We have hope. Not a hope in something unknown as it may not come, but Paul’s hope, just like the Jewish hope from the Old Testament, is a confidently assured outcome. It is a certainty. We are God’s children adopted into his family, and because of that, we have hope in him that despite the suffering now, God’s presence will overshadow and bring his glory to bear upon the pain.

Leave a comment or prayer request and we would be happy to pray for or with you. If you are new to Life Church Utah, welcome! You are only a guest with us once, then you are family. We hope that you can feel right at home here.

|| We exist to lead the people of the valley to be more like Jesus ||

We are not obligated to live according to the old way of life, controlled by sin. But we do have a new reality in the Spirit - our lives turn toward Jesus, empowered by his Spirit to live a life that is true life. The spirit within you is empowering, loving, and fills with self-control, beyond your natural abilities - to put to death the misdeeds of the body! The enemy's upper hand in human nature is now a lost cause as we are filled and empowered by Christ!

If you wake up in the morning and think "this is going to be a bad day" what kind of day are you going to have? Unless someone interrupts your mindset, it’s going to be a bad day.

And the opposite can be true: Thinking "good day" can make you have a good day.

Paul is pointing out the inability of the mindset of the flesh to please God at any level.

In fact, the mindset of the flesh is death.

It is the outflow of the unredeemed heart that reveals death, pain, hurt. But Paul points out another option. The outlook or mindset of the Spirit: brings life and brings peace. This mindset is the mindset that pleases God. Which mindset do you have?

There is a battle. Some days we feel it intensely. Other days it fades into the background a bit. When we look at the world around us, we see the battle raging some days and other days subdued. There is delight internally in all that God is, but when push comes to shove, we are shoved in the direction of self rather than divine.

We took a break from our Romans series a little over a month ago. So a little review, Paul is writing to a young church in Rome. In this church, there are different groups of believers: those that have Judaism as a foundation; and those that have no spiritual foundation other than the culture-religious cults of the Roman world. So, Paul must lay a picture of what it means to be a Christian in light of these realities.

Life Church Utah is all about leading the people of the valley to be more like Jesus. We invite you to be a part of what God is doing here in West Valley, in your home through Life Groups. Get your teens connected to Realife. Step into discipleship opportunities. When we have outreaches, don’t wait to volunteer! We have such generous, loving, grounded people at Life Church. But don’t let it stop with you! Let God use you, even this week. And let God use you when it really counts - leading others (AND yourself) to be more like Jesus!