Live different from the world if you want to reach the world. This means that within the church, sometimes we have to judge a book by its cover. Can we do this? Actually, yes, we can, if the book is judged in light of the book (the Bible) and if the cover is the life of someone who has committed to following the Bible.

To kick off our new series, We Have Problems, God Has Solutions (which will take us through the book of 1 Corinthians), Troy acknowledges that many of us feel like we’re not good enough or strong enough. We often feel unworthy or unloved. But we need to understand that the negative things we believe about ourselves are lies from Satan. We could even say that those fears are lies that are told to us. None of us is that person who grace could never change. We don’t have to live like we’re not good enough, or strong enough, or smart enough, because we have a God who is all of those things.

Continuing in our series, What Has God Done for You? Troy reminds us, and encourages us to believe wholeheartedly, that everything God does is motivated by His love for us and His desire to do what is best for us. Jesus paid our penalty and offers us salvation as a free gift of His grace, but it only applies to us if we have faith that Jesus really did this on our behalf. On a practical level, when we’re tempted, and struggling, and really wanting to do what we want to do, instead of what God says, will we still believe that God’s way is better?

Followers of Jesus often struggle to determine whether or not God is calling us to do something. In fact, the only time we should feel 100% certain that God is speaking directly to us is when we read the Bible. However, discerning God's calling is really not some super-mystical process. What’s more, God will sometimes give us unmistakable confirmation that He’s at work leading, guiding, and yes, even calling us to do something.

In today’s message from our Finding Favor series, Troy reminds us that God truly wants to hear our prayers. If we really pay attention, and if we have the faith to understand the difference our prayers make, we will spend a lot more time talking to God. Specifically, God sometimes changes another person’s mind when we pray for God’s favor in our lives. And God may use us to change someone else’s mind. We might be the answer to someone else’s prayers.