Welcome to this week's ToGather.church. Our focus comes from our Verse of the Day, John 6:29:

Throughout history, people have wanted to know what they needed to do to please God and find salvation. All sorts of religions and many different religious teachers have given their opinions, rules, and laws about what people need to do.

Jesus came as Immanuel, God with us in human flesh (Matthew 1:23; John 1:14-18). He is more than any teacher; he is the Son of God, the Messiah, and the world's Savior. His voice is authoritative. His teaching is more than opinion; it is God's truth. Jesus made it very clear: The work of God is clear and without ambiguity. When asked, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" (John 6:28), Jesus answered:

"The work of God is this: To believe in the one he has sent" (John 6:29).

Phil's Message for This Week

Our time in the Scriptures focuses on Jesus' call for us to do the work of God — to believe in Jesus, the one whom God sent to us to save us (John 6:29). No matter our circumstances or inability to understand why things are happening to us, we hold fast to the truth that Jesus is "the Holy One of God" (John 6:69) sent to save us from our sins, deliver us from evil, sin, death, and hell, and give us eternal life (John 3:16-17). This grace has come to us because of God's love for us (Romans 5:6-11) and through our faith in Jesus, not because of any special works we have done to earn or merit our salvation (Ephesians 2:1-9). God's grace, our faith, and the power of the Holy Spirit lead us to bless others by doing good things that God created us to do (Ephesians 2:10) and to live as Christ did (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Phil's message video focuses on believing in Jesus. This message is anchored in our Verse of the Day: Our work is to believe Jesus is the Savior God sent to save us.

Jesus told us the work of God is to believe in him, the one God sent to save us (John 6:29). That faith in Jesus is rooted in what he did to save us and give us victory over sin, death, and hell (1 Corinthians 15:1-57) and involves five components of faith, namely believing that:

  • Christ died for our sins as promised in the Scriptures.

  • Christ was buried.

  • Christ was raised from the dead as promised in the Scriptures.

  • Christ appeared after his resurrection to many people who could verify his resurrection.

  • Christ is returning in glory to give us eternal victory and life forever in transformed bodies.

Because of our faith in Jesus and what he has done to save us, we can endure, stand fast, hold on, and let nothing deter us as we live fully for Jesus. Why? Because we know our "labor in the Lord is not in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:58). As the apostles said, "We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God" (John 6:69).

Our work is to believe Jesus is the Savior God sent to save us.
Since we have this faith and we are people who "do the works God requires" by believing that God sent Jesus for us, we know God has promised us his life in glory forever. We choose to hang onto that faith no matter what problems life, Satan, or the world throws at us!

Full ToGather Worship Video

The full worship video leads us to open our hearts to God and his love as we sing songs chosen by Demetrius, share in a Communion time led by Byron Ware, hear Phil's message, and share a closing blessing by Lisa Ware. There's a song after the closing blessing to remind us Jesus made a way for us to make it through life's challenges and find our Savior waiting to take us home with him to glory. We pray the Holy Spirit fills and empowers you as we worship! Let's worship.

Special thanks for the use of images related to Jesus' ministry from The Lumo Project and Free Bible Images for use in both ToGather videos.