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Transformed Through Surrender by renewing your mind

Small Acts of Surrender, A Transformed Life

Written by Havana Sonday on . Posted in Resources, Sermon Highlights. No Comments on Small Acts of Surrender, A Transformed Life

Transformation rarely happens through one dramatic decision. This teaching reminds us that we can be transformed through surrender by continually offering our lives to God, allowing the Holy Spirit to renew our minds, and practicing faithful obedience in everyday moments.

This Week’s Teaching: Transformed Through Surrender

Key Takeaways

  • God’s mercy is the starting point for transformation, not something we earn through better behavior.
  • Transformation happens gradually as small acts of surrender become daily practices.
  • The Holy Spirit provides the power to transform us, while we actively position ourselves to receive His work.
  • Renewing our minds means allowing God to reshape what we think about, love, value, notice, and believe.
  • We can grow by practicing what we already know God is asking of us and trusting Him with the next step.

Sermon Highlights: Transformed Through Surrender

Everyone wants transformation, but most of us would prefer to skip the process. We might want to become healthier, wiser, more patient, financially secure, spiritually mature, or better at our relationships. We can picture the person we want to become, but getting there usually involves something less exciting: showing up again and again, making small choices, and trusting that those choices will eventually add up.

“It is small acts of surrender that add up and multiply into a transformed life.”

The Christian life is much the same. Being transformed through surrender isn’t about waking up one morning and suddenly becoming a completely different person. It is about offering ourselves to God day after day and allowing the Holy Spirit to reshape us over time.

Big Idea of This Week’s Teaching

Small acts of surrender add up and multiply into a transformed life. The teaching from Romans 12 reminds us that Christian transformation begins with God’s mercy. We don’t surrender our lives in order to earn God’s love or favor. We surrender because God has already given us His mercy and love.

Being transformed through surrender means continually choosing to place our lives in God’s hands. The Holy Spirit does the transforming work, but we participate by opening ourselves to Him, renewing our minds, and practicing what God has already shown us.

Key Scriptures

Romans 12:1

Paul urges believers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice. A living sacrifice isn’t a one-time decision; it is an ongoing picture of surrendering our whole lives to God.

Romans 12:2

Paul tells us not to conform to the pattern of the world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This transformation happens from the inside as the Holy Spirit reshapes how we think and helps us recognize what is good and pleasing to God.

Romans 1–11

The first part of Romans lays the foundation for chapter 12. Humanity has turned away from God, but through Christ we receive grace and become part of God’s family. Romans 12 then shows what life can look like in response to that mercy.

1. Transformation Through Surrender Happens One Day at a Time

We often imagine transformation as a dramatic moment. But some of the most important changes in our lives happen through ordinary choices repeated over time.

The pastor shared the story of taking a difficult summer job collecting trash after losing a job at a warehouse. It wasn’t the kind of work he wanted, but continuing to show up eventually helped shape his understanding of responsibility and perseverance. That experience illustrates something important: sometimes the things that transform and grow us are the things we would never choose for ourselves.

The same can be true spiritually. One prayer may not seem life-changing. One chapter of Scripture may not feel transformative. One act of kindness, one decision to forgive, or one moment of choosing patience may seem small. But over months and years, those choices can reshape who we are. Being transformed through surrender is often less about one giant leap and more about faithfully taking the next step.

2. God’s Mercy Comes Before Our Transformation

Romans 12 begins with a powerful phrase: “in view of God’s mercy.” That matters because our spiritual practices aren’t a way to convince God to love us. We don’t pray, read Scripture, serve others, or surrender our lives so that God will finally approve of us. His mercy comes first. Our response comes from knowing that we are already loved.

This changes the way we think about spiritual growth. Instead of asking, “What do I have to do so God will love me?” we can ask, “Because God loves me, how can I respond?” Being transformed through surrender is therefore rooted in grace. We aren’t trying to transform ourselves through sheer willpower. We are responding to the God who has already reached toward us in mercy.

3. Renewing Your Mind Means Letting God Reshape You

Paul says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” The world is constantly shaping us. Social media, our families, friendships, cultural trends, and the voices we regularly listen to can all influence how we think and what we value. We don’t always consciously choose those influences, but they still have an effect.

The question is not whether we are being shaped. The question is what is shaping us. Being transformed through surrender means intentionally making space for the Holy Spirit to reshape our minds. That includes what we think about, what captures our attention, what we love, what we fill our minds with, and how we view other people.

The pastor used the picture of a sailboat: we can’t create the wind, but we can raise the sails. The Holy Spirit provides the power, and we position ourselves to receive His work. That is an important balance. We don’t transform ourselves, but we aren’t passive either.

“Not because you transformed yourself, but because the Holy Spirit transformed you… one act of surrender at a time.”

4. Transformation Through Surrender Looks Like Everyday Faithfulness

Spiritual growth doesn’t require having everything figured out. Romans 12:2 describes learning to “test and approve” God’s will. That doesn’t mean waiting for God to hand us a five-year plan. It means learning to recognize what is good and pleasing to Him and then practicing it. Sometimes God’s will is right in front of us.

Is there someone who needs encouragement? Encourage them. Someone who needs help? Help them. Someone who is hurting? Show up. Someone you can serve? Serve them.

The Christian life is a life of service to others, and being transformed through surrender means learning to notice the opportunities God has already placed in front of us. Over time, those small acts of faithfulness shape us.

Practicing This Week

  1. Read one chapter of Scripture each morning. Romans or Philippians are good places to begin.
  2. Pray during your commute using a simple rhythm: “God, thank you. Help me.”
  3. Replace ten minutes of social media with worship or intentional time with God.
  4. Look at the person right in front of you and ask, “How can I love and serve this person today?”
  5. At the end of the day, pause and ask, “Lord, how were You shaping me today?”

Questions for Reflection

  1. Where are you currently longing for transformation in your life?
  2. What small, daily act of surrender might help you make space for God this week?
  3. What voices or influences are currently shaping the way you think and see the world?
  4. Where might God be inviting you to serve, encourage, help, or show up for someone around you?
  5. When you look back at who you were a year or several years ago, where can you see evidence of God’s transforming work?

You probably won’t walk out of church one Sunday completely different from the person you were when you arrived. And that’s okay. God is not asking you to transform yourself overnight. He is inviting you to surrender today, tomorrow, and the next day.

Through God’s mercy, the work of Jesus, and the presence of the Holy Spirit, we can trust that small acts of surrender matter. Being transformed through surrender is a lifelong journey of becoming more like Christ, one faithful step at a time.

So instead of asking, “How can I become a completely different person?” perhaps the better question is, “What is one way I can surrender my mind and my life to the Holy Spirit today?” We don’t have to do everything at once. We simply have to take the next step and trust the God who is already at work in us.

Rules for Freedom through devotion to God

Rules for Freedom: What the First Commandment Teaches Us

Written by Havana Sonday on . Posted in Resources, Sermon Highlights. No Comments on Rules for Freedom: What the First Commandment Teaches Us

This week’s teaching begins our series on the Ten Commandments by looking at the first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.” Rather than seeing God’s commands as restrictive, we explored how rules for freedom can help us break free from the things that control us and learn to put God first.

This Week’s Sermon: The Ten: Devotion

Key Takeaways

  • God’s commands are not meant to take away our freedom but to help us experience freedom that leads to a healthier life.
  • True freedom is not the absence of all boundaries; sometimes the right boundaries give us the freedom to flourish.
  • The first commandment calls us to recognize the many “gods” competing for our attention, devotion, and trust.
  • God remains fully devoted to us even when we struggle to remain devoted to Him.
  • Putting God first frees us to live with greater purpose, generosity, peace, and love.

Sermon Highlights: Rules for Freedom

We often think of freedom as having no restrictions. No rules or boundaries. No one telling us what to do. But is that really what freedom looks like?

Think about a mountain road with guardrails. The guardrails may seem restrictive, but they actually make it possible to drive with greater confidence and freedom. The same can be true in our spiritual lives. The right boundaries don’t necessarily limit us. They can help us become the people we were created to be.

That idea sits at the heart of this week’s teaching as we begin The Journey’s new series on the Ten Commandments. What if God’s commands aren’t simply a list of things we’re not allowed to do? What if they are rules for freedom?

Big Idea of This Week’s Teaching

The Ten Commandments aren’t primarily about restricting our lives. They are about helping us learn how to live freely.

The first commandment says, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” God begins with a reminder of His relationship with His people. He has already rescued them. He has already shown them grace. Now He invites them to live differently.

The first commandment is ultimately an invitation to devotion: put God first and let everything else flow from there. These rules for freedom help us recognize what has taken God’s place in our lives and release our devotion to things that cannot give us the life we’re looking for.

Key Scriptures

Exodus 20:1–3

The central passage for this week’s teaching is the first commandment. God identifies Himself as the One who brought Israel out of slavery and then calls them to have no other gods before Him. The command is rooted in God’s grace and His desire for His people to experience freedom.

Genesis 12:1–3

God’s promise to Abraham was used to remind us that we are blessed to be a blessing. God’s blessings are not meant to turn us inward toward self-interest but outward toward others.

John 20:24–29

The story of Thomas encountering the risen Jesus provides the closing picture for the teaching. When Thomas recognizes Jesus, he responds, “My Lord and my God.” His response captures the heart of the invitation: recognize who Jesus is and place Him first.

1. Rules for Freedom Give Us Room to Flourish

We tend to associate rules with restriction. But the sermon offered several everyday examples that challenge that assumption. A budget can feel limiting, but financial discipline can free us from the weight of debt. Physical training requires discipline, but that discipline can lead to greater strength and health. Learning an instrument requires repetition and rules, but eventually those boundaries give a musician the freedom to create.

The same principle applies to faith. Discipline doesn’t necessarily kill freedom. In the right context, discipline creates freedom.

“Discipline does not kill creativity. It gives creativity a place to operate.”

That doesn’t mean every rule is automatically good. It means healthy boundaries can protect what matters most. The first commandment invites us to see God’s commands in this light. These rules for freedom aren’t designed to make life smaller. They’re designed to help us live with greater freedom and purpose.

2. We All Have Things Competing for Our Devotion

The first commandment also asks us to consider what functions like a “god” in our lives. The sermon pointed to things like money, possessions, comfort, success, entertainment, politics, sports, fitness, relationships, approval, and even self-interest. None of these things are necessarily bad. The problem comes when something becomes so important that it receives the attention, trust, and devotion that belong to God.

That gives us a helpful question: What do I think about the most? What do I worry about? What am I constantly trying to protect or control?

These questions aren’t meant to produce shame. They’re invitations to honesty. The rules for freedom begin by helping us recognize what has quietly become most important in our lives.

3. Putting God First Frees Us From What Controls Us

The first commandment isn’t simply, “Don’t worship other gods.” It is an invitation to a different way of living.

When we make money our god, we can become controlled by having enough. We can become controlled by what other people think when approval becomes our god. When comfort becomes our god, we can become controlled by avoiding anything difficult. When self becomes our god, we can become exhausted by constantly thinking about ourselves. But putting God first changes the direction of our lives.

The sermon described this as freedom from devotion to the things that hurt us. We can become free from devotion to money, possessions, addictions, anger, unhealthy relationships, resentment, people-pleasing, and even our own need for control.

This is where rules for freedom become deeply practical. God’s invitation isn’t simply about believing the right things. It’s about becoming free to love people better, bless others, trust God, and live with greater peace.

“We are free from being devoted to things that hurt us.”

4. Rules for Freedom Begin With God’s Devotion to Us

Perhaps the most important part of the message is that God’s command to devote ourselves to Him begins with God’s devotion to us. God reminds Israel that He is the One who brought them out of slavery. Before He asks anything from them, He reminds them of what He has already done.

The same grace is at the heart of our relationship with Jesus. We don’t earn God’s love by perfectly following His commands. God’s love comes first.

The sermon emphasized that even when we run from God, pursue other things, or find ourselves putting God far down our list of priorities, God remains devoted to us. That changes the way we respond. We aren’t trying to earn God’s acceptance. We’re learning to respond to the grace we’ve already received.

That’s what makes these rules for freedom different from a list of religious requirements. They are an invitation to live from God’s grace rather than striving for it.

Practicing This Week

  1. Take a look at your attention. Notice what you spend the most time thinking about, watching, worrying about, or pursuing.
  2. Name one thing that may be competing with God for your devotion. You don’t need to fix everything at once. Simply bring it honestly before God.
  3. Try the simple prayer from the sermon: “God, thank you. Help me.” Thank God for where you’ve seen Him at work, then ask Him for help with what you’re carrying today.
  4. Practice putting God first in one ordinary decision this week. Ask, “What would it look like to let God have the first place here?”
  5. Look for a way to bless someone else. Remember the invitation from Genesis: we are blessed to be a blessing.

Questions for Reflection

  1. What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “rules for freedom”? How does that compare with the way you typically think about rules?
  2. What receives most of your attention, energy, worry, or devotion right now?
  3. Where might you be trying to control your own life instead of trusting God?
  4. What is one way you’ve seen God help you through something difficult in the past?
  5. What would it look like this week to genuinely say, “My Lord and my God,” and put Jesus first?

The first commandment is not a demand to become perfect. It is an invitation to remember who God is and who He has always been to us. God is devoted to you. He doesn’t walk away when you struggle, and His grace isn’t something you have to earn. Jesus invites us to respond to that grace by becoming devoted to Him in return.

As we begin this journey through the Ten Commandments, may we discover that God’s commands are not obstacles to a meaningful life. They can become rules for freedom, helping us release the things that control us and make room for the life Jesus is inviting us to live.

Learning to trust God through The Holy Spirit during uncertain seasons

Learning to Trust God One Step at a Time

Written by Havana Sonday on . Posted in Resources, Sermon Highlights. No Comments on Learning to Trust God One Step at a Time

What does it look like to trust God when circumstances don’t make sense? This week’s teaching explored how God faithfully provides, guides, and comforts us through the Holy Spirit, inviting us to rely on His wisdom instead of our own understanding. As we practice learning to trust God, we discover that His presence is often our greatest provision.

This Week’s Sermon: Trusting in God Through The Holy Spirit

Key Takeaways

  • God often invites us to trust Him before we understand what He is doing.
  • The Holy Spirit is our Advocate who comforts, guides, and reminds us of Jesus’ words.
  • Scripture, prayer, and Christian community help us discern God’s direction.
  • Love and joy are powerful signs of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives.
  • We don’t have to carry life’s uncertainties alone because God is faithfully with us.

Sermon Highlights: Learning to Trust God

Most of us have experienced moments when life simply doesn’t make sense. A relationship changes unexpectedly. A career takes an unexpected turn. A diagnosis arrives, or a season of waiting seems to stretch far longer than we imagined.

Our first instinct is often to search for answers, make a plan, or regain control. Yet those moments often become the very places where God gently invites us into something deeper: learning to trust God.

This week’s message reminded us that faith isn’t about having every answer. It’s about discovering that God’s presence is trustworthy even when His plans aren’t immediately clear.

Big Idea of This Week’s Teaching

Learning to trust God means choosing His wisdom over our own understanding and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us through every season of life, especially when circumstances feel uncertain.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”

Key Scriptures

Proverbs 3:5–6

The foundation of the message centered on trusting the Lord with all our hearts instead of depending on our own understanding. God’s wisdom is often greater than what we can see in the moment.

1 Kings 17

The story of Elijah illustrated what learning to trust God looks like in real life. During a severe drought, God provided through ravens, a brook, and eventually a widow with almost nothing left to give. God’s provision came in unexpected ways, inviting both Elijah and the widow to trust Him completely.

John 14:15–27

Jesus promised the Holy Spirit as our Advocate—our Helper, Comforter, Counselor, and Guide. Rather than leaving His followers alone, Jesus assured them that God’s presence would continue through the Holy Spirit.

Luke 11:9–10

Jesus encouraged His followers to ask, seek, and knock, reminding us that God welcomes us to come to Him in prayer with confidence.

Galatians 5:13–26

Paul’s description of the fruit of the Spirit reminds us that the Holy Spirit transforms us from the inside out, producing love, joy, peace, and other qualities that reflect God’s character.

1. Learning to Trust God Begins Before We Understand

Learning to trust God rarely starts after everything makes sense. More often, it begins when we are standing in uncertainty.

Elijah experienced this firsthand. God asked him to leave familiar places, depend on ravens for food, and later trust that a widow facing starvation would somehow provide for him. None of those instructions fit human logic, yet every step became another opportunity to discover God’s faithfulness.

Many of us would prefer clear explanations before taking our next step. But faith often grows by obedience before understanding. As we practice learning to trust God, we begin to recognize that His wisdom reaches far beyond our own perspective.

2. Learning to Trust God Through the Holy Spirit

Jesus knew His followers would face confusing and difficult moments. That’s why He promised the Holy Spirit as our Advocate.

An advocate stands beside us, offering wisdom, comfort, encouragement, and truth. The Holy Spirit doesn’t simply point us toward God from a distance—He walks with us every day.

The message reminded us that learning to trust God isn’t something we accomplish through willpower alone. The Holy Spirit helps us remember Christ’s words, shapes our thinking, and gently leads us toward God’s best even when we feel uncertain.

3. Learning to Trust God Through Scripture, Prayer, and Community

Trust grows through relationship. The pastor shared how church has become a “touchstone”—a grounding reminder of God’s faithfulness during uncertain seasons. Gathering with other believers, opening Scripture, praying honestly, and having conversations with trusted friends all become ways the Holy Spirit speaks into our lives.

Learning to trust God isn’t meant to be a solo journey. God often strengthens our faith through His people, reminding us that we are not walking alone.

4. Learning to Trust God by Choosing Love

The message concluded with a beautiful reminder that the Holy Spirit is always leading us toward love. Drawing from Jesus’ teaching and the writings of Thomas Aquinas, we were challenged to think about love as actively willing the good of another person.

When we’re unsure how to respond in difficult situations, one helpful question is: “Does this choice seek the good of others?” As we practice learning to trust God, His love produces joy within us—a joy that becomes evidence of His presence at work in our lives.

Practicing This Week

  1. Begin each morning with a simple prayer inviting the Holy Spirit to guide your day.
  2. Read Proverbs 3:5–6 and ask God where He is inviting you to trust Him more deeply.
  3. Identify one situation where you’ve been relying only on your own understanding, and intentionally surrender it to God.
  4. Spend time reading John 14 or Galatians 5, asking the Holy Spirit to help you recognize His work in your life.
  5. Encourage someone this week with words that remind them of God’s faithfulness.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Where is God inviting you into learning to trust God right now?
  2. What situation have you been trying to control instead of surrendering?
  3. How have you experienced the Holy Spirit’s guidance in the past?
  4. Who has been a “touchstone” of faith in your own life?
  5. What would it look like to choose love in one difficult relationship this week?

Every season of uncertainty gives us another opportunity to discover the faithfulness of God. We won’t always understand where He is leading, but we can trust the One who walks with us.

Jesus has not left us alone. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we have an Advocate who comforts, teaches, reminds, and guides us each day. May we continue learning to trust God, resting not in our own understanding, but in the steady love and faithful presence of Christ.

“We don’t need to know what tomorrow holds because we know who holds tomorrow.”

Finding God in Dark Seasons through Psalm 139

You Are Never Alone: Finding God in Dark Seasons

Written by Havana Sonday on . Posted in Resources, Sermon Highlights. No Comments on You Are Never Alone: Finding God in Dark Seasons

Life inevitably brings seasons of grief, uncertainty, loneliness, and loss, but Psalm 139 reminds us that God never abandons His people. This week’s message explored how finding God in dark seasons begins with recognizing that God’s presence is constant—even when we don’t feel it.

This Week’s Sermon: The Presence of God

Key Takeaways

  • God knows every detail of your life and understands you more deeply than anyone else ever could.
  • God’s presence doesn’t depend on your feelings—He remains with you through every season.
  • Even the darkest moments cannot hide you from God’s love or His care.
  • Simple daily practices can help us become more aware of God’s constant presence.
  • Jesus invites us to live with hope because His light continues to shine in every darkness.

Sermon Highlights: Finding God in Dark Seasons

Life has a way of changing without warning. It can be a heartbreaking phone call. Sometimes it’s the loss of someone you love. Sometimes it’s a diagnosis, a broken relationship, or simply waking up one day realizing life doesn’t look the way you imagined it would.

Those moments often leave us asking difficult questions. Where is God? Does He see me? Has He forgotten me?

This week’s teaching reminded us that those questions are not new—and neither is God’s answer. Finding God in dark seasons isn’t about trying harder to feel spiritual. It’s about discovering the truth that God has already been with us all along.

Big Idea of This Week’s Teaching

The heart of this message is simple but deeply comforting: God is always present with His people. Whether we recognize His presence or not, He sees us, knows us, and walks with us through every season of life. Finding God in dark seasons begins when we trust God’s promises more than our changing emotions.

Key Scriptures

Psalm 139:1–12

David reflects on God’s complete knowledge of his life and His constant presence. No matter where David goes—or how dark life becomes—God is already there, guiding and holding him.

John 1:5

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” This verse reminds us that Jesus’ light continues to shine even when darkness feels overwhelming.

1. Finding God in Dark Seasons Starts with God’s Presence

David’s life was filled with incredible victories, but it was also marked by loneliness, grief, betrayal, and heartbreak. He fled from enemies, mourned the loss of loved ones, experienced family conflict, and endured seasons of deep suffering. Yet through every chapter of his story, David came to understand one life-changing truth: God never left him.

“Whether I felt him or not, he was there.”

Psalm 139 opens with David celebrating the fact that God knows him completely. God doesn’t simply know facts about us. He knows our thoughts, our struggles, our fears, and even the parts of our lives we don’t fully understand ourselves.

For anyone finding God in dark seasons, this truth offers tremendous hope. We never have to convince God to notice us because He already does.

2. Finding God in Dark Seasons Means Trusting God More Than Your Feelings

One of the most encouraging parts of the message was the reminder that we won’t always feel God’s presence. Many believers experience seasons when God seems distant. Those feelings are real, but they are not the final reality. David asked, “Where can I go from your Spirit?” before answering his own question: nowhere.

Whether we find ourselves celebrating life’s greatest joys or sitting in its deepest pain, God remains faithful. His presence isn’t dependent on our emotions or our circumstances. Finding God in dark seasons means learning to trust God’s promises even when our feelings tell a different story.

3. Finding God in Dark Seasons Happens in Ordinary Moments

It’s easy to think God only works during dramatic spiritual experiences. Psalm 139 paints a different picture.

God notices when we sit down and when we stand up. He sees us at work, at home, driving to appointments, folding laundry, caring for our families, and lying awake at night. Most of life is made up of ordinary moments, and God is present in every one of them.

The pastor encouraged us not to focus on creating emotional experiences with God but on becoming more attentive to the God who is already near. Simple prayers throughout the day can become reminders that we never walk through life alone.

“The goal is not manufacturing spiritual feelings. The goal is learning to live attentively in the presence of a God who is already here.”

4. Finding God in Dark Seasons Leads Us to Hope

The sermon concluded by pointing toward Jesus and the hope found in His light. Communion, or the Eucharist, serves as a tangible reminder of God’s grace. It reminds us that God’s love isn’t based on perfect performance but on His faithful character. Even when we are distracted, weary, or struggling, God continues to welcome us.

The closing invitation centered on John 1:5: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” That promise still holds true today. Finding God in dark seasons doesn’t mean darkness disappears overnight. It means darkness never gets the final word because Jesus is present with His people.

Practicing This Week

  1. Begin each morning by reminding yourself, “God is with me.”
  2. Take a few moments each day to talk with God about ordinary parts of your life.
  3. Read Psalm 139 slowly this week and notice what it teaches about God’s presence.
  4. Think back over a difficult season and ask where you can now see God’s faithfulness.
  5. Remember that God’s grace is always available, even when you don’t feel close to Him.

Questions for Reflection

  1. When have you experienced a season where God felt distant?
  2. Which part of Psalm 139 speaks most deeply to your current circumstances?
  3. How might remembering God’s constant presence change the way you face this week?
  4. What ordinary moment could become an opportunity to talk with God today?
  5. Where can you already see God’s faithfulness in seasons that once felt dark?

Every life includes seasons of uncertainty, grief, and pain. Yet the promise of Scripture remains unchanged: God is present, even when we cannot see Him clearly.

As you move through this week, remember that Jesus is not waiting for you to find Him before He draws near. He has already come close. His light continues to shine in every darkness, and His grace is always enough.

Abiding in Jesus and finding a place of peace and belonging

Abiding in Jesus and Making Your Home in God

Written by Kay Stonecypher on . Posted in Sermon Highlights. No Comments on Abiding in Jesus and Making Your Home in God

This week’s teaching was about abiding in Jesus and what it means to make our home in the love of God. In a world where many people feel anxious, disconnected, or alone, this message reminded us that Jesus does not leave us on our own and invites us into a steady, ongoing relationship marked by peace, belonging, and love.

This Week’s Sermon: Connected to God

Key Takeaways

  • Home is not mainly about a place, but about being known, loved, and welcomed in relationship.
  • Abiding in Jesus means staying connected to him, not through performance, but through love and trust.
  • Jesus promises that we are not alone, because the Holy Spirit remains with us forever.
  • Spiritual growth is less about mastering rules and more about learning to love God and love others.
  • Intentional practices like prayer, Scripture, and gathered worship help us deepen our awareness of God’s presence.

Sermon Highlights: Abiding in Jesus

Sometimes the deepest ache in our lives is not about success, money, or even answers. It is the longing to know that we belong somewhere. We want to know that we are loved, that we are not alone, and that when life feels uncertain, there is still a place where we are held.

That longing showed up clearly in this week’s message. Through a practical teaching, we were invited to see that the life of faith is not mainly about rules or religious performance. It is about relationship. It is about home. And that is exactly what abiding in Jesus offers us.

Big Idea of This Week’s Teaching

The big idea this week was simple and deeply comforting: Abiding in Jesus means making our home in his love and trusting that he makes his home with us. We do not have to earn our place with God. In Jesus, we are welcomed, loved, and never left alone.

Key Scriptures

  • Matthew 22:36–40
    Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, and he answered by centering everything on love: love God and love your neighbor. This passage helped frame the whole message by showing that the Christian life is rooted in relationship, not a checklist.
  • John 14:16–20
    Jesus promised that the Father would send the Holy Spirit to be with his followers forever. This passage was used to remind us that even though Jesus is no longer physically present, we are not abandoned. God is still with us.
  • John 15:4–17
    Jesus called his followers to remain in him, or abide in him, just as branches remain connected to a vine. This passage showed that Abiding in Jesus is how we stay rooted in his love and learn to live as his friends.

1. Abiding in Jesus means finding home in relationship

One of the strongest images in the sermon was the idea of home. Home is not always about a familiar building or a room filled with our things. Sometimes home is simply the place where someone lights up when we arrive. It is the place where we are received with love.

That is part of what makes Abiding in Jesus such a powerful picture. Jesus does not invite us into a cold religious system. He invites us into relationship. He invites us to dwell with him, to remain with him, and to know that we belong to him.

Many of us know what it feels like to be busy, uncertain, or emotionally tired. We may even be surrounded by people and still feel alone. This teaching reminded us that in Jesus, we have more than an idea to believe in. We have a person who welcomes us, stays with us, and calls us friend.

2. Abiding in Jesus and the comfort of the Holy Spirit

As Jesus prepared his disciples for his death, he knew they were afraid. They were worried about what would happen when they could no longer see him. Underneath all of that fear was a very human question: Will I be left alone?

Jesus answered that fear with a promise. He said the Father would send the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to be with them forever. That matters because it means the presence of God is not distant, occasional, or fragile. Abiding in Jesus is possible because God has chosen to stay near.

The sermon highlighted that comfort is more than a soothing feeling. It is the security of having a place to belong. It is the peace of knowing that God has not walked away from us. Even when life is painful, confusing, or full of grief, the Holy Spirit remains with us. We are not spiritual orphans. We are loved children and trusted friends.

3. Abiding in Jesus is more about love than rules

At first, words like “command” can make us nervous. We may assume Jesus is about to hand us a list of religious demands. But this week’s teaching helped us hear his words more clearly. When Jesus speaks of his command, he says this: love each other as I have loved you.

That changes everything.

Abiding in Jesus is not about trying to impress God with our effort. It is about staying rooted in the love Jesus has already shown us. His love is not abstract. He tells his disciples that he calls them friends, and then he goes on to lay down his life for them. That is the shape of divine love.

You do not have to earn a place with God. In Jesus, you are welcomed, loved, and not left alone.

When we live from that kind of love, we begin to extend it to others. We become more welcoming. More compassionate. More attentive to the lonely and overlooked. We start to embody the kind of home we ourselves have received.

4. Abiding in Jesus takes intention

The message also gave us a practical challenge. Relationships grow through intention. Even when love is steady, closeness still needs attention. The same is true in our life with God.

Abiding in Jesus is not something we force, but it is something we practice. Making space for prayer. Reading Scripture slowly. Gathering with the church. Paying attention. Pausing long enough to breathe, settle our thoughts, and remember that God is here.

Abiding in Jesus means making your home in his love and learning to live from that peace every day.

The pastor offered a simple and meaningful pattern for prayer: gratitude for the past, honesty about the present, and hope for the future. That kind of intentional prayer helps us reconnect with the God who is already near. It trains our hearts to live with greater peace.

Practicing This Week

  • Set aside a few intentional minutes each day to practice abiding in Jesus through quiet prayer.
  • Read John 13 through 16 over the course of the week and notice what Jesus says about love, peace, friendship, and the Holy Spirit.
  • Pray one prayer of thanks for the past, one prayer for help in the present, and one prayer of hope for the future.
  • Welcome someone this week with warmth and kindness, especially someone who may feel unseen or new.
  • When anxiety rises, pause and remind yourself: I am not alone, and God is with me.

Questions for Reflection

  • When do you most deeply feel the longing for home, belonging, or peace?
  • What makes it hard for you to practice abiding in Jesus in everyday life?
  • How does it change your view of God to hear that Jesus calls you friend?
  • Where do you need the comfort of the Holy Spirit right now?
  • Who in your life might need to experience welcome, hospitality, or care from you this week?

The invitation of Jesus is not pressure. It is presence. He does not ask us to prove ourselves before coming near. He welcomes us to remain in his love, to receive his peace, and to trust that we are not alone. As you move through this week, may abiding in Jesus become more than an idea. May it become a place of rest, honesty, and hope.

How to find self-control

From Appetite to Freedom: How to Find Self-Control in Everyday Life

Written by Kay Stonecypher on . Posted in Sermon Highlights. No Comments on From Appetite to Freedom: How to Find Self-Control in Everyday Life

This week’s teaching explored how to find self-control when our appetites start to run our lives—whether it’s substances, food, sex, shopping, screens, or the need to be right. We were invited to rediscover fasting as an ancient, practical, Jesus-shaped way to strengthen our ability to say no to destructive cravings and yes to God’s life-giving freedom.

This Week’s Sermon: Finding Self-Control

Key Takeaways

  • how to find self-control starts by naming the appetites that are trying to take the driver’s seat in your life.
  • Self-control is like a muscle, and fasting is a consistent workout that strengthens it over time.
  • Fasting helps reorder our desires so that our hunger for God becomes the deepest hunger again.
  • In Scripture, fasting creates space to seek God, repent honestly, and surrender control to the Spirit.
  • Lent is an ideal season to start small, practice with grace, and let God form real freedom in you.

Sermon Highlights: How to Find Self-Control

Most of us don’t decide to lose control. It happens gradually: a habit that starts as a comfort, a craving that becomes a pattern, a “just this once” that slowly becomes the default. One day you’re choosing something. The next day it feels like it’s choosing you.

That tension is exactly where this week’s teaching met us: how to find self-control when you suspect something inside you is sometimes more in charge than you are. For some, that struggle is obvious and costly. For others, it’s subtle and socially acceptable. But the question is the same for all of us: do you want to be free?

Big Idea of This Week’s Teaching

How to find self-control is not mainly about stronger willpower. It’s about training your desires with God, so that your appetite for God becomes the deepest desire again—and your other appetites take their proper place.

Key Scriptures

  • Proverbs 25:28 — A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls. This image framed self-control as protection and stability, not restriction.
  • Matthew 4:1–2 — Jesus prepared for temptation by fasting forty days and forty nights. Fasting was presented as training that strengthens the self-control muscle.
  • 2 Chronicles 20:3 — Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast to seek God when fear and pressure were overwhelming. Fasting was shown as a way to quiet noise and listen.
  • Jonah 3:5–8 — Nineveh fasted as part of repentance and turning from violence. Fasting was connected to sincere change, not performative guilt.
  • Galatians 5:22–25 — Self-control is fruit of the Spirit, not a product of sheer willpower. This grounded self-control in partnership with God.
  • Romans 12:1 — Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice. Fasting was framed as an embodied way to surrender, not just a mental intention.

1. How to find self-control by naming what is ruling you

The teaching began with a story many of us recognize in different forms: a talented, successful person who still becomes a slave to an appetite. The point wasn’t to single out one kind of addiction, but to name a reality: appetites are powerful. They can be good servants, but terrible masters.

So the first step in how to find self-control is gentle honesty. What appetite do you struggle to say no to? Food, alcohol, substances, sex, shopping, screens, drama, approval, control, comfort, being right—what tends to pull you off-center? The goal isn’t shame. The goal is clarity, because you can’t regain the driver’s seat if you won’t look at what keeps grabbing the wheel.

2. How to find self-control by understanding your appetites

A key part of the message was that appetites live at different layers of our being.

Some appetites are bodily and loud: hunger, thirst, sleep, pleasure. Others are mental and emotional: approval, admiration, control, winning, comfort. But beneath those is something deeper: the appetite of the spirit, the heart, the will—the place of ultimate desire.

When that deepest desire is for God, the rest of life finds its order. But when something else takes that place—when a good thing becomes the ultimate thing—everything starts to bend around it. That’s when life feels chaotic, compulsive, and out of control.

This is why how to find self-control is not just behavior management. It’s spiritual formation. It’s learning to reorder desire so that God is at the center again.

3. How to find self-control through fasting as training

If self-control is a muscle, it makes sense that it grows through practice. You don’t get stronger by wishing you were strong. You get stronger by training.

That’s why fasting mattered so much in this teaching. Before Jesus began his public ministry, he fasted in the wilderness. He didn’t fast because food is bad. He fasted because he was preparing to face temptation without being ruled by it.

How to find self-control starts with naming what keeps grabbing the wheel and choosing training over shame.

Fasting is the choice to say no to a basic appetite for a time, so you can say yes to God more clearly. And because food is concrete and immediate, practicing restraint there can strengthen your ability to practice restraint elsewhere. Over time, fasting forms you into someone who can pause, choose, and respond—rather than react and spiral.

That’s a hopeful vision of how to find self-control: not instant transformation, but real formation.

4. How to find self-control by seeking, repenting, and surrendering

The sermon showed three biblical reasons people fast that connect directly to self-control.

First, we fast to seek God. Fasting reduces the mental noise that constantly demands attention and creates space to listen. And when you actually hear from God, obedience becomes less like white-knuckling and more like walking with guidance.

Fasting is not about proving strength to God; it’s about making space for God to form strength in you.

Second, we fast to repent. In quiet and discomfort, patterns rise to the surface. We see what we’ve excused, minimized, or ignored. Fasting doesn’t earn forgiveness—Jesus already secured that. But fasting can help us take repentance seriously, and repentance breaks the grip of sin.

Third, we fast to surrender. Here’s the paradox the sermon named: controlling yourself is not something you can do alone. True self-control grows when you yield ultimate control to God. Galatians 5 calls self-control fruit of the Spirit. That means it’s produced through relationship and partnership, not performance.

Practicing This Week

  1. Choose one simple fast during Lent: skip one meal per week between now and Easter.
  2. During that meal time, do something relational with God: pray, read Scripture slowly, take a quiet walk, or sit in silence.
  3. When hunger hits, use it as a prompt prayer: God, I want you more than I want comfort right now.
  4. Add one act of repentance: write down one specific thing to confess before you break your fast, then bring it to God with honesty.
  5. Keep it small, consistent, and private. This is training, not proving.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Where in your life do you most feel the struggle of how to find self-control right now?
  2. Which appetite feels loudest for you lately—comfort, approval, control, distraction, food, something else?
  3. What might it look like to make space to seek God in the middle of a busy week?
  4. Is there a pattern you sense God inviting you to repent from, not with shame but with hope?
  5. What would surrender look like in one specific decision you’re facing right now?

If you hear the invitation to fasting and feel intimidated, start where you are. God is not impressed by heroic hunger; God is forming willing hearts. The good news is that you were created for freedom, and Jesus is not only your Savior—he is also your teacher. As you practice how to find self-control, you are not doing it alone. The Spirit is at work, growing something real in you, one small, faithful step at a time.