City Church Chicago

Help This is Heavy

This year our faith has been tested, but we have also seen God&#039;s faithfulness. God is always with us through every storm. There is no greater time to recognize that God is with us than Christmas when we celebrate Emanuel, which means God with us. God put on flesh and became Emanuel, God with us.

Recognizing God’s Voice, Emmanuel God with Us

Greatest Gift

Legacy

Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God has plans for us that will not harm us. The context of this scripture is that the people of Israel were in a state of great vulnerability. They were in Babylonian captivity, yet the Lord tells them to build houses, plant gardens, and give their sons and daughters in marriage. This does not sound like a short-lived exile; their captivity was going to continue for 70 years in exile, waiting on their deliverance. The Israelites need to focus on the season that they&#039;re in so that they can thrive and prepare for the next season.

What do you do when you are living in God's ellipsis of silence?

In our “Spiritually Strong” series, we have been learning about the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the helmet of salvation. Today, we are talking about the Sword of the Spirit. Even when the enemy attacks us, we can be spiritually strong and focus on God. The word of God defends and strengthens us.

The Sword of the Spirit

When God begins to sanctify us and rid us of sin, it’s because he has a purpose and a plan. We are set apart. When we experience this kind of life change and transformation in Jesus, we have to recognize that there are going to be spiritual battles and storms in our lives that will require us to strengthen ourselves.

Spiritually Strong Series: The Shield of Faith

We are called to be strong in the Lord and put on the armor of God. Salvation is not something that we have to put on every day, but rather, we are called to put on the helmet of our savior so that we can fight the good fight of faith. God has given us everything that we need so that we can live a victorious and overcoming life.

Spiritually Strong Series: Sanctification

The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6 tells us to put on the whole armor of God. Paul encourages us to go against the dark forces that are unseen so that we can stand in the day of evil. There is a battle between the forces of good and evil, but we have tools and weapons like the Belt of Truth and the Breastplate of Righteousness to help us in the fight.

Part III- Spiritually Strong

In Luke 14, Jesus is sitting at a table with all kinds of people. Jesus loved gathering. He loved a good party. In this passage, he tells the parable of the Great Banquet.

The Power of the Invitation

Many of us may feel like we’ve been in exile this year. We may have thought we’d be in a better place by October 2020, just like the children of Israel who felt discouraged in this scripture. Psalm 85 was likely written after the Israelites returned from exile back to Jerusalem after 70 years. They thought that they could return to a pre-exilic state, but there was no going back. Nothing was going to be normal. Similar to the Israelites, we too may be facing disappointment.

Blueprint for Revival

Ephesians 10:6 tells us to be strong in the Lord. That is our calling, yet it doesn’t just happen overnight. Spiritual strength needs to be developed just like physical strength. We are vulnerable as we face social unrest, political division, and a pandemic. Since we don’t gather as much as before, we can become spiritually weak. There is a real heaven and hell, and the forces of good and evil battle for our soul. We are part of God’s eternal plan, and Satan has already lost the battle. We are spiritually strengthened by the Lord. We are strong in his mighty power.

Spiritually Strong

Our fight is not against each other; it is against the invisible world we cannot see. The greatest weapon we can have in this fight is the truth of God’s word. We can’t always trust what we see, we can’t always trust the conclusions that we draw from the facts, but God’s Word is always true. We must look beyond the fruit and down to the root. We have been armed with the truth. We are more than overcomers in Christ Jesus. If we want to be spiritually strong and experience victory in our relationships and our businesses, we must put on the belt of truth. Then we will see his goodness and power in our lives.

Part II: Spiritually Strong

1. Can you recall times that you or others followed God by setting your feet, standard, and heart in the midst of a challenging season or circumstance? What happened when you or someone you know faced a hardship in this way? 2. Have you ever failed to set your feet, standard and heart in line with God when hard times hit? How did you recover? 3. What has this pandemic taught you about faithfulness in hardship? 4. What can you do to strengthen your mind and heart to follow God in “surthrival”?

Season Surthrival Guide

Sometimes God allows situations that bring a shift to our circumstances, either through change or transformation. We shift when we change, exchange, move, transfer, or transform. It can be hard to make that shift when things are going well, and we are successful. Oftentimes, our mindset is: why change when things are going well?

Shift

Welcome to the audio podcast of City Church Chicago led by Pastors Kent and Alli Munsey. We hope these podcasts build your faith and encourage you throughout the week. To learn more about City Church please visit www.citychurchchicago.com

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City Church Chicago

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