This morning we were blessed to hear from Pastor Dale as he began a new series of teachings about the “First Things” of the Christian Life, things we do together as a church. Over the next several weeks we will look at Faith, Discipleship, Worship, Ministry, Life in the Spirit, and Community. This morning our focus was on faith.

Faith is not just that moment of "belief" when we accept Jesus into our lives. It's not simply what we know, a structure of thought, or emotions. Faith is something we carry through all the circumstances of our lives, the ups and downs, when things go the way we'd hoped, and when they don't go the way we hoped. Even when we have this kind of faith or trust in Jesus, over time something happens to us. Our initial joy, trust, and belief can get worn down.

Scripture shows us faith has a persevering quality. Pastor Dale took us through several verses on faith that can be found here. What we learn from these verses is that faith is not what you believe, it is who you believe in. Faith is confident action in response to a living God, an activity rather than a possession. The activity of faith shows up in how we interact with the things we humanly value most, things like money, our family, our time. Faith involves ordinary people, in ordinary life, trusting God with the outcome. Faith says "Even though I can't control the outcome, I trust you."

There is a well-known prayer called the "Serenity Prayer." Many of us are familiar with the beginning of the prayer, but the whole prayer has a deep and enriching connection to the process of developing the kind of faith that perseveres.

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace. Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it. Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen.” - Reinhold Niebuhr (1926)

As you go through this week, we invite you to pray through the serenity prayer, to meditate on the words, and seek God's guidance on what he's asking you to surrender control over to Him, to trust that God has you, loves you, and will provide all that you need and more.