Sermon Media

Using Acts 1:8 as a template, we will explore how we can be neighbors to those who live in our communities but are not like us. North Harris County is becoming more diverse every day, and the vision of God’s kingdom is for people from every tribe and tongue to hear the Gospel and be saved. From Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well, we will learn how we must reach to those who are near us but not like us.

Love is not only an emotion, it is a choice. We can choose to love our neighbor or not to love our neighbor. In Jesus’ story about The Good Samaritan, we will discover that loving our neighbor is a choice – one that must be made on a regular basis.

In the ways of the world, it is survival of the fittest. To those who are first, they see the last as deserving of being there. If they’re first, then they deserve to be first, but Jesus turns this on its head by saying “the last will be first, and the first last”. This is in direct opposition to the way that the world operates. The world believes in “first come, first served” and not “first come to serve”.

God has enough grace to carry us through the storms of our lives. He assures us that He will not let go of us. That is what His grace is and it is more than enough to meet any challenge. Once we admit that we are weak, God is there, willing and more than able to carry us through the hard times.

Hating an enemy is what comes natural. We need supernatural help. If we try and love our enemies apart from the help of God it will difficult if not impossible. Loving your enemy does not mean you have to add them to your Christmas list, or make them your best friend. It doesn’t mean you excuse their actions. In this final message we learn from Jesus that the good life is about loving those who are unlovable.

We are all familiar with sayings such as "A man's word is his bond," or "A handshake is as good as a contract." These sayings belong to another age. We live in a world where contracts are worth only the paper they are written on, and promises are broken with impunity. Today, a man's word means little, and a handshake is merely a handshake. In this message we learn the good life consists of making sure we do what we say we will do. As the old Gaelic proverb says: There is no greater fraud than a promise not kept.

An adulterous heart is a restless one. It was that way in Moses’ day, remained that way in Jesus’ day, and is still so today. Some cultures try to be subtle about this. Ours does not. Extra-marital sexual activity is so intertwined with a juggernaut entertainment industry, we generally want distraction and amusement as much as we want sex. In this message, Jesus points out the danger of sexual impurity and how it robs of the good life.