Encouragement

Fear will not win

Slide 1: Recharge your spirit at MDWK Slide 2: Recharge your spirit at MDWK Slide 3: Recharge your spirit at MDWK

Holiness is a lifestyle

God’s timing may stretch your faith, but His faithfulness never fails.

Slide 1: If you want to be great in God's Kingdom, follow the example of Jesus: Slide 2: Put God first But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. - Matthew 6:33 Slide 3: Serve others For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. - Matthew 20:28 Slide 4: Be humble But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Slide 5: Love unconditionally A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. - John 13:34

1. Nobody said it was easy… 2. "The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world." — Dietrich Bonhoeffer 3. "Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again." — Dietrich Bonhoeffer 4. "God has not promised to keep us safe. He has promised to keep us." — Elisabeth Elliot 5. "Suffering is not God's failure. It is often His method." — F.B. Meyer. 6. "To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world." — Karl Barth. 7. "If Jesus is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all." — Oswald Chambers 8. The Christian walk isn’t easy. But it’s the best decision you’ll ever make.

1. You can’t truly know God on your own. 2. Community teaches you how to actually bear one another’s burdens. 3. Community teaches you that the Body of Christ isn’t just a metaphor. 4. Community teaches you that you aren’t as patient as you thought. 5. Community teaches you what forgiveness truly is. 6. Community teaches you how God can work through flawed people. 7. God made us to know Him not just alone, but in community.

1. When everything goes my way, I feel happy. 2. When nothing goes my way, I can still feel joy. 3. Happiness is temporary. Joy is eternal. 4. And that kind of joy? It comes from Jesus.

God can handle your most honest prayers.

1. They’re watching you… 2. There are people in your life watching to see how you’ll react. 3. When things don’t go your way… When you get mad… When you’re struggling… 4. They know you’re a Christian, and they want to see if your faith is real. 5. Your response to what life sends your way is a greater witness than that fish on your car. 6. Show Jesus to the world in the way you respond.

Anger needs an outlet. 1. Without an outlet, it becomes bitterness and resentment. 2. You can either suppress it… (Not recommended) 3. You can express it… (Which is sometimes appropriate) 4. Or you can release it… (Give the anger to God and ask Him what to do with it) 5. Maybe God wants you to act. Maybe He wants you to confront. Or maybe He wants you to forgive. 6. Whatever you do, don’t ignore it.

You don't need to perform to belong.

Holy is not who you perform to be. It is who you are becoming.

God isn't asking for your help to plan. He's asking for your yes. 1. If God called you to something big, He's asking you to have faith. 2. When you plan it all, you leave God out of it. You only accomplish what you can accomplish. 3. Which means you don't need God to make it happen. 4. Say yes first. Then let God lead the planning.

True community takes work. But it’s so worth it.

Your mind is either a sanctuary or a battleground.

Generosity isn’t just about what you do for others. 1. When we’re generous, it rewires our brain from a scarcity mentality to a trust that God is our source. 2. It loosens money’s grip on your heart. You can’t give freely and be controlled by money at the same time. 3. It increases your joy. Proverbs 11:25 says a generous person will prosper. 4. It breaks the power of materialism on your heart. People become more important than things. 5. You don’t give just because others need your generosity. You give because you need it.

Conflict is easy. Peace takes effort. We’re called to make peace.

Don’t miss these opportunities to witness… 1. Your coworker mentioned they were going through something difficult… 2. Your neighbor asked why you seem so calm about everything… 3. Your friend calls you in crisis at 2am… 4. Small moments like these happen all the time. Don’t miss them.

Resting is godly

Here’s what God has to say about what’s next for you… 1. "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." — Matthew 6:34 2. "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." — 1 Peter 5:7 3. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." — Philippians 4:6 4. "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." — Deuteronomy 31:8 5. "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you." — Jeremiah 29:11 6. You are not the first one to worry about tomorrow. But God has already been there. He goes with you.

God designed you for community