October 1, 2017 | Galatians 2:11 - 3:14 |
Freedom is connected to our faith. The word “faith” appears 12 times in today’s reading. Paul emphasized that it is faith in Christ that truly sets us free, not our own works of the law. In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatian churches, he told them that true freedom came not by works of the law, but by faith in Christ Jesus alone. Faith in Christ alone is the only way to experience true freedom.
September 24, 2017 | Galatians 2:1-10 |
The reason many people are not receiving the good news that sets us free today, is because they really haven’t heard the true gospel, or they heard it and received it, but then fell back into living by self-effort. This is what was happening to the Galatians. They had heard the true gospel from Paul, but they were in danger of losing their freedom in Christ by coming back under a slavery to self-effort. In the second chapter of Paul’s epistle to the Galatians, he explained why their freedom depended on the true gospel that he had preached to them. The true gospel is the only gospel that can set us free.
September 17, 2017 | Galatians 1:1-24 |
Are you free from slavery to sin? Have you received the grace of Christ which sets you free from sin and sin’s result, which is death? Some have never received this grace and that’s the good news for today. You can be set free because of God’s grace, His free gift of salvation. Many others have received this grace, but aren’t living as one who has been set free. Perhaps you have fallen into the trap of legalism. Having received the mercy of God for salvation, you are now trying to live according to your own merit. Having received God’s favor as a gift, you are now trying to earn God’s favor as a goal — as if God’s love is conditional based on your ongoing effort.
In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatian believers, he challenged them to return to Christ’s grace alone that was able to set them free. The only way to experience true freedom is to cling to Christ’s grace alone.
September 3, 2017 | Romans 12:4-5 |
God’s provision for our connection and growth is the Spirit within and the body of Christ without. In the book of Romans the apostle Paul told the Roman Christians that even though they had followed Christ by an individual decision they must recognize that in following Him they had become one body, connected to other believers. When we follow Christ we must make an individual decision to follow, but that leads to a corporate identity. We become the body of Christ connected to every other believer.
August 27, 2017 | Mark 12:30 |
Love and joy and celebration are connected. And where you focus your heart, where you put your affection, your first love, affects everything. What do you love first? You can tell by what you put first. Who or what comes first in your life? What are you celebrating? What is so important to you that you’re throwing a party, blowing out candles, setting off fireworks for, standing on your feet cheering for it?
Did you know that God cares about what you celebrate? In the book of Mark, Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment. In a sense he was asked to simplify all of the writings of Scripture down to one simple statment. Jesus didn’t pause. He gave them a simple command to celebrate God with all of their love.
August 20, 2017 | Matthew 4:18-22 |
In the book of Matthew, Jesus challenged the disciples with a simple commitment: “Follow me.” Jesus called them to a relationship with Him. He called them to be Jesus-followers. Of course, this meant leaving everything else behind. It was such a simple commitment, yet it led to a radically better life. We can answer this same simple commitment to follow Jesus and experience the better life He promised.
July 23, 2017 | Ephesians 4:15-24 |
“Oneness” as it relates to the family refers to the state of being in complete unity with one another and with the Lord. Why don’t we see the oneness that God intended at creation and that Christ came to give with our salvation? Why are so many families and marriages fractured and broken? One of the main problems is poor communication.
In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he taught them to seek oneness in Christ as the goal of their family communication. We can make oneness in Christ the goal of our family’s communication.
July 16, 2017 | Ephesians 3:14-21 |
You matter to God and your family matters to God. After all, the family was God’s idea. Yet, today families have strayed from God’s design and intent. In the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul prayed that believers would experience God’s blessing on the family. We can experience God’s blessing on our families.
July 9, 2017 | 1 John 2:3-6 |
Many in the church today falsely think they are Christians when in fact, they are not. They have prayed the prayer, but they have not truly come to faith in Jesus, because their lives are unchanged. So, how can we be sure?
In the apostle John’s first letter, he wrote to give believers confident assurance of their salvation in Jesus Christ. We can have confident assurance of our salvation in Jesus Christ.
July 2, 2017 | 1 John 4:13-21 |
Pastor Gary continued our sermon series called “So You Think You’re a Christian?”. Once we confess our mess and our need for a savior, the second movement of the gospel in our lives is receiving Christ’s love. Do you have a hard time forgiving yourself or others? Do you find yourself working really hard to try and measure up? Are you a perfectionist that has a hard time understanding that God loves you the way you are? Receiving Christ’s love is necessary to be a mature, growing Christian.