Our mouths put the contents of our hearts on full display, and it's often not pretty. And while we can (and should!) work hard at running from sin and emptying our hearts of anger, gossip, bitterness, snarkiness, etc, it's not enough to just root these things out and move on with our lives. Even if we could effectively empty our hearts of these things, how quickly would they sneak back in? The excavation and demolition of the decay in our hearts must be immediately followed up by laying a new foundation of God's Word. This is not a one time activity...we must constantly be digging out weeds and backfilling with the Word, and thankfully we have God's Spirit as our helper and partner in this activity. Each year, our church spends three weeks reminding ourselves of what our mission is. This year we are focusing this time on understanding how the Word of God, Prayer and Gospel Community searches and rescues our identity and equips us to live out our mission for His glory.

Scripture References: Psalms 139:23-24

Related Topics: Word of God | More Messages from Jobey McGinty

From Series: "Search Me, Know Me, Lead Me"

Let's face it...living in community with others, even fellow believers, can be challenging and messy! Sometimes it's hard to understand why God would call us to specifically follow Him alongside others, and we can start to believe the lie that we can do this better on our own. But, in God's wisdom, He designed us to live and follow and serve and to be served within a community of believers, and that means allowing others into the messes we'd often rather hide. It's always easier to think of reasons to not seek out community...to hide, to fill our lives with hobbies, events and idols that crowd out this kind of life together...but when we do finally commit to living in true, vulnerable community with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we see Him bring truth, clarity and change in ways we will not find on our own. Each year, our church spends three weeks reminding ourselves of what our mission is. This year we are focusing this time on understanding how the Word of God, Prayer and Gospel Community searches and rescues our identity and equips us to live out our mission for His glory.

Scripture References: Hebrews 3:13

Related Topics: Vision/Mission/Strategy | More Messages from Jobey McGinty