What does faithfulness in this 2024 election year look like amid our diverse, divided and chaotic world? What should you say or not say when others declare ideas that are opposed to God’s ways revealed in the Bible? How should you love your neighbor, co-worker or classmate when they are openly hostile toward Christ? A first-century-bold proclaimer faced similar tensions in his generation. So, Jesus trained Peter to be strong amidst opposition with a Christ-like presence. Join us this Sunday January 7 to worship God as we begin our new study, “Gentleness – a beautiful way in a chaotic world” through Peter’s first letter!
"grace" Tagged Sermons
“Sharp Curve Ahead!” “Bacteria in Water!” “Zip Line Damaged!” Warnings are a necessary part of life for our good. Join us Sunday at 9 a.m. as we see the 8th Century B.C. consequence of Jerusalem’s dismissal of God’s warnings and receive training to respond to God’s merciful warnings with gratitude rather than defensiveness.
Many people pray. Who we pray to and what we pray for makes all of the difference. As Paul writes to the church in Ephesus, he expresses his thanks to God for them following Christ and then he shares with them what he prays for them. What he prays is not for their safety or their prosperity, but for their full experiential knowledge of what they have in Christ – Hope and His Great Power! What would change in our lives if we received this type of prayer and prayed it for each other?
On sunny and rainy days, it is good, necessary and right to consider the goodness of God. Please join us this Sunday as we unite in song, prayer and God’s Word to meditate on several blessings which God has given to all who love Jesus. This week’s message will be the first in a new series through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.
Measuring the right things is an essential part of life. In this closing section of Paul’s letter to the Galatian churches we discover what God measures among His people within a local church. While we tend to count a variety of things, what matters to God is His vision for “new creation.”
In Galatians, Paul passionately contrasts a life of Faith that leads to being filled with The Spirit versus a life in the flesh that keeps you a slave under the law. For us today, God’s plan is for us to live in freedom, in The Spirit, and no longer be slaves to our controlling religious striving. We must trust all that God has said and walk in Freedom as Sons and Daughters of God.
Things are not right in the world and in us. The Bible reveals the cause of this reality to be sin and the remedy to be faith in Jesus as Lord. This remedy is good news and is difficult for us to accept. In this second message from Paul’s letter to the Galatians we discover that, though hard to believe, the gospel in a word is Jesus.
How can we begin and cultivate a life with God? Today we begin a series through Paul’s letter to the Galatians because this letter was penned by a man who grappled with this question, sent by a community that wrestled with this question, received by churches that were uncertain how to answer this question and now, it is given to us who must be clear and resolute in answering this ultimate question, “How can we begin and cultivate a life with God?”
If God is loving why does the Bible also warn of His wrath and judgment? How can these two portrayals of God co-exist? The response of Nineveh’s king to Jonah’s message of judgment followed by God’s response to the king provides a portrayal of grace, the relationship between and reason for God’s love and justice.
The Bible teaches that there are many rewards given to God’s children. Yet, it also teaches that not everyone is a child of God. Are you? Am I? How can we become children of God? If a 10-year old asked you how to become a child of God, what would you say? On this Sunday after Christmas we learn from the Apostle John, who spent three years with the Incarnate Jesus, God’s answer to the question, “How can we become a child of God?”