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I am statement: I am the good shepherd. In the midst of the harshness of our culture and the reality of life, the truth about God’s love is evident through Jesus as the good shepherd. Shepherds are a recurring theme in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.  Jesus is the good shepherd, a declaration of love.  This love is sacrificial, laying down his life. The truth about Jesus’ love is foundational to God’s love for us and our need for a good shepherd. The truth about Jesus’ love is life-saving and life-changing. Scripture: John 10:11, John 10:11-18

I am statement: I am the good shepherd. In the midst of the harshness of our culture and the reality of life, the truth about God’s love is evident through Jesus as the good shepherd. Shepherds are a recurring theme in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.  Jesus is the good shepherd, a declaration of love.  This love is sacrificial, laying down his life. The truth about Jesus’ love is foundational to God’s love for us and our need for a good shepherd. The truth about Jesus’ love is life-saving and life-changing. Scripture - John 10:11, John 10:11-18

I am statement: I am the gate. There are an enormous number of voices in our culture, speaking into our knowing.  We share reels, blogs, and podcasts with each other, voices within the void. In declaring that he is the gate, Jesus notes the value of the voice we follow. Who are we following? Jesus’ declaration about being the gate is a declaration of leadership in the midst of many voices vying to be the leader. We are lured into following leaders other than Jesus. Jesus is our leader.  Scripture: John 10:7, John 10:1-10

I am statement: I am the gate. There are an enormous number of voices in our culture, speaking into our knowing.  We share reels, blogs, and podcasts with each other, voices within the void. In declaring that he is the gate, Jesus notes the value of the voice we follow. Who are we following? Jesus’ declaration about being the gate is a declaration of leadership in the midst of many voices vying to be the leader. We are lured into following leaders other than Jesus. Jesus is our leader.  Scripture: John 10:7, John 10:1-10

I am statement: I am the light of the world. We are taught from an early age to be afraid of the dark.  There are scary things there. As we grow up, we realize that darkness is more than the physical darkness of the night; it also includes the darkness of our souls. Jesus as light in the darkness is evident from the beginning and in his interactions with a blind man. Jesus steps into darkness and is the light of the world. Jesus is the light. Scripture - John 8:12 and 9:5, John 8:12-20, John 9:1-12

I am statement: I am the light of the world. We are taught from an early age to be afraid of the dark.  There are scary things there. As we grow up, we realize that darkness is more than the physical darkness of the night; it also includes the darkness of our souls. Jesus as light in the darkness is evident from the beginning and in his interactions with a blind man. Jesus steps into darkness and is the light of the world. Jesus is the light. Scripture: John 8:12 and 9:5, John 8:12-20, John 9:1-12

I am statement: I am the bread of life. There seems to be a desire that seems unfilled in our lives, the need for more. There never seems to be enough. There is not enough time, money, status, or approval. The truth is that the world will never be able to provide enough for us.  Just as the Israelites sought provision in the wilderness, we too seek provision. The truth is that Jesus is our provision.  Jesus is our enough. The first “I am” statement is about Jesus’ provision of enough: “I am the bread of life”.  As we come to the communion table this week, we claim the truth of Jesus as the bread of life, provision, and the truth of enough. Scripture - John 6:35, John 6:25-35

I am statement: I am the bread of life. There seems to be a desire that seems unfilled in our lives, the need for more. There never seems to be enough. There is not enough time, money, status, or approval. The truth is that the world will never be able to provide enough for us.  Just as the Israelites sought provision in the wilderness, we too seek provision. The truth is that Jesus is our provision.  Jesus is our enough. The first “I am” statement is about Jesus’ provision of enough: “I am the bread of life”.  As we come to the communion table this week, we claim the truth of Jesus as the bread of life, provision, and the truth of enough. Scripture: John 6:35, John 6:25-35

Truly generous hearts produce generosity with our time and talents often displayed through acts of service. Stephen was chosen to help lead a feeding ministry for the early church because he was a man of faith. He selflessly shared food and the Gospel – even to the point of giving up his life to do so. In the Old Testament, Queen Esther used her time and talent for influencing the king to save the Jewish people. After hesitating briefly, she eventually risked her life to save her people.  Scripture - Acts 6:1-10, Esther 4

Truly generous hearts produce generosity with our time and talents often displayed through acts of service. Stephen was chosen to help lead a feeding ministry for the early church because he was a man of faith. He selflessly shared food and the Gospel – even to the point of giving up his life to do so. In the Old Testament, Queen Esther used her time and talent for influencing the king to save the Jewish people. After hesitating briefly, she eventually risked her life to save her people.  Scripture - Acts 6:1-10, Esther 4

Cultivating generous giving requires us to understand our resources as having been entrusted to us by God. We are stewards – not owners – of our resources with the responsibility of using our resources to glorifying God (tithe), help those who have been mistreated, and share the Gospel with those who will come after us. The widow is an example of someone committed to glorifying God (tithing) according to her means. Zaccheaus became someone willing to go above and beyond to help those he had harmed. Barnabas could be considered the patron saint of estate giving as he gave a gift of real estate to enable to the early church to share the Gospel.  Scripture - Luke 21:1-4, Luke 19:1-10, Acts 4:36-37

Cultivating generous giving requires us to understand our resources as having been entrusted to us by God. We are stewards – not owners – of our resources with the responsibility of using our resources to glorifying God (tithe), help those who have been mistreated, and share the Gospel with those who will come after us. The widow is an example of someone committed to glorifying God (tithing) according to her means. Zaccheaus became someone willing to go above and beyond to help those he had harmed. Barnabas could be considered the patron saint of estate giving as he gave a gift of real estate to enable to the early church to share the Gospel.  Scripture - Luke 21:1-4, Luke 19:1-10, Acts 4:36-37

Jesus teaches that generous hearts produce generous actions and stingy hearts produce stingy actions. The first step to cultivating a generous heart is to develop a generous spirit. Generous of spirit develops when you begin to treat others better than they deserve because you recognize God treats infinitely better than you deserve. Paul and Jonah are good examples of our options for how to respond to God’s grace. Jonah knows God is gracious and resents it. He only serves God when he has no other good options. Paul knows God has been more gracious to him that he could ever deserve and he is joyfully, willing to give his life away to share that message with the world.  Scripture - Luke 6:43-45, Jonah 4, 1 Timothy 1:12-17

Jesus teaches that generous hearts produce generous actions and stingy hearts produce stingy actions. The first step to cultivating a generous heart is to develop a generous spirit. Generous of spirit develops when you begin to treat others better than they deserve because you recognize God treats infinitely better than you deserve. Paul and Jonah are good examples of our options for how to respond to God’s grace. Jonah knows God is gracious and resents it. He only serves God when he has no other good options. Paul knows God has been more gracious to him that he could ever deserve and he is joyfully, willing to give his life away to share that message with the world.  Scripture - Luke 6:43-45, Jonah 4, 1 Timothy 1:12-17

God created us to worship and placed a deep desire for worship in our hearts. Worship is defined by the New Testament as the “work of the people.” Our work for which we were created is to give glory to God. Through following God’s instructions for our communal worship – which include Bible teaching, songs of praise, and expressions of gratitude – we learn how to worship God with our whole lives. Scripture - Colossians 3:16, Psalm 22:23