187 results found

Overcoming the Flesh by God’s Spirit

October 27, 2019 | Romans 8:1-11 | exposition

Do continue to do what you hate? You’ve received Christ, but you have feelings of guilt and shame because you want to do what pleases God, but you continue to give in to your old sin nature? Or maybe you’ve never received Christ, but you’re sick and tired of living life on your own. You’re ready to admit you need help.

What the apostle described in Romans 7 is the futility of trying to live the Christian life without the Spirit of God. Just as it’s impossible to earn God’s favor apart from faith, so it’s impossible to please God without depending on His indwelling Spirit. In Romans 8:1-8, the apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Rome that overcoming the flesh is only possible by a total reliance on the work of God’s Holy Spirit for their sanctification. We can understand why overcoming the flesh is only possible by relying on the work of God’s Spirit for our sanctification.

Wrestling With God’s Law

October 20, 2019 | Romans 7:7-25 | exposition

Who’s winning the wrestling match inside of you? The truth is, no matter how long you’ve been a Christ- follower, in this world we will never be so mature in Christ as to no longer see sin in ourselves. The accusation that the church is full of hypocrites is only true if we claim to be without sin.

No, we are sinners saved by grace! We are no longer under law, but under grace. And having been saved by grace, we are being sanctified, made holy by God’s grace too. So, again we ask, “What good is the law?” In Romans 7:7-25, the apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Rome that the purpose of the Law for the Christian was never to deliver them from sin, but to expose their sin and drive them back to total dependence on Christ. We can understand that the purpose of the law is not to deliver us from sin, but to expose our sin and drive us to total dependence on Christ.

Living By God’s Spirit

October 13, 2019 | Romans 7:1-6 | exposition

Law-keeping doesn’t set us free from slavery to sin, nor does it empower us to keep from sinning after being set free. This brings us to Chapter 7 where Paul shows the necessity of being released from under the law in order to overcome our “sin problem.” Because as it turns out, law-keeping does not make us righteous, but more apt to sin.

In Romans 7:1-6, the apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Rome that their new way of life was not about law-keeping, but loving and serving the risen Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. We can understand why our new way of life is not about law-keeping, but loving and serving the risen Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Surrendering to God’s Lordship

October 6, 2019 | Romans 6:15-23 | exposition

In Romans 6:1-14, he charged us to remember “who we are.” We are “in Christ.” Now, in Romans 6:15-23, he will challenge us to remember “whose we are.”

In Romans 6:15-23, the apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Rome that they must choose who would be their master, would they continue under sin’s authority or would they surrender themselves completely to God’s lordship through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We can surrender ourselves completely to God’s lordship through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Responding to God’s Sanctification

September 29, 2019 | Romans 6:1-14 | exposition

For the first 5 chapters of Romans, Paul has worked this gospel message out for us, showing how: (1) We are all sinners in need of salvation (Rom. 1:18-3:20), and (2) The only way to be saved is to receive God’s justification by faith in Christ apart from works (Rom. 3:21-5:21). Now, we turn to Romans 6, where Paul will move from the theme of the salvation of the sinner, to explaining the sanctification of the saint.

In Romans 6:1-14, Paul wrote to the saints in Rome that having died to sin with Christ, they were set free to respond to God’s sanctification through faith in Christ. As believers, we can respond to God’s sanctification through faith in Christ.

Reigning in God’s Grace

September 22, 2019 | Romans 5:12-21 | exposition, grace

There is a great battle raging for our allegiance. Will you be ruled by guilt or grace? This battle began in the Garden of Eden. Guilt is both a status and a feeling. Adam felt and behaved guilty because he was guilty. He had broken God’s law. His guilt made him feel ashamed. We are guilty of breaking God’s law too. And guilty people feel shame. Shame can move us to repent and turn to God, but often we are reluctant to repent. In Romans 5:12-21, Paul wrote to the saints in Rome that they no longer had to be ruled by guilt, but could reign in the grace of God received through faith in Christ.

Rejoicing in God’s Justification

September 15, 2019 | Romans 5:1-11 | exposition

Wouldn’t you like to experience peace, hope, joy, love, and reconciliation in your life? Many of us search far and wide just to find one them.

Is your life full of anxiety and care? Do you need peace? When you think about the future, are you filled with hope or despair? Do you need some hope? How about love and reconciliation? Is your life filled with broken relationships? Wouldn’t you like some help restoring them? In the book of Romans chapter 5, Paul wrote to the believers in Rome that they should rejoice in their justification by faith in Jesus Christ. We can rejoice in our justification by faith in Jesus.

Staying the Course

March 31, 2019 | Nehemiah 13 | exposition, generosity

Have you ever been confronted with the fact that you got off course in life? How did you handle it? Did you humble yourself and admit you were wrong, lost, off-course? Or did you pridefully keep going in the wrong direction? As humans, we’re always in danger of getting off-course. Even when we get back on track, we can’t take our eyes off of God, or we’ll slide into a ditch or take a wrong turn. Yet, God mercifully and lovingly confronts us over and over again to help us stay the course as His people.

In the Book of Nehemiah chapter 13, God led Nehemiah to confront the people of Jerusalem that they had strayed as the people of God and to get back on course. God still confronts our tendency to stray and calls us to stay the course.

Reviving the City

March 24, 2019 | Nehemiah 11-12 | exposition, generosity

In the book of Nehemiah, revival came to the city of Jerusalem. The city was made safe again by the rebuilding of its walls, but it was the preaching of God’s Word and the repentance of the people of God that led to the revival of Jerusalem that we see in chapters 11 and 12. In the Book of Nehemiah chapters 11 and 12, God inspired Nehemiah to lead His people to do more than just rebuild Jerusalem, but to revive the Holy City. God still calls His people to seek revival in the city in which they live.

Remembering the Covenant

March 17, 2019 | Nehemiah 9-10 | exposition, generosity

We live in a day of broken promises and broken covenants. So many of us have felt the hurt of either experiencing the broken promise of a friend or family member. Even worse, we know the shame of having failed to keep a promise that we made to someone we care about. This epidemic of promise breaking has produced a generation who is afraid to make commitment for fear they’ll fail. Where do we turn? Who makes and keeps their promises, their covenants, these days? God does. For God is a covenant making, covenant keeping and covenant sealing God!

In the Book of Nehemiah chapters 9-10, the Israelites remembered the covenant God had made with them and responded by renewing their commitment to Him. We can respond to that same God who offers to covenant with us.