Sunrise Community Church

"For the Joy of the Father" - With this parable Jesus speaks to our relationships with one another as believers. He makes clear the incredible value each one of us has to our Heavenly Father and spells out the implications of the Fathers love for us. God desires for each one of us to walk in intimate fellowship with him and if that is ever interrupted, he will come after us. That reality ought to move each of us to be those who likewise care deeply for one another and our spiritual well-being.

“Of Greater Worth” - Here we come to another pair of parables with thematic connections to the previous pair of parables we explored. Through these two parables Jesus shows us the surpassing worth of what he is doing and will yet bring to completion. Recognizing this makes clear Jesus call for us to respond to him with absolute discipleship, holding nothing back.

"What Must I Do? - Blake Wagner shared the message.

“Genuine” - Here we come to the first parable proper recorded by Matthew in his gospel. It comes near the mid-point of the gospel story as Jesus people are finding themselves faced with a question What will I do with Jesus? That is what this parable is ultimately all about ones response to Jesus and his proclamation of the in-breaking kingdom of God.

“A Role to Play in an Unfolding Story” - This passage might seem like little more than a list of names that we can skim over or skip altogether but there is more here than we might at first recognize. Though there are many things not revealed to us about most of these individuals, there are some things that we can know, and there are things for us to learn and take away. Perhaps chief among them is this that in Christ each one of us with our different histories and different stories has been swept up into Gods grand story of redemption and within that story, we each have a role to play.

“Christ-Centred” - Here Paul begins to wrap up his letter to the Romans and in this section he affirms the believers in Rome while at the same time explaining to them the right he has to speak into their lives as he has. In all he writes what is abundantly clear is that Paul is not doing his own thing for his own purposes. Rather he is simply living out that to which Christ has called him and in everything. What is clear to us as readers is the Christ-centredness of Pauls life and ministry. Though some of the particulars will be different, we are each called into this same kind of life, fully centred upon Christ.

This story and song precede what we call the Christmas story but they play a vital role in preparing us for what is to come in the birth and ultimately life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Through the Spirit, a priest named Zechariah sees something of what God is doing and he bursts into joyful praise. Through his story and song, we are beckoned into joyful praise with him. God has come to bring redemption!

“An Anthem to God” - Here Paul continues addressing the issue of divisions in the church in Rome. What becomes clear is that, not only are we not to exercise our freedoms in a way that harms others spiritually. We are, in fact, called to use our strength for the spiritual benefit of others. And as we find strength to live this way from God through His Word, our lives together bring Him glory.