Weed Whacking
Galatians 1:6-10 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God's curse! As we have already said so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God's curse! Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
- Breaking the Power of Sin
- Luke 4:18-21 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord's favor has come." He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. "The Scripture you've just heard has been fulfilled this very day!"
- Romans 6:6-11 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
- For All Mankind
- Genesis 12:3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.
- Revelation 7:9-10 After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, "Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!"
- Romans 12:14 Bless those who persecute you. Don't curse them; pray that God will bless them.
- Provides Definitive Truth & Impartial Justice
- Leviticus 19:15 "Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly"
- James 2:9 But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.
- Romans 2:11 For God does not show favoritism.
- 1 John 1:8-10 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.
- Romans 3:23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard.
- Romans 3:10 As the Scritpures say, "No one is righteous - not even one."
- Romans 2:6 He will judge everyone according to what they have done.
- Provides God-Given Identity, Belonging, & Value
- Galatians 3:26-28 For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.
- Jeremiah 1:5 "I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you my prophet to the nations."
- Luke 15:10 "In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God's angels when even one sinner repents."
- Matthew 18:12-14 "If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn't wander away! In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father's will that even one of these little ones should perish."
