LIFEGATE DENVER SERMONS

<p>One of the most challenging things Jesus instructs His followers to do is to forgive and reconcile with others. This often feels like a simple thing but is filled with moments of grief and pain. Yet, Jesus is leading us into the way of freedom.</p>

<p>Luke 14:25-33 (ESV)<br><br>On his way to the cross, Jesus makes us an offer—come and die. However daunting, this invitation comes with great promise. In giving up everything we find the only way to true life is to carry our cross and come after Him.</p>

<p>There is a promise that Jesus makes that we can be sure to expect - He will return. When He does we will be invited before Him to present what we have done with what He has giving us to advance His Kingdom agenda.</p>

<p>Even when our lives are filled with distractions and chaos God will stop at nothing for you to experience him. It turns out that when you find yourself far from God or experiencing His presence God is working behind the scenes to clean some places in your life to draw you back to the heart of the Father.</p>

<p>Whenever Jesus spoke or moved in power people responded with shock and awe. They were amazed at the authority of Christ. Yet, Jesus never used His power or wisdom to paralyze us. Rather, in our times of greatest desperation Jesus declares and delivers into us exactly what we need.</p>

<p>The good news of the Gospel is that in every season God is faithful to His promise. In this message, guest Pastor Mike Drury, teaches through the Scriptures on how we can experience and expect God's faithfulness.</p>

<p>What if the followers of Jesus could once again be known as people who lived with a deep devotion to God and a love that is expressed towards others. In this message, Pastor Nirup closes out our series “Way People” with a challenge to let love be what we are known for as a church and followers of Jesus.</p>

<p>Nothing upsets the expectations of our modern culture quite like showing love to enemies. It defies logic. It goes against instinct. It upsets a pre-established system of human behavior. And yet, as people of the Way, this is one of our highest callings. Not only because it is distinct in the midst of regular social conduct, but because it is the very essence of Christ’s character.</p>

<p>The way others experience us is based on the place that we operate from. The people of Jesus are called to operate from the place of God’s blessing. When we do - we BECOME a people who are blessed to be a blessing.</p>

<p>Contemporary critics of Christianity seem to agree that of all the ways you could describe “Christians”, love would not be one of them. Yet, Jesus says that the world will know us by our love. We believe this year we can become known in culture as the people of Jesus who live with the radical love of Jesus.</p>

<p>Are you tired of the kind of life that is based on a list of what to do and not do? The life God has promised you is not based on things prescribed for you to do but a description of who you can become. In this message Pastor Nirup teaches us what the fundamental mark of a Christian actually is.</p>

<p>What if this is the year that changes everything? What if your situation never changes but God changes you in the process? In this message Pastor Nirup teaches that the promise of the Gospel is when you belong to God He changes you to become who He has called you to be.</p>

<p>Advent is the reminder that while the world is not as it should be, God has arrived and is on the move. Yet that arrival which came in stillness cannot be kept a secret - we are invited to witness the arrival of a King and make Him known.</p>

<p>Advent is the reminder that while the world was dark, God was moving. God works in the darkness. <br><br>Whatever you are going through, God has entered your story. As He does, He invites you into a promise for you to look to and live from.</p>

<p>The angel tells Mary she will be giving birth to the Savior - Emmanuel, God with us. And now Mary lives in the waiting. How often when we trust that God is doing something, we often struggle the waiting. But Mary didn't lose hope. She anticipated the coming of the Savior and writes a beautiful moving song.</p>

<p>Advent is the time of year where the church has historically reflected and remembered the coming of Christ. <br><br>This year, we join the early church in centering ourselves in the hope of the coming Christ. While the days may seem uncertain and our plans go through a constant shifting, we anchor ourselves in the reality that are not a people who live for hope, but from it.<br><br>This week we look at why God promised that a Savior would come.</p>

<p>The book of Jonah ends with questions, both Jonah and God asking them, and those questions reveal the nature of the one asking. When your identity is anchored in the cross your security will be in the compassion of Christ.</p>

<p>It’s Already Ready<br><br>Jesus is God’s Final Word that Grace & Mercy Is Available</p>

<p>The Delivery Is On Time <br><br>No matter how far you have gone, or how hard things have gotten, God has orchestrated a divine plan that is designed for your deliverance.</p>

<p>The Breaking Is Just Beginning <br><br>The story of Jonah is a classic tale and hidden within the pages is the revelation of God's UNIMAGINABLE GRACE and UNRELENTING MERCY available for <a href="http://you.....but" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">you.....but</a> the breaking must come first. In this first message, Pastor Nirup unpacks the first part of the story of Jonah and teaches us why God, in His love for us, begins to break areas in our lives that keep us from experiencing Him.</p>

<p>Every day God is entering the lives of people to meet them where they are and invite them into a new story that He wants to write in their life. <br><br>As we live in the season God has us, we believe that these stories of transformation have within them the power to only inspire but to imprint the grace of Jesus in the lives of others.</p>

<p>In this final week in our series, “The Place We Find Ourselves” Pastor Nirup walks us through the story of Zacchaues and how he encountered Jesus. <br><br>In a year marked by so much loss is it possible that we could experience the same thing Zacchaues did when He came face to face with Jesus - joy.</p>

<p>Faith is believing that what God has activated in you must be advanced through you. <br><br>In "A Place Of Faith" Pastor Nirup Alphonse of LIFEGATE Church comes back to the story of Zacchaeus encountering Jesus and gives us a closer look at what happens when someone goes from being in the audience of Jesus to having an appointment with Jesus. <br><br>Whatever season of life you are in be encouraged that God is calling you into a greater life of faith.</p>

<p>Watch as Pastor Nirup takes us through the story of Zacchaeus and his encounter with Jesus. In such a transformational time in our church, this series is of the utmost importance to be consistently engaging with.</p>

<p>In our last week of the CITIZEN series, Pastor Trevor walks us through the armor of God and what that armor looks like in the world that we live in today.</p>