Ready for the Road Ahead
Ready for the Road Ahead
Pastor Bob began this week’s sermon with a simple picture: hiking shoes.
If you’ve ever tried to walk a long distance in the wrong shoes, you know how quickly things can go badly. Dress shoes might look nice, but a few miles into a trail they can leave your feet blistered, your back aching, and your energy drained. Hiking boots, on the other hand, are made for the journey. They protect your feet, help you stand firm, and allow you to keep going when the road gets rough.
That image helps us understand what Paul is talking about in Ephesians 6 when he describes the “armor of God.” Paul says we are to have our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the “gospel of peace,” and to take up the “shield of faith.”
In other words, God gives us what we need to stand, walk, endure, and move forward.
The Good News That Gives Us Peace
The word “gospel” simply means “good news.” For Christians, the gospel is the good news of Jesus: that God entered our broken world, took on our sin and pain, died on the cross, and rose again so that we could have peace with God.
That peace is not just a nice feeling or a temporary break from stress. It is a deep reality. Through Jesus, the war between God and sin has been won. The separation between us and God has been overcome. We can be made right with God through faith.
Pastor Bob connected this to the Old Testament book of Isaiah, where God promises rescue and peace for His people. Israel was facing destruction, exile, and the consequences of turning away from God. They needed saving—not only from outside enemies, but from the deeper problem of sin.
Isaiah points forward to Jesus, the one who would bring true peace.
This is why the message of Jesus is called the gospel of peace. It gives us solid ground to stand on. It prepares us for the road ahead. Like good boots on a difficult trail, the peace Jesus gives helps us keep going.
Faith Is Not Wishful Thinking
Pastor Bob also focused on the “shield of faith.” Faith is sometimes talked about as if it means believing something without reason, or hoping against hope that things will work out. But Christian faith is not a blind leap into the dark.
Faith is trust rooted in who God is.
We trust God because of what He has already done. We see His faithfulness in Scripture. We see it in history. We see it in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. And many of us can look back over our own lives and see moments where God was quietly weaving things together, even when we didn’t understand it at the time.
Pastor Bob shared a personal story about how a last-minute change in who officiated his wedding eventually became part of a much larger story of how God led him and Becky into church ministry and, eventually, to Bethany. At the time, it felt stressful and inconvenient. Looking back, they could see God’s hand at work.
That is often how faith grows. We don’t always see the whole picture in the moment. But over time, we learn that God is trustworthy.
When Life Gets Hard
The image of a shield is powerful. Paul describes faith as protection against the “flaming arrows” of the evil one. Those arrows can come in many forms: fear, temptation, discouragement, shame, suffering, confusion, or doubt.
Faith does not mean life will be easy. It does not mean we will never struggle. It means that when the arrows come, we know where to run.
Pastor Bob reminded us that, throughout the Bible, God Himself is described as our shield. Faith is not about trusting faith itself. Faith is how we take refuge in God.
When we are afraid, we turn to Him.
When we are tempted, we ask for His strength.
When we doubt, we can pray honestly, “I believe; help my unbelief.”
When we don’t understand, we hold on to His character.
God is faithful even when our faith feels weak.
What Are We Really Trusting?
One of the challenges Pastor Bob gave was to consider what we might be trusting more than God.
An idol is not only a statue or an ancient religious object. An idol can be anything we rely on for security, identity, control, or happiness more than God. It could be money, success, work, relationships, comfort, family, reputation, or even our own ability to manage life.
Many of these things are not bad in themselves. But when they become ultimate, they begin to take our eyes off Jesus. And when our eyes are off Jesus, we lose peace.
Part of growing in faith is learning to ask:
“What am I trusting to hold me together?”
“What am I looking to for peace?”
“What has become more important to me than God?”
Those are not always easy questions, but they are good ones.
Ready to Share Good News
Finally, Pastor Bob brought us back to the image of shoes. If the gospel of peace makes us ready, what are we ready for?
We are ready to share the good news.
Not in a forced, awkward, guilt-driven way. Not because we have all the perfect words. But because when God is changing our lives, we naturally begin to want others to know that same hope and peace.
Sharing faith is not about winning an argument. It is about saying, “Here is what God has done in my life. Here is the peace I have found in Jesus. Don’t you want to know this too?”
If sharing your faith feels difficult, Pastor Bob’s encouragement was simple: don’t start with guilt. Start by looking again at the gospel. Spend time remembering what Jesus has done. Pay attention to where God is working in your life. Ask Him to grow your faith.
As our trust in God deepens, our desire to share His goodness often grows too.
The road ahead may not always be easy. But God has not left us unprepared. He gives us peace for the journey, faith for the battle, and good news worth carrying into the world.
Scriptures Referenced
- Ephesians 6:15-16
- Isaiah 52:7-10
- Isaiah 53:10-11
- Luke 1
- Luke 2:14
- Romans 5:1-2
- Romans 8:28-29
- Romans 10:15
- 2 Kings 17:7-23
- 2 Chronicles 36:14-21
- Jeremiah 25:8-11
- Psalm 119:114
- Psalm 28:7
- Hebrews 11:1
- James 1
- 1 Corinthians 10:13
- 1 Corinthians 15
- Mark 9:24
- Mark 16:15
Pastor Bob began this week’s sermon with a simple picture: hiking shoes.
If you’ve ever tried to walk a long distance in the wrong shoes, you know how quickly things can go badly. Dress shoes might look nice, but a few miles into a trail they can leave your feet blistered, your back aching, and your energy drained. Hiking boots, on the other hand, are made for the journey. They protect your feet, help you stand firm, and allow you to keep going when the road gets rough.
That image helps us understand what Paul is talking about in Ephesians 6 when he describes the “armor of God.” Paul says we are to have our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the “gospel of peace,” and to take up the “shield of faith.”
In other words, God gives us what we need to stand, walk, endure, and move forward.
The Good News That Gives Us Peace
The word “gospel” simply means “good news.” For Christians, the gospel is the good news of Jesus: that God entered our broken world, took on our sin and pain, died on the cross, and rose again so that we could have peace with God.
That peace is not just a nice feeling or a temporary break from stress. It is a deep reality. Through Jesus, the war between God and sin has been won. The separation between us and God has been overcome. We can be made right with God through faith.
Pastor Bob connected this to the Old Testament book of Isaiah, where God promises rescue and peace for His people. Israel was facing destruction, exile, and the consequences of turning away from God. They needed saving—not only from outside enemies, but from the deeper problem of sin.
Isaiah points forward to Jesus, the one who would bring true peace.
This is why the message of Jesus is called the gospel of peace. It gives us solid ground to stand on. It prepares us for the road ahead. Like good boots on a difficult trail, the peace Jesus gives helps us keep going.
Faith Is Not Wishful Thinking
Pastor Bob also focused on the “shield of faith.” Faith is sometimes talked about as if it means believing something without reason, or hoping against hope that things will work out. But Christian faith is not a blind leap into the dark.
Faith is trust rooted in who God is.
We trust God because of what He has already done. We see His faithfulness in Scripture. We see it in history. We see it in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. And many of us can look back over our own lives and see moments where God was quietly weaving things together, even when we didn’t understand it at the time.
Pastor Bob shared a personal story about how a last-minute change in who officiated his wedding eventually became part of a much larger story of how God led him and Becky into church ministry and, eventually, to Bethany. At the time, it felt stressful and inconvenient. Looking back, they could see God’s hand at work.
That is often how faith grows. We don’t always see the whole picture in the moment. But over time, we learn that God is trustworthy.
When Life Gets Hard
The image of a shield is powerful. Paul describes faith as protection against the “flaming arrows” of the evil one. Those arrows can come in many forms: fear, temptation, discouragement, shame, suffering, confusion, or doubt.
Faith does not mean life will be easy. It does not mean we will never struggle. It means that when the arrows come, we know where to run.
Pastor Bob reminded us that, throughout the Bible, God Himself is described as our shield. Faith is not about trusting faith itself. Faith is how we take refuge in God.
When we are afraid, we turn to Him.
When we are tempted, we ask for His strength.
When we doubt, we can pray honestly, “I believe; help my unbelief.”
When we don’t understand, we hold on to His character.
God is faithful even when our faith feels weak.
What Are We Really Trusting?
One of the challenges Pastor Bob gave was to consider what we might be trusting more than God.
An idol is not only a statue or an ancient religious object. An idol can be anything we rely on for security, identity, control, or happiness more than God. It could be money, success, work, relationships, comfort, family, reputation, or even our own ability to manage life.
Many of these things are not bad in themselves. But when they become ultimate, they begin to take our eyes off Jesus. And when our eyes are off Jesus, we lose peace.
Part of growing in faith is learning to ask:
“What am I trusting to hold me together?”
“What am I looking to for peace?”
“What has become more important to me than God?”
Those are not always easy questions, but they are good ones.
Ready to Share Good News
Finally, Pastor Bob brought us back to the image of shoes. If the gospel of peace makes us ready, what are we ready for?
We are ready to share the good news.
Not in a forced, awkward, guilt-driven way. Not because we have all the perfect words. But because when God is changing our lives, we naturally begin to want others to know that same hope and peace.
Sharing faith is not about winning an argument. It is about saying, “Here is what God has done in my life. Here is the peace I have found in Jesus. Don’t you want to know this too?”
If sharing your faith feels difficult, Pastor Bob’s encouragement was simple: don’t start with guilt. Start by looking again at the gospel. Spend time remembering what Jesus has done. Pay attention to where God is working in your life. Ask Him to grow your faith.
As our trust in God deepens, our desire to share His goodness often grows too.
The road ahead may not always be easy. But God has not left us unprepared. He gives us peace for the journey, faith for the battle, and good news worth carrying into the world.
Scriptures Referenced
- Ephesians 6:15-16
- Isaiah 52:7-10
- Isaiah 53:10-11
- Luke 1
- Luke 2:14
- Romans 5:1-2
- Romans 8:28-29
- Romans 10:15
- 2 Kings 17:7-23
- 2 Chronicles 36:14-21
- Jeremiah 25:8-11
- Psalm 119:114
- Psalm 28:7
- Hebrews 11:1
- James 1
- 1 Corinthians 10:13
- 1 Corinthians 15
- Mark 9:24
- Mark 16:15
Posted in Expository Preaching, Faith and Growth, Gospel, Gospel / Good News, Sermon Highlights, Sermons, Sharing the Gospel, Spiritual Warfare, Faith
Posted in Shoes, Sharing the Good News, Good News, jesus, Faith, Having Faith
Posted in Shoes, Sharing the Good News, Good News, jesus, Faith, Having Faith
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