(Skip to 16:15 for audio)
Pandemics. Politics. Social Unrest. There’s no denying we’re in a season of conflict and chaos—but the noise in your news feed doesn’t have to pollute your soul. You can find peace. You can find hope. You can trust in the One who holds the future in His hands. In 2020, our world was already complicated. Add a global pandemic, social unrest, and a contentious election to the mix, and people are more overwhelmed than ever before. We’re stressed. Worried. Divided. Many of our relationships have reached the breaking point over politics or even seemingly simple things like masks. During this season of relentless chaos, and conflict, who can we believe? What do we know is actually true? Where do we put our trust? At a moment when discord in the country is reaching a fever pitch, this series will cut through the noise and give us a lifeline of hope. Each week we will be reminded where our hope truly lies and be given tools to heal our anxiety, restore relationships, and be a light in a dark and challenging time.
Series: In God We Trust
Part 2: Under the Influence
Text: 1 Peter 5:6, Daniel 1:3-5, 8
Pastor Tom Cogle
Sunday, November 29, 2020
1 Peter 5:6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
How do we, as followers of Christ, live under God in a culture that’s becoming increasingly hostile toward God?
Would you say you’re more under the influence of culture, the systems of this world, the thinking of this culture or “No, I’m really, really passionate about the things of God, I’m under God.”
What are you under?
What is influencing you?
• What entertains you?
• What influences what you do with your money?
• What kind of words do you speak?
• How do you feel about your self-worth?
Would you say that you are more under the influence of God, or under the influence of culture?
What if we are so intoxicated by our culture, that we aren’t even aware we’re under its influence?
What if we’re so poisoned by the thinking of this world that we don’t even realize how far we drifted from God?
How did Daniel stay faithful to God, when everything in the Babylonian culture was trying to bring him under its seductive influence? Daniel had made a predetermined decision.
To live under God, I’ve decided to ___________________.