Living in the Sonrise

 Hi friend! :) This post is the fourth and last part in the blog post series "Come Home" based on the sermon I did at our church last month. To read the first three parts, click  here ,  here,  and  here ! The first three parts covered three false statements that we often believe about ourselves and God: Part One: "God could never want to be with me, I'm such a sinner." In this part, we discovered that Jesus came to be with sinners, and to lift them up to joy and peace in being with Him! Part Two: "I'm too far gone for God to love me." Here we looked at the story of the lost sheep, and how Jesus loves us no matter how far we've wandered away.    Part Three: "I'm not good enough, I'm just worthless." In this part, we looked at the parable of the lost coin and discovered that "the value of an object is determined by the price paid for it, and God gave everything for you. You are of infinite worth, because He paid an infini

Hello friend! This post is the third part in a series of posts called "Come Home" that are based on a sermon I did last month at my church. If you missed the first two parts, you can read Part One  here  and Part Two  here . Let's jump right into the next parable! After the lost sheep parable in Luke 15 comes the parable of the lost coin. It is found in verses 8-10. "Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." This parable is so beautiful. It compares the lost, broken sinner to a piece of silver. And not just any piece of silver- this woman’s most prized possession. This lost coin was o

Hello friends!! Today's post is Part Two of the series "Come Home" which is based off a sermon I did at my church. Here is the link to read part one, if you missed it:  https://livinginthesonrise.blogspot.com/2023/05/come-home-part-one.html From Part One: " After the Pharisees started complaining about Jesus’ company, Jesus dealt with the matter as He often did: by telling parables. These parables show us the answers to our other statements!" So, the first parable is found in Luke 15:4-7. "What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, m

Hello friends! :) Over the next few blog posts, I'm going to be sharing a sermon that I recently gave at my church. If you want to watch it, here's the link:  https://www.youtube.com/live/7vihqoq77ag?feature=share  I really was stuck when I was writing it, but God really blessed and helped me to know how to put it together. I pray He speaks to your heart as you read it.  Have you ever believed one of these statements? “God could never want to be with me, I am such a sinner.” “I’m too far gone for God to love me.” “I’m not good enough, I’m just worthless.” “I’m not worthy to be called God’s child.” I think most of us have fallen into believing these lies at one time or another. Maybe we’ve heard that God loves us no matter what, but we have a hard time believing that it’s true. I know I have fallen into these traps before.  So how can we find the sure, true answers to these questions? Let’s go to Luke chapter 15.  Luke 15 starts off with this verse: “Then drew near unto him all

Hi, friend! :) Have you ever felt like you are too small for God to care about? Maybe you feel like God is too big to be concerned with your life, that you are not as important as all the other things and people in the world. My friend, this couldn't be further from the truth!  The other week, I was laying on the grass in my backyard, admiring the tiny purple flowers that were growing in the grass. Upon taking a closer look, I discovered that they were actually clusters of even smaller flowers! I was amazed as I picked one of the flowers from the cluster, and as I thought about how tiny the flower was, a song came on the playlist I was listening to: "Why should I feel discouraged, Why should the shadows come, Why should my heart be lonely, And long for heav’n and home; When Jesus is my portion? My constant Friend is He; His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me; His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me. Refrain: I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m

Hey friends! In a popular Bible story, a young man faces a mighty giant that everyone else is too scared to even try to fight- and he confidently overcomes this giant! You've probably guessed that this is the story of David and Goliath. I've heard this story many times, but I recently read it again, straight from the Bible, and it really encouraged me! What stood out most to me was, when David faced Goliath, he wasn't confident in his own abilities, but rather in God's power! He was so confident in God that he said these words to Goliath: "This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee... that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands." 1 Samuel 17:46-47 These were brave words to say! But David didn't merely say them, he acted on them! He went forward and faced that gia