The grace of God provides for us in weakness, when we are oppressed, and in our suffering. Pastor Ben preaches from 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 on the sufficiency of God’s grace.

From Ephesians 5:11 pastor Ben Smith calls the church to respond to the wickedness of the world with holiness and a boldness to expose sin.

1 of 6 in the series Reset

To a people who have been brought low because of their sin the prophet writes of God’s grace being new every morning. In the weeks to come as I preach on specific areas where we need to reset there is no doubt that these sermons will bring conviction and expose areas of our lives that are not as they should be. So, before we deal with specific areas where a reset is needed – let us first hear a word about God’s grace.

The present generation is closer to the situation that king Josiah found himself in than ever before. The present generation is no longer just skipping church. Today many have no understanding of what the Bible teaches. Let us learn from Josiah’s testimony how we are to respond to the word. Like king Josiah we must be confronted by the word and respond with obedience of heart and action.

This passage is part of Paul’s teaching on the armor of God – that you may be familiar with. As he describes all the “equipment” a Christian needs – belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, sandals of the gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit – he gives the most attention to prayer (three verses 18-20).

Let us consider what Paul teaches us about prayer.  Four times he uses the word “all” in his instruction on prayer. Prayer is not something that is an extracurricular activity. For Christians, prayer is part of our all in all. We are a people of prayer, who pray, and pray for all things at all times.

This sermons calls us to consider David’s worship after bringing the Ark of the covenant to the capital city Jerusalem. The occasion was filled with many public acts of offering and worship. From these verses we will learn these three truths: 1)worship recognizes God’s glory, 2) worship is for all of creation, and 3) worship is forever.

The Bible teaches that God owns everything and that He has and will provide abundantly for us. In response to God’s provision, Christains are to give out of obedience, recognition that we do not own what we possess, and faith in God’s provision.

The question of “lawfulness” is not the only question faithful Christians must ask. Certainly, this is important – and if something is unlawful then no Christian should even consider it.  But lawfulness is only the basic question – for one to grow in spiritual maturity and faithfulness you must ask is it helpful and dose it distract from faithful obedience.