Today is a lot of things…
- Father’s Day
- Juneteenth
- VBS starts in Junior Church
- Witness, the singing group from Heartland Baptist Bible College is here
- Micah Lasseter, a church planter to El Paso, is coming tonight
- And, of course, it’s Ben, Matt, and Raymond’s birthday!
Which thing do we celebrate today? What’s our focus?
It’s the same as every week: Jesus Christ our Lord.
Any number of things can vie for our attention, including good things. You probably spend a huge percentage of your week focusing on politics, family, and economics, but these topics were never the main focus of Jesus or the early churches in Scripture.
Christians are shaped by the Gospel—the GOOD NEWS that Jesus Christ died for our sin and rose from the dead so that all people might have access to God. He died for you. He rose from the dead on a Sunday, and his resurrection changed everything in history. Christians believed on Him and dedicated their lives to Him, and risked everything to express their devotion to Him. They gave up family and fortune and even life itself in the name of Jesus Christ.
Christians gather to worship God and “Declare his glory among the heathen,” and that is the greatest thing we can accomplish with this day.
DeSantis is not our savior. A “Red Wave” is not our goal. The 2024 elections are not our hope. Biden is not the Adversary.
Ephesians 6:12–13 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
Our greatest battle is spiritual, and our greatest weapons are spiritual.
Yes, vote. Yes, appreciate your dad today. Yes, enjoy the music and ministry of Heartland today. Yes, celebrate a birthday. Yes, make wise financial decisions for your family’s future. Of course!
But never, NEVER forget that this life is just a vapor that appears for a little time, and then vanishes.
The only thing that matters after this life is what you believed about and did with the message of Jesus Christ.
Let’s live for Him today.
–Pastor Ryan