Citylight South Church

A lot of people think the key to a life well lived is to follow your heart. Trust your instincts. Discover who you really are and then unleash that on the world. But what if we try that and it doesn't turn out the way we'd hoped? Is there a better way? Paul tells us in Romans 1 that the path of individualism-- "You Do You"-- is a path that goes nowhere but down. The Gospel is such better news--life isn't about conforming to arbitrary standards. But it's not about performing either. It's about belonging to the One who took your sin and your sorrows and made them His very own.

You ever wonder what God's will for your life is? Here's one answer to that question: "Rejoice always. Pray constantly. Give thanks in everything, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." That's 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. God wants you to be happy, to pray a lot, and to say thank you. Gratitude is one of the marks of a person who understands the truth. Not that there's silver lining in every dark cloud. But that the God of the universe is strong and kind. Why is ingratitude so deadly? Because it's how we convince ourselves that God can't be trusted. Gratitude is more than just saying thank you--it's about learning to trust in the kindness of our Father in heaven.

We're also kicking off a new sermon series called These Things Will Kill You where we take a deeper dive into what is sin and how do we deal with it. With the apostle Paul and Romans 1:18-32 as our guide, we'll see up front what sin is and what we need to overcome it.

God's mission is all about spreading His fame to the ends of the earth by sending out people just like us. But has the time for mission come and gone? Has the Internet made missions redundant, even wasteful? Shouldn't we all just focus on the needs closer to home? These questions aren't new, and they aren't easy to answer. This Sunday we'll look at one of the more surprising episodes in Jesus's life that will help us in our search discover what missions is and what it's not. You might even be inspired to do the unthinkable and become a missionary yourself.

Mission month kicks off this week as we welcome Tyson; bringing a message on God's mission at our workplaces. How do we point to Jesus in the spaces where we spend much of our waking hours? It's a question worth coming back to often so that we can encourage each other in a world where being a Christian can feel both weird and wonderful.