to make Jesus the priority in our life so we can share the good news of Jesus with others and  they too will know him.

We need to help people know and experience the kingdom so they too can enjoy the party with Jesus now and forever.

We need to submit to God's will and His ways for us as individuals as we work together to accomplish his mission to bring people into His kingdom.

We need to humble ourselves and become more like Jesus who made himself nothing and took the form of a servant so people will see, receive, and believe  in his greatness.

There is freedom in forgiving! On the other hand, there is bondage in not forgiving! Refusing to forgive will quench the Spirit of God, dull your prayer life and rob the church spirit of what God wants for it.

We need to lead people to the cross where Jesus suffered and died for our sins to redeem us to be his own.

As we go about representing Jesus and making him known we face times when things don't go the way we planned.

As we go about the mission of sharing our faith and making Jesus know, Jesus will often meet us along the way to bless and encourage us.

As we go about representing Jesus and making him known, people need to hear us talking and  testifying about Jesus. It's all about Jesus and all that He's done for us and for all people.

God designed us and Jesus saved us.  Also, we are set apart and appointed for a specific part in this mission to the whole world.  Each  of us has a place and purpose in the mission to which we have been called. We all have an important calling to fulfill within the kingdom mission.

We all are trained for the mission. Jesus has given us His word and people in our live to equip us with everything we need to do what He has called us to do.

There will be times and seasons where we will need to persevere in the mission. As we go about representing Jesus and making him known we will face hardships and persecutions because we bear his name.

Give ourselves to Christ. Be dedicated to the mission in life.

Rather than striving to make things happen, we need to learn to rest in the mission and trust the Holy Spirit to do what only He can do in bringing each person to faith in Christ!