Life Archives | Page 9 of 17 • Spirit & Truth | Life Church St Louis

No Pain No Gain

God, Life, Message / By Pastor Dan Walker / August 7, 2007

Today we begin a new message series which I’ve entitled “Faith Workout.” Faith is essential to the Christian life. In fact the Bible tells us in Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it is impossible to please God. Therefore if you want to have a relationship with God in this life and for eternity, you’ve got to have faith. But what is faith? How does faith work itself out in the lives of a believer? How can your faith grow stronger?

In this message series, we’re going to learn that faith is not just a simple prayer that you pray once and forget about. Faith is not just saying you believe something and living life anyway you please. No, faith is something that you live out in your life. Faith is something that you believe in so strongly that the whole course of your life is altered. Faith is something that grows stronger as you exercise it. The Bible likens a life of faith to a race. NIV 1 Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. It’s not enough to begin the race of faith, you’ve got to finish it in order to get the prize. If you drop out of the face, if you don’t persevere, you miss the prize. What’s the prize? It’s eternal life with God forever. Miss that prize and you’ve lost everything.

So how should we run in such a way to get the prize? The next verse says, NIV 1 Corinthians 9:25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. You need to have strict training, you need to workout your faith. That’s what this series is all about. In this series, we’re going to go through the book of James in the New Testament and see how you can get a faith workout. The goal is to help each of us understand what faith is all about and to help us strengthen that faith. I want each of you to one day receive a crown that will last forever, Jesus wants you to get the prize at the end of the race.

Today, our message is “No Pain, No Gain.” Now the title is not a quote from a Bible verse, but before we’re through this morning, I think you’ll agree it captures what God is saying. No pain, no gain means that without some pain, without some testing, without some trials, there is no growth in your life. We all want life to be a bed of roses, but that kind of life does not lead to a strong faith. Therefore God makes sure that the life of His followers is not a bed of roses. He makes sure that there is some pain and trials mixed in as faith resistance training for you and me. Once you see how God is training you, just like a coach trains an athlete, you begin to understand that life is really a faith workout. Today, we’re going to look at faith exercises that will help you grow stronger and persevere in the race of life.

To hear more about this topic, listen to my August 5, 2007 message entitled No Pain No Gain

Opening Doors For Others

Life, Message / By Pastor Dan Walker / May 21, 2007

Today, I am excited to begin a new series at Life Church called “God Questions.” In this series, we’re going to look at some tough questions that people have about God. Take a look at the God Questions survey in the middle of your bulletin. I’m going to read through the questions and as I do, put a 1 next to the hardest question for you to answer, then 2 then 3. Here are the questions: What happens to me when I die? What proof is there that the Bible is true? If God is so good, why is there so much pain in the world? Why is the church full of hypocrites? Doesn’t every religion have a valid path to heaven? How can I really know that God exists? Why would a loving God send people to hell? Isn’t it narrow-minded to believe that Christianity is the only way to heaven? What do other religions believe about God?

A lot of people have unanswered questions about God. Some of those people don’t believe in God, others aren’t sure what they believe and for others their questions undermine their faith. Although God has not promised to answer every question we may pose, there are good answers to the questions that most people have. In the next five weeks, I am going to look at those questions and give answers from the Bible.

To get the most out of our God Questions campaign, I’m going to ask you to follow four habits. The four habits are: Attend church every weekend. Be part of a weekly Life Group (they will be studying the topics of the previous Sunday’s message in greater detail). Read a chapter a day from the God Questions book. Invite a friend to church for the God Questions series.

Today is just a warm-up to let you know what is coming up and to prepare you to make the most of the opportunity. I believe God has two purposes with this God Questions series. The first purpose is to deepen the confidence of believers in their knowledge of God and ability to share it with others. The second purpose is to provide an opportunity for you to invite others to come to Life Church. This second purpose is the one I’m focusing on today. Today, my message is entitled “Opening Doors For Others” The Bible says that people who are not believers are locked up as it were in a spiritual prison, in spiritual bondage. They can’t get out by themselves. They need someone else to open the door to freedom in Christ for them. How can you help open a door for someone else?

To hear more about this topic, listen to my May 20, 2007 message entitled Opening Doors For Others

Forgiving When It’s Hard

Family, Life, Message / By Pastor Dan Walker / April 30, 2007

Currently we’re in a message series called “God’s Power For Your Relationships.” In the last weeks I’ve talked about the importance of love and patience. This week, I want to tackle a somewhat more difficult topic. What do we do when a relationship has problems? When a relationship becomes damaged? When someone we care about hurts us? Some people hold a grudge and become bitter. Others try to pretend that nothing has happened. Neither response is God’s way to deal with problems in a relationship. The way to bring healing to a relationship that has been damaged is through forgiveness.

Today my topic is “Forgiving When It’s Hard.” Some forgiveness is easy, when the hurt is small, when the other person seems truly sorry. However, forgiving is hard in other situations. Forgiving is hard when the hurt is big. Forgiving is hard when you are hurt repeatedly. Forgiving is hard when the other person does not seem to be sorry. Sometimes we may feel that we just can’t forgive what someone has done to us.

Take a quick inventory of your life this morning. Is there anyone in your life who you hold a grudge against? Is there someone who has hurt you and you feel bitterness, resentment or anger toward them? If there is, keep that person in your mind as listen this morning. God wants to release your mind and emotions from the pain of what someone else has done. And in many cases the relationship can be restored. What is the key? The key is forgiveness.

NLT Colossians 3:13 You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. There is a word in that verse that occurs two times that I would like you to circle, the word is must. It is repeated twice for emphasis, you must forgive. Those are commands from God for every believer. Forgive, even when it’s hard. Why must we forgive when it’s difficult? Because the Lord forgave us. Each one of us has been forgiven by Jesus for our wrongs. When we truly understand how much we have been forgiven for, we can forgive others, even when it’s hard.

To hear more about this topic, listen to my April 29, 2007 message entitled Forgiving When It’s Hard

Designed For A Purpose

Life, Message / By Pastor Dan Walker / March 12, 2007

The world is a dark place in many ways. The top headlines on the MSNBC website last Tuesday were: Fall Guy – Libby was set up to take the blame for CIA Leak, Dozens of Iraqi pilgrims massacred, Sumatra quake kills scores. You might say that the news media is not a true barometer of what is going on in the world. I think there’s a certain amount of truth to that – seems like the only news fit for print is the bad news. However, you have to admit that everything is not right in our world – there is a lot of darkness, there is a lot of evil.

It’s also in St Louis, here’s the local headlines from the Post Dispatch web site on the same day: Suspect in realty agent assault had been imprisoned, Pilot reported problems before fatal plane crash, Devlin pleads not guilty to Franklin County charges, Teen hits grandfather with metal pipe in cell phone dispute. Looks like we’ve got plenty of problems, plenty of darkness right here in St Louis.

Today, I begin a new message series called “Bright Living In A Dark World.” Just because the world is a dark place, I don’t think that we need to throw up our hands and say that life is hopeless. I don’t think that we need to get down or depressed about the darkness. God wants us to live brightly in our dark world, He wants us to let our lights shine. He doesn’t want believers overwhelmed by the darkness.

NIV Philippians 2:14-15 Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe. In a dark world, a lot of people go around complaining about the darkness. In a dark world, a lot of people argue with others about their behaviors. God’s Word tells us that complaining and arguing don’t help at all, we shouldn’t do either. In fact, to complain or argue puts you right back into the darkness. But there’s a better way, a way to live a blameless and pure life, to shine like stars in a dark world.

My message today is entitled “Designed For A Purpose.” It is no accident that you and I are living in 2007 in a dark world. God designed you to live in such a time of this. So no complaining or arguing. In this series, we’re going to look at a book in the Old Testament called Esther. If you’ve never read it before or not recently, I’d encourage you to read it this week. It’s only 10 chapters long. The book is about a young Jewish girl named Esther who was living in a dark world.

Esther was part of the exiled nation of Israel living in captivity in Persia during the reign of King Xerxes between 486 and 465 BC. The story begins with King Xerxes throwing a royal banquet that lasted for 180 days, showcasing the enormous wealth and splendor of the kingdom. Near the end of the banquet, the King sent for Queen Vashti to parade her beauty before the guests, but she refused to come. Needless to say, she was removed from her position of queen and that’s where our story of Esther begins.

To hear more about this topic, listen to my March 11, 2007 message entitled Designed For A Purpose

Living With A Grander Vision

Life, Message / By Pastor Dan Walker / January 29, 2007

Today, I’m concluding a message series called “Just Walk Across The Room.” If you missed some of the messages, you can listen to or download them from our website. This series is about reaching out to those around us who are not believers.

Many people who are not believers consider themselves Christians. In 2006, 80% of adults in the US claimed to be Christians. Yet, only about half of the people who claim to be Christian actually believe they will go to heaven because they have admitted their sins and accepted Jesus as their Savior. So, the majority of people in America are no longer believers by the simplest possible definition. That’s a lot of people, I’m sure you know some of them.

In this series, we’ve talked about some practical ways to reach those around us. Today, I want us to think about how what we’ve been talking about relates to your vision for your life. What is your vision for life? Maybe no one has every asked you that question. Vision has to do with goals, priorities and dreams. Vision has to do with your plans and hopes for the future. For the believer vision extends into eternity. NAS Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law. If you have no vision for your life, you will have no direction and you’ll be unhappy. But with a vision from God comes happiness and hope.

God wants to give you visions and dreams of His plans for your life. NIV Acts 2:17 In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. In case you wondered, we are living in the last days. The Bible clearly teaches that the last days extend from Jesus’ resurrection until He comes again. In this time period, God wants to pour out His Spirit on you so that you will have His vision for your life.

What is the overriding vision of the Spirit? We only need to look back one chapter to NIV Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. God wants to give you a vision and the power to carry out His vision, a vision of being His witness, a vision of reaching out to those who don’t know Jesus. It’s God’s vision for every believer.

Today, my message is entitled “Living With A Grander Vision.” What is this grander vision? It’s a vision of reaching out to the lost, to those without hope, to those with no vision and bringing them to Jesus. Why do I call it a grander vision? Well, everyone has some kind of vision for their life. For some, it is a vision of making it in their job. For others, their vision is saving x number of dollars for retirement, for yet others it is paying off the mortgage. Nothing wrong with those visions, but they pale in light of the grander vision that God has for you, the vision of reaching a lost world. I want to live with grander vision, how about you?

To hear more about this topic, listen to my January 28, 2007 message entitled Living With A Grander Vision

Learning To Tell Two Stories

Life, Message / By Pastor Dan Walker / January 22, 2007

Currently we’re in a message series called “Just Walk Across The Room.” We’re talking about how easy it can be to share your faith with others. If you’re a believer this morning, someone, somewhere, somehow, shared their faith with you. God wants each of us to get better at sharing the greatest gift we have been given in life, the gift of Jesus with others.

Last week I talked about three steps to reaching out to those who don’t yet know God. The first step was simply to develop a friendship. Then you discover the stories of your friend as you get to know them. Finally, you meet a need of your friend, as you rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you. And then what, what comes next?

I had an interesting call from a member here at Life Church this week, Pat. He has a friend at work who is not a believer and doesn’t go to any church Over the past year, Pat has developed a friendship with Mike and gotten to know him. Well, this week, Mike walked into Pat’s office and wanted to talk. Pat said “Sure, what do you need?” Mike said, “I’d like to know what it means to be a born-again Christian?”

What would you say if someone came up to you at work and asked “What does it mean to be a born-again Christian?” Could you give a simple, yet accurate answer? Pat gave a good answer and the dialogue is continuing with his friend.

Today, I’m going to talk about “Learning To Tell Two Stories.” These two stories are stories that every believer knows or you wouldn’t be a believer. However, knowing these stories and being able to tell them effectively to another person are two different things. God wants you to be prepared to tell these two stories to people who are seeking to know him. As you put into practice the principles that we’ve been talking about in this series, you will have opportunities to answer questions, just like Pat. NIV 1 Peter 3:15 Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. Are you prepared to give an answer to people who ask you about your hope in Christ?

Some people have answers, but they haven’t learned to give them with gentleness and respect and so the opportunity is lost You and I need both an answer and the ability to give the answer in a winsome way, in a way that draws the other person closer to God and doesn’t drive them further away. Some people think it’s enough to just live their lives in a godly way. That’s certainly important, but people need to know why you live like you do. Only your words can answer their questions about why you live a righteous life.

To hear more about this topic, listen to my January 21, 2007 message entitled Learning To Tell Two Stories