Jesus begins his first sermon by inviting people on a journey of blessedness. He gives us 8 ways to find blessing in our lives. This week we saw that Jesus promises to bless the poor in spirit with the kingdom of heaven. What does it mean to be poor in spirit? It means humility, Christ-exalting, self-denying, and an utterly dependent life! When we take up the attitude of poor in spirit, we are walking in humility. When we walk in humility, our lives exalt Christ. When we deny our self and cling to Christ, we are blessed. What is this blessing? It is the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven...

Honest, Open and Transparent. Is this how your friends would characterize your conversations? I believe as Christ-followers, we are called to be HOT.  As I consider the implications of being HOT, here is what I see: It reveals our own struggles, sins, disappointments, etc. It shows our humanity, not our attempt to hide our humanity. It allows us to receive prayer and ministry through the body of Christ. It opens the door to maturity in Christ. It gives unbelievers the freedom they need to be HOT around us. It opens the door to share about Christ with them. I think one of the reasons we choose...

Psalms 31:7-8 (NIV) 7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. 8 You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place. A young man fresh out of college applies for an accounting job. The boss says “I worry about a lot of things,” But I don’t want to have to worry about money. Your job will be to handle all my money worries.” The young man says “I see. And how much does the job pay?” The boss says “I’ll start you at eighty thousand.” The young man says “Wow!...

Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have… Eccl. 6:9 (NLT) Luke 12:16-23 (ESV) 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you,...