The Well Church of the Nazarene

Each of us faces moments where we are confronted with who we are apart from God--our sin, our pretending, our masquerade--and we're forced to be honest with who we are (and/or what we've become) and make a decision. Grace is offered to us all, but the choice to receive it comes with the realization that we're not deceiving God...just ourselves.

Through the life of Jacob we see the difference between religion and relationship. In his dream, Jacob didn't climb a "stairway to heaven" to get to God, God descended the ladder to get to him--to us. Whereas the goal of religion is heaven, there's a significant shift in our lives when our goal becomes relationship through Jesus, by His grace. 

Our words have the power to build up or to tear down. Every word that has been spoken to us and that we speak to others puts into motion actions that impact our lives--whether that's words of praise and affirmation or those that are discouraging and condemning. The need for blessing is found in each of us. We were created for relationship with God and to live in his favor. We need what we don't deserve--grace! 

Baggage--we all have it and we all carry it. The baggage we carry weighs down our relationships with others--family and friends, co-workers and neighbors. Our baggage gets in the way of an honest walk with God, ruins marriages, and ends friendships. BUT…there is good news for those who are weary of carrying their baggage everywhere they go.

Through the life of Jacob we will learn how God uses our baggage to help us know Him, and then invites us to give Him all that weighs us down. In Jacob’s baggage we find redemption, reconciliation, purpose, and value. Life does not have to be heavy. We are invited to travel light. Baggage will teach us let go. 

This week we will open up the bag of family relationships and sibling rivalry, revealing the impact Jacob and Esau's relationship still has on our world today.

Chloe shares her testimony and journey to baptism!

Celebrating the sacrament of baptism as we dwell in the new life we have in Christ. To dwell in Him is to hunger, desire, and yearn to get rid of the "old" and embrace the life we were created to live. 

To be holy as God is holy is a call to heart purity that is best exemplified in how we love others--not in the checklists, the do's and don'ts, and the "dips."

Allowing ourselves to dwell in Him leads to a stronger presence of God in our life that brings about genuine worship--a move of God that leads us to seek that which we may be lacking. Or as Rich Villodas puts it, to ask ourselves... "Do I worship God or do I worship the experience of God?"

Last week, six of our teenagers attended Nazarene Youth Conference in Tampa Bay. Over the course of their time there, they had an opportunity to drink the water of life--to taste and and be filled to overflowing, to hear the ways God is calling them toward His  purpose! There's something stirring in our young people, and as a result, in our congregation as well.

Water was made to move. When it sits still, it gets nasty. Our teens have living water that is ready to move, and it will move with or without us. So our challenge is this--how can we, as a church, facilitate the flow of that water?

We strive to live Godly lives and to act in Godly ways, but do we actively seek to understand what God wants for us and the people in our sphere of influence? Do we want what God wants? Do we will His will in our lives?v

In 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, Paul charges Christians to spread "the fragrance of the knowledge of [Jesus Christ] everywhere." For we are the "aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing."

Unfortunately, not everyone likes the scent of his truth. While our witness always spreads the fragrance of Christ, it's not always received the same way. Regardless, our testimonies produce a powerful fragrance that God delights in, for nothing pleases Him more than to see his Son glorified in our lives.

We were given the power of the Holy Spirit to USE it for the fulfillment of God's purpose in our lives. Have you put your holiness into action?