We stand for GOD'S WORD.

Our leadership team recently finished a study on values for Mt Olive and these values were presented at our congregational assembly several weeks ago. I began delving into each one of these values here in my note last week, and we continue today.

The more we solidify our course around these values, the more unified we become as a body of Christ and the more influential we will be in our community as a dynamic force for good - for the sake of sharing the gospel. 

We stand for GOD’S WORD.

Everything we do at Mount Olive is based on the Word of God.
Jesus says in Matthew 4:4 - “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

My “living”, your “living,” comes from the mouth of God. Do you see the picture that Jesus placed in that passage? It’s the same picture that God relates to us about life being shared by the Creator with a clay form of the first man.

Genesis 2:7 // Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Do you want your life to really be “alive?” Eat well—that’s good. Get lots of rest and recovery—also good. Engage your mind in good, hard thinking—also beneficial. Challenge yourself—I see nothing wrong with that. But Jesus is saying that to truly be living, we need the Word that comes directly from the mouth of God to enter into our not-so-alive self. That is the Bible.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 // All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Everything we do at Mount Olive is based on the Word of God. We completely rely on and find confidence in its truth. It is the ultimate authority in our decision-making and the ultimate source of comfort and direction at all times.

We can find comfort from the Word; there is direction that God gives in the Word. We learn how to best raise our children and admit our weaknesses and work toward transformation—that can all come from the Word. In short, as you open up the Bible you are opening up the Words of the Living God and he will use that Word to breathe new and more powerful life into you.

In the weeks following Easter we will be exploring Mt Olive’s values in a sermon series. Stay tuned.

Blessings to you as you consume God’s words of life,
Pastor Al