PALM SUNDAY! Scripture:  Luke 15:4-10

 

If God created a poster, it might have a picture of people and read: “LOST: My prize creation. Looks something like me; they wandered off and may look beaten up and hungry.” Many people do not have a relationship with the God—living as if he doesn’t exist. Jesus is looking for his people, and we get to be part of the search party.

Scripture:  Romans 12:1-2, Luke 9:23-27

 

We might think our lives would be changed if we had more friends, more money, or less stress. Transformation comes from changing our minds, not from changing our circumstances. A Jesus-shaped life requires a Jesus-shaped mind.

Scripture:  Luke 6:46-49

 

We are all tempted to say, ‘I know a shortcut,’ to God’s directions in our lives. There is a name for those shortcuts: sin. And Jesus told us it doesn’t end well. Rule-keeping is not God’s aim; transformation is his intent.

Scripture:  Romans 7:4, John 15:1-8

 

How do we experience true change? Jesus calls us to abide in him, to stay close to him, so that he lives through us and bears fruit through us. So the big secret to experiencing change is to stop focusing on changing ourselves, and focusing instead on staying close to Jesus.

Scripture:  Romans 7:15-19

 

We have all experienced the frustration of trying to change ourselves, and not being able to do it. But when it comes to the most serious things about our lives that are causing chaos, what if the problem is not simply that change is hard, but that we are enslaved to sin? In this series, we will look at the freedom that Jesus has bought for us, and how we can live into that freedom for our lives.