Key Scripture
Luke 6:43-45
43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
Micah 6:8
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, Thank you for Jesus, the perfect example of love, grace and mercy.
Holy Spirit, teach me to walk in His footsteps, to love as He loved, and to serve as He served. Help me to have your heart, to grow in compassion, to seek justice and to extend mercy to those around me. Shape my heart to reflect Your heart so I can show those around me your amazing love.
In Jesus’ name, amen!
Sermon Notes
How do I know for sure that I’m saved? What if I’m not good enough? What if I have unconfessed sins that I don’t know about? All questions Christians ask because the Bible can be confusing.
James 2:14-17
Matthew 6:15
Matthew 7:21-23
It’s not difficult to see why verses like these might be confusing, especially if you’re new to the Bible.
The harshest and most difficult Parables are what are called the Judgement Parables. They’re called Judgment Parables because their primary purpose is to warn you that one day every human, not just the Christian, every human being will stand before God on Judgment Day.
For every mile of road, there’s two miles of ditches.– Old Irish Proverb
Ditch #1 Believing the only thing Jesus asks of you is to say you’re a Christian
Ditch #2 This Christian believes what Jesus did on the cross for them simply was not enough, so they do more
Too often, too many Christians misunderstand what Paul means when he writes that “Faith is believing in your heart that Jesus is Lord”.
Faith is not so much intellectual as practical - it’s tangible, faith is lived out!
You may be a fan of Jesus but not a follower of Jesus.– Kyle Idleman
The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats
It’s easy to think that being a Christian is about your personal beliefs and relationship with God, but what you’ll discover is that throughout the pages of the Bible, being a follower is about how your beliefs and relationship with Jesus affect how you treat and care for others.
What if instead of asking how much fruit are you producing we started with asking what kind of fruit is your life producing?
The Fruits of the Spirit - Galatians 5:22-23
Fruit is external, visible, outward.
How do we stay on the road and avoid the ditches? We want to be fruit, we confess where we fail when we fall short.
Questions and challenges:
C: When you stand before King Jesus on Judgment Day, will you be a sheep or a goat?
C: Do you have feelings about Jesus, or do you have faith in Jesus - the kind that leads to faithfulness?
Worship this week