Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he left his followers with clear instructions about where to go and what to do. His plan was to plant and multiply healthy churches in every town in every country. At Southland, we want to leave the state of Kentucky in better shape than we found it in and we believe the way to accomplish that goal is by imitating what the first followers of Jesus did.

There should be no difference between someone on staff at a church and the members of the church, because everyone’s baptism was their call to ministry. Every believer has a spiritual gift that was meant to strengthen the church and we need to be reminded of our Kingdom responsibilities no matter what occupation we choose in life.

The Son of God took on the role of a servant at his final meal with his best friends. He washed dirty feet and encouraged his followers to do the same for others. There are over 200 titles given to Jesus and all of them accurate and well deserved, but Jesus repeatedly chose one for himself that wasn’t flattering and it was Son of Man.

Finishing strongly can be a rarity in life, but it doesn’t have to be. Finding the strength to keep going until the very end is the key to leaving this life satisfied.

It’s easy to lose sight of your purpose when the race gets long and the finish line is still a long way off. Learning how to stay engaged and enthusiastic will help us grow old well.

You will always face challenges and obstacles. How we handle those early setbacks will develop habits and patterns for how you overcome them in the years to come.

Youth can be a liability or an asset and it all depends on how you maturely handle it.

Few things will make you feel more connected to your Creator than worshipping him on a daily basis. Songs often give us language for how grateful we are for His presence in our lives and how desperate we are for his power to help us.

There is a pervasive sadness that seems to loom over our culture today. David battled the loss of a child, marriage issues, and occupational hazards that caused him to want to give up multiple times. But he didn’t throw in the towel and the big reason for that was God’s faithfulness to him in the midst of life’s low points.

From the birth of a child, to a wedding, to a baptism, to a good meal, to beautiful weather, there are so many things in life worth singing about and dancing about. David never passed up an opportunity to thank God for the good things in his life, and we shouldn’t either.

David spent a lot of his life on the battlefield facing one daunting enemy after another. He didn’t rely on his own strength and wisdom to help him succeed, rather he invited God to give him the resolve he was going to need to be victorious.

This week we will learn the value of developing a good work ethic for the long haul so that we can bear fruit over the course of our lives.