Sermon Info
Summary
We have all been blessed not just for us, but for us to be a blessing to others. The two great antidotes to anxiety are gratitude and giving. When we think about all God has done for us, then we quickly see our anxiety subside. When we truly realize God is Sovereign over all Creation, and He is the One who is with us and He is for us then we are able to give and invest in others. We experience joy as we become the hands and feet of Christ. God is the greatest Giver of all - He gave His One and Only Son for us. We are most like God when we love and when we give. Let’s grow in our gratitude and in our giving.
Content
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil: my cup overflows. Psalm 23:5
God is the Host
- He “prepares a table for me” - personal.
- “In the presence of my enemies” - the enemies of excessive anxiety, worry, and fear.
- “Anoints my head with oil” - customary treatment for an honored guest.
- “My cup overflows” - so much goodness.
God is the Host both in the “now” and in the “not yet.”
God not only protects and rescues us (the “rod” and the “staff”), but He also blesses us!
- Mercy is when we don’t get what we deserve.
- Grace is when we get what we don’t deserve.
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:1
Two of the great antidotes to anxiety, worry, and fear are:
- Gratitude
- Giving
We have been blessed to be a blessing!
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Luke 6:38
Justice & Mercy International (JMI) is a non-profit started by Rolling Hills Community Church in 2008 in order to make justice personal to the poor, the orphaned, and forgotten of the world. JMI does mission work primarily in the countries of Moldova and Brazil through mission trips and indigenous staff. In Moldova, we have over 26 full-time staff working with precious orphan and vulnerable children through sponsorships, transitional living homes, and many other ministries. In Brazil, the mission work is led by five full-time staff working with pastor’s conferences, children and special needs families in the farthest reaches of the Amazon jungle. As a church, we are so blessed to invest in JMI through mission trips, prayer, and financial support. The 10 full-time US staff of JMI are all partners of Rolling Hills and office with our church staff. It is amazing what our God is doing with Rolling Hills and JMI together to reach the world with the love of Jesus Christ.
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27
