Open Hands in Every Season

OPEN HANDS, part two

Open Hands in Every Season

Intro: Last Sunday, we began talking about living with open hands. We discovered that generosity isn't something God is trying to get from us. It's something He's trying to develop in us. Like a loving Father, He trains us, changes our hearts, and grows our faith. But today I want to ask a different question. If we know God owns everything...If we believe He is faithful...If we've seen Him provide for us again and again...Why do we still struggle to let go? Our first answer is usually, "Because people are greedy." Sometimes that's true. But I don't think that's the best answer. As I read the Scriptures, I see something else hiding beneath the surface. Very often, what's keeping our hands closed isn't greed. It's fear. And here's what's surprising. Fear doesn't just show up when there's not enough. It also shows up when there's more than enough. Some people spend their lives worrying they'll never have enough. Others spend their lives worrying they'll lose what they already have. Different circumstances. Same heart. Today we're going to meet three people whose lives couldn't have been more different. A widow with one final meal. A wealthy farmer with overflowing barns. An apostle who had experienced both. And together they teach us one unforgettable truth: Fear makes us cling. Prosperity makes us forget. Contentment keeps us trusting.

FEAR MAKES US CLING

1 Kings 17:12–13 So she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.

Let's begin with the widow of Zarephath. When Elijah arrives, he finds a widow gathering a couple of sticks. He asks her for a drink of water, and then he asks for something even more difficult. A piece of bread.

Here’s her response: “…I swear that I don’t have any bread. All I have is a handful of flour and a little olive oil. I’m on my way home now with these few sticks to cook what I have for my son and me. After that, we will starve to death.”

She's already accepted the outcome. One final meal. One final evening with her son. And then death.

Don’t miss what Elijah says next. He doesn't begin by talking about generosity. He doesn't lecture her about faith. He doesn't rebuke her for being selfish.

His very first words are: "Do not fear." Why? Because fear—not flour—is the real issue. The empty jar wasn't controlling her. Fear was. And fear has a voice.

It whispers, "Hold on. Don't let go. Don’t open your hands. You might need this tomorrow. What if God doesn't provide?"

Now, let's be honest. Every one of us understands this widow. If your family had one meal left, you'd feel exactly what she felt. That's why this story is so powerful. It reminds us: Fear often sounds reasonable.

It tells us we're simply being cautious...simply being responsible...simply preparing for the future.

But beneath all those reasonable thoughts can hide a deeper question: "Do I really trust God?"

The widow looked at one handful of flour and concluded, "This is all that's standing between us and death." But it wasn't. God was.

The flour was never her provider. God was her Provider all along. And that's why Elijah could say, "Do not fear."

He wasn't asking her to deny reality. He was asking her not to let her circumstances have the final word.

Church family, fear still speaks the same language to us. Maybe your "flour jar" looks different.

The question is this: Where has your confidence settled?

Most of us understand the fear of not having enough. But Jesus tells a story about a man whose problem wasn't scarcity. His problem was abundance. And surprisingly...his hands were just as tightly closed.

PROSPERITY MAKES US FORGET

Luke 12:16–21 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Now Jesus introduces us to a man who couldn't be more different from the widow. She had almost nothing. He had more than he could imagine.

The story begins when a man interrupts Jesus with a family dispute over an inheritance. Instead of settling the argument, Jesus addresses the heart behind it. He says, “Don’t be greedy! Owning a lot of things won’t make your life safe.”

Then Jesus tells of a farmer whose land produced so abundantly that he had no place to store it. His solution was simple: tear down the barns, build bigger ones, store everything, and finally enjoy life.

From a financial perspective, it sounds responsible. He's saving. Planning. Preparing for the future. None of those actions explains why God calls him a “fool.”

Did you notice how many times he says, "I.” "My." "My crops." "My barns." "My goods." Everything revolves around him. God never enters his thinking. Not once.

And in a single sentence, the Lord exposes the illusion he had been living under. “You fool! Tonight you will die. Then who will get what you have stored up?”

The widow believed she needed one more meal to be secure. The rich fool believed he needed one more barn. Both believed their security rested in what they possessed. That's why prosperity can be just as dangerous as poverty.

Poverty tempts us to fear that God won't provide. Prosperity tempts us to believe we no longer need Him to.

One clings because there's too little. The other accumulates because there can never be enough.

The tragedy of the rich fool wasn't that he had full barns. The tragedy was that his full barns had emptied his heart of dependence on God. Prosperity has a subtle way of convincing us that we've become self-made...self-sufficient...self-secure.

And that's why Jesus ends the story with these sobering words: "So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

Being rich isn't the problem. Being rich toward yourself while remaining poor toward God is. So now we've seen both dangers.

Fear says, "If I don't have enough, I won't be okay." Prosperity says, "If I just have a little more, then I'll be okay."

Neither one tells the truth. So how do we live in a way that isn't controlled by either extreme?

One man prayed for it. Another man learned it. And together they show us God's answer.

CONTENTMENT KEEPS US TRUSTING

So how do we keep from becoming like the widow...or the rich fool? How do we avoid fear when life is lean...without becoming forgetful when life is full?

The answer isn't found in having a certain amount of money. It's found in learning contentment.

Listen to one of the most remarkable prayers in the Bible.

Proverbs 30:7-9 "Two things I request of You... Give me neither poverty nor riches—Feed me with the food allotted to me; Lest I be full and deny You, And say, 'Who is the LORD?' Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God."

I love the honesty of that prayer. He's saying, "Lord, I know my own heart."

"If I have too little, I may be tempted to dishonor You. If I have too much, I may be tempted to forget You."

That's wisdom.

How many of us spend too much time asking God to change our circumstances? This man asks God to guard his heart.

And then, hundreds of years later, the apostle Paul tells us how God answered that kind of prayer in his own life. Writing from a Roman prison, he says…

Phil 4:11 “I am not complaining about having too little. I have learned to be satisfied with whatever I have.” CEV

Did you notice the word that word “learned”?

Contentment isn't automatic. It isn't a personality trait. It isn't something a few naturally optimistic people possess. It is something every believer must learn.

And observe how Paul learned it. Not by living the same kind of life year after year. But by walking with Christ through changing seasons.

Phil 4:12 “I know what it is to be poor or to have plenty, and I have lived under all kinds of conditions. I know what it means to be full or to be hungry, to have too much or too little.” CEV

Do you hear what he's saying? " I've known what it is to wonder where the next meal would come from." And “I've also known seasons of abundance. I've lived on both ends of the spectrum. And neither one is where I found my security."

Then Paul gives us one of the most quoted verses in the NT.

Phil 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (“Christ gives me the strength to face anything.” CEV)

We often pull that verse out of its context. But Paul isn't talking about winning competitions or achieving impossible dreams. He's talking about remaining faithful regardless of his circumstances.

He's saying, "I can endure seasons of need because Christ strengthens me." And "I can handle seasons of abundance because Christ strengthens me."

That is biblical contentment. Contentment isn't settling for less. It isn't pretending life is easy. It isn't refusing to enjoy God's blessings.

Contentment is the settled confidence that Christ is enough, whether your circumstances improve or not.

And that's why it answers both stories we've studied today.

The widow teaches us, Don't let need frighten you. The rich fool teaches us, Don't let prosperity fool you. Paul teaches us, Don't let either one determine whether you trust God.

Your bank account will change. Your investments will rise and fall. Your career will have good seasons and hard seasons. Your marriage will face ups and downs. The economy will have highs and lows.

But the faithfulness of God never fluctuates.

Church family, that's why contentment is so powerful.

It breaks the lie that says, "If I only had a little more..." Or, "If I can just hold on to a little more..."

Instead, contentment quietly says, "The Lord has been faithful yesterday. He is faithful today. And He will be faithful tomorrow."

When you truly believe that...Fear begins to lose its grip. Prosperity loses its power to deceive. And your hands begin to open.

Conclusion: Today we've met three people. A widow. A wealthy farmer. And an apostle.

One had almost nothing. One had more than enough. One had lived through both.

The widow teaches us that fear can quietly close our hands. The rich fool teaches us that prosperity can quietly close them too. Paul teaches us that contentment can open them.

So let me leave you with one question: What is your present circumstance producing in your heart?

God's goal is bigger than your financial situation. He's teaching His children to trust Him.

Whether the jar feels almost empty...or the barns seem completely full...don't let fear make you cling. Don't let prosperity make you forget. Let contentment keep you trusting in the Lord.

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If you are joining us in the battle against biblical illiteracy this week, Monday through Saturday, we'll be reading a chapter a day in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, Genesis, chapters 25 through 30. And we've been also noting that in the worship guide at the bottom of one of the pages, if you look closely, you'll find it. Read the Bible with us this week. You'll enjoy that. I'm Trevor Davis.
I'm GCC's pastor. And on your ministry card, the first box you can check says help me find a small group. And I don't want to do a whole lot of boasting up here today, but my wife and I are really good at that. We can help you find a small group. We have competency in this area.
How much do Angie and Trevor Davis believe in small groups? We host two a week in our home now, Wednesday night and Thursday night, because there's just something about the saints of God gathering in my home and praying together and eating together and laughing together and playing games and looking at the scriptures and just becoming friends. If everything's gonna burn up in the judgment fire of God one day before he makes everything new, then I want everything that I'm responsible for to be available and open to the glory of God, Jesus. And so we want our small group ministry is large. It is thriving, it is substantial, it is strong and it has a place for you.
And we probably have a solution to any childcare need you have. And so we probably have a small group that meets close to your house if you don't want to drive very far. So mark that box, help me find a small group and we will find a place for you. We start up this week. Today is part two of our three part series called Open Hands.
And we're going to be in 1st Kings 17:1st if you want to find that in your Bible, first Kings 17, then we're going to go to Luke chapter 12. Then we're going to briefly be in Proverbs 30 and also Philippians 4, but I'll tell you that when we get there. And Open Hands in every season is the message. Last Sunday we began talking about living with open hands. We discovered that generosity is not something that God is trying to get from us.
Generosity is something he's developing in us. And we said last week, like a loving father, he trains us, he changes our hearts and he grows our faith. But today I want to ask a different question. If we know that God owns everything thing, if we believe that God is faithful, if we've seen God provide for us again and again, then why do we struggle to let go? Well, our first answer is usually something like because people are greedy.
Is that true? Yeah, it's true. Sometimes that's really true. But I don't think that's the best answer to the question of why do we struggle to let go. As I read the scriptures, I see something else hidden beneath the surface.
Very often the thing that's keeping our hands closed is not greed, it's fear. And here's what's surprising. Fear doesn't just show up when there's not enough. Fear also shows up when there's more than enough. I'll explain that to you in this message today.
Some people spend their lives worrying that they'll never have enough. Others spend their lives worrying that they'll lose what they already have. Different circumstances, same heart. So today we're going to meet three people whose lives could not have been more a widow with one final meal, a wealthy farmer with overflowing barns, and an apostle who had experienced both of those extremes. And together they teach us three truths about generosity.
Who's fired up today? Who loves Jesus today? Who wants God to work in your heart today? Come on, somebody. All right, truth number one for all you note takers, the most spirit filled people in the room.
Apparently fear makes us cling.
Consider 1st Kings 17, 12, 13, right in the middle of the story. So she said, as the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread. Only a handful of flour in a bin and a little oil in a jar. And see, I'm gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die. And Elijah said to her, do not fear.
Go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first and bring it to me. And afterward, make some for yourself and your son. Do you remember this story? Some may. That's okay if you don't.
Let's begin with this widow in Zarephath. When Elijah arrives there, he finds her gathering a couple of sticks to make a fire. He asks her for a drink of water. And then he asks for something more difficult than that. He asked her, in the middle of the worst famine in that region's history, on earth at the time, for a piece of bread.
And here's her response. She says, I swear I don't have any bread. All I have is a handful of flour and a little olive oil. I'm on my way home now with these few sticks to cook what I have for me and my son. And after that, we will starve to death.
She already anticipated the outcome. She had already accepted it. One final meal, one final evening with her son by the fire, and then death.
My brothers and my sisters, do not miss what Elijah says next. He doesn't begin by talking about generosity to this poor lady. He doesn't lecture her about her faith. He doesn't rebuke her for being selfish. His very first words are, do not fear.
Why is that? Because fear in our hearts, not flour in a jar, is the real issue. The empty container was not controlling this lady. Her fear was. And listen to me.
Fear has a voice.
It whispers, hold tight. Don't let go. Don't open your hands. You might need this tomorrow. What if God doesn't provide?
Every one of us understands this widow. If your family had one meal left, you would feel exactly the way she felt. And that's why this story is so powerful. It's why it made it into my notes today. It reminds us of something very important.
Fear often sounds reasonable.
It tells us things like, you know, we're just being cautious.
We're simply being responsible, Pastor. We're preparing for the future.
But can I tell you, beneath all those reasonable thoughts, a deeper question hides. Can I really trust God?
The widow looked at one handful of flour, and she Concluded this is all that is standing between us and death.
But, friends, it wasn't. God was standing between she and her son and death. You believe that the flour and the oil were never her providers. God was her provider all along. And that's why Elijah could say, do not fear.
He wasn't asking her to deny reality. Aren't you glad you go to a church that understands this? That's why we don't try to put some law on people about if you don't give God this 10% or whatever percentage, you're robbing him and he's mad at you. We all live in different areas and spaces in our lives and our journeys. And so there's no one size fits all.
So we need to talk about these bigger issues like fear and not calculators. God wasn't asking her to deny reality. He was asking her not to let her circumstances have the final word.
Church, family, listen. Listen to me. Fear still speaks the same language to all of us. Our flower jars look a little different, but we all have them. So the question is this, where has your confidence settled?
Fear makes us cling. Most of us understand the fear of not having enough. But Jesus tells a story about a man whose problem was not scarcity. His problem was abundance. And surprisingly, his hands were just as tightly closed.
Here's truth number two. Prosperity makes us forget. Fear makes us cling. Prosperity makes us forget. Turn in your Bibles to Luke, chapter 12, verses 16 through 21.
Did you make it through the first sermon point didn't crush your spirit? Not ready to quit church? Okay, good. I can work on that, though. All right.
It's coming.
Not really. Prosperity makes us forget. Luke 12, 16, 21. Then he spoke a parable to them, saying, in the Bible, who spoke parables? What's his name?
Jesus. Jesus says, the ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, look, this conversation, this dialogue we're about to read, it's all in this guy's heart. If he says it out loud, he's talking to himself. But every one of us knows what it means to have a conversation and a debate within ourselves about very important matters.
You ready? And he thought within himself, saying, what shall I do since I have no room to store my crops? So he said, I will do this. I will pull down my barns and build greater. And there I will store all my crops and my goods.
And I will say to my soul, soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease. Eat, drink and be merry. But God said to him, everybody say that next word out loud.
It's like four part harmony. Almost fool. This night your soul will be required of you. Then whose will those things be which you have provided? So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.
I watched down the corner here at Hacks Crossroad and Highway 302 the last few weeks. Big, heavy equipment. Tear down a restaurant, dig everything out, build the awning for a gas station. And then last week they were putting in pillars in the ground. And then they brought a whole gas station, convenience store, already bricked up the door.
I mean, just everything's ready. Just brought it in and set it down.
Tear something down good. Build something better.
We've all seen this before. Now Jesus introduces us to a man who couldn't be more different than the widow we just read about. She had almost enough. He had more than he could imagine and hadn't planned on. The story begins, we didn't read this part when a man interrupts Jesus with a family dispute over their inheritance.
Have you ever seen that craziness in somebody's family? Somebody dies and then everybody loses their salvation. You know what I mean? Okay, well, that happens to Jesus. And instead of settling the argument, Jesus addresses the heart behind it.
He says, don't be greedy. Owning a lot of things won't make your life safe. And then Jesus illustrates it. He tells the story of a farmer whose land produced so abundantly that he had no place to store it all. His solution was simple.
Tear down the barns, build bigger barns, store everything in the bigger barns, and finally enjoy life. I think I'm talking to some people today that are. You've been working hard, you've been earning, you've been doing it, it's been happening for you. You've had very comfortable life, but you haven't had the opportunity to relax. And it's always in the future.
And you can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. And you go, one day I'm going to enjoy all of this. Well, Jesus has something to say about that. From a financial perspective, what this guy told himself, I got to tell you, you, true confession sounds very responsible to me. I mean, save.
We tell everybody in here to save money, plan, prepare for the future. I gotta tell you, none of those actions explain why God calls this guy a fool. Because none of those things are foolish. So why did God call him a fool? Well, if you just go back and review how he talked to himself, you'll notice how many times he says the word I and my and my crops and my barns and my goods, everything revolves around him.
And none of those thoughts of God ever enters his thinking. Not once.
And in a single sentence, the Lord exposes the illusion that this man has been living under.
You fool. Tonight you will die. Then who will get what you have stored up?
You know, the widow believed she needed one more meal to be secure. The rich fool believed he needed one more barn.
Both of them believed their security rested in what they possessed.
That's why prosperity can be just as dangerous as poverty. You see, poverty tempts us to fear that God will not provide.
Prosperity tempts us to believe we no longer need him to provide. We've got this one clings because there's too little. The other accumulates because there can never be enough. I gotta tell you, the tragedy of this rich farmer fool guy wasn't that he had full barns. The tragedy was that his full barns had emptied his heart of dependence on God.
Prosperity has a subtle way of convincing us that we become self made.
It has a subtle way of convincing us that we become self sufficient and self secure. And Jesus says, deny self and follow me.
That's why Jesus ends that story in Luke 12 with these sobering words. So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. Look at me. Being rich, not the problem.
Being rich toward yourself while remaining poor and stingy toward God, that's the problem.
So now we've seen both dangers. Fear says if I don't have enough, I won't be okay. Prosperity says if I have just a little more, then I'll be okay. And neither one of those tells the truth.
So how do we live in a way that isn't controlled by either of those extremes? Either of those ditches on the side of the narrow road? Well, I'm going to show you that one man prayed for it and another man learned it. And together they show us God's answer. Truth number three.
Contentment keeps us trusting.
Fear clings. Prosperity makes us forget. Contentment keeps us trusting. Simple outline to the day.
So how do we keep from becoming like the widow? And how do we keep from becoming like the rich fool? Don't you want to know? How do we avoid fear when life is lean?
How do we avoid fear when life is abundant without becoming forgetful? When life is full? Well, the answer is not found and never has been found in having a certain amount of money. It's found in learning contentment. Everybody say contentment.
You can say it. We gotta learn to do it. Listen to one of the most remarkable prayers in the Bible. It's in Proverbs 30. You ought to mark this in your Bible if you don't know this prayer.
Proverbs 30, verses 7, 8 and 9. I'm gonna take some parts out of it, just for brevity's sake. Proverbs 37, 8, 9. It's a prayer of a guy named King Ager who we don't know much about.
Here's what he prayed to God. Two things I request of you. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food allotted to me, lest I be full and deny you and say, who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.
How good is that? Don't you love the honesty of that prayer? He's saying, lord, I know my own heart. If I have too little, I may be tempted to dishonor you. If I have too much, I may be tempted to forget you.
My friends, that is wisdom from the Scripture. How many of us spend too much time asking God to change our circumstances?
This man asked God to guard his heart.
And then, as you find Philippians 4 in your Bibles, hundreds of years later, the apostle Paul tells us how God answered that same kind of prayer from Proverbs 30 in his own life. And he writes it from a Roman prison. Philippians is one of the prison epistles. Imagine writing this when you're in jail. Philippians 4:11.
I'm going to read it. In the contemporary English version, Paul writes, I am not complaining about having two little I have learned to be satisfied with whatever I have. I want to know if you notice the word learned.
You see, contentment is not automatic. Some of us have thought if we just had a million dollars, we'd be content. You would not. That would only change your circumstances, not your heart.
Contentment is not a personality trait. Contentment is not something a few naturally optimistic people possess. Contentment is something every believer must learn. And I want you to observe how Paul learned it. Not by living the same life year after year, but by walking with Christ through the changing seasons.
Philippians 4:12. In the contemporary English version, Paul writes the next verse. I know what it is to be poor or to have plenty. And I have lived under all kinds of conditions. I know what it means to be full or to be hungry, to have too much or too little.
I remind you that is one of God's apostles writing that. You'd think God would take his superstars and just protect them from all the difficulties on earth so they can write good letters to churches. But do you hear what Paul's saying? He's saying I know what it is to wonder where the next meal would come from.
He's saying I've also known seasons where I've had more than enough. I've lived on both ends of the spectrum and neither one is where I found my security.
Then Paul gives us one of the most quoted verses in the New Testament. And listen to me. I can do all things through a verse taken out of context.
Philippians 4:13 follows Philippians 4:12 in my Bible. How about you? Here's what it says in the new King James. I can do all things through Christ. Finish it out.
Who strengthens me. I was told in nine year old baseball, when I'm in the batter's box, when I'm in the on deck circle getting ready to go to bat, I just need to say over and over again, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And I suppose I could, but I could not hit that 42 mile per hour fastball. Couldn't do that. So listen.
We often pull this verse out of its context. Did you know that Paul's not talking about winning competitions when he says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Did you know that Paul's not talking about achieving impossible dreams by Christ who strengthens me? This is not a power of positive thinking verse.
He's talking about remaining faithful no matter the circumstances.
He's saying I can endure seasons of need because Christ strengthens me not to lose heart, son. He's also saying I can handle seasons of abundance because Christ strengthens me not to let it go to my head.
That is biblical contentment. Contentment is not settling for less. Did you hear me? We don't want to be the lovable losers all the time. Contentment is not pretending life is easy.
It isn't. That's why you need a church family to cheer you on the loving good deeds. Contentment is not refusing to enjoy God's blessings. Look, if God's pouring it out on your family, smile and thank him for it. And enjoy it.
And then be generous so he can bless you even more. Everybody following what I'm saying? Look, when our church talks about money, I am bound and determined. It's not going to be weird. It's not going to be guilt driven or laced.
It's not going to be heavy handed and begging you. If you don't want to support what God's doing here, don't I'm not depending on you. And none of us are. We're depending on Him. Does that make sense?
If you want to learn the blessed life, if you want to learn how to get out of debt, if you want to be able to lay down and sleep at night and have interest work in your favor and not against you, then listen to what we teach and do it. It's really that simple.
I want to teach what the Bible says without any false motives. It says, how much money can I squeeze out of everybody today?
I'm not even all that good at it, so I might as well just stick to the text. Amen. Listen. Contentment is the settled confidence that Christ is enough whether your circumstances improve or not.
And that's why contentment answers both stories that we studied today. The widow teaches us, don't let need frighten you.
The rich fool teaches us, let prosperity fool you. Paul teaches us, don't let either one determine whether you trust God.
True or false. Your bank account will eventually change. True or false. Your investments will rise and fall. True or false, Your career will have good seasons and difficult seasons.
Won't your marriage face ups and downs? Won't the economy have highs and lows? Listen to me. The faithfulness of God, though, never fluctuates.
Church, family. That's why contentment is so powerful. Because contentment breaks the lie that says, if I had a little more. And it also breaks the lie that says, if I can just hold on to a little more. So let me leave you today with one question.
What is your present circumstance producing in your heart?
Is it producing fear? Is it producing forgetfulness? Or is it producing contentment? I dare you to ask the Holy Spirit to show you the answer. Let's bow in prayer today.
Father, would you continue to raise up humble servants of Christ in this room and in this church? And would you, Lord, help us to repent from fear today? You haven't given us a spirit of fear, but a power of love and a sound mind. And oh God, would you help us repent from living week to week, forgetting about you as if we're practical atheists or something? But God, would you begin to wake up in us Biblical contentment?
This is our prayer in Jesus name and a faithful church said. Amen. Stand with me today. Prayer team, please come to the front. If you're new, listen to me.
I know we want to put everything up. Just listen real quick. You definitely need somebody to pray for you today. Even if you don't know what it is. Come forward to one of our prayer teams and say, I'm not real sure what I need prayer for.
Would you just pray whatever the Lord lays on your heart to pray for me and watch that magic happen. Watch the power of God in your life. We need full prayer lines today. Just because it's a normal, ordinary Sunday. Amen.
So we pray for people about anything and everything. You don't have to be a member of our church. Come receive prayer as we adjourn. I'm so glad that you chose to gather with the saints here today. You didn't have to do that if you're not a member.
And so we're grateful. Are you glad that you came? Have you been built up in your most holy faith? Faith? I'm telling you, you being here has built me up.
I love you guys. Now to the mission field you go. The prayer lines are open. We are dismissed.

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Join us this Sunday at Great Commission Church for a welcoming and uplifting worship experience. If you’ve been searching for a church near you, you’ll discover a warm, authentic church family ready to help you grow in faith.

We are a family-friendly, non-denominational Christian church in Olive Branch, serving individuals and families throughout DeSoto County and the greater Mid-South. People looking for Christian churches in Olive Branch often discover a vibrant community where faith comes alive and lives are transformed through the Gospel.

Whether you’re new to faith or have followed Christ for years, you’ll find welcoming Sunday services, practical Bible teaching, and a place to belong. We are more than a congregation — we are a church family united by a mission to follow Jesus and live out the Great Commission.

A Place for the Whole Family

Families searching for a church with strong children’s programs love our engaging Kids Ministry and safe, caring environments. Students can connect through our Youth Ministry, and adults of every stage can find community through groups, prayer, and discipleship opportunities. As a multi-generational church, we love seeing every age grow in faith together.

Meaningful Worship

Experience contemporary worship with modern Christian music, heartfelt prayer, and Gospel-centered messages designed to help you encounter God personally. If you’re looking for vibrant worship near Memphis, you’ll find a place that feels both authentic and inspiring.

Grow in Your Faith

We offer Bible studies, small groups, and discipleship opportunities that help you understand and apply God’s Word to everyday life. If you’re looking for a place to grow spiritually, you’ll find support and encouragement here.

Connected to Our Community

We are passionate about serving our neighbors through outreach and local partnerships, making a positive impact in Olive Branch and beyond.

Conveniently located in Olive Branch, we serve families from surrounding communities, including Southaven, Germantown, Collierville, Lewisburg, and Byhalia.