Gospel for life with Nathaniel Timmermann

Great Expectations: Samuel and peace

Sadly, we experience plenty of pain, difficulty, and even broken-heartedness. It is in those moments we can be filled with the peace that only the presence of Jesus gives. 

Welcome Home: You're free to be yourself

"Be you." How is that going for you? It's a lot harder than I ever thought it would be. Step by step Jesus has paid the price so that you and I are free to be the people God made us to be, Jesus has redeemed us to be, and the Holy Spirit is changing us to be. 

Welcome Home: Ask for help with your heart.

A group of people become a group of believers by the Word of God and baptism. Really becoming a group of believers is about more than just keeping obvious sin away. It means taking away shame. It means incorporating people into a group where there is no fear of death. Jesus makes the church a place where we can ask for help with our hearts. 

Unbelievable value!

Faith is an unbelievable thing. It's remarkable that faith is so powerful, so effective. Faith also has incredible value. It gives us a new home, a new family, a new people, a new country, and therefore a new name. Have you experienced the value of faith? Your faith increases in value as you want to pay the price for others. Then your faith rockets in value. 

Unbelievable mercy!

Equality is good. Fairness is a wonderful thing. I'm glad that Christians and others have worked hard to develop equality in our world. There is something better, something that makes a greater difference in our world and the world of others. 

Unbelievable strength!

It doesn't seem possible to be too strong, but it is. Strength often wrecks things - just ask the countless dads and amateur mechanics who have stripped a bolt! When we give up our strength and become weak, Jesus has a perfect power and superhero strength for us. 

Open Minds: We see him give everything, then we can give something.

Too often, we give to get. If we do give, we give out of our margin - our richness, our prosperity. We need to give up control of everything, even our lives. When we see Jesus give up everything, that moves our hearts and changes and finally we can give something. 

 

Open Hands: We become trustworthy with our possessions when we see how much he trusts us.

It's easy to see that many people act irresponsibly or in an untrustworthy way with their possessions. Should I trust someone who simply can't stop spending money? If you send money to random people in Africa or China, should you really have access to our bank account? 

The problem is, most of us are blind to the fact that we are not trustworthy. We don't see it. And very likely, money itself has made us blind. It has that power. We can become so focused on it, we don't see what it is doing to us. 

We need something or someone that will change the way we see money and all our possessions. The gospel does that for us. Listen to what God says to us today about our use of our possessions. 

Open Hearts: Generous living begins with God first giving

I imagine we'd all like to be generous givers. Very few people think that generosity isn't important or helpful. What will it take to begin to be a giving person? 

Deeper Connections: Watchfulness only works with acceptance

The Christian idea of acceptance is different. It's not narrow mindedness or open-mindedness. It's drawing in someone who is weaker, who is different in a specific way, and making space for them in our lives.