The Hills Church, Fort Worth, Texas

While Paul was in prison he chose to focus on his abundance in Christ. He resisted the enemy's effort to make him forget his true wealth. And the more he reflected, the more he exclaimed, "Thank God for God!"

The apostle Paul was a church planter who traveled the world. When he was unable to go anywhere for several years after being arrested he discovered that there is still life!

From the beginning of Jesus' ministry, he is proving himself as our champion. He is winning everywhere we tend to lose. He overcomes temptation in the desert. He isn't crushed by rejection in his hometown. And he heals everyone in Galilee of both spiritual and physical sickness. These three bouts in Luke 4 will build our faith and confidence in a God who is undefeated. So no matter what it looks like right now, we know what is eternally true. And in any of these areas where we are losing the fight - God offers us two things 1) grace because Jesus already won for us and 2) the very Spirit that empowered Jesus to win.

From the beginning of Jesus' ministry, he is proving himself as our champion. He is winning everywhere we tend to lose. He overcomes temptation in the desert. He isn't crushed by rejection in his hometown. And he heals everyone in Galilee of both spiritual and physical sickness. These three bouts in Luke 4 will build our faith and confidence in a God who is undefeated. So no matter what it looks like right now, we know what is eternally true. And in any of these areas where we are losing the fight - God offers us two things 1) grace because Jesus already won for us and 2) the very Spirit that empowered Jesus to win.

From the beginning of Jesus' ministry, he is proving himself as our champion. He is winning everywhere we tend to lose. He overcomes temptation in the desert. He isn't crushed by rejection in his hometown. And he heals everyone in Galilee of both spiritual and physical sickness. These three bouts in Luke 4 will build our faith and confidence in a God who is undefeated. So no matter what it looks like right now, we know what is eternally true. And in any of these areas where we are losing the fight - God offers us two things 1) grace because Jesus already won for us and 2) the very Spirit that empowered Jesus to win.

There is a desire deep within all of us to have "a place". As followers of Jesus we long for our place, the new earth that will be our home when Jesus returns.

A healthy faith is comfortable not only facing hard, challenging questions, it's also comfortable saying "I don't know" to some of those questions.

We often think of something missing as being a problem, but it's also true that something missing can be the solution. When the new earth comes, one of the best things about it will be the things that won't be coming with it. We will delight in what is missing from home.

Most people believe afterlife more than the resurrection. This viewpoint is influenced more by Greek philosophy than in scripture. Our destiny is not non-earth; it is new earth.

The phrase "Go to heaven" is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible. There are mentions of desiring to go and be with the Lord, but when it comes to heaven, we are mentioned as the ones waiting for its arrival. What if heaven is a place on earth?