Sermons From Mt. Bethel Church

God commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves, but do we know what that really means? What kind of neighbor are you? Do you live as God intends for you to live?To do that, we must love as He loves and forgive as He forgives.

When you look at the world around you, where's your focus? To be able to see the world more clearly, we must open our eyes and see our life's story through God's story. We must recognize the pivotal moments in our life when we knew that God was there with us, and we must then become a storyteller to others of His grace and mercy toward us.

How do you see yourself? Do you see the truth, or do you see yourself through a filter? To know God, we have to understand who we are and where we're supposed to be. We must be honest with ourselves in order to be free to clearly see God and who we are in Him.

When fear is our lens, we don't see God as He is. When we see Him clearly, we see the world differently. Because God is reliable, we do not have to fear and can be confident in His love and grace.

If we are to live for God, we must rely on the Spirit. The law of the Spirit is a spirit that gives life. Does the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead live in you?

Do you want a fresh start? Are you willing to give Jesus your sin and be fully restored in Him? Because humanity has an addiction to sin, we must keep in mind that it's easy to get dirty, but hard to get clean! Through Jesus, we are cleansed as He takes on our "soil" to save us.

Advent is the unlikely season when God gave us the Savior of the world in the most unlikely form, a baby born in an unlikely place in an unlikely way to unlikely parents. How often has God shown up for you in the most unlikely place? Don't ignore the gifts of hope, joy, and peace He brings this season and always.

Are you ready? Are you ready to have your heart transformed through Christ? With a heart of repentance and a willingness to receive Him, we will be truly prepared for the gift of Jesus at Christmastime and throughout the year. Don't let the best give you've ever received go unopened.

In this time of preparation, have you readied your heart to receive the Christ child anew, or are you focused on the wrong things? We must turn away from the things that separate us from experiencing the true joy in Jesus Christ, and we must invest in sharing Him with others so that they, too, will know the joy of our Savior.

During the season of Advent we see signs of Christmas all around us, but we must be cautious to not let the distractions of the season prevent us from truly seeing its meaning. When we maintain our focus on Jesus and family and discipline ourselves through devotion, we begin to realize that all of the signs of the season point to Him, the true "reason for the season".

Have you ever lost something really important to you? Do you remember the anxiety you experienced before it was found? Just imagine how much God grieves when we are "lost", but when those who have been lost are found, He throws a party! To be found IN God is to understand the need FOR God. As believers, we need to understand that alone, we are never enough.

Are you willing to humble yourself and yield to God's will for your life? Will you ask Him where He would have you go? When we turn our lives toward others and away from ourselves, we are opening our eyes to truly see Jesus.

If we are to serve a Savior who is one the move, we must be people who are on the move. Jesus calls us to serve the least and the lost, so by serving the God who gives of Himself to each of us, we are able to give Him to others through our service to them.

How far can you see? Because God is God and we are not, nothing in our future is certain except uncertainty. We must stop seeking the answers; instead, we must focus our energies on seeking the One who has the answers. Remember, Jesus is always in front of us, never behind us - He's already been where we've been.

What is our posture toward our resources? How we view the blessings that God has given us is reflected in how we handle our resources. When we trust God fully, we are ensured that His providence will meet all of our needs. God honors those who honor Him.

If we are going to lead and minister to generations, we have to lean into the power of the influence God has given us. Everything we do has the potential to influence people. Are you stewarding your influence?

What do you have that God might use to lead the next generation? So often we hold onto who we are and what we have when God's desire is to to use what's in our hands and make it holy. We have the responsibility to teach and lead the next generation. What if you let go and let God use your talents for our good and His glory?