Axletree Media

Refuge Worship Center Pastor James Williams www.refugeworshipcenter.net

Genesis 1:1-2:3

How do I love others and how am I doing at it? Love is bigger than a feeling; it's a motive for action and good deeds. They are connected and God has prepared, for us, things to do and will show us how to serve others. God will soften our hearts, enabling us to build in each others lives. When we do, He tranforms us to be more like Jesus!

Refuge Worship Center Pastor James Williams www.refugeworshipcenter.net

How do I love others and how am I doing at it? Love is bigger than a feeling and it’s a motive for action; it’s serving. God has prepared us, for things to do, and when we do what He wants, we are transformed to be more like Jesus! Encouraging and helping each other is contagious and God wants to teach us how. He’ll soften our hearts so we can build in each other’s lives.

I recently read a brief article that said in 2016, the Barna Group released the results of a 6-year study entitled "The Bible in America: The Changing Landscape of Bible Perceptions and Engagement." The study reports that 62 percent of the people in the communities surrounding our churches would like to read the Bible more. Another study reports 87 percent of the people in our churches want help understanding the Bible better. However, Bible reading is waning. Recent studies demonstrate that in one generation the number of occasional Bible readers has fallen by 20 percent—the equivalent of 700 people per day. The article concluded that it seems that the average person wants the Bible more but he actually reads it less. The brief article was unclear on whether Bible reading was waning with people who actually attend church—hopefully not. But one thing is clear, if we don’t clearly value Scripture, we won’t read it. So what is the value of consistently reading & studying the Word of God?

Matthew 26:14-40