Mothers are amazing and they are the great teachers of life

I want to share with you this morning a few things that mother’s teach us

That list is funny, but it’s true!

Every year at this time, I try to think of a Biblical mother that we can learn from

This year I want to learn from Naomi

Remember, during this time, women didn’t have any rights on their own

Now, without any males left to take care of her, she decided to return to Bethlehem

So, look what happened with her daughters-in-law

Mother’s lives are not always easy and sometimes children learn from the struggle

Reality check.
Even mother’s struggle with their faith

Mara means “Bitter”

Even so, she strived to take care of her daughter-in-law

In chapter 2, Naomi’s hope was restored as God provided Boaz to take care of them

Naomi taught Ruth how to trust God and He provided a redeemer in Boaz

The story of Naomi and Ruth is unconventional, but, often times, so is life

Naomi’s faith wasn’t perfect and a Mother’s faith isn’t either

Moms today, if you have ever struggled thinking you aren’t good enough;

Understand that all of us struggle with that because we live in a fallen world

But God made you a mom for a reason and He is always there for you

God knows exactly what He is doing so trust Him

This goes for Grandmothers, Great-Grandmothers, Step-mothers

And yes even Mothers-in-law

In fact, it applies to all people; if we follow God, we will be exactly right

So are you following God today?
Do you want to?

Acts 4:12 NASB

"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."

What does the word Salvation mean?

Salvation is necessary!

Vs 12 says we “must be saved”

Because we are lost, John 3:16 NASB

Because we can’t save ourselves.

God provided salvation for us. Why else would He do that except we must be saved

Salvation in the here and now

Salvation can’t happen after death. It has to happen in the here and now

There is only one way under heaven for salvation

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

Prior to vs 12 we see that the name being talked about here is Jesus

The incredible thing is that salvation is offered to ALL!

for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."

Salvation is a gift

You can’t buy it

You can’t earn it

You don’t deserve it

It is a perfect gift that God has offered you through Jesus Christ

He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,

Now the question is, will you accept the gift?

A gift, no matter how amazing, is no good unless it is received.

God has offered to ALL the ultimate gift of Salvation

Will you simply accept it and be saved?

2 Chronicles 7:13-14 NASB

So many people want to blame the problems in this world on everyone but self. We say we want to see peace and unity but do nothing to see it happen. In verse 14, the Lord told Solomon exactly what had to happen. I want to say today that, if we want to see our land healed, it has to start right here. It has to start in the hearts of the people who are called by His name. So how do we do that?

If My People…

Who are called by My Name…

Will humble themselves…

And Pray…

And seek My face…

And turn from their wicked ways…

Then…

I will hear from heaven…

And forgive their sin…

And heal their land…

It starts right here in the hearts of His people. He will never leave us, even when we have failed Him. It is past time for us to realize that, in order for the world to change, the church has to return to God! It starts right here in the heart of His people. It starts right here in His church. Are you ready to begin?

We live in a world where everyone wants to tell you how to live

Many people are frozen by the volume of decisions

The latest social media challenge seems great, even though people are dying from it

What is a person to do?

The wisest person that every lived has something to tell us

He goes on to say, the counsel of the Lord will stand

Think about how many of our social problems today could be solved with kindness

Kindness shows love not hate

I saw on Bro. Kevin Wade’s truck the following statement:

Be Kind to every Kind

Kindness diffuses so many situations where people are primed to respond with hate

The world has primed us all to stand our ground and back down from no one

People have grabbed onto this so hard that they will fight over anything

People look for some ulterior motive in everything, even when it doesn’t exist

The remedy for that is kindness. It is so easy to be kind.

I’ve seen people, as I approach them, with this scowl on their face

I smile real big and say Hi! How are you today?

Even with a mask on, people see the smile and hear the kindness, and they smile

Kindness comes easily out of joy in your heart

Joy in your heart comes from a fear of the Lord or a relationship with Him

The best thing is kindness!

But kindness, true kindness, comes out of a relationship with our Savior

Do you have that relationship that fills you with joy and allows kindness to overflow?

Do you want to?

Acts 1:1-8 NASB

They had been with Jesus when He made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem

They celebrated the Passover with Him and He told them He was going to die

They saw the arrest and they saw Him crucified

Then something incredible, He arose from the grave!

Now, in today’s passage, He was about to leave them again

As I thought about this journey, it reminded me of something

LIFE!

We are all on a journey that has unpredictable twists and turns

Jesus is always steady

Jesus told His disciples all of this would happen before it occurred

So what about after the resurrection?

What did He share with the disciples and is it relevant to us today?

I want us to see three things Jesus talked to His disciples about and it is for us too:

The Father knows the time but our job is to live every day as if it is our last

If you were told your time was ending tomorrow, what regrets would you have?

Did you use your time to further the Kingdom of God?

Through the
Holy Spirit

If we trust the Holy Spirit to guide us and follow, we can live every day for God

People tend to shut out the prompting of the Spirit instead of listening

In fact, if we simply listen to the Holy Spirit, we receive that Power that we talked about

We need that power to follow through with the last thing Jesus told the disciples

We’ve been given the power through the Holy Spirit

So when the end time comes, have you done all you could?

When Jesus ascended into heaven, He charged His believers with the mission

Let’s be an Acts 1:8 church, taking the gospel everywhere

Today you need one thing to be able to do that.

A relationship with Jesus. Do you know Him today?

He is not here, He is Risen!

We have been focusing on the Resurrection for a while now

Why focus on the Resurrection?

The Resurrection is the reason we have hope! Because, without it, Jesus is still dead

The Power of the resurrection is the greatest power

As people, we know that, sometimes, we are powerless

BUT…

If we are believers in Christ, we become children of God and we, too, have the power!

Everyone can know God through His power

This world has no power like the power of God

God so loved the world that He gave Jesus to save us!!

Jesus died on that cross to pay the debt for our sins

Through the power of God, Jesus walked out of that grave 3 days later

He now sits at the right hand of the Father interceding on our behalf

He stands with arms open wide offering you the same power to overcome the grave

Are you ready to stop being powerless and receive His power?

Do YOU have the power? You can receive it today!