New Life Church - Downtown Little Rock NLC Downtown Little Rock

If you are wanting to live a life of faithfulness to Jesus in commitment to God’s plan and His design, everything around you in our cultural moment will rage against that. We live in many ways in a digital Babylon that condemns moral guidelines, champions immorality, and condemns those who won’t celebrate this new moral vision. God has called us to build a life, plant deep roots, grow our families, to bring prosperity to the cities we call home and to endure.

“But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs,”
Daniel 1:8-9 (ESV)

“We should pause and note how the story highlights Daniel’s wisdom. For one thing, it suggests Daniel is wise simply in his recognition of how critical this moment and matter could be. This episode didn’t have ‘crisis’ written all over it like the raging fire of chapter 3 or the ravaging lions of chapter 6. The circumstances here are far less electrical and so all the more subtle. Sometimes ‘smaller’ commitments made along the way fortify faith to plant its feet when it has to meet more severe threats.”
Dale Ralph Davis - The Message of Daniel

Methods and vision can change as we adapt to the ever changing circumstances of life, but it's our values that determine who we become and what we do with our lives! Values form our decision making, our priorities, and our financial decisions. As a church we have strong values that shape the way we look at things and how we make our calls regardless of what the political climate is, what the cultural pressures are and what our personal preferences are!

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV)

A weakness is a known bad trait someone has and they try to hide it even though it’s visible — it’s insecurity. Vulnerability is different. It’s the openness and honesty about a weakness or pain with a full desire and willingness to fix it. To grow in our faith and toward the callings God has for us we must be vulnerable with those in our community so we can be challenged and find new strength through healing.

“On the other side of the lake the crowds welcomed Jesus, because they had been waiting for him. Then a man named Jairus, a leader of the local synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come home with him. His only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying. As Jesus went with him, he was surrounded by the crowds. A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped. ‘Who touched me?’ Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, ‘Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.’ But Jesus said, ‘Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.’ When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. ‘Daughter,’ he said to her, ‘your faith has made you well. Go in peace.’”
Luke 8:40-48 (NLT)

What if you could be content with nothing but hunger and need: That is the absurdity of what Paul is telling us in Philippians 4. But the truth is you are most fulfilled not when your plate is full or your bank account is full but when your heart and mind is full of the hope of Christ Jesus.

“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
Philippians 4:11-12b (NIV)

“Realize how strong a claim this is. Remember Paul’s circumstances. We all want inner peace, but you and I are trying to get inner peace to face what? Our bills, competition at work, a difficult boss, our big date or a lack of dates. But Paul was facing torture and death.”
Timothy Keller | Walking With God Through Pain and Suffering

How does a relationship with God provide us the tools we need to live above the anxiety in our world and not carry this in our lives? How do we become people of peace in an anxious world? If we live in a world of systemic anxiety, it takes a person who is a differentiated (able to separate) non-anxious presence to lead people out of it. Here is what this scripture promises us: God is our very present help in trouble. The Lord is near.
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything."Philippians 4:4-6 (NIV)
"The ability to be continually connected empowered those who relied upon the telegraph, enabling them to ship goods across the world or trade stocks in foreign markets. However, it also spread anxiety across the globe."Mark Sayers - A Non-Anxious Presence

Righteousness – a right standing with God – is never ever grounded on your accomplishments. It’s not about what you have done or don’t do for God. It’s about what Jesus has done. You can only Christ through faith & repentance as you commit yourself to Christ. And after we become one, we press into our righteousness, we press into the perfect creatures God has in store. We work with God to shape and mold ourselves into the perfectly righteous creatures he intends us to be.

“I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!”
Philippians 3:7-11 (NIV)