Dave Gudgel - November 12, 2017
The Awareness Factor
Getting past one's past is easier said than done. Especially when a person's past is steeped in religious activity and works. It will be difficult to say good-bye for good to any "rules or regulations" that once were valued and dearly practiced.
For some, letting go of past rules and rituals may seem unimportant. Like, who cares? Why bother? As long as they don't hurt me or others, so what? Well, to the Apostle Paul, "rules and rituals" are a big deal. Enough for Paul to call into play "the awareness factor."
Just like awareness matters when it comes to how much gas is in your car, knowing the place of religious rules and regulations could be the difference between a powerless works-driven faith and a faith that works.
From Series: "FREE"
This Week's Sermon: "Our Only Boast"
We may not freely admit it, but all of us are adept at one thing: boasting. We boast every day, whether publicly or privately, about seemingly anything and everything: family, possessions, abilities, achievements, grades, social connections – you name it. You may even be inwardly boasting right now about the fact that you don’t boast as much as other people do!
The point is that we all boast about, or take pride in, something. And what we choose to boast about actually says a lot more than we realize about who we are at our core, about what we really value, what drives and defines us, what validates us and makes us feel more significant, and even what gives us hope.
There are lots of things – even legitimately good things – about which we can choose to boast. But can you say that you are daily boasting in the one thing that matters more than anything else in life?
