Immanuel Bible Church

Thankful to say I have already found a great church with great teachers near enough to attend every Sunday. Learning a lot from the book of Philippians being taught by Pastor Jesse Johnson. Only being 30 mins away (depending on the day), is nice to have something to do to get me out of the building and deeper into the Word of God.

Today we studied true joy from Philippians 4:4-5. This joy is a supernatural gift from God, which is our primary calling. If  I could share everything I learned from the sermon it would take twice as long as he spoke. Here are the primary points:
1. PRIORITY OF JOY: God's Calling
This could be the thing that separates us from all other religions. What other religions care about your heart while you're pursuing obedience? [Insert great CS Lewis & Augustine quote here]
2. PARADOX OF JOY: God's Work
Taste and see that the Lord is good, only the Lord can do that in your heart. You can't make your own heart do what you want, only God can make it do what it's meant to do for forever.
3. PRODUCT OF JOY: God's Yieldingness
Stronger person yielding to a weaker person- 2 Corinthians 1:24
4. PRODUCT OF JOY: God's Son
This isn't an abstract desire, you desire to know Jesus. We struggle with joy because we pursue joy as an end and not the Lord as an end.  [Romans 12:12]
5. PROBLEM OF JOY: We are not God
The same as we need crutches to walk when your legs are broken, the same we need to obey the Lord out of duty. When we believe it with our head, we experience joy in our hearts, that can be seen with our hands sharing joy with others.

I hope the rest of you enjoyed your Sunday. I got to go to a Jamberry party and get some new nails. Tonight we head up to Pikesville, Maryland for tomorrow's Northern Chapter Championship at the excellent course Woodholme. This will be the first tournament we get to go to on the road and work! I couldn't be more excited to get to see what my summer might consist of.

In Christ Alone,

Michelle