Worthington Christian Church

When we trust Jesus to provide, there's always enough!

The twenty-third Psalm is the second most popular verse in the Bible. (Second only to John 3:16.) In Psalm 23, the Lord is likened to a Shepherd. For modern readers, it is difficult to understand the significance of this until we breakdown what a Shepherd did. (Lead, Refresh, Guide and Protect.) Once we do that, we will have a better understanding of what God does for us.

There are over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament about Jesus. The top seven that all of us recognize are: 1. He would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) 2. He would be preceded by a messenger—John the Baptist (Malachi 3:1) 3. He would enter Jerusalem while riding a donkey (Zechariah 9:9) 4. He would be betrayed by a friend, which would result in his back being wounded (Zechariah 13:6) 5. He would...

Our pain can 1. Break us. 2. Harden us. 3. Change us. Our experiences can change who we are -- it can make us stronger, more understanding, more gracious and less judgmental. But happiness... Happiness is fully seeing God.

One of the greatest truths in life is that people will let you down. In big ways or small ways, all of us will either be let down or let someone else down. That is one of the reasons why we need to be more gracious with people. King David was a "man after God's own heart," but he still let people down. God promised that David's house and his kingdom would endure forever, but David was not THE man....

What kind of kingdom is the Kingdom of God? When the Bible talks about "kingdoms" it's really talking about leaders who are worthy of your trust. The Kingdom of God is concerned most about the integrity of the heart.

In the book of Exodus, we read that God called Moses to lead His people out of slavery. Moses was "set apart" by God to lead His people (who were also "set apart") out of Egypt. As they were leaving Egypt, Pharaoh sent his army after them, which lead to one of the most well-known miracles in the Bible (the parting of the Red Sea). But the verse we need to highlight is this: "The Lord will fight fo...

All of us have had a moment in our lives where we've felt not quite good enough. For whatever reason, we just didn't feel we measured up -- either because we lacked talent, skill, experience or just simply confidence. As we read the Bible, it's made pretty clear that we aren't "good enough" to earn salvation, but Jesus is. And that's the difference. Our right relationship with God isn't about us,...

Core52 Question: How can I become a part of what God is doing in this world? We need to enter into a relationship with God to be part of what He is doing in this world. That only happens through fidelity to the covenant that God himself provides. Covenant is the only way to have a real relationship with God. If your faith were evaluated in the same way you measured your marriage, would you be sing...

Question from Core52: What is my problem? At the moment of creation, everything that God created was good. There was perfection in creation, but what has happened to this perfect world? As we examine Genesis 3, we start to see a similarity between the way Adam and Eve were tempted, and the way Jesus was tempted. Sin entered the world through one man [Adam] and salvation comes through another man [...

What does it mean that we were created in the image of God? There are many reasons why were created in the likeness of God -- some we know and some we don't know -- but two of the most important reasons are: 1. To be in community. Community with God and community with each other. 2. To love deeply. God is love and God created us because He is love.

Why is it important to understand the creation account? Because in creation, we see the fullness of God. God the Father is the architect. God the Spirit is the designer. God the Son [Jesus] is the builder.

Jesus wants us in a relationship with him, not a religion. And a relationship is a journey that changes us. As we head into the new year, let us pursue the certainty of what we come to believe to be true about Jesus -- he is the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace.

In Isaiah 9:6 we see four names given for Jesus -- Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. Two additional names that you probably know include Immanuel, which means "God with us" and Joshua (where the name 'Jesus' is actually taken from) which means "God saves." What is the significance of all these different names for the Savior? It is God showing us His desire to...

We have everlasting hope because we have an everlasting Father. How can we better lean into that everlasting hope? 1. Engage the Bible. Where does our hope come from? It comes from the promises of God. 2. Broaden your perspective. So many people live for what they can see right in front of them, but those feelings are ever changing, not "everlasting."

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6) The name, "Wonderful Counselor," means "one who helps." Jesus HELPS us. When the Wonderful Counselor counsels us (through God's word, prayer, a fellow follower of Jesus, our personal experiences or o...

What makes Jesus mad? • When we keep people from coming to know God • When hypocrisy gets in the way of people coming to know God • When rules get in the way of people coming to know God • When tradition gets in the way of people coming to know God • When judgement gets in the way of God’s grace • When prejudice gets in the way of people coming to know God • When my comfort gets in the way of peop...

During our series you may have noticed that there is one very consistent trigger for what makes Jesus mad: people who claim to have a relationship with God who are keeping others from knowing God. As we will see today, another trigger would be racism and prejudice -- or, to put it another way, the failure to recognize the image of God in one another. Racism and prejudice have no place in God’s kin...

When judgement gets in the way of God's grace. None of us are righteous enough to be judge and all of us are in desperate need of God's grace.

People are more important to Jesus than any tradition. When Jesus saw that the tradition of the Sabbath was more important to the Pharisees than people, he got mad. Jesus is willing to do anything for us to know how much God loves us.

Q: What made Jesus mad? A: Denied access to the Father. This is something many of the teachers of the law and Pharisees were guilty of. "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules" (Matthew 15:8-9).

Hypocrisy made Jesus mad because it kept people from him -- which also kept people out of Heaven. How can fight hypocrisy in our own lives? 1. Err on the side of grace. 2. Live relationally with Jesus.

Don't focus on what makes us mad, but rather what made Jesus mad! Jesus always knows exactly what he's going to do, when he's going to do it, and how he's going to do it. Why is Jesus mad? • The religious leaders have turned God's House into a lucrative meat market. • The religious people who were supposedly representing God were actually keeping people from knowing God. There is nothing we can do...

Jesus wants us to run our race with perseverance [endurance], but it is easy to grow weary and lose heart. During our times of trial, we must always remember that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses and to throw off everything that hinders or entagles us [sin]. We must also remember the Jesus endured opposition for our sake -- so don't give up!

Sometimes in life we try to lift far too much weight and while we might not notice the damaging effects it’s having on us now, we will sooner or later. What we need to do instead is learn how to throw off the excess weight of life -- the uncertainty, the loneliness, the anxiety, the grief... How do we do this? 1. Look at Jesus 2. Follow Jesus 3. Rest with Jesus