Our fourth word that can change your life is transformed.

In Jesus, God promises us a new life. Sometimes, however, our “new lives” feel pretty much like our “old lives,” with all the troubles, tragedies, problems and worries that we had before we started following Jesus. In those times, we might be tempted to second-guess our faith. In Romans 8:18-30, Paul assures us that God will reward us, but it’s likely that the full effect of the “new life” will not be realized in this life. We’re called to wait patiently and have faith.

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This is the third message in our series, “5 Words That Can Change Your Life.” This message looks at the idea of being adopted by God, found in Romans 8:14-17. I grew up having a dad who had adopted me. I know that not everyone is as fortunate as I was, but I grew up knowing what it was to be loved like I was a biological child, even though I wasn’t. When Paul says that God has adopted us, it’s meant to help us feel secure in our salvation, to know that we’re not loved by God because we’re “good people,” but that God loves us, period. And that unconditional love is why we then want to be good children of our Heavenly Father.

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It seems that Christians often err in one of two directions when dealing with overcoming sin in their lives. One tendency is to expect God to just “take away” all temptation. The gambler miraculously loses his desire to gamble, the drinker to drink, etc. Sometimes that happens. But not all the time. The tendency of the other side is to think of it all as a “personal struggle” against old, besetting sins. We’re on our own. You’d better shape up or God’s going to run out of patience with you.

Of course, the biblical teaching is somewhere in the middle. In Romans 8:9–13 Paul says that we have been empowered by God’s Spirit to resist sin’s pull; but he also says that we now have an obligation to live according to the Spirit. Find out more about this in last Sunday’s message.

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Did you make any resolutions this New Year’s Day? Well, whether or not you did, why not embark on a quest for self-improvement that has greater consequences than whether or not you’re overweight, unorganized, or have a few bad habits? This message is the first in a series on Romans 8 about five words that can change your life. The first word is “freed.”

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There’s a song that has been popular in contemporary Christian radio the last several years: “Happy Birthday Jesus.” The first time I heard it, it was cute. Now, I’m over it. Still, at Christmas, we are celebrating Jesus’ birthday. However, we’re also celebrating our “new birth” day.

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There will be a Christmas Eve service at the church Saturday December 24th at 6:30PM.

Join us for music (the Posegate family will be leading), a devotional and communion.

Then Sunday we will be having our regular service at 10:45AM (There will be NO Sunday School)

Life gets especially complicated around Christmastime. But remember, the first Christmas was no picnic, either.

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The last Beatitude in Matthew 5 has to do with being punished for doing the right thing. Are you willing to follow Jesus to the point of causing trouble? Are you willing to do what you know you ought to do and let the chips fall where they may?

¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

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Youth Group Ugly Sweater/White Elephant Christmas Party  7pm-10pm

Pick out your ugliest holiday sweater and wear it. We will see who can be the ugliest!

Also bring a gift wrapped and we will be having a White Elephant gift exchange.
The gift should not be more than $5 dollars.
It can be a re-gift (a gift someone got you that you would like to pass to someone else)
It can be something used
It can be an awful gift.
Everyone will be given a number. When your number is called you have an option to steal someones already opened gift, or pick one out from under the tree. A gift may be stolen only 2 times, and may not be stolen consecutively. (in a row) If your gift gets stolen you get to pick another gift.
We will have Holiday snacks. I will not be providing a full meal.
If you need a ride, call me!! It’s a real fun Youth Group Celebration!!

Last Saturday was a big day for college football fans in Oregon. It was the date of the 115th annual “Civil War” game between the Oregon Ducks and the Oregon State Beavers. Coincidentally, our study of the Beatitudes brought us to Matthew 5:9 the very day after the Civil War. Jesus said, “God blesses those who work for peace, for they shall be called children of God.” Sometimes we interpret this as Jesus praising those who have “inner peace,” or those who are generally “peaceable.” As great as those may be, however, Jesus specifically commends those who “work for peace,” or who are “peacemakers.”

What does it mean to be a peacemaker? What does “working for peace” look like?

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