Jesus says, "In this world you will have trouble." No ifs, ands, or buts. You will face sickness, death, divorce, temptations, failures, rejection, peer pressure. You will have trouble that you won't see coming. And no one is exempt. Not the young, not the old, not the good.
Even Jesus had trouble. He was tempted, persecuted, beaten, crucified. He could've taken an easy way out, given up, and gone back to heaven. Instead, He decided it was worth it to stay and finish what He'd started, being "obedient to death—even death on a cross!" (Philippians 2:8, NIV). Despite His trouble, Jesus had the determination needed to keep doing what God said. If our attitude is to be the same as that of Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5), we will need that same determination.
The kind of determination that will keep us doing what God says even if it's hard, and even if others don't, so that we don't miss something really good. Yep, we will have trouble in this life, but grit your teeth and don't give up because God will not give up on you. You can be sure that "he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6, NIV).
So for October, Sunday mornings are all about DETERMINATION, which is deciding it's worth it to finish what you've started. Here's the line-up:
Week 1 - Keep doing what you should do even if it's hard. We'll be talking about Paul and how he was determined to finish right (2 Corinthians 11:23b-27; Acts 20:24).
Week 2 - Keep doing what God says even if others don't. This week is about Noah and the great flood (Genesis 6:6–7:7).
Week 3 - Keep doing what God says because He is God. The focus is on the Israelites leaving slavery in Egypt (Exodus).
Week 4 - Keep doing what you should do so you don't miss something really good. Sort of a continuation from last week, we'll be talking about 40 years in the wilderness (Numbers 14:1-39).
