New Life Community Church, Atwater, CA

They say that ‘the only constant in life is change’, yet change sets us on edge, as we struggle to overcome the anxiety that comes from the uncertainty it brings. We can’t fully know the future, and we often can’t control our present, yet we are invited to step into the future in the security of God’s goodness.

Although we live in a culture of condemnation, we are invited to a new “no condemnation” lifestyle. In Christ, the old lifestyle of condemnation has become irrelevant. Since we’ve been freed from condemnation, our next step is to become a source of blessing instead. Today we conclude the series answering the question

“how do we become people of blessing in a condemning world?”

We live in a culture of condemnation. Many people find God unapproachable because they suspect He is critical and condemning of our imperfections. Even more struggle to silence the voice of self-condemnation

because of past mistakes we’ve made. While the work of Jesus on the Cross is intended to set us free, many of us continue to struggle with the feeling of being condemned (or worse, in the habit of condemning others).

This week we look at the path from condemning to compassion.

We live in a culture of condemnation. Many people find God unapproachable because they suspect He is critical and condemning of our imperfections. Even more struggle to silence the voice of self-condemnation

because of past mistakes we’ve made. While the work of Jesus on the Cross is intended to set us free, many of us continue to struggle with the feeling of being condemned (or worse, in the habit of condemning others).  Condemning words others speak of us hurt, but sometimes we are our worst critic. Past

failures, sins and shame can stick to us, not because they are unforgivable, but because we struggle to forgive ourselves.

We live in a culture of condemnation. Many people find God unapproachable because they suspect He is critical and condemning of our imperfections. Even more struggle to silence the voice of self-condemnation

because of past mistakes we’ve made. While the work of Jesus on the Cross is intended to set us free, many of us continue to struggle with the feeling of being condemned (or worse, in the habit of condemning others).

Today we’ll consider where we go when we feel the sting of being wrongly judged and condemned.

We live in a culture of condemnation. Many people find God unapproachable because they suspect He is critical and condemning of our imperfections. Even more struggle to silence the voice of self-condemnation

because of past mistakes we’ve made. While the work of Jesus on the Cross is intended to set us free, many of us continue to struggle with the feeling of being condemned (or worse, in the habit of condemning others).

Today we seek to understand where the voice of condemnation comes from and how to stop it.

Guest Speaker—Debbie Croft

Alpha Pregnancy Help Center

Scripture:

Ezekiel 16:1-7 & Matthew 25: 31-40

Sermon: “Rescued & Redeemed”

We live in a culture of condemnation. Many people find God unapproachable because they suspect He is critical and condemning of our imperfections. Even more struggle to silence the voice of self– condemnation because of past mistakes we’ve made. While the work of Jesus on the Cross is intended to set us free, many of us continue to struggle with the feeling of being condemned (or worse, in the habit of condemning others).  Today we begin the journey to freedom.

Arriving at the tomb that first Easter morning, the women were confronted by the unexpected, unable to fully believe what seemed impossible, and were unsure how to respond to this newfound grace of the resurrection of Jesus. Easter confronts us as well, a challenge to accept and be changed to the Gift of God to us.

As we approach Easter, we’ll look closely at the last week of Jesus’ life. Some of the most impactful things He taught about how to live this “new Jesus life” are recorded from His final week. Confronted with the stress of being arrested and anticipating the trial/crucifixion that awaited Him, He set for His followers a new way of responding.