Addison Place Senior Service

Sermon:

Hi my friends,

Good to be back with you! Today, I wanted to share with you a little bit from my sermon yesterday. At The River Church - our church here in Glastonbury that meets at the Riverfront Community Center - we talked about faith.

Whether we realize it or not, faith is an important part of life! But many times, we don’t know what it means - at least not in the way God intends it to be used. Because we may say:

I have faith in God.

But we also say, “I have faith that certain football team will have a good season.”

And as you can guess, though both of those include the concept of “believing something,” they are radically different. And let me share a couple of verses with you that will show us the biggest difference...

Hebrews 11:1 NLT

Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.

Genesis 15:6 NLT

And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.

You see, according to the Bible, faith isn’t just believing something, it’s believing what God says, even when we can’t see it or may not understand it.

And today, I want to share with you how you can practice faith in your lives. And I’m going to do so by reading from the Book of Mark.

Mark 11:1–3 NLT

As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks, ‘What are you doing?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it soon.’ ”

To give you a little context, Jesus is headed to Jerusalem to go to the cross - to save the world by paying for the sins of the world. You may have heard this verse before, but...

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Jesus is on His way to the cross to make sure this verse comes true. Jesus is going to give His perfect life on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. So that, if we believe in Him (if we have faith), we will be forgiven for our sins and not perish, but have eternal life.

In Mark 11, that’s what’s happening. As Jesus approaches Jerusalem, He tells His disciples to do something: To go ahead of Him and get a donkey for Him to ride on. But He also tells them the future - that they will meet some resistance. But then, He also gives them how to address that resistance. And finally promises them a certain outcome if they will do things His way.

What does this tell us? That God is a fortune-teller? That He can predict the future?

No, it tells us that God has a plan. He doesn’t just predict the future, but He planned the future.

Therefore, we can trust Him - we can put our faith in Him, believe Him - because He is God and has a plan to give us eternal life.

Did you know God has a plan for your life? He’s got a purpose for you living in this community. He wants to use you to be a blessing here - to tell others about His love and bring them joy.

But in order to be a part of this plan, you must be willing to live by faith. You got to be willing to believe God, even when you don’t understand.

You might ask, “How do I do that?” Well, what did we read?

The disciples listened to what Jesus (or God) had to say.

The first step in practicing faith is hearing what God has to say. And there are 3 ways I’d like to suggest for you to practice that here in this community:

Come to activities like this where God’s word will be shared with you. When the Bible is taught, you get to hear what God has to say.

Read the Bible on your own. If you have a Bible, maybe start with the Book of John. And read a little bit each day. I promise God will speak to you.

Pray and discuss what you read with others. God speaks to us in prayer. God also speaks to us thru other believers. This week, pray and listen for what God has to say. This week, read the Bible and meet with some friends to talk about what you read. Then listen to how God may speak in your discussion time.

The second way we practice faith is to trust God by obeying whatever He says...

Mark 11:4–6 NLT

The two disciples left and found the colt standing in the street, tied outside the front door. As they were untying it, some bystanders demanded, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” They said what Jesus had told them to say, and they were permitted to take it.

Everything happened just as Jesus said it would happen, according to His plan. But the disciples didn’t get to experience that until they actually obeyed what Jesus said.

If we want to live by faith, we must first listen to what God has to say, but then, we must also obey what God says.

As you read your Bible, begin to practice what you read.

For example:

Proverbs 3:5–6 NLT

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

When you read that, what should you do? You should trust God even you don’t understand. Seek Him and He will show you the right way to live. Listen and obey - that’s faith.

Colossians 3:13 NLT

Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

Have any of you ever been offended by the people you live with here? You know what God says you should do? Forgive them. When people hurt or wrong you, practice forgiveness. Listen and obey - that’s faith.

Response / Communion:

So today, as we close, I want to encourage you to live by faith.

It’s by faith that we please God.

It’s by faith find forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus.

And practicing faith is as simple as two steps:

Hear what God says.

Obey what God says.

I’m gonna give us a way to do that right now...

God’s word says...

1 Corinthians 11:26 NLT

For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.

As followers of Jesus, every time we take communion, we listen and obey God’s word, which means we are living by faith. So, that’s what we’re going to do in a moment...

But maybe you’ve never taken the step to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior. But maybe you’re ready to do that today. If you’d like to have your sins forgiven, follow Jesus, and receive the hope of eternal life, say this in your heart...

Jesus, please forgive me. Today I put my faith in you. I believe you died on the cross for my sins and rose again three days later. Please make me new. Give me your Holy Spirit, so I can live by faith all my life. In Jesus name, amen.