At the end of his first letter, Peter reassures the church that, though suffering is inevitable and spiritual attack is probable, submission is vital and salvation is eternal. This was true for the early church and it is true for us today. It is the true grace of God and we should stand firm in it. Join us Sunday as Executive Pastor Arik Stewart brings us a message titled Stand Firm from 1 Peter 5:6-4.
"Salvation" Tagged Sermons
Many of our neighbors, classmates, teachers, coworkers, supervisors, friends, and family don’t believe and may never believe that they’re sinners who need a savior. But they will believe, at some point in their lives, that they’re mortal, that death is inevitable. This universal human experience is where Jesus, who died and rose again, is relevant to all people.
For many Christianity, is a religion of rules. Endless lists of dos and don’ts that prove to us that we don’t measure up cause us to despair. In fact, if we’re honest it often causes us to draw back from God and Jesus. Some may participate because it is “the right thing to do,” but this is only duty and it actually causes many people to steer as far away as possible from church, religion and anything that has to do with faith. However, in Mark 1, we read about two sets of sons who were working in their respective family businesses. One day these sons encountered Jesus during the course of their work day and the result was that they resigned from their Father’s businesses and became students of this up and coming Rabbi. What did Jesus teach that caused them to leave their life’s work so quickly and easily. It was very powerful, but it wasn’t a list of religious rules. Jesus was relevant to those men for the rest of their lives and He is completely relevant to us today because of the power of His Teachings.
The message of Hebrews is clear: Jesus is better! He’s better than anyone or anything else we can put our faith in! But why was the author of Hebrews inspired to share this message? Why did the church who received it need to hear it? Some members of the church were persevering and holding firmly to their faith and some of them were drifting and falling away from it, but all of them needed this reminder that Jesus is better and an explanation of how he’s better. They needed it so all of them would persevere in their faith even when it was difficult, even when drifting away from it was easier. We need this message for the same reasons. Are you holding firmly to your faith? Are you falling away from it? Over the next six-weeks a variety of preachers will encourage you to persevere by God’s grace because, truly, Jesus is better! This Sunday, Executive Pastor Arik Stewart will share our first message entitled Persevere in Faith from Hebrews 1:1-2:4. If you are unable to join us in person, please visit the 9 a.m. livestream or view the recording here.
Last week we studied Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthian church to prioritize loving others by not exercising personal freedoms when love and freedom conflict. This week we will study the reverse: prioritizing loving others by not restraining freedoms when restraint is unnecessary and deters people from receiving the Gospel message. Love restrains freedom for the sake of other Christians but love also frees restraint for the sake of those who aren’t yet Christians. Join us as we seek to better understand this way of living that Christ himself lived.
Jesus demonstrated his kingdom and his kingship in his life, death, and resurrection, so that all who believe that he is king can glorify him and enjoy him both now and forever. Join us on Sunday at 9 a.m. as we consider this compelling invitation to believe.
God created life. But sin created death. And the inevitability of death is troubling. We have a variety of ways of coping with this reality, of protecting our minds from fearing it. We deny the inevitability of death or rationalize it to try to lessen its burden. But none of these things actually prevent it or our fear of it. Only one thing can truly alleviate our fear of death: the assurance of salvation, of life after death. The assurance of salvation is a helmet that protects our minds from fear.
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?
As Jesus walked with God and with people, God instructed Him in what to say to people so that they would be illuminated to the realities of God’s nature and God’s plan for saving the world. As we walk with God, let us, like Jesus, receive and radiate God’s light so that truth is illuminated and believed, people are saved, and our triune God is glorified.
The Bible’s declaration of present and future Redemption is as revolutionary now as it was two millennia ago: God came into this broken creation to begin redeeming it. Redemption has started in us, God’s people, and eventually, it will be completed in us and through us. Our souls and bodies alike will be redeemed. Both the human and sub-human worlds will be redeemed. Redemption is for all of creation!