The Word Made Flesh: Character Development

Cedar Hills Community Church

Word Made Flesh: Character Development

Pastor Kent Landhuis

THEME - The character of Jesus developed to accomplish the purpose for which he came.

TEXT - Matthew 2:1-18

1. Threatened. (Matthew 2:1-18)

2. Tempted. (Matthew 4:1-11)

3. Tested. (Matthew 16:13-20)

4. Trampled. (Matthew 26-27)

5. Triumphed. (Matthew 28:1-10, Colossians 1:9-20, Philippians 2:6-11, John 1:14)

NEXT STEPS

· Give thanks.

· Don’t lose heart

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2024 Theme: Abundant Faith

A year of living with open hands.

Do not forget to do good and to share with others. Hebrews 13:16a

In the New Year, we will focus on the spiritual practice of giving. This kind of generosity involves so much more than simply giving money. All kinds of giving flow from gospel-transformed hearts touched by God’s lavish love. Radical, whole-life generosity flows from a grateful response to God’s generosity toward us - it is the overflow of Abundant Faith.

Our goal is to grow generosity by growing an awareness of our dependence on God and growing our response to God’s abundant provision. James 1:17 says “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

2 Corinthians 9:6 reminds us that “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” We want to be the kind of people who sow and reap abundantly!

Some of the themes we will dig into in 2024 include:

Generosity and God’s Grace

Generosity and Relationships/Forgiveness

Generosity and Hospitality

Generosity and Ministry/Spiritual Gifts

Generosity and Money/Wealth

Generosity and Power/Influence

Generosity and Justice

We will focus Sunday messages on these topics and we will provide scripture and prayer guides to help all of us grow generosity in 2024. Pray for your heart to be open to where God wants to lead you in the New Year.