Peace In Aiken

Emmanuel literally means "God with us." That's what it took to pry mankind from the clutches of death and despair. It took God himself becoming a man so that he could set you free.

Jesus the Messiah is exactly who he is supposed to be. He's supposed to be more than a teacher and more than a moral model. He's supposed to be the promised Savior of the World.

The coming Savior is obsessed with one thing: calling sinners to himself. This is the very reason for his arrival. Since we have a Savior who has called us to faith, we carry with us his mandate to call others to him.

John the Baptist is known for preparing the people for Jesus. How did he do so? Did he tell them to clean up their acts? Not really. Did he preach love and understanding? Not quite. Instead, he preaches harshly about repentance. John knew something that we would do well to be reminded of today: On every day throughout our lives, we are called to repent because we know that the Kingdom of heaven is...

As we end a church year, we're left with a question: How many more times will we do this? How many more years will go by before Jesus comes back to take us home to be with him? Often it feels that day may never come. Today, in our lesson from Revelation, we are reminded to maintain our stamina and renew our hope in the day of the Lord. The place we do that? Scripture.

How does Zacchaeus go from scoundrel to good Samaritan? What drives such a change? Only the grace, love, and forgiveness of Jesus closes the book on a chapter of deceit and sin and opens the door to joyfully living in grace!

How can we go on? In a world marred by sin and sadness, how do we take the next step forward? How do we face tomorrow? As we celebrate All Saints' Day we are reminded that we have a God who carries us from one day to the next by his grace.

How can we be free? The world sees freedom as doing whatever you want, whenever you want. But true freedom is more than that. True freedom is not being a slave to urges, and it's not being a slave to the law... it's knowing Christ and living in him!

What drives your prayer life? Is it anxiousness or fear? Is it concern over the present life or the life to come? Is it care for the lives of the people around you that you love? ALL of these might factor into our prayer lives, but the reality is, there is one thing that drives it: the promises of God.

What drives us to be thankful individuals? In our sermon for this weekend, Jesus shows us that his mercy and forgiveness will always stir up thanks within us.

"Is marriage worth it?" I'm sure you've heard the question asked. Maybe you've even asked the question yourself. In a world in which marriage is being called "old-fashioned" and "not workable," do you feel like it's easy to honor marriage? Let's explore the reasons why God gave marriage and allow his gift and promises to inspire a newfound honor for marriage!

Do we use everything at our disposal for the sake of God's kingdom? No, that's not really a question about giving to the church. It's more of a question about our personal lives. Do we use every second, every gift, every treasure to accomplish the work of Jesus?

How does the Christian approach the broken world? Do they detach themselves? Do they get angry and lash out? God gives us a beautiful task in a world so full of ugliness. He calls us to pursue the lost with the same care and passion with which he pursued us. Our power is the gospel. Only through that gospel are lives eternally transformed!

In our reading this weekend, God presents before his people 2 paths. One path walks with him. One path walks without him. The first path is characterized by trust and obedience. The second path is characterized by doubt and disinterest. The first path leads to life. The second path is a death march. God lays these paths before his people and tells us, "I have set you on the first path... stay ther...

Is humility a nice quality to have, or is it necessary? Jesus shows us that humility is important to our eternity, not just helpful for getting through life. When we humble ourselves this side of heaven, we are humbling ourselves before the Savior who humbled himself first. Jesus humbled himself and was exalted by the Father. We humble ourselves before Christ and because of his work, we are exalte...

Do all roads lead to the same place? When death strikes, many people want to tell themselves that there are many, maybe even endless ways to enter the Kingdom of God. Today, in order for us to truly enter the kingdom, God reveals to us an important truth: Jesus is the ONLY way!

Our first hard truth that God wounds us with is the truth that God's Word divides. People disagree about what God's Word says, means, and whether or not it's still relevant. We know God's Word to be irrefutable truth. That means, God's Word is going to inevitably divide.

How well do you handle worry? Jesus attacks our worry in our reading today. He makes us reevaluate our approach to all of these things that seemingly matter and refocuses on what matters for our eternity.

How rich are you? If someone asks you that question, the first place you would look might be your bank account. You could check out the value of your house or your car. If someone asks you how rich you are, you can put a number on it! This week, Jesus wants you to see how rich you truly are. You aren't rich because of all the stuff you have. You're rich because you know your God well. You know tha...

God gave us prayer for a reason. He wants us to use it consistently and boldly. So how should we treat that gift? We use trusting his promises, for the benefit of others, and deferring to his goodness.

Martha seemed to have the right idea: Welcome the Savior to her home, pull out all the stops, and serve him to the best of her God-given ability. When she did that, she was rebuffed by Jesus. He pointed her away from what she thought was important and to what he knew was important. To serve, we must be served first.

"Do I really have time to pay attention to the needs of others? Maybe a little... but not too much. No, if I pay too much attention to the needs of others, my life might begin to lack. I might lose energy. I might become embittered." This seems like a reasonable internal conversation. In today's sermon, Ruth shows us how to answer these feelings as she models our sacrificial Lord.

Our God has called workers to serve him in his harvest fields. He's called men and women, Christians to go on his behalf to the people in their loves to call them with the good news of Jesus. How often do we recognize that as our calling?

How many decisions do you make in a week? Maybe the better question: how many of your decisions have something to do with your faith? We have been called to follow the Savior who so lovingly follows us with his love and faithfulness first. So how can we orient our lives in service to following him with every decision we make?

Why should we take the time to look closely at the Trinity? Why not just say, "3 in 1... good enough"? Because who your God is is connected to what your God does. So if you want to understand your God better, see what he does for you!