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Ask the Pastor – 1/15/22

January 15, 2022 | Abraham, ask the pastor, identity, Israel, Jacob, name change

This week’s question probably comes from one our our One Year Bible readers concerning the use of names in the book of Genesis. Here’s the question: “In Genesis, why is Jacob/Israel so inconsistently named? When God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, that was that, but not with Jacob/Israel.”

Lose to Find

May 14, 2017 | Matthew 16:13-26 | identity

How do you answer the question, “Who am I?” For many of you, you’ve tied your identity to your name, “I’m John or I’m Susie.” Others might say, “I’m a father or mother, or I’m a husband or a wife, I’m a son or daughter, I’m a teacher, I’m a nurse, I’m a coach, I’m a dog-lover or cat-lover. How do you answer the question? In Tim Keller’s book, Making Sense of God, he describes two ways that people have found their identity. One, he calls the “traditional path,” where the individual finds identity from the community in which they are born and grow up. The second path, Keller calls the “modern” or “secular” approach. This is the new emphasis on looking “inward” to find the true self, where one’s desires and dreams are to dictate one’s identity.

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus told His followers that they must lose their former sense of self in order to find their true identity in Christ. The only way that we can discover our true, God-given identity is by losing our former one and finding our true identity in Christ. How can we find our true identity in Christ? The text gives three steps to finding your true identity in Christ.

Awaken to Your True Identity

November 7, 2010 | 2 Peter 1:1-11 | exposition, identity

Pastor Gary Combs begins a new 4-week message series through the book of 2 Peter entitled: “AWAKEN – Seeing Life Through an Unclouded Lens.” This first message is from 2 Peter 1:1-11 and is entitled: “Awaken to Your True Identity.”

Boasting about my man scar

May 15, 2008 | identity, weakness, work

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV) “It’s a good thing you’re not a girl.” My wife recently declared after

On Becoming a Father

June 14, 2007 | father, future, identity, parent

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow