Philippians 3:14-21

"Dear Father, I want to join all your holy people in imitating the example of your apostle Paul, and I want to take notice of people in my own time..."

Was there something Jesus really couldn't do? Phil Ware continues his series on inviting Jesus to church and focuses on the question, who is Jesus family, the ones who find it so hard to believe and who will not allow him to act because of their unbelief.

What are you waiting for? Ron Rose challenges us to get up and get going and quit waiting for your dreams to unfold.

What can you really control about your day? Rubel Shelly reminds us of several things we cannot change, especially in overwhelming times, but one we can change is our attitude.

How are we going to go forward while looking backward with nostalgia? Rubel Shelly reminds us that while we don't want to be blindly optimistic, there is value in not being a pessimist and always thinking things are worse.

"Father, May the motivations of my life come from the future you have appointed for me rather than from the past I have lived. Let every one of my..."

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

"Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you."

"Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ."

Inspirational illustration of Philippians 3:20 --

Inspirational illustration of Philippians 3:20 -- But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.

Inspirational illustration of Philippians 3:14 -- I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Inspirational illustration of Philippians 3:17 -- Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.

Are you ready to push toward the finish? Philippians 3:12-16 and Philippians 1:6

Our joyous thanksgiving overflows! We give thanks for ten years of God's blessings at Heartlight.

Are we keeping the grace of God hidden from outsiders? So often we cover the signs of God's grace in us with our own pettiness and sinfulness.

Could anything be better than living in Mayberry? Steve Higginbotham talks about four murders that occurred in the town that furnished the backdrop for Andy of Mayberry and reminds us that we live in a fallen world and need to keep our eyes on our heavenly home.

What will your new body look like? God will make us new and give us knew bodies when Christ comes again.

We're only strangers here; our homeland is heaven! Our citizenship is in heaven, so let's live like heaven is our home!

How are we supposed to feel about all of this? Phil Ware shares some thoughts about Independence Day, July 4, 2013, and what it means and should call us to do in our time and our situation in today's world.

Why can't we leave our old positions behind? Phil looks at our spiritual journey to be conformed to Jesus and to go to our home with God and asks how we can get so bogged down in being critical of others who are not at the same point in their journey as we are.

Is your sense of urgency on the rise or on the wane? God doesn't want us to grow complacent or satisfied with the way things are simply because we are growing older.

Maturity means admitting we haven't arrived! Rubel Shelly reminds us that we are not perfect yet, and admitting our failures and imperfections is not an excuse, but an opportunity to meet God and have his grace help us grow.

Can we ever move beyond the failure to act on good intentions? Rubel Shelly reminds us that wishes aren't plans and we have to begin on the road to growth or it never happens.

Where will you be when you finally arrive at your destination? We need to know where we are trying to go spiritually if we ever hope to get there.

So what do you do now that it has come to an end? Tom Norvell looks at how the disciples must have felt right after Jesus' death and then talks about a year ending and the New Year beginning.

When is it okay to think that we've arrived at spiritual maturity? Phil Ware continues his series on 'Ancient Wisdom, Today's Grace' and focuses on our desire to continue to grow in Christ.

That passion to pursue Jesus must never die! Phil Ware continues his series tied to Thanksgiving called "...and thankful" and this week he is thankful for the longing to move toward Jesus and pursue the things of God.

The Lord is not finished surprising us with His grace and power if we live for His purposes. Phil Ware takes time to reflect on twenty years on the web and to give thanks for those who got them there and for the Lord who continues to do miracles among us.

"I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for..."

Where is your primary citizenship? Our first and primary citizenship must be our allegiance to the Kingdom of God.

Got that sinking feeling now that Christmas is past? Sarah Stirman reflects on the holiday blues, the ending of Christmas, and the extravagance and expense of the holiday, both modern and old.

Why should we be content to remain immature in Christ? Mike Barres challenges us to seek spiritual maturity.

"Dear Servant of God, Families, churches, groups, and communities are all systems of people. These systems are built upon flawed people and broken..."

What kind of dreams do you dream? Russ Lawson challenges us to think about the dreams we dream and then go to work to make them happen.

When all is said and done, do you really have what you want? Tom Norvell reminds us that in the middle of giving thanks and offering gratitude for God, we should still have a holy discontent and recognize that we need more of Jesus.

Are you looking back or straining to what's ahead? Sometimes we find ourselves unhappy with where we are and look back to the good ol' days just like Israel did in turning their hearts back to Egypt.

"Father, I want to do this because I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection, and be allowed even to share in his sufferings, becoming....."

When is finishing third actually about winning? Olympic Marathon 2004 was wild with Vanderlei de Lima finishing third because of a weird attack, but he still finished.

Is this where you are right now? Russ Lawson reminds us that with so many things going on, we need to remember just the one important thing.

Why is it so easy to look backward instead of forward? Tom Norvell talks openly with the Lord about how hard it is to look forward and not backward and push on to the Lord's horizon.

So really how did he make this comeback? Rubel Shelly shares the story of Brett Favre and how he made an incredible comeback and set so many records for the Green Bay Packers.

Why do we not explore when there is so much to be discovered? Rubel Shelly reminds us that we need more risk takers and that there is still so much of the world to be explored.

What's the one thing you are supposed to do? Phil Ware shares about how important it is to find our one thing we are supposed to do in life and how to find it by spending time with Jesus.

What do we do when we can't unscramble our messes? What do you do when you can't unscramble the messes you've made; you trust that God can mend them and you go on trying to live a redemptive life.

What can we learn from a broken coffee cup? A broken mug helps Tom Norvel remind himself of what is most important about life and ministry, that we are not through when we are damaged, but we must press on.

What's so hard about getting up for you? A four year old reminds us that the problem isn't falling down, but it is staying down.

Is there someone out there who is really digitally perfect? Let's not make our ideal, our goal, into a bludgeoning stick -- but instead, let's keep working for God's goals in our lives.

Have you been rescued? God rescued Hannah and us from the garbage heap of our lives.

Are you helping, hurting, or just in the way? We can stand in the way of reaching the lost or we can open the highway to let folks come to Jesus!

Our world thinks this is tough news. We think it is good news. We live in a hard world and then we die. The world sees this as bad news getting worse. The Christian sees it as bad news getting better.

What's slowing down your system? Computers generate temporary files that can accumulate over time and slow down the system. We can get bogged down in the same way by things that accumulate in our minds over time.

How do we keep from letting the past dominate our future? Phil Ware reminds us to let the past stay in the past and gives us Paul's advice for moving beyond our past: forgetting, straining, pressing on.

How long has it been since you tried to do it again? Mike Barres talks about a real mess he made when he tried to cook when his wife was pregnant, but he tries again 28 years later to see if he can do it -- and does, reminding us to not quit with a failure.

Where are we going to get trained leaders for our church's future? Phil Ware reminds us of Jesus' practice in preparing his disciples for ministry and leadership.

Why in the world would anyone want to go to such an effort? Serving may be hard work, but like good exercise, it develops us into a healthier people.

Can you break away from the things that are holding you back? We need to realize that sin and bad habits are the leash holding us back from being all God wants us to be.

How can we lay down this concrete block that weighs us down and sinks our lives? Max Lucado talks about being released from the chains of guilt from the sin in the past and set free to live for God by grace.

As human beings, we can survive almost any 'how' if we have a 'why'! — Viktor Frankl James Nored and Phil Ware share God's message for us about purpose and meaning through words and video, focusing on Viktor Frankl and the apostle Paul.

How do we learn to live with broader horizons and greater risk-taking for the Kingdom of God? Phil Ware completes his four-part series called 'Ancient Wisdom, Modern Grace.' He reminds us of our need to be a risk-taking group of Jesus followers

Should this actually be one of our life goals? God is really in control, and is at our side, and in control of our agenda if we will loosen up and let him lead us.

I just wanted to focus on one thing this next year. So here are three. I stole the idea from the apostle Paul: three ways to focus on Jesus next year.

Are you not there yet? We must not give up on ourselves or each other because we are not there yet!

We can't go back, so let's go forward with faith and determination and hope! Phillip Morrison reminds us to focus forward and let go of the past.

So we are supposed to sing a song to get us on the same page? Phil Ware of www.interimministrypartners.com continues his series on inviting Jesus back to church with us and asks us to use Jesus to evaluate everything we do based on Jesus' example and teaching and use Paul's Christ hymn as our Jesus filter.

Jesus is not only our Savior and Lord, but he is also the model on whom we are to build our lives! James Nored and Phil Ware share in video and word how we can share in the life of Jesus in our lives today.