One of the great truths of our God is how he redeems every circumstance and every experience in our lives. We can look back years and see how God used past hurts, habits, and hangups for his greater purpose. This Sunday, we will look at Rahab—a gentile prostitute who is a recipient of this very truth. We will see how her willingness to put her faith in God resulted in her coming to know Him, and also, her life being redeemed by Him.
This morning we look at another defining moment. There are times we are summoned to a purpose that overwhelms and paralyzes us. Scripture has its examples, and one that stands out above others is Saul. He remains as one of the most perplexing stories in Scripture, one that confronts all of us and challenges us to rise to another level.
Joshua was an amazing leader for the people of Israel. Under his leadership, God used Joshua to bring the Israelites into the promised land and to expand its territories. But Joshua was not a perfect leader. In Joshua 9, we read of a time when Joshua used his own wisdom and self-reliance to lead in a way that he thought was right, without first consulting the wisdom of God. Contrasting Joshua with Jesus, we see that Jesus gives us the full picture of a perfect leader who serves with humility and seeks the will of the Father.
It's been said that Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react. In life there are many things that happen to us that we cannot control—and how we respond often shows us what we are made of. This coming week, we will look at Moses, a man who's had so many defining moments that books have been written on his life. We will be look at his response in the face of rejection and potential desertion from God. In preparation for this message, please read Exodus 32 and 33 to enrich our time together. I pray that the Lord will use His Word to help us respond well to the many interruptions and crises that come our way.
One of our greatest—and most dangerous—defining moments is when we make it to the top. Few have experienced the rarified air of the high summits like Solomon—and few have failed so completely.
One of our greatest—and most dangerous—defining moments is when we make it to the top. Few have experienced the rarified air of the high summits like Solomon—and few have failed so completely.
This coming week, we will be finishing our series in Colossians by looking at the theme of reconciliation. We will be looking at the book of Philemon. Turns out, Philemon was a member of the Colossian church, yet had a falling out with another member. Paul writes the letter of Philemon to him to encourage him to reconcile and forgive…in light of cultural challenges and more polarization in the culture, we need to hear this message even more.
In 1937, Walt Disney dazzled the world with the first ever colored full-length animated film: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. There’s a delightful scene in the movie where Snow White discovers the messy house of the Dwarves and decides to clean it. Keeping a joyful and positive attitude the whole time, Snow White and her animal friends clean the house singing and whistling while they work.
Colossians 3 speaks of a similar idea of keeping joy and doing all our work unto the Lord with joy in our heart. “Whatever you do… do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (3:17).
This week we continue our study of the Christian Household by looking at the relationship of parents and children. What we will see is that a home with Christ at the head is to be a place where parents are honored and loved through their children’s obedience. In addition, a Christian home is one where children are supported, encouraged and step out into the world with life and confidence for wherever God will take them.
This week we talk about one of the greatest unions that God created—the marriage covenant. As we reflect on the fact that Christ is All We Need—we get to see how Christ has chosen to design the marriage covenant between a man and a woman. There is great wisdom and purpose in the design of God in this way. I look forward to lifting up Jesus together!
Relationships sometimes squeak when we disagree or hold strong opinions that differ. In Colossians 3 we learn how to respond to frustrating disagreements with others in the church. How do we apply God's loving attitudes to our marriage or other relationships? God's way is so much better than "fight" or "flight" because Christ is all we need.
It’s a common thing in 2023 to have to replace things, especially with technology. It seems these days you need to replace a phone or device every few years just to be able to access the latest apps. Whether replacing technology, replacing parts in your car, or replacing appliances in your home, we are familiar with the concept of replacing old things with new things. In Colossians 3, Paul issues a challenge to put away old things. But what is important to note is we are not just called to put away the “Old self”, but to replace the old things with new things. Join us this Sunday as we explore what Christ calls us toward in our pursuit of replacing old with new.
This week we will be starting the third chapter of Colossians. Typical of Paul’s letters is that the first half of the letter tends to focus on what Christ has done for you… now chapters 3 and 4 will look at how we are to live in light of that. In this text, we will look at the one thing which must be engaged in order to live a consistent Christ-centered life... the mind! I look forward to being with you and seeing how God’s Spirit will show us how to live and think in a Christ-honoring way.
Greetings, this week we will be looking at the attempts to intimidate the Colossians. We have spoken about the false teaching in the church, and our passage this week, Col. 2:16-23, helps us identify just what those are. More important than the intimidation techniques, is the power in Christ. He is the one who is greater than any false teaching and the One who is our substance, our prize and our power to change.
This week—we will be looking at a great text speaking about the full confidence we have In Christ. We have so many reasons to be confident as Christians, but this text is specifically going to show us how we can live confidently in Christ, while also unpacking the many blessings that are ours because of our relationship with Christ.