Apostles Raleigh: Recent Episodes
Church of the Apostles Raleigh
Deep repentance can lead us to deeper joy, love, and delight of God. Today's readings: Colossians 3:1-12; Luke 7:36-47.
Today we hear from Bishop Louis from the Shyogwe Diocese in Rwanda. Today's readings: Nehemiah 9:16-21; Matthew 14:13-21.
Today as we continue through Colossians, we look at Paul's warnings against a body of believers that is disconnected from the head of Christ. Today's readings: Colossians 2:16-23; Matthew 6:1-8.
In today's section of Colossians, Paul is warning against pursuing empty forms of fulfillment. Today's readings: Colossians 2:8-15, Luke 6:20-26.
The imperative in Colossians 2:8 reflects Paul's heart, that the Colossians would know Jesus is enough for them. Today's Readings: Colossians 2:8-15, Matthew 12:22-29.
In Colossians 2, we learn that discipleship, life in Christ, is to be rooted like a tree and overflowing like a jug full of wine. Today's Readings: Colossians 2:6-7, Luke 6:43-49.
For this section of Colossians, Paul reminds the church in Colossae of what the Gospel is and gives reason for why they should never depart from it. Today's Readings: Colossians 1:21-23; John 3:22-30.
As we jump back into our study of Colossians, today we wrestle with what it means that Jesus is the image of the invisible God and the firstborn over all creation. Today's Reading: Colossians 1:15-20; John 1:1-14.
Pentecost brings to the disciples the power of the Holy Spirit; today, we take a look at how the Holy Spirit can serve as our counselor.Today's readings: Acts 2:1-11; John 16:7,12-15.
As we focus in on the Ascension of Jesus, we learn about a power, a presence, and a plea. Today's readings: Acts 1:1-14; John 17:1-11.
Looking at Paul's letter to the Colossians, we learn about how to mature as followers of Christ. Today's Readings: Colossians 1:9-14; John 15:1-5.
At the start of the book of Colossians, Paul proclaims The Gospel, the ultimate good news that satisfies all we're searching for. Today's Readings: Colossians 1:1-8; Matthew 13:31-32, 44.
Christian's belief in the resurrection of the dead is crucial to our faith, not just because of the single, isolated resurrection of Jesus, but because it is something we're all promised, that our bodies will be resurrected like Him. Today's readings: Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:42-44; Luke 24:36-49.
What can we learned about how Jesus comes beside us in the ordinary moments of life through looking at how the resurrected Jesus appears to his disciples on the road to Emmaus. Today's Readings: Psalm 116:12-17; Luke 24:13-35.
Days after the resurrection, Jesus unexpectedly visits his disciples and we see how he changes the atmosphere in the room. Today's Readings: Isaiah 53:1-12 ; John 20:19-31.
Today we focus on three things related to the meaning of Jesus' resurrection: Easter facts, Easter rescue, and Easter alchemy.Today's readings: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Matthew 28:1-10.
As Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey, prophecy is fulfilled and a framework is set around who Jesus is.
This week, we consider how we could live each day of our lives in companionship with Christ. Readings: 2 Corinthians 4:5-11; Matthew 16:21-25.
Continuing in our series, this week we tackle how we are to handle the fear of death. This week's readings: Psalm 139:7-16; John 11:11-44.
As we continue in our series on how to die well, today we look at how we are to respond to the decay of our physical bodies. Today's readings: 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:5; John 5:1-6.
Through the art of dying, how can we see the deathbed as a place of ministry and invite others into our death, sorrow, and grief so that we can experience the presence of Jesus together. Today's Readings: 2 Timothy 4:1-8; Matthew 25:34-40.
To start off our series on the art of dying well, today, we seek to understand the importance of acknowledging our finitude, even long before death seems to be at the door. Today's readings: Romans 5:12-19 and John 3:12-17
This week we're diving deep into the transfiguration. Readings: 2 Peter 1:16-21 and Luke 9:28-36.
Unlike the gods of greek mythology that remain distant and inattentive to our needs, we have a God that draws near to us, is compassionate and loving. Today's readings are Isaiah 40:21-31 and Mark 1:29-39.
Where do we turn when we're anxious about a future that is unknowable and uncontrollable? Do we have a mindset of divination or of prophecy? Between our readings in Deuteronomy 18:15-20 and Mark 1:21-28, we learn the difference.
Edward Dixon and Eric Bolash discuss what is revealed about God's saving power as they consider Jonah 3:1-5, 10 and Mark 1:14-20.
In this season of Epiphany, we look at our readings, 1 Samuel 3:1–10 and John 1:43–51, and ask the question, “What is God unveiling?”
The baptism of Jesus teaches us how we don't need to clean ourselves up before coming to God, rather Jesus came to us, and it is through him we are made clean.
Through the stories of Simeon and Anna, in Luke two, we learn how personal devotion to God illuminates God's work of deliverance for his people.
When the word became flesh in Jesus, we were given a front row seat into the character of God. In Jesus, God drew near to us, spoke to us, and showed us his glory.
Jesus comes among us as the incarnate deity so that he can renew us by his accompanied presence.
As we look at Isaiah 35, we see a tension we can often experience between themes of honesty and hope.
As we begin Advent, we look at Isaiah and Matthew under the headings of the promise, the person, and the paradox.
There's a danger for us when we overestimate our own abilities and underestimate the power of Christ. On Christ the King Sunday, we seek to recognize the signs in our life of God's power.
Today we explore the phenomenon of when you become a Christian, a world of possibility opens up, while at the same time nothing practically is different.
At the beginning of Matthew chapter ten, Jesus lists the names of his twelve disciples, teaching us something about unassuming greatness and impossible unity.
On All Saints we remember all those who have gone before us as faithful believers and we're encouraged ourselves to be people that love God with all we have.
As Matthew chapter nine continues, we see Jesus as the model of the Good Shepherd, through his mission of teaching, preaching, and healing.
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As Jesus heals the blind in Matthew 9, we see how faith is born, formed, and broken and we reflect upon how the same is true for us in the house of the Lord.
In Matthew chapter nine, a significant healing takes place that teaches us why each of us need healing, where we receive it, and how we get it.
The third controversy we see in Matthew 9 surrounds the question of does Jesus override holy practices?
In Matthew 9, we see Jesus invite Matthew, a tax collector, to 'follow Him,' thus initiating a call, a controversy, and a correction.
This week, as we look at Matthew 8, where Jesus casts out demons and sends a herd of pigs over a cliff, we see how His creative presence interacts with chaotic places.
In Matthew, chapter eight, Jesus and His disciples find themselves in the middle of a lake during a furious storm; Jesus, however, is fast asleep. This week, we ask the questions: What keeps us from sleeping, and how can we fall and stay asleep?
This week, we jump back into our study of the gospel of Matthew, taking a look at the story of Jesus healing the man with leprosy.
In the final week of our gospel partnership series, we discuss Apostles' relationship to the Anglican Church in Rwanda, and look at how it mirrors the way Gentile churches in the New Testament served the Lord's people in Jerusalem.
We see many examples throughout the bible of God's compassion towards the orphan and widow. This week in our gospel partnership series, we explore how God evokes our sympathy for the fatherless and how we are called to open our homes to care for those beyond blood relation.
This week, our Gospel Partnership series continues with a focus on two powerful truths: our calling to love the foreigner—and the rich gift that the foreigner brings to us.
Throughout the month of August, we’ll focus on the fourfold call in Zechariah 7:9–10 to care for the widow, the fatherless, the foreigner, and the poor. This week, we begin with the poor.
For our final salvation story from Acts 16, we see God bust open prison walls and break chains not only to set his people free, but ultimately to save the jailer and his household.
Continuing our journey through Acts 16, we meet an enslaved young woman. The way she encounters salvation has much to teach us about God's sovereignty and deliverance.
We look to the story of Lydia, in Acts 16, to understand how the Lord alone can open one's heart and create life transformation.
This week we conclude our study of the sermon on the mount with Jesus' instructions that in order to build a strong foundation one must put his words and teachings into practice.
Narrow gate or the wide one? Broad road or the small path? Jesus invites us to find life to the full by discerning the difference.
Taking a look at Matthew seven, today we discuss how prayer is simple, complicated, and a furnace.
It can be tempting to call out flaws in others before dealing with them in ourselves. How do we humbly accept correction and gently encourage others toward righteousness?
How do we listen to God's command to stop worrying in a time where anxiety and worry are prevalent and pervasive.
How do we detach ourselves from earthly things, and instead devote ourselves to pursuing kingdom generosity.
Jesus seeks out and transforms the lives of even the most unlikely characters. Through the story of Zacchaeus we are reminded that no one goes unnoticed by God, and no one is beyond God's redemption.
"Do not resist an evil person." How do we make sense of these hard to comprehend words from Jesus in our own world and lives today?
Guest preacher, The Reverend Tee Gatewood, joins in on our study of the Gospel of Matthew picking up in Matthew 5:33 to talk about the importance of our words.
During our Good Friday service we read the last seven words that Jesus gives from the cross, please enjoy these meditations on those words.
On Maundy Thursday, Jesus met with his disciples for the last supper. Tonight, we take a look at how our suffering can be redeemed and how we can draw close to the Lord through Holy Communion.
As we walk with Jesus this Holy Week, we see Jesus enter Jerusalem triumphantly on a donkey, with palm branches waving and shouts of 'Hosanna' ringing out; but the week quickly takes a darker turn, as we witness His own disciples denying and betraying Him, and the crowds chanting, 'Crucify Him!'"
This week, we explore how Jesus calls out anger and indifference towards others to be just as destructive as murder.
In Matthew 5, Jesus transforms our expectation of righteousness by calling out the pharisee's perfectionist yet superficial obedience to the law, and instead Jesus calls for a transformation of heart.
Continuing through Jesus' sermon on the mount, this week we reflect on what it means to be the salt of the earth.
Continuing through the Beatitudes, this week we narrow in on the purity of heart that Jesus calls us to.
This week we begin studying Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, tackling the meaning of the phrase "blessed are the poor is spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
As we enter into the season of Lent and orient ourselves towards God, we take a look at the spiritual practice of discernment.
In Matthew chapter 4, we see Jesus' ability to heal has no boundaries and no limits. His power and compassion is comprehension, and undefeated.
As we read about Jesus calling his first disciples, we discover what Jesus wants for us and from us.
Jesus' first sermon calling for repentance wasn't meant as a harsh judgement against us but rather a kindness towards us.
Covering the last temptation of Jesus, this week we seek to understand what this temptation teaches us about who Jesus is and what Jesus has done.
In the second temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4, we see how the misuse of scripture can be a profound source of evil and active hindrance for following the will of God.
Today we take a look at what Jesus' testing in the wilderness reveals to us about his humanity and divinity.
Continuing on in Matthew, this week we take a look at why baptism is something we do and what happens in baptism.
We continue our series through the Gospel of Matthew, this week we look at what John the Baptist says about the law.
Looking at the second chapter of Matthew, we learn that the birth of Christ begets hostility both in the world and in our own hearts.
In Matthew 2, the magi see a great light in the sky and the draw near with fascination, discovering the infant Christ. We receive the same invitation, to come close with unguarded fascination and experience what God has for us.
Tonight, on this holy night, we look to the Shepherds who were the first to hear the good news, Christ the Savior is born!
This week, we zoom in on the person of Joseph to understand his sensitivity to God and his ability to be a place of safety and security for others.
Man began in the Garden of Eden walking with God, now, in this season of advent we wait patiently for Christ's birth, when God will walk on earth again with his people.
Continuing our series through the Gospel of Matthew, today we look at the name of Jesus, our Emmanuel.
How Matthew shares the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew chapter one delivers essential truths about who God is and who Jesus is.
To conclude our series on the Temple, this week we look at the failure of the Temple of Solomon.
Continuing our series on the temple, this week we take a look at the temple people, priests and levites and what the call was for them, and us today.
Continuing our series on the Temple, this week looking at Leviticus, we discuss the sacrificial system of the Old and New Testaments.
Today we'll be looking at Exodus 31 to discuss the "stuff" of the temple, how its furnishing contributed to its purpose, and what it all has to do with us today.
The temple is how God fulfills his promise to "live among the Israelites," it was a place to worship but much more than that, it is where God dwells with his people.
When we fully understand how God atones for our sin, then we realize how we can bask in the greatest victory we could imagine.
The resurrection of Jesus crushes hell and satan, it puts death to death. This week, we'll take a look at what that means for us today.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." What is rest, why do we need it, and how do we get it?
Continuing through our communion prayer, this week we look at the ultimate act of selfless love, Jesus' obedience to offer himself on the cross for us.
This week we continue our series through the communion prayer liturgy by taking a look at the incarnation of Jesus.
Today we're looking at Genesis 3 to discuss how sin works as an attitude, a belief, and a conduct.
Without memory you don't know who you are, where you're from, or what you do. This week marks the start of a new sermon series in which we will be taking a look at the communion prayer of consecration which helps us to remember before God our creation and redemption.
When we feel like our life consists of going from one crisis to another, how can we look to Psalm 40 and John 12 to find comfort and composure for ourselves.
Just like the Israelites wandering in the desert craving something more than the manna they were receiving, there's something within our human nature that keeps us battling with our unsatisfied desires. And yet, Jesus tells us in the Gospels that he is the bread of life who can fulfill all hunger and thirst.
Psalm 69 being quoted in the Gospels not only reminds us of the similarities between David and Jesus, but more importantly reveals to us how Jesus is the better David, one that doesn't need a savior but is the Savior.
The music you listen to can tell a lot about you. In this new sermon series, we'll be taking a looks at the Psalms mentioned in the New Testament to understand what they are telling us about Jesus.
The Gospel is how God aligns us from the natural stumbling and wavering that happens within us and instead sets us on the path to becoming the people we were meant to be.
We are being asked to level up to the worthiness of the one who calls us. From infancy into maturity, we take a look at how we grow up in Christ.
For this new series, we'll be looking at the commands given to us throughout Ephesians 4, beginning this week with call to be at peace with God and others.
Through this series, we've been looking at the church in Acts 2 to answer the questions what should the church today look like? This week we discuss how our community should radiate joy.
None of the spiritual gifts we've been taking a look at in the past few weeks can happen without the empowerment that comes from the Holy Spirit. This week we'll take a look at how that empowerment of the Spirit relates to the gift of faith.
In the new testament, we see the church experience the gift of tongues in two different capacities that both promote equality. We see that Christian community is to be marked by speech that invites and enables equal participation in the life of God.
As we continue to looks at the practices of the early church, this week, we'll examine how a reflexive expression of being filled with the Spirit is to speak. By the Spirit we are emboldened to bear witness and give voice to the works of God.
The expectancy of the church that we looked at last week leads us to a view of creation in which we believe God's power and presence is seen on earth. This week, we'll look at how the biblical phrase of "signs and wonders" express the recognition that God does things in our world that defy human explanation.
In this sermon series, we'll be drawing out a characteristic of the church as described in Acts 2 each week. This week, we're looking at how the church was expectant. They possessed a high expectation that the living God of the Lord Jesus Christ would act in discernable and tangible ways, by the Holy Spirit, in their lives.
On the day of Pentecost, in Acts 2, we see that when the spirit came it was then that the disciples were empowered with boldness to share the good news.
The ascension of Jesus reminds us of the importance of knowing where Jesus is because of what it tells us crucial aspects of who he is.
In Acts 8, we learn from Philip a powerful pattern of witnessing. He receives a prompt from the Spirit, which leads to a curious question, followed by a good news answer.
Taking a look at Acts 11, we discover a key to the success of the church of Antioch. Encouragement might sound like something simple but it is indeed representing something stronger and more powerful than we know of the word today.
In Acts 4, we see the disciples discover and access a new understanding of God's resurrection power through prayer.
What is it about the resurrection of Jesus that the Sanhedrin found so threatening in Acts 4?
The resurrected Jesus does not belong in a book, His influence and achievement does not exist in the past tense, He is alive and risen and actively working in the world today!
Four Meditations on Jesus' last words. Meditation 2 begins at minute mark 5:20, meditation 3 begins 12:45, meditation 4 begins 18:40.
All of Jesus' public ministry pointed to his identity as the Messiah, but when the time came for Jesus to die on the cross he was surrounded by those who only casted statements of unbelief. How do we take our capacity to trust and put it in Jesus?
While we can't expect to have every question answered and every mystery of this world solved, we can center ourselves on the one place where God is fully found. The person, teaching, and death of Jesus is the ultimate sign of who God is.
Discipleship comes at a cost, material wealth can give us a false sense of self sufficiency but those that recognize the poverty of their spirit reflect the love of God through giving of themselves generously.
Today's sermon shares an enabling word, a word of warning, and a word of hope surrounding Matthew 19's teaching on marriage and divorce.
We are called to lose our short-term safety due to the sin of this world, in order to receive the long-term gain of salvation.
This is week one of our new series, Loss for Gain, in which we are taking a look at things we are called to sacrifice for Christ for the larger gain of life eternal.
Looking at the account of the paralyzed man in Mark 2, we learn from Jesus that our suffering is never our greatest need or biggest problem.
Taking a look at Jesus driving out an impure spirit in Mark 1, we see the extraordinary things God does to work in the lives of ordinary people.
Are you stuck between commitment and communion with Jesus? Looking at Mark 1 we see how being a disciple of Jesus calls us to listen and take responsibility.
What might God have for us in this new year? In this season of looking ahead, we look to Jesus in Mark 1 to see what he encounters at a key turning point in his life and ministry.
There's a special way that God speaks to us, he speaks through his son. This Christmas, we celebrate the son of God coming to earth to dwell among us.
We recorded our full Lessons and Carols service. If you would like to listen to the homily it can be found at minute mark 32:00.
Based on the teaching of Mark 13, we will take a look at how should we think about the crises happening in our day and the return of Christ.
For our final Sunday looking at Matthew 25, Jesus speaks plainly as to what ultimately matters to him. In the end we will have to answer to Jesus as to whether we are a sheep or a goat.
In Matthew 25, we see a generous and trusting master give allotments to three of his servants. The important question of what each servant does with the money reveals to us lesson on how we are to invest and give of the things God has given to us.
Matthew 25 tells the parable of the ten virgins, five of whom run out of oil waiting for the bridegroom to arrive, leaving them locked out of the wedding festivities. Today, we take a look at the warning of running out of oil and how our faith must have the ability to adapt and endure as we wait for the return of Christ.
The question of "What Makes a Saint" is an important one to answer because it unlocks a gospel truth. The bible doesn't label saints as the select view who display greater maturity or godliness but rather all baptized believers.
Moses' death in Deuteronomy 34 teaches us a a unique lesson in both humility and greatness before God.
In this week of our series through the Exodus, we break down the dialogue between Moses and God in Exodus 33. We see the invitation to close relationship with God while also maintaining strong reverence as Moses is shielded from God's full glory.
This week in our series through the Exodus, we make sense of Israel breaking their covenantal promise with God. When the Israelites turn to idol worship after growing impatient, Moses powerfully intercedes to God and reminds Him of his promise to multiply the nations.
Through the speaking of his commandments, God makes himself known to his people. God's commandments reorder life with God and with our neighbors, ultimately expressing a desire of God to draw people together in unity.
In this week's Exodus story we see God lead his people to a campsite with no water. Studying the Israelites, we encounter both the call for us to have unyielding faith as we follow God and we see God's gracious love poured out despite our proneness to wander.
Journeying through Exodus, today we hear about the Israelites grumbling in the wilderness. Amidst the Israelites desperation for deliverance we hear an incredible promise from God and we see God's patient and gracious response to the Israelites short-sited complaints.
Looking at Israelites deliverance from Egypt through the crossing of the Red Sea, we ask the questions of where are we in this story, and where is Jesus?
For week one of our study of Exodus we take a look at the final plague God sends to the Egyptians. How the sign of blood can serve as a reminder to us that while destructive forces of death pass through, God will not permit the destroyer to strike us down. We are to hold and live out the memory through communion with God.
Taking a look at the book of Philemon, we discuss what we can learn from who Philemon was as well as what appeal Paul makes to Philemon.
This week's sermons seeks to explain our church's understanding of the biblical basis for women serving in pastoral leadership. We will dive into scripture to see examples of how men and women are equal image bearers of Christ, created to be different and complementary, both imaging God in beautiful ways and pursuing greatness through service.
To close out our One Another series, we take on the challenge of explaining the biblical command to, "Greet one another with a holy kiss."
What does God want for us? And what do we owe each other? For the peace of Christ to rule and the Word of God to dwell with us. Continuing our 'One Another' series, this week we look at Colossians 3 to understand the directives God gives to guide our actions and attitudes towards one another.
Following Christ means that we enter into a body of God's people, within which we are promised a sense of belonging and purpose. This week in our "One Another" series we discuss how to have mutual care for each other and how life in the body of Christ comes with promise, peril, and pursuit.
We are called to love one another sincerely, another way to say that within the context of Matthew 23 and Romans 12 is that our love must be unhypocritical. We should strive to have our love be the same on the outside as it is on the inside. Further exploring Romans 12, we will take a look at four ways we are instructed to create sincere love.
Continuing our series on One Another, this week we turn to Colossians 3 and Matthew 26 to dive into why people lie and how as new creations in Christ we can be different. This sermon unpacks the root desire for self preservation that leads us to lie and offers a cure of learning to show and create spaces for vulnerable honesty.
As believers hearts are changed by the Gospel we want to take a look at how that radically changes the way we treat each other. Specifically during this week of our series, we look at how Romans 14 and Mark 7 comment on how we accept one another.
Continuing our series One Another, we explore how following Jesus is never a solo venture. When trials and adversity appear they have a way of revealing what or who we trust in for help. This sermon unpacks the confidence with which we are to approach God with and urges us to lean on one another and come together in prayer.
Beginning a new sermon series, we will explore the biblical theme of our God-given need for one another. Taking a look into Hebrews we discover an encouragement for bold confidence in how we approach God. It is through spurring on one another and holding unswervingly to the hope we have that we can maintain this confidence before God.
Understanding ourselves as Holy means much more than how we live, it is also about recognizing to whom we belong. If we are to be holy we must go beyond obedience and seek after ways to please God. As we take a look at 1 Peter and John, we will discover how filling our hearts with awe and wonder towards God can make us holy.
Continuing our Study of 1 Peter, today we look at what it means to grow up in our salvation. Growing up physically happens no matter what, but growing spiritually and emotionally does not just happen, it takes intentionality. We are like spiritual infants that need to crave spiritual milk in order to grow. Listen along as we take a deeper look at what that looks like in everyday life.
This week we continue our studying of 1 Peter by taking a look at what it means for our identity in Christ to be exiles. We are God's elect, scattered throughout the nations. We are people who are not at home. We'll explore the discomfort that not being in our true home can cause, as living as an exile invites both an accusation and celebration of who we are.
This sermon begins our series through 1 Peter where we will be taking a look at four fundamental truths about our identity in Christ learned through 1 Peter. This episode dives into the truth of being 'born again' and seeks to answer the questions: What happens? Where does it happen? And how does it keep happening?
Readings: Revelation 1: 9-18, Luke 24: 13-16, 28-35 How does the book of revelation tell us what Jesus is doing in our lives today? The purpose of revelation is to help us believe there is more to reality than meets the eye. Revelation removes the veil and helps us see reality as God sees it. Images are key to helping the book of revelation come alive, from the readings today we'll take a closer look at what the clothes Jesus is wearing, the sword he's spitting, and the place he's standing discloses to us about today's reality.
We are all familiar with the death of a dream. Thomas, in the gospel of John is emblematic if all of us. We all go through seasons of loss, doubt and confusion. In these moments Thomas acts as a guide for us to come back to Jesus. Jesus can only bring resurrection hope only in places if losses and death.
We all interact with Easter differently. Some of us are deeply moved, some of us feel as if the miracle is far from us. In our scripture passage, Matthew gives us an eye witness account of what the early Christians believed happened on that morning. The incredible, beautiful, and mysterious truth of Easter is that what happened Jesus, happened to us. What is true of Jesus is true of all those who are hidden in him.
Palm Sunday is like oil and water. It is shouts of welcome, and cries of “Crucify him.” And we are participants in it all. The palms and the passion are together because this whiplash helps us confront an uncomfortable truth about ourselves: we are the crowd. We turned on Jesus so quickly because we are humans. And all humans are capable of breath-taking depraviltiy. Today we explore how God brings this internal civl war to cease.
Trials and tests have a different connotation than temptations, but the Bible uses the same word to describe both.
What are we asking when we ask God to lead us away from temptation?
Remove from my day opportunities I may have to sin
Lord, help me avoid tests and trials, though they may be good for me, could also be seen as Lord, don’t challenge me.
Why might we not want to be tested?
We have a real enemy.
The enemy is coming after our personalities in unique ways to keep us from being with God.
We also have an enemy within us. We are not starting with a clean slate due to our fallen nature.
Even reborn people have a lingering in dwelling sin inside of them.
Paul says in Romans that we are prisoners to sin.
We ask that God spare us from trials and tests because we might fail.
The trials and temptations will come, but Jesus says we should not look for it or ask for it.
How do we pray this sincerely?
Jesus tells us exactly what to do: Watch and pray
Am I watching and praying?
We should be watching for danger and temptation. We must stand guard and stay vigilant.
But how do we do this practically?
Maintain the ugliness of sin. Do we flee from sin or do we lean into moments of judgement, gossip, or anger?
We must have a sense that the ways of God are beautiful and the way of sin is ugly and destructive.
Watching is looking for threats, prayer is engaging with God and mutually exchanging love.
Love is part of the Christian story and who we are because we are united with Jesus in our faith.
We are loved by God whether we feel like it or not.
We need to be caught up in the delight of loving God to truly be take from temptation.
If you find yourself falling into temptation a lot, ask the question: Am I praying? Am I praying with a great loving exchange with God?
Readings:James 1:12-18
John 13:21-37
Sermon NotesTemptation: Anything that comes into our life that leads us to disbelieve or disobey God; or provides an opportunity to walk in greater faith or obedience with God.
Biblical blessing is a deep sense of lasting happiness, not a situational happiness. That can only come to us from God.
God does not tempt us. It is our desire to sin that leads us to sin.
Our desire to sin drags us away from God.It’s the action of a good father to know that a child will make mistakes and be ready with mercy and grace when we do.
God allows us to encounter temptation, but God does not cause the temptation to occur.
Sin Sequence
Desire > Conception > Birth > Full-Growth > Death
The full grown power of sin gets in start in a place that is small and innocent. Our small desires mean a lot over time.
Major moral failures begin with slow, small steps over time.
The Word of Truth brings us back toward the Father.While sin drags us away, the Word of Truth brings us back toward the Father.
Jesus’ aim is to use James’ words to lead us out of darkness and shame and into light, life, and peace.
God the Father sends Jesus as the word of Truth.
Forgiveness > Obedience by the Holy Spirit > Reborn > Raised to Life
Confession is essential Christian worship.
Honest and humble confession interrupts the sin sequence and provides the way toward healing.
Let God’s word regularly preform surgery on us. Let it cut into us and removes the bad parts.
Readings:Jeremiah 2:13-19
Matthew 5:27-30
Sermon NotesJesus builds this passage on Old Testament sexual ethics. It all boils down to one simple idea: no sex outside of covenant.
Consumer relationships are defined by the meeting of needs & desire.
Consumer-relationships are relationships built on utility: if the relationship doesn’t meet your needs you simply upgrade.
Covenant-relationships are built on a different premise. They are built on faithfulness and loyalty.
Covenant-relationships bring safety for individuality.
What Sex CreatesGod designed sex, not as a consumer good, but as a covenant good.
When sex takes place in a covenant environment it becomes sacramental.
A sacrament is an outward sign of an inward grace.
Sex outside of covenant is doing something with your body that you are not doing with the entirety of your life.
God designed sex to create a covenant bond, along the with life.
What Lust DestroysThe word that Jesus uses for “lustfully” in the passage is morally neutral word. This passage requires context to find the meaning behind Jesus’ words.
This passage could be read as, “He who covets a women…” or, “He who looks at a someone else greedily.”
Our desire for sex, or a sexual partner, can easily become an idol.
Two Ways Lust Destroys
Pornography
Sexual sin is different in the effect is has on ourselves. We are sinning against our own body.
Pornography instills crushingly unrealistic expectations.
The belief that you need a sexual partner to be happy
Anytime you say, “I need that thing to be happy,” and that thing is not God, you have encountered an idol.
What we must do…
Jesus does not condemn all types of anger. He condemns a specific kinda of anger. A ‘raca’ anger.
Raca is an empty, non-existence. Jesus is suggesting that there is a type of anger that diminishes. Diminishes the humanity of the person the anger is focused on.
There are a lot of moments in scripture where God get’s anger. But we never see God’s anger diminish us. It is rooted in, and stays in, love.
Our anger can often be a seedbed for something much more deadly- it can cross the line into a raca anger.
In order to prevent us from becoming raca angery, we must be patient, gracious, and kind. In Jesus’ eyes, this is sin and the first step of murder.
We must treat the people we are angry with like the precious, eternal beings that God created them to be.
We may be able forced ourselves not to lash out in anger, but we cannot force ourselves too will the good of someone who has made us raca anger.
What we can’t do…
The gospel is not only that our past sins are forgiven, or that out present and future sins are forgiven. The beautiful news of the gospel is that we are treated as if we had never sinned to begin with.
What we can do…
Readings:Micah 6:1-8
Matthew 5:1-12
Sermon NotesThe worlds vision of the good life: Our
Jesus’ vision of the good life:
Independence to DependenceJesus paints the picture of the good life as a life of dependence. Dependence, not in general, but upon Jesus.
To InterdependenceInterdependence is a life where you dependent on others and others are dependent on you.
Jesus points to the good life as a life full of meaning. He does not point us toward an easy life, but it is a good life.
A good life is a life full of Interdependent relationships.
Readings:Psalm 27:1, 5-13
Matthew 4:12-23
Sermon NotesIn our passage, Jesus does not withdraw in order to take refuge. He withdraws in order to advance; to move forward the mission of God.
Jesus’ priority for us is to move. To bring God’s heavenly kingdom to earth.
What is the Kingdom of Heaven?
The Kingdom of Heaven is God’s immediate and personal presence. Whenever and wherever we are in God’s presence, we are in heaven. And Jesus came to bring God’s personal presence to earth.
Heaven is far beyond reach, but Jesus is saying, “It’s here.” Heaven has come near.
To be in someone’s kingdom is to be under a particular rule. A place where a particular person’s priorities guide ours.
But God’s priorities are not the only one’s present on this earth. God planted the Kingdom’s flag in a war zone, a place where there is no neutral ground.
Most often when someone is surfing, they’re not actively surfing. They spend most of their time waiting. But when the wave finally does come, they move.
Jesus is less concerned with what we turn from, than he is with what we turn toward. But if we do not turn, we will miss the wave of God’s kingdom.
Repentance does not create the conditions for the Spirit to move, we respond to the Spirit’s invitations with movement.
And when we do, the movement of the Spirit brings us into the heart of a God who loves, heals, sees, and is closer to us than we are to ourselves.
Readings:Isaiah 49:1-7
John 1:29-42
Sermon NotesWhat does burn out mean? It’s more than fatigue, it’s the feeling of being powerless; like a battery without charge.
In Isaiah 49, Isaiah is speaking to a people who have been taken into slavery. He sings a song of hope over the captive people of Israel. A song about a servant who is called by God to save Israel.
Who is this servant? His mission is to be the voice of God, reconciling God’s people to God.
The servant will not be well-liked. He will be abhorred by the Kings and Princes of this world; but one day be vindicated by God.
The servant is Israel in the Hebrew Bible. The first Christians took this image and rightly applied it to the life of Jesus. He is the embodiment of all the things that are noble, good and true about Israel.
What we read in Isaiah 49 is a window into the inner life of Jesus. Through this window we see Jesus Christ as a man who was not immune to the hostility and futility he encountered in his life.
Could this be why Jesus continually withdrew from people and sought the God in solitude?
In Jesus we see a model of the practices needed to avoid this sense of burnout.
To escape burnout we need burned out place. For fire does not burn where it has burned before.
Jesus puts himself in our place and is able to sing hope over us.
Readings:Micah 5:2-5a
Luke 1:39-55
Sermon NotesWhy did Mary sing?Despite Mary’s lack of comprehension, she says yes to God’s invitation to her. She is surrendering to the mystery of God.
Mary is willing to say yes to God, knowing how much this consent will cost her.
Sometimes, like Mary, the best we can do is say yes, without knowing how God will work things out, and without having joy in God’s plan. This is not where we want to be, and this is not where God wants us to be.
The angel Gabriel prompts Mary to vist her cousin Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth sees Mary, she does two things:
- Elizabeth shows Mary reverence.
- Elizabeth shows Mary honor.
Only when Elizabeth confirms the angel’s message to Mary, does Mary breakout into a song of hope. Without Elizabeth there would be no Magnificat.
Mary got the angel but she also needed was Elizabeth to confirm and strengthen her.
We need people alongside us if we want to hear God’s voice.
In the last six years, there has been a 50% decrease in the amount of time Americans spend with each other. Most people are lonely.
Our faith is more than our horizontal relationships with each other but it is not less.
What Did Mary Sing?Mary begins her song by singing about her uniqueness and similarity.
Mary sings about the transformation at the core of her being.
She spends most of her song singing about the work of the Lord.
When God comes, things shake. They do not stay the same.
The poor and humble will rejoice at the coming of God. But the arrogant, smug, and proud will be scattered.
Sermon NotesReadings:Revelation 19:1-9
Matthew 24:29-35
Sermon NotesTo pick up the things of Jesus we sometimes have to put down the things of the world.
Who is the great prostitute end what has she done to bring about her condemnation?
The prostitute is dressed in fine clothing and sitting on a beast. We soon learn that the women isn’t a women and the beast is not a beast.
This city wraps itself in wealth. The city values possessions above all others.
The city corrupts the earth with its adultery. The city not only builds itself on wealth and possessions, but it partners with the rest of the world to spread this anti-gospel across the world.
The great city only has two weapons: deception and destruction. That which the city can’t deceive, it is forced to destroy.
This song looks forward toward the feature, and back toward the past.
Jesus sends us, not the fine linens of this world, but the fine linens of the righteousness of God’s people.
How job as the Bride of Christ, is to fall in love with the fine linens of God’s people, and fall out of love with the fine linens of the world.
The reward of our lives is not in the short term. It is the wedding we are invited to in the long term.
Readings:2 Samuel 11:1-5, 14-17, 26-27
Luke 18:15-17
Sermon NotesOur picture of Jesus is incomplete without these four women.
Bathsheba is not properly named in the genealogy
Her story is not so much what she did but what was done to her
This was an abuse of David’s power
What happened to Bathsheba?
The text is really about David but we will focus more on Bathsheba
David remained in Israel, which shows he is in the wrong place
David sees Bathsheba and does not look away
Eliam and Uriah are two of David’s mighty men
David knowingly takes a major risk
David’s plan ends in the deaths of Uriah and other soldiers
Bathsheba is only named once I’m the whole story
“The thing David had done displeased the Lord”
As a result of David’s sin the child that was conceived with Bathsheba died
Like David, we are all capable of horrible things
David shows our first instinct is to cover our sins up
What does this tell us about Jesus?
Jesus was indignant at the disciples for trying to send children away
Jesus builds His kingdom for those that are powerless and forgotten
Christ the King Sunday
What kind of king is He?
He is a king who takes the side of the weak and wants to bring in the forgotten, abused, and silenced.
Readings:Ruth 2:11-17, Ruth 4:13-17
Matthew 1:1-6; 16
Sermon NotesRuth is a Moabite, a people who have been condemned by the God of Israel. Ruth is an outsider to the people and story of God’s People.
The Hebrew word for “widow” can be translated, “One who is unable to speak.” This people group was one of the most vulnerable in the time of the Old Testament.
When we read the word “Kindness” at the beginning of Ruth it is the Hebrew word hesed. It is more than just kindness. It is a fierce love that rises up and defends. This love is the center point of God’s relationship to his people.
Because of Ruth and Naomi’s vulnerability, Ruth begins to glean the leftover grain from the fields around her home.
Boaz is a wealthy relative of Naomi. Boaz is probably either married, or a widow at this point. He is a man of faith in a time of faithlessness.
The Bible tells a different and better love story than we usually ascribe to this story.
The line, “under whose wings you have come to take refuge,” is calling on the imagery of God’s hesed love for his people. And sits at the center of Ruth and Boaz’s story.
Boaz prefigures the Gospel in his protective, defensive love of Ruth.
Ruth does not act out of a desire to save only herself. She is acting to save Naomi and Elimelek’s family. She is being bold and sacrificial in her invitation to Boaz.
Ruth mothers Obed, who fathers, David, who is a light in Israel’s dark time.
Ruth’s story still speaks to us today. Her mother in law, like a lot of us, often feel like we are forgotten or abandoned by God. And like Naomi, we are invited to look for God’s hesed love in ways that we don’t expect.
And like Ruth, those who are on the margins can image God to those in the majority, if we welcome them the hesed we have been given.
Readings:Genesis 38:11-29; 24-26
Mark 7:31-35
Sermon NotesHow She Proved Just
The past is a strange and foreign country, and people do things strangely there.
Tamar lived in patriarchal society.
There are three features of a patriarchal society:
- Imbalance of power between men and women.
- Imbalance of power between men and men.
- Women contribute by having children.
Tamar, though no fault or choice of her own, suffered two marriages to two evil men.
Judah chose to mistreat Tamar, while saving face in the society.
Tamar knows Judah, and uses his immorality against him.
The staff, seal and cord were the ancient equivalent of a drivers license, and credit cards.
When Judah sees his staff and cord, he realizes how far he has fallen. And he calls Tamar’s actions just.
Tamar is proved just in her great faithfulness to God’s commands and blessing. Judah is proved guilty in his lack of obedience to the commands and blessings of God.
Psalm 68:5 and Isaiah 1:17 show us God’s heart for widows and calls us to care for them.
Tamar was standing up, and trying to save her family’s name.
This story makes us ask who the people are in our society who are denied opportunities, access and resources. And we call called to stand beside them.
How She Bore the Image:
Genesis 1, tell us that men and women are created in the Image of God. Genesis 2, tell us that women is a “ezer” to man. A helper.
In the majority of the Bible “ezer” is used to describe God rescuing God’s people.
Tamar lives into the calling of the “ezer”, the Hebrew ally and rescuer.
Men and women bare the Image of God with perfect equality, and in beautiful diversity.
Readings:Joshua 2:1-7
Matthew 1:1-6;18
Sermon NotesGod is in the business of overturning our perceptions of value.
Fatih involves three verb:
• Believing - Count something to be true.
• Belonging - Relating to what you believe.
• Behaving - Acting according to what you belong too.
Believing
The first person in the land of Israel, to profess the God of Israel, was a Canaanite, female sex worker.
The quantity of our faith doesn’t save us: it’s the quality of our faith. It’s not the strength of our faith that saves us. It’s the strength of the one we put our faith in.
Belonging
The ultimate outsider comes into the fold of God.
Why is Rahab’s story included in the book of Joshua? It shows us that the most unlikely and immoral people can advance the purposes of God.
People of profound difference can be woven into the fabric of a community.
Christin community is not about uniformity, it’s about unity that overflows in Christ.
Behaving
Faith is in internal thing. But we cling to signs that reflect this inner reality.
They remind us of who we are, where we’re going, and who is toward us.
Readings:Isaiah 11:1 - 12
John 12:20 - 33
Sermon NotesIt grieves us when we see majestic things fallen.
The announcement of a good king to come is the shoot that comes from the stump of Jesse.
The new shoot from the root of Jose will make aggressive competitors benevolent friends.
This new king will make peace by raising a banner.
Jesus’ bloody body was raised for us as a banner to unite all people.
How do we see the coming King today?
Isaiah’s prophecy calls for humility.
• Isaiah calls us to be chopped down.
Isaiah’s words call us to unity.
• We as Christians have a unique picture for unity. The cross of Christ units us all, like no other banner on earth.
Isaiah’s words call us to ask what banner we live under.
• We all construct modern day idols.
Readings:Isaiah 9:8-17; 10:1-4
John 3:16-21
Sermon NotesAmidst the wealth of Israel, God sent Isaiah to help the people of Israel see their situation from his prospective.
Our guiding question: how does this passage help us see?
This is a difficult passage to wrestle with.
Why God’s Anger is Appropriate
The people are arrogant. (9:8 - 12)
The leaders of the people are corrupt. (9:13 - 17)
The society is in turmoil. (9:18 - 21)
The poor are being oppressed. (10:1 - 4)
God’s wrath toward us is a just response to our anger toward him.
Regardless of whether we are deeply conservative or very progressive, there are things any the Bible that will cut against us.
Why God’s Anger is Atypical
When we hear a metaphor about Got we have to understand that it is partially true and partially untrue.
To be angry is to be against something. It’s oppositional.
The issue with human anger is that it rarely stays as anger. It can too easily turn to bitterness, violence, and hatred.
Unlike humanity, God’s anger is aroused by love, and never divorced from love.
How God’s Anger is absorbed
Isaiah 51:17
Love in the presence of opposition can often be experienced as anger.
In John 18:11, the cup comes from the Father.
God drinks his own cup. He absorbed the consequences of our sin, and his wrath.
Readings:
Isaiah 5:1-7
Luke 13:6-9
Sermon NotesIsaiah intentionally disorients us in his vineyard song.
He begins with a love song and ends in a torrent of judgments against Israel.
The Five Woes:
- Greed (Isaiah 5:8-10)
- Disinterest (Isaiah v1-12)
- Cynicism (Isaiah v18-20)
- Sophistry (Isaiah v20-21)
- Injustice (Isaiah v22-23)
Israel forsook God, not by their inward relationship to God, but by their outward oppression of the most vulnerable.
There is a close connection between personal holiness and social justice.
Our desire for connection with God is worthwhile to the degree that it drives us toward the most vulnerable among us.
We love God by honoring his word and we love God by loving his world.
Jesus is still in the business of getting his hands dirty. He still goes to the most lowly and desolate places on in our life to bring resurrection.
Readings:Isaiah 3:8-9; 4:2-6
Sermon NotesIsaiah is given the task of awakening the people of Israel to their infidelity to Yahweh.
Isaiah 3:8-9, 16: What were the sins of Sodom? We assume that it was sexual sin. But the prophet Ezekiel says that they were gluttons, arrogant, and uncaring to the poor. (Ezekiel 16)
How do we apply this passage? How do we persist in our wrong doing?
Baked into our souls is the longing for God’s work and restoration in all of us.
The Righteous Branch is a messianic reference pointing toward Christ. But here in Isaiah it points further, not to the first coming, but the second coming of Christ. Where Yahweh will forever be with his people.
Readings:Isaiah 1:1-9
Matthew 9:9-13
Sermon NotesThe Essence:
What sin is.
Isaiah calls sin dumb. It is folly.
Wisdom is not the same thing as intelligence in Scripture.
Sin is trying to swim upstream. It’s being at odds with how things work.
God comes into the story like a passionate mother who cares for her children. Why would you break faith with that God?
The Consequences:
What sin does.
Both of these images have the theme of comprehensiveness. We are totally corrupted by sin.
An individual’s sin affects the whole.
Unity means striving to be the best version of my self for the sake of my community.
Christians know how bad sin is because we know how it gets better.
The Healing:
What God has done.
Things may be at their worst. But God will not abandon us.
God saw us trying to swim up stream and stepped into the river.
Readings:Jude 17-25
Matthew 17:15-19
Sermon NotesWhen scripture is talking about false teachers, it is not only talking about “cobras” it its talking about people who walk, and talk like Christians.
Scripture doesn’t only talk about good theology, but good actions.
Good orthodoxy (right teaching) ought to lead to good orthopraxy (right practice).
While good theology does not make us immune to sin, it is still deeply important.
Jude implores people to wait for the second coming, when God will enact justice on the false teachers. This period of waiting should lead us to trust God.
Good orthodoxy ought to lead to good worship.
Readings:Jude 3 - 14a
Luke 18:9 - 14
Sermon Notesv5 - Jude introduces the false teachers he’s going to condemn.
The Nature of the Scam
These scam artists are preventing the grace of God and encouraging others to sin.
God’s law was mediated by the angels (Hebrews 2:2 & Galatians 3:19) and these false teachers were trying to prevent the freedom we have in Christ.
These false teachers, in the guise of teaching the Gospel, were teaching that we can do whatever we want, in the freedom of Christ.
Jesus freed us from the curse of the law, and the penalty of not living up to it. But Jesus did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it.
The Mechanics of the Scam
Jude gives six examples of judgement in the OT. But in the text he does not use these examples against the people he is writing too.
Jude is trying to condemn the false teachers, not those who are following them.
How to Avoid the Scam
Depend on the grace of God, and rely on the church to guide you toward truth.
Readings:Jude 1-4
Matthew 22:1-14
Sermon NotesThe nature of our association to Jesus
Our association to Jesus is a personal relationship and meaningful connection to "The Faith"
Divine agency and human responsibility
Three words Jude uses to describe us: called, loved, kept.
Call:
Jude is ascribing to us the value the people of Israel (a people called by God) have in the Old Testament.
Loved:
Jude says we are loved in God, not loved by God. This is an even more intimate love.
Kept:
We are Jesus' treasure and spouse. God the Father is working you life to ensure that we love Jesus.
All these verbs are passive. We simply exists in these identities. But Jude still calls us to action. He holds the tension.
Readings:3 John 9-14
Mark 10:35-45
Sermon NotesJohn's Warning
The ambition of Diotrephes led to his arrogance.
John is exercising decrement in his critique of Diotrephes.
People with seemingly noble intentions can, in reality, be evil.
People can be out of step with the sprit, even with Scripture is pouring form their lips.
A simple question to ask yourself: "Does this smell like Jesus?"
John's Blessing
John gives a deceptively simple blessing: "Peace to you."
Peace, in scripture is not a negative thing. It's not the absence of conflict, but the presence of flourish.
Readings:3 John 1 - 8
Luke 1 - 3
Sermon Notes1. Good Elders love God's people in the truth.
They care for your entire being. Body, soul and spirit.
2. Good health keeps God's people walking in the truth.
God loves the bodies he has given us. It is through our bodies we interact with the world God made.
3. Good hospitality sustains the truth.
Jesus and his disciples were supported and sustained by the women that were with them.
For the Kingdom of Gos to grow we need to support kingdom work.
We all need elders in the faith. We are not meant to do this life alone.
Readings:2 John 1:7 - 13
Gospel Reading
Sermon NotesQuestions we consider from this passage:
- What is the incarnation?
- Why in the world is this so important to John?
What is the incarnation?
The Incarnation of Jesus is a holy mystery & holy revelation.
We must begin with a posture of humility when considering the Incarnation.
The Incarnation makes what is beyond our grasp, graspable.
It is a holy expression of God's love to all creation.
Why in the world is this so important to John?
This is a foundational teaching of Christianity.
Readings:2 John 1-6
John 14:1-6
Show NotesWhile this letter may not be a title track of the New Testament, it is important to our life in Christ.
Truth is the foundation of our fellowship.
2 John 1:2
Not all truth can abide in our hearts.
Truth is a person, not just a set of facts.
Our confidence is not in knowing the truth, but in being known by the Truth
Truth must be paired with love.
We cannot be people of truth without being being people of love.
John 1:5-6
Love is to will or to desire the good of another person.
ReadingsRomans 15:17 - 19
Luke 11:14 - 23
Sermon NotesProphecy: Telling someone something that God spontaneously brings to mind.
Theology
Jesus declared the coming of the Kingdom of God.
But the Kingdom does not come into neutral territory, the Kingdom comes into occupied territory.
Jesus commissions and empowers his people to do what he did.
Our mission is no different from Jesus and the Apostles: we are to bring the Kingdom close to those who are hurting, broken and outcast.
The promise of spiritual gifts are downstream from the promise of Jesus, that we will receive power from the Holy Spirit to bring the Kingdom to hurting and vulnerable people.
Model
A way of serving people not on the basis of our own resources, but relying on God's resources.
A model for working in the gifts of the Spirit: Simple, Scriptural, Sensitivity
Jesus only did what he saw the Father doing. He was not only empowered by the Holy Spirit, he was also led by the Holy Spirit.
Practice
The more we ask God to do things, the more God is going to do them.
Pray: Holy Spirit, help me see what you see and feel what you feel."
ReadingsGalatians 5:13 - 26
John 8:21 - 30
Sermon NotesWhen Scripture speaks of the "flesh" it is speaking of the spiritual flesh. It is not a reference to our physical bodies. It is our carnal, selfish, and destructive desires.
Life in the flesh destroys the community.
Keeping in stride with the Spirit renews the community.
When we seek to live our days in awareness of the Spirit, the Spirit works to produce fruit within us.
Readings:Ephesians 5:15 - 21
John 2:1 - 11
Sermon NotesEph 5:18
Paul is casting a vision, painting a picture, of what the church will be like when it is filled with the Spirit.
Worship is not only vertical, there is a horizontal component that connects us to the people around us.
When we speak to God, we are also speaking to each other.
Invincible Gratitude
Eph 5:20
To speak in someone's name is to speak in light of who they are and what they have done.
Joyful Humility
When you are filled with the Spirit you find yourself putting your good below that of another.
When you are in a spirit-filled community, you submit yourselves to one another.
Final Thoughts
We are commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit is a passive action. All we can do is put ourselves in the position to receive.
This command is a continuous command, we are exhorted to always be filled with Holy Spirit.
Titus 3:5
God's saves us through the rebirth and renewal in the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:13
We are welcomed into the Christian life through baptism into the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 3:1, 3
You can be baptized into the Spirit, but not be full of the Spirit.
You can't come to Jesus sporadically and expected to be filled with the Spirit continually.
In this episode we sit down with Ann Dotson, Lauren Mann, and Emily Gebbie to talk about their experience as women in ministry. This episode pairs with a sermon from May 15, called "Should Women Teach." Make sure to scroll down on your podcast app to listen to the full sermon.
Readings:Titus 3:1-8John 16:4-15NotesThe Holy Spirit is a common gift!
The Holy Spirit is a trustworthy gift!
If you trust God the Father, trust God the Son, you can trust God the Holy Spirit.
Receiving the Holy Spirit is not about striving to know about the Spirit, it's about abiding in him.
You can view the images referenced in the sermon here