Life Bible Church Pastor Joel Barrere

God made the Sabbath for man, not man for the Sabbath. Showing mercy is a more reliable sign of a righteous life than giving up things.

Carrying weight, we aren’t asked to carry and fighting a fight that has already been won, we become exhausted. Jesus invites us to lay down that burden and come to Him for rest.

God seems to delight in defying our expectations, and Jesus and John certainly did that in their generation. Their vindication- and ours- is not meeting people's expectations, but in bearing good fruit for God and satisfying Him!

"The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." When we serve others, we are living out the heart of Jesus. How can we serve each other in this local body?

Since his conception, Jesus has defied expectations. When he doesn't work in our lives the way we expect him to, it can lead us to doubt who we know Him to be. When we hold on to the confident trust we have in the Lord, blessings abound.

What do we do when the gospel comes home in a real way, and like a sword, divides families? Can this be the will of God? How will God replace what has been lost?