Faith and works

So, it's the life long question/debate that can be heard in Christian circles. The old faith in relation to works discussion is frequent, but I never have thought about it the way I heard it in the sermon at our church last Sunday.

Our church, HFBC, has been renovating the sanctuary and giving it a much needed update and improving the sound and lighting systems. Sunday was the first official Sunday in the "new" sanctuary. The seats were packed and there was a lot of excitement, but what was most exciting to me was the refreshing message with a new perspective on our role as Christians.

As anyone who frequents our blog can tell, I have been experience some major "burn out" at work for over 6 months now. This, I'm ashamed to admit has also deeply effected my attitude and therefore relationships outside of work as well. This sounds like a tangent, but it isn't. Pastor Greg's sermon spoke to me regarding this. He began a series on 1 Thessalonians in which we examine the church in Thessalonica in relationship to who we are as a church body. The first section is called "Gathering Our Hearts", to be followed by "Grow our Souls" and "Give our Lives." If you are still with me, I am going to list the points in the sermon.

1. Grace then peace - Ignoring His grace forfeits His peace
* Pastor Greg urged us to "humbly acknowledge our need for God's leadership"
2. Our faith produces (catapults) our work
3. Our love prompts our labor - this is my favorite point!
4. Our hope (expectation of God's work) inspires our endurance.

It has been some time since I experienced peace and this message got me thinking about why. I "know" that I need to trust God and depend on him for strength to live each day, but I truly don't do it. If I did, I would experience peace and I would be prompted by His love to labor with endurance.

So, this week I have been working on this. Though it is an ongoing issue, I do feel more cognoscente of my part in surrendering my work to God so that I may experience His Peace!