Cross City Church: Recent Episodes
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God is most glorified and we are most happy when the redeemed authentically understand and adopt the life-giving instruction and rule of Christ. How many of our life challenges can be traced back to bad listening habits on our part where we look diligently at God’s words to understand them but do not then work dillently to believe and obey them… forfeiting even our own happiness (“being blessed in the doing”).
Sing dear family of God. Sing Sing because our great Father is the righteous terminator of sin, in us through the forgiveness of our Savior Jesus and outside of us, in every ounce of existance the Judge Jesus. Because he loves it. Sing it loud, sing it new, sing it with music, sing it with joy and gladness…. For our God is a consuming fire.
Psalm 40 showed us how perfect Jesus would be and would rely upon the Father as he navigated the true valley of the shadow of death so that we wouldn’t. And because he did that, we now can cry out to the Father in our need and know he will truly deliver us into joy and gladness and so we can rest in him now before he has delivered us.
In the end, we are people who wait with God through prayer, watching for every part of his response, taking note of them and telling one another and the watching world of the accounts of Gods faithful and loving answers to our prayers for God’s praise and for the hope that they too will see and fear and trust the Lord.
In the Kingdom life-race that God has given each of us, weights of life and sin war against our minds and hearts to slow us down or stop us. God calls us to fight against these obstacles and sin and to embrace his refining help for each of us in this. The question for you is “ Will I embrace God’s refining training he says I need and will truly want”?
The Sign of Jonah calls all of us to acknowledge God's great power, our own sin, and the incredible gift of mercy and redemption offered to us through Jesus Christ.
In the most dramatic fashion, Jesus completed the work of redemption by rising from the grave, pursuing his disciples and demonstrating that he is the Messiah who always keeps his promises.
Jesus the innocent, intentional sacrifice and Jesus the excellent, gracious King who laid his life down out of love for us.
Though Jesus did not find it good to defend himself, he did find it worthy to gout of his way to make it abundantly clear by a 5 way statement that He indeed was the divine messiah. You cant have Jesus without embracing this claim of his.
The Spirit and the apostles want us to know how humanity utterly failed Jesus after everything, either in wicked hatred or wicked failure and how excellently and beautifully Jesus handled Himself as he willingly chose to be put to death despite being blameless.
In watching Christ in his great hour of need we learn that much of our preconceived notions of prayer are fictional and often foolishly religious. As we watch Him here, he is leaving us an example of what perfection in prayer really looks like. It is earnest, communal, non boxed or formulaic but resting on the foundation of covenanted love with his… and now our…Father, who is all powerful, all wise and all loving towards us.
Jesus cherished the delivery and celebration of his New Covenant to us wherein we could finally fellowship deeply with Him through the indwelling Spirit and gave us Communion to remember this and how it took the willing death of Jesus to accomplish it. Let us Cherish our Savior and His amazing covenant!
Anyone and any church that is centered on the Gospel of Christ then receives Christ’s commission to extend that gospel to the time and location He has placed them. He has extended it as a joy and honor for us… done from the foundation of relationship with him, embraced and done together, and done with the people of our lives and those He will lead us to by His Spirit… our mission garden and mission farm.
As we continue in our vision series, we look at how God calls us his children, and adopts us into his family. Not metaphorically “like” his family, but actually brought in. Through the work of Christ we are adopted in. And because of this, we are called to live in light of this reality, in purpose, proximity, and with permission.
The good news of Jesus is both the foundation and summary of who God is and who we are in Christ and the purpose for our existence and redemption. Therefore, the gospel must be truly clear, believed and be the fully functioning priority in every aspect of our individual lives and church. Our first priority and the foundation for all things is us being truly gospel centered.
Today is Easter… the celebration of the Savior rising victorious over all things… our sin and even over death. And not only that.. but Glorious, transformed resurrection with God is what he offers you today, not simply a guaranteed post death trip to an eternal perfect vacation.
As Jesus’ earthly ministry is beginning to wrap up, he demonstrates that he is, in fact, in complete control of all things that are happening. He is not caught up in the whirlwind of events surrounding him, rather, he is directing them. And as he heads towards the passover feast with his disciples, he is clarifying that he is the once and for all sacrifice, the lamb who was slain for the sins of God’s people.
Like this admirable woman… who brought pleasure to the heart of Jesus…. Truly Follow Jesus……xSeek the pleasure… seek the honor of your Savior using the resources you have… despite the reactions of others
Christ tells us the road ahead is hard and it will be filled with apocalyptic events, imposter Christs and false prophets who are powerful, inescapably persuasive and able to perform the supernatural. But God is faithful, He is with us and we are with him as he gathers his elect across time and peoples and is coming back. Though we are to know the signs, no man knows the moment and we are called in every stage to not live in panic or fear but rather living very awake and mindful of God’s placement of us in our particular moment and longing for Him.
So the future gets hard … really hard before he makes all things right. Christ has told how to expect false messiahs, teachers, prophets and others who will capitalize on this to gather followers out of fear. But our call is to expect such times and to be dedicated to being Christ’s witnesses through the power of the indwelling Spirt with relentless pride in Christ, even at the cost of our loved ones rejecting or killing us.
As Jesus wraps up his public teaching, he gives warnings about the scribes and their desire to be the center of attention, and contrasts them with the poor widow who humbly gave all that she had.
Our savior is seated in majesty right now until the Father is finished subjecting all spiritual authorities, rulers and powers to him…. And part of our worship is praising and adoring Him in that majesty and authority and patience.
Praise God that He raises us up after death and that we are forever with him. And may each of us deeply know and love the power of our Great God and his authoritative Scriptures.
Jesus once again shows that his approach to those who come to him with humility and sincerity is much different than those who come to him in accusation and condescension. As he does so he lays out some incredibly helpful guidelines for how we should look at God’s law as new covenant believers.
God created and appoints governing authorities for a specific work of providing justice and human flourishing. Both the people of government and the hearts of people must never allow government or leaders to become greater than their role, laying claim on things that belong to God alone such as glory, divinity, becoming a truth absolute, a hope of the soul or using his church.
Welcome to one of the greatest and most useful passages about the security, singularity and stakes of the Gospel.
The leaders of Israel knew who Jesus was and so-loved themselves that they decided to murder Jesus, the Son of God and the prophesied Messiah, to keep the money, power and honor that really belonged to Jesus and the Father.
True worship singing is my heart using the whole of my self to attest to and promote the goodness and beauty of God. It is done through truths housed in melody, harmony, manner and whole body adornment. We are seeking to affirm, lean into and revel our souls in these excellencies of God, even if we dont “feel” them at the moment. We are Seeking to bring pleasure to our worthy God with all we have through a format that he has created and delights in.
As we wrap our Advent series, we trace God’s promise to bring everlasting joy to its fulfillment in the person of Christ. Jesus came from joy with the Godhead to bring joy to us, partially now, and fully forever with him.
The love of God and forgiveness was promised in the Old Testament and perfectly fulfilled in Christ.
God promised to give peace through the coming of his Son. Without Jesus, true peace - peace that lasts and is present despite of trouble - is impossible. What're you waiting for? Find peace with Jesus, the promised and risen Son.
Centering on the promise of hope, Psalm 130 provides a framework of waiting for the promise, whereas 1 Peter 1:3 gives insight into the fulfillment of that promise - both then and today.
At a pivotal point, the most central leadership of Israel meets up with Jesus to attempt to trap him. This time, he turns the tables and calls their bluff, placing them in a spot where they cannot escape their manipulative ways.
Prayer is a core priority for the believer and his corporate people. In it God communes with his people, granting them prayers, confidence and answers as they strive to align with him, with particular attention to maintaining a heart of forgiveness to all.
In a stunning fulfillment of prophecy, Christ came to “Save us” (Hosanna), but do we understand and value exactly what he came to save us from or do we still love it.
As Jesus encounters the blind beggar he highlights Bartimaeus’ response as the correct response for a disciple of Jesus, rightly seeing Jesus for who he really is and responding by abandoning all else to follow him.
The new life in Christ is marked by radical Christ-worshiping servanthood of others which only flourishes where idols are repented-of and guarded-against.
To every soul on the planet, Christ holds out the offer of new life. It is a life unending, full of abundance now on earth with present suffering, and full of joy, glory and his love after death. But this offer of life is contingent upon yielding the whole of this natural life at the Cross of Jesus.
Jesus scolds his disciples for their failure to properly value children. As he teaches, he reminds us of the value of all human life and points to the helplessness and trusting hearts of children as examples for all of us to follow in order to receive the Kingdom.
God made marriage to be the single occasion in creation where two people permanently become one as a man marries a woman. This oneness pictures and gives foretaste to the union all believers will have with Christ in eternity. God loves the gift of marriage and calls us to invest in it.
In Christlikeness, absolute rejection of sin is essential for us. If we loose that rejection/ repentance…. Soften up and find sin in us to be acceptable, then we have lost our essence… we have lost our way… we are living and worshipping worthlessly because we are pro-sin. So, rather than hold pride in your hearts which causes you to fight over who will be the greatest, hold fast to your sin-hating and be at peace with each other.
Christ has joyfully and intensely bound himself to his trusting followers. How we treat them is a direct treatment of Him.
Jesus continues to labor with his disciples, teaching them his heart and his ways, and though they are slow to understand, he is patient to remind that the heart of his message and mission is the cross and resurrection.
In a unique account we are able to see the displeasure of Christ in not being believed upon by his followers and the surrounding world and his relentless call to be listened to and fully believed.
On the Mount of Transfiguration we encounter numerous things:The centrality of prayer in every aspect of Jesus’ life and ministryThe true physical glories of Christ underlying his humanChrist’s prominence in having Moses and Elijah to come meet up with him and affirm his coming work in dying and risingThe Father’s overwhelming affirmation of the identity Christ and message of Christ as being the greater and final revelation of God
The Children of God thrive when aware of the earnest and strong love of Christ and experience the ongoing, powerful and transforming work of the Spirit.
The Father has done an amazing work by reconciling us to Himself. Through Christ, believers are made new creations, no longer defined by our old selves. Paul emphasizes that God has entrusted us with the ministry of reconciliation and given us vital work to do: act as Christ’s ambassadors to call others to be reconciled to God.
How should we as God’s people think about marriage? Is marriage still good? Is it important? How should our thoughts about marriage be shaped? God’s word tells us that the institution of marriage is to be held in honor by all people. Let’s consider what God tells us about marriage.
Being united with Christ and with one another by the Holy Spirit, Paul invites and compels us, as the family of God, to walk in love toward each other through our words, thoughts, and actions.
Jesus calls us to more than belief—He calls us to surrender. This message unpacks what it means to pick up your cross, deny yourself, and follow Him. We'll explore the call to total allegiance, the death of earthly desires, and the truth that real self-denial leads not to loss, but to life in Christ.
Resting joy face is important because it indicates where the heart rests. It speaks of life being ultimately good NOT ultimately being bad.For us as Christians… God lovers… our words and faces tell a story of what it is like to have Christ as our sovereign King. Your joyful witness will arise from of the overflow of your joyful heart
Jesus is the prophecies yet unpredicted Christ. As followers of Christ, we must diligently take our minds out of “autopilot” and place them freshly into the control of the Spirit, "setting our minds on things above”…”walking in the Spirit”… Failure to do so puts us at risk of aiding Satan’s cause.
As Gospel people, the King of the gospel tells us to watch out for and defend ourselves and others from Godlessness posing as Genuine religious faith or neutral truth itself. Watch out for the danger of infectious error.
Jesus moves into Gentile regions, he continues to heal and deliver. His encounters here fulfill the spoken words about the expansion of the kingdom beyond Israel. Salvation is from the Jews, but not only for the Jews.
True defilement comes from the sinful condition of the human heart, and only Jesus, our perfect physician, can expose and transform it through his grace. Jesus calls us to listen and understand his words, trust his complete payment for our sin, and love him with our whole heart.
The more the Father reveals and gives to us, the more we must, must process this back into treasure, thanksgiving and adoration or else it will harden your theologically correct but hardened soul. We will miss his perfectly timed, beautiful displays of glory, power and love.
The new home of the believer creates new courage that marks our lives to follow and love God with strength and gentleness in the most adverse conditions.
It is a fundamental shape of God’s gospel people to wait for Christ’s return and for the Spirit’s intercession in prayer.
God has given us the priorities of our love and allegiance. But he doesn’t just give us things to do without first equipping us to do them. God makes us worshippers, family, and missionaries by rescuing us, changing us, and giving us a new identity in Christ. God establishes our being before our doing.
Do you know God’s overall priorities for us? To misunderstand or neglect the priorities of God for a person or a church is to be outside his will. And welcome to church… you dont want to be outside the will of this amazing, awe-inspiring God who only gives us what is truly good and best.
Our 2025 Easter Sermon. The King of Kings rose from the dead and promises to raise all who will trust him. He is the true lover of our souls and sacrificed himself to free us from our sin in both our genuine gilt and its power over us.
It is the way of Jesus to intentionally and repeatedly reach out into the world with unexpected timing, unexpected groups people with unique weakness. Jesus sends out a message that leaves each person in a position of absolute condemnation or repentance into absolute blessing.
As Jesus returns to his hometown he is met with skepticism and hesitancy. Those seemingly most familiar to him did not receive him or his teaching. His goal was not to amaze them but call them to repentance.
Jesus’ power over death is on display as he heals Jairus’ daughter and brings her back to life. In the midst of urgency and desperation, he shows that his ways are true and his timeline is perfect.
As Jesus continues his ministry in Galilee, we see him putting his great power over our physical bodies on display. As he meets the woman where she is, he displays his power to heal through his kindness to do much more than she ever could have imagined.
Jesus is so full of authority and power that just the sight of Jesus makes demons flee to him, confess his divine authority and to beg for mercy. He now tells us that we too wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against satan and his forces and gives us specific attacks to watch out for as well as the tools of a Gospel centered life with which to fight to be strong in the Lord and the power of his might.
Christ claims to be sufficient for you in every and all areas of life. There is no foe, no fear nor any need where he is not the place where we confidently run.
As Jesus continues to describe the Kingdom through parables, he gives the picture of the kingdom as a seed. Much like the seed, the kingdom grows in ways that are certain but often unseen. And like the mustard seed, the kingdom of God will far exceed our expectations.
The only way to find the Treasure of God’s word to be the treasure of your heart is to prayerfully determine that it really is officially that …and that it will be that to you come what may.. and treat it that way today. He will exponentially bless your heart’s love for and joy in his word as you walk in this.
Jesus uses parables to illustrate the Kingdom of God, but he emphasizes here the importance of hearing well. Those who have ears to hear will be the ones who truly understand. He then gives examples of four soils, each soil hearing and receiving the word in a different way.
The Spirit is precious and powerful and must be respected by all. But what is the unforgivable sin and have I committed it? Can I be forgiven? Do I even want forgiveness?
Just as King Jesus would not fit into any other system, even the Old Covenant, Here here Jesus cannot fit into the Sabbath, but rather, even the Sabbath is made by and for its Lord… King Jesus.
Jesus, his teaching, his work and his reign fits inside nothing else… no larger narrative.. no greater agenda or idol in all of eternal history. All of Judiasm was about Jesus. all the Old Testament….all of human history.. all the universe and all time is about the Triune God’s plan in Jesus’s Kingdom. And with that Kingdom came all new ceremonies, ordinances and commands.Regular, proactive fasting is fitting and helpful for us to train our minds and hearts to love and long for our Savior who is physically away from us right now. It is his call and desire for his Church and you.
The mission of Christ means the establishment of strong, healthy church families and we believe God has placed this ambition on the shoulders of Cross City Church for His children in Ohio.
The baby Jesus came to provide us with the perfect King who would rule and reign us and all things perfectly!
Jesus is the hope of sinners. We rejoice because though his righteousness is desperately needed by all of us, it's also given freely to the worst of us. His mercy never runs out and he's faithful to forgive the sins of his people. As Christ alone can make us clean from sin and righteous in the sight of God, we need to continue to confess our sins to him, seek his mercy, and embrace his lordship.
The birth of Jesus was the most remarkable birth in the history of the world. Fulfilling every prophecy and bringing hope and salvation to the world, Jesus’ birth was God’s announcement that where we fail, he succeeds.
If we are to glorify the Father, we must glorify the Son because the Father is actively seeking, advancing and enforcing the glory of Jesus who gives us life through his words.
What a friend we have in Jesus… the friend of sinners who was not ashamed to sit with us, now lets go find his sinners and freshly amazed, sit with them and tell of the One who sat with and for us.
Jesus looks straight in the eyes of the leaders of Israel and tells them that He is the “Son of all Mankind”, holding a position with full divine nature by which he can forgive sins.
At this point in Mark, we have found Jesus to be the incognito Christ whose primary mission from the Father was to preach the truth of the glorious kingdom that even reigns over demons and sickness. And he effortlessly overpowers and expels all demons and sickness he engages, while refueling and re-centering in significant times of prayer with the Father.
Jesus Christ possesses full authority over all. His teaching and commands over the spiritual realm both describe and demonstrate his divine power.
As Jesus calls the first of his disciples, we see the basics of how he calls all of his followers. He calls. We obey.
The long-awaited King has finally arrived and there is only one rightful response--- to repent and believe.
Jesus, the light of the Word, the Son of God, started his ministry by defeating Satan’s temptations and being upheld by the Father’s angels before beginning his gospel preaching ministry.
The aim of our testimony and instruction to our next generation and generations beyond is the maximization of their worship, so our instruction goes beyond teaching facts to the appeal to their hearts to love and adore the God of Glory. And they must do the same.
The new life Christ has given us is one where the norm of our life is the continual prayerful connection with God in which we experience regular joy as we notice his loving works and fill our minds with his loving and blessing instruction form his letter to us… the Bible.
The two ways of life are promised here. Joy and exaltation are provided by God’s promised delivery to those who will earnestly seek Him in his self-revealed information, promises and reflection on his abundant faithfulness in our life. The other option is to be stopped by God.
The sweet life of the blessed is formed by a fixed delight upon the words of God mulled over throughout our days.
We share the mission of Christ by praying to our Father together for this mission and carefully engaging each outside soul God has given us.
Human marriages are designed to brilliantly transmit the love between Christ and his Church Bride. Christ created that marriage and its nature and the human marriages must mirror it in order to yield the joyful life and light of the gospel it was designed for.
Having covered Colossians 1-3 over the past 6 months, we have found an astonishing amount of things taught to us by Christ through this book. It is time to regain our bearing after all we have heard before we move into the specific applications found in this book.
Every piece of life is the Lord’s and we are called to do all of it as Christ would, in his honor, in his name, as an extension of Him as if you were Him… because He is in you.. and you are being changed into his image. This happens as we ensure that the message of Christ dwells richly in and between us and we respond in singing together to our great God.
The new man rightfully places his mind on things above, which includes a loving and peace seeking heart for God’s children here who are hidden with him in Christ. And together they carefully watch for Christ in all and all He does with thanksgiving.
Regardless or our natural inclination with God’s faulty and failing children, God has asked, called each of us to specifically deal with his Children with gentleness and patience and compassion. And when they fail and sin against you, do to them what your amazing Christ has done to you time and again… forgive them.
You have a true life. It is not in your physical possession right now, but Christ promises it soon will be and worth investing any and everything. And my brothers and sisters, when He appears again, the true you will be seen… and the world has never seen anything like it…. Has never seen anything like you in your full glory. This is where we are called to set our minds rather than this world and the flesh that fills it.
Because Christ has brought about the end of the internal rule of our sin nature and the external rule of spiritual authorities of darkness in our lives, we can live fully for him and with him through this life and beyond.
The indwelling Christ is our developed and protected lens by which to know and value all things and the supreme Lord over all.
It is the heart of the Father that each of us be brought to maturity in Christ through teaching and shepherding so that we might do the same to many other children of God.
Brothers and sisters.. you fully belong to the Father. You have full rights and privileges of being close to him as your Father. And you have Christ in you right now… which is your God-given confidence of all the glory you will share with him in the future.
The Apostle Paul was an amazing minister of the gospel. His life and ministry were marked by joyful suffering and deep love for the Church, a pattern he learned from the ultimate gospel minister, Jesus Christ.
Our natural state as humans is to be enemies and aliens of God, cut off from him until Christ reconciles us back to God by his life, death, and resurrection. Paul then encourages the Colossians to endure in the faith that was taught to them by continuing to trust in Christ by faith and not moving into the performative religion of the false teachers.
Jesus is not only the firstborn over all creation but the firstborn from the dead and is so to the delight of the Father.
Jesus is so much more than simply our King and Savior… so much more. Rejoice in Jesus for his Saving. Rejoice in Jesus for his amazing leading. Now learn to Rejoice in Jesus for his nature and glory.
Our Father, the creator of the universe, has given to us a great treasure in his holy, living word. In this lesson starting in 2 Timothy 3:16 we look at why we should trust God’s word, why we should delight in God’s word, and why we should cherish God’s word.
Our amazing, adopting Father is continuing his saving work. He has children scattered abroad. That is his mission.. and therefore.. that is ours.
In week 2 of our Vision series, we look at how, because of the gospel, God adopts us into his family. We now seek to live life together in light of the reality that God has provided for us as we walk in our new identity as his children.
The Gospel brings us to a new worldview. There is power and joy and peace found as we begin to see things as they are by the light of the gospel.
Jesus came to us to be “God with us”. He brought a whole new reality for those who would follow God. He has brought us a life of abiding with God where we know Him through the moments of this short life.
The eternal plan was for the Messiah to use his suffering to accomplish forgiveness and righteousness for all who would follow Him in order to bring them to Himself to experience and be part of the satisfaction of Christ.
In this second week of our Advent series, we look at how the promise of the messiah has been unfolding since the beginning of history and how Jesus was the perfect completion and fulfillment of all the promises of God.
We are all deeply in need of a Savior, Someone who will deal with our sin problem and restore us to fellowship with the Father. Jesus came to meet our deepest needs.
The salvation of God is far more extreme than we first thought. The darkness we were rescued from and the goodness of life under Jesus’ loving kingship are both far more significant than we first understand them to be. The depths of darkness and the heights of light make us appreciate and understand more of why only the blood of Christ could ever save us and did so powerfully.
Paul was confident in the authenticity of the Colossian church. Because of this he actively prayed for the believers of Colosse to know, understand and embrace God’s will, and in doing so would walk in a manner pleasing to the Lord. This life of bringing pleasure to the Lord would bear 4 ongoing marks.
As God welcomes us into his family through Christ, he promises us that he will lead us and guide us by his Spirit. Discerning God’s will for our lives starts with understanding who God is and what he is like. As we grow in the knowledge of God, we can increase in wisdom and understanding by his Spirit.
The grace of God is the central feature of the gospel that Paul preached. But it was not simply the grace that brings us to God. That is only the beginning of grace— the tip of the iceberg— the tip of the grace burg.
As Paul continues to unpack the grand truth of Gospel to the church of Colossae, he commends them for the love and faith that flows out of the great hope that they have in Christ. This hope serves as the anchor for all of life in Christ.
In the opening words of Paul’s third letter written from prision, he immediately brings us into a life and lifestyle completely foreign to our own. In this epistle, we awake in the love of God’s family, caring about, loving and investing our heart and time in a whole new way.
The Spirit calls us to remember where we came from, what our purpose is and how this has happened for us so that we do not waste our lives and grow into the beauty of the strength of Christ.
On the heels of his great temptation, Jesus enters into his ministry, summoning his disciples to himself and beginning his ministry of teaching, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, compassionately providing for the suffering, fulfilling prophecy and freeing the people from the oppression of demons. As Christ calls us forward, we will make the choice to take heart and embrace courage or we will cater to the fear and become cowards.
3 of 3 sermons on the Temptation of Christ. Unlike Israel who failed to trust the Father’s timing and worship God in the wilderness of Sinai, the True Son endured testing perfectly for us all and defeated Satan.
2 of 3 sermons on the Temptation of Christ. Unlike Israel who failed to trust the Father’s wisdom and wait on God in the wilderness of Sinai, the True Son endured testing perfectly for us all and defeated Satan.
1 of 3 sermons on the Temptation of Christ. Unlike Israel who failed to follow God in the wilderness of Sinai, the True Son endured testing perfectly for us all and defeated Satan.
The good news of Jesus, his forerunner John, and all his disciples is a beauty and joy to be had through repentance. That beauty and joy is the perfect security and care of King Jesus on all who choose His kingdom. No repentance … no kingdom. The kingdom of heaven cannot be had unless we utterly forsake what we have to embrace Christ. This is repentance.The call of Jesus is to authentically and wholly repent, to turn your back on darkness and sin and to accept his welcome into His perfect, eternal and good kingdom.
At a time when the disciples were confused and worried, Jesus commanded them to trust in him. He reassured them by giving them 3 life-giving descriptions of his nature: that he is the way, and the truth, and the life. As the way, Jesus is the exclusive path to God the Father. As the Truth, Jesus is the creator, sustainer, and revealer of reality. And as the life, Jesus brings life that is truly life.
God is the greatest news of the good news. We get to know Him now and forever. As believers, He dwells in us through the Holy Spirit and we can fellowship sweetly with Him. But how do we actually interact with Him? What does it mean to “hear God''… “to listen to Him”…” to be led by the Spirit?
Christ is so much more than “my King”. He is “The King” over all and the full king of my heart. We are suffer so much weakness and stress in our lives by our undetected, but deeper loyalty to something/ someone over Jesus. There is a strain in us because we are straddling two loyalties and foundations. We are hearing the summons of Christ, but still often believe deeply and foolishly in our hearts that there are greater and more trustworthy principles and more cherished persons than Christ himself. This dual-mindedness cripples our worship, peace and testimony. Only the recognized kingship will set us free.
Our macro journey is the eternal and wise God being glorified through Jesus as he brings about beautiful and pleasing fruit of obedience flowing from faith among people of all the ethnic groups of the earth. God does this by sending us and strengthening us through the gospel we believe and bring to the world.
As he continues to wrap up his letter to the Romans, Paul further highlights the beautiful diversity within the unity of the family of God and he urges the Romans to be vigilant to watch out for false teachers would would seek to divide and destroy the family of God.
God loves to give gifts. He has blessed His body with many meaningful ones. We see some and their purpose in Ephesians 4:11-16.
In a rare inside peak into the culture of local church ministry and communication between churches we see the impressive dedication, mutual respect and use of both men and women in the advancement of the gospel through local churches.
We welcome each other because God has welcomed us and them and his pleasure … his design for us is to seek the true pleasure of each of his children he places in our lives and that we together, with one, well scripturally-fueled mind, joyfully proclain continually that God is truly astounding.
God’s call for our focus is not on what we are privileged-to in this life, but rather our Father and his beloved family’s welfare and building up. If we keep that clear, then our pathway in front of us is rather simple and clear. How do I handle this brother/ sister? Seek the Spirit’s leading on how to love and build them up in authentically following Christ.
Christ calls his followers to be keen in their thought and perspective, choosing to capitalize on our short earthly lives, adopting the mind and character of Christ and watchfully cutting off our pathways to sin and failure.
Christ calls his followers to be keen in their thought and perspective, choosing to capitalize on our short earthly lives, adopting the mind and character of Christ and watchfully cutting off our pathways to sin and failure.
The Father has graciously provided earthly governments as protection and provision for the people of earth. Out of this conviction we follow and support earthly governments, then shift our efforts and focus on loving the lives God has placed around us.
It is our honor and joy to present ourselves as living offerings (offering) given to God as we live among His people in the Church and the world which will mistreat us.
The life set apart for the pleasure of God will be marked with intentional and earnest following of Christ’s example left for us.
God is beyond us but draws close in chapters 9-11 to show us that He is completely faithful to his promises, how he is in complete control and that his saving work of all types of mankind is the same. He is pulling us out of and forgiving us of our human rebellion against Him only through his grace and mercy provided through Jesus.
In both the Old Testament and New Testament, salvation always has been and will be determined by the call of God expressed through promises, not genetic, biological birthrights or moral merit.
The life of the true, accepted child of God belongs to Him and is most beautiful and delightful when satisfied in God and longing for maximum eternal use of their earthly life.
We believers are commissioned by Jesus to be His witness.There is power and peace in the delightful pleading and confident proclamation of Jesus the King.The rightful witness will happen as the Spirit is sought by you and He guides and empowers you in the moment.
Jesus has brought us the gift of Joy … a newer and higher joy found in his friendship to us and fueled by his word when known and believed.
This last paragraph of the 8th chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans expresses the promise of Jesus’ unlimited, unconditional, unchanging love which eternally secures our salvation. Inspired by God, Paul conveys three types of fear that may cause us to doubt this truth: (1) Fear of things in our world, (2) Fear of things in the world beyond, and (3) Fear of things in you and me. Yet, nothing can separate Jesus and His followers!
If the God of the universe is for us… inclined towards us.. finds favor in us… then the opinion or opposition of any other person just really doesn’t matter ultimately.
Because of our flesh, prayer can be hard. Thankfully, God has given us his Spirit to help us in our weakness, and because the Holy Spirit knows the mind of God we can trust that our prayers will be heard and answered according to the will of God.
Because of our flesh, prayer can be hard. Thankfully, God has given us his Spirit to help us in our weakness, and because the Holy Spirit knows the mind of God we can trust that our prayers will be heard and answered according to the will of God.
The promised sonship of salvation is legally accomplished by the work of Jesus and carried out by the indwelling Spirit. The unforeseen effect of us becoming sons is that we eventually become co-heirs with Christ, and in are transformed in our resurrected bodies and in role into such majestic significance that God describes it as our revelations and being glorified with Him. And there we find that all of creation and our souls yearns for the freedom and joy of us finally being fully us.
The promised sonship of salvation is legally accomplished by the work of Jesus and carried out by the indwelling Spirit. The unforeseen effect of us becoming sons is that we eventually become co-heirs with Christ, and in are transformed in our resurrected bodies and in role into such majestic significance that God describes it as our revelations and being glorified with Him. And there we find that all of creation and our souls yearns for the freedom and joy of us finally being fully us.
While it is not the only description and demonstration of authentic salvation, the presence of the indwelling Spirit who leads us is an essential sign of salvation. If you are not led by the Spirit, then why would you consider yourself a child of God?
Romans 8 begins with the grand declaration of there being no condemnation for those who are in Christ. We then see Paul highlighting our new freedom, our new mindset, and our new indwelling presence that God gives his people through his glorious gospel.
The Mosaic Obedience Code was God’s good gift to believers before Christ came and gave us the Spirit by which He would lead us. Spiritual under that Law was very difficult and not a way of life any New Covenant believer should desire, admire or mimic.
The God who gave the Law as the obedience code has now brought his children out from under its leadership by their death with Christ. He now leads them by the Spirit into lives of fruit for life and his pleasure.
As we close out chapter 6, Paul is reminding us that our new life in Christ frees us, but it frees us to rightly put ourselves under the lordship of Christ. And the new hearts that Christ gives us, now have the ability to choose life or choose death as we are being sanctified by his Spirit.
There is tremendous, needed freedom and power found in discovering the greatness of your forgiveness.
We have gained the true opportunity to live with and for God today by dying with Christ on the Cross. The old master is dead!
Baptism is the whole hearted… whole bodied statement of the absolute end of my old self by my death happening with Jesus’s death. I am no longer the old me. I am now unified with Christ and there is not a single category of my life aside from that. The new life of living with God is our new life and it is, as promised.. the sweetest, deepest, richest life. God gives us three calls to action to live in this new freedom for God.
Look at the horrible situation that we all existed in and then how powerfully, thoroughly and magnificently Jesus crushed the whole situation and brought us far greater good out if it than we started with.
This week we look at Paul’s words to the church from Ephesians 4. God has put us together to walk with one another and help each other grow up by his Spirit as we speak the truth to one another in love.
God’s people is a spiritual and true family of His adopted children saved by grace, away from sin and to good and zealousness to implement and express it in good works.
As we continue in Romans chapter 5, we see how God’s radical and steadfast love for his people is different than what we might come to expect. His love rescues us, changes us, and keeps us as we seek to love others with the same kind of love that God shows us
The sweet grace of Christ is not primarily escape from the penalty of our sin, but rather escape from the darkness of sin itself and, in its place, having hearts able to see, long for and take confidence in the superior wonder of God.
According to God’s Word alone, Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to the Glory of God Alone. This is the good news.
God wants us all to know that all of us who have faith in Christ alone are legitimate heirs to God’s promise/covenant made with Abraham 4000 years ago.
To begin chapter 4, Paul illustrates his point that righteousness comes through faith and not works by pointing to the Old Testament examples of Abraham and David.
(1) The first point of this sermon called, “Revealing Redemption" is God‘s REPORT of our sin. It is the people's preeminent problem, and has been since Adam and Eve.
(2) The second point is the Good News – the REDEMPTION of Jesus Christ. He is the propitiation for our sins.
(3) The third point is faith REQUIRED of us. We must believe and receive the gift God offers us—His salvation.
(4) The final point is The REHEARSAL of our faith. We live according to the Heinz Principle of Faith. We trust in God while We wait for time to “catch up” with the reality of His future promises.
In this important text, Paul brings his accusation of humanity to a crescendo by showing us the depths of our sinful need and highlighting the fact that we are unable, on our own, to produce the righteousness that God requires.
God is beyond us. He transcends us and amazingly invites us into things, information and promises that transcend our ability to fully understand. These elements of transcendent knowledge do not work smoothly in the smallness of our human minds and hearts. They are too wonderful for me…. For us! Will they be welcomed and cherished as the beautiful wonders they are or thrown aside under our own judgment?
God is holding every human accountable to follow him, either through his provided teaching about Christ’s saving and ruling work or by his ethics being written on their hearts. God desires obedience over ceremony… following from the heart wholly dedicated to Jesus.
In Chapter 2, Paul begins to address those who claim to know God, but rely on their own self-righteousness. He reminds them that God is an impartial judge and calls them to repentance.
God’s wrath on our rebellion is evident and willfully embraced until Christ, through the Gospel frees us through repentance and trust in the work of Christ for our needed righteousness.
Since the beginning of humanity, we have been warned by God through the presence of his demonstrations of wrath that our denial and negligence of him are a capital offense. We are dishonoring him and in active collaboration in suppressing the truth from others.
The Resurrection asks to the question: "Will you truly listen to Jesus, the one the Father affirmed to you by raising him from the dead?”
God has chosen to place his saving power in the message of the Gospel itself. The gospel message, promises and world view is our open treasure… or else it is clearly not and in it we newly find the righteousness we have always needed.
In this passage, we see Paul’s heart as both a missionary and a shepherd, praying and caring for God’s now and soon to be family
Jesus has dealt graciously with Paul and his fellow apostles and blessed them with the role of being his official emissaries to call the people all the nations to obedience and submission to King Jesus as part of rightfully lifting up the superiority of Christ over everything.
The authority of God is fully behind the scriptures He has provided for us as He gave them through prophets and apostles, despite these people’s imperfections and sin. If we want to know truth and God’s heart…. Then we cannot find it apart from reading the Scriptures
In this passage, we find an account of transformation, as the resurrection of Jesus moves His disciples from sorrow to joy. By understanding their need, growing in biblical knowledge, and walking in faith – these men are changed in ways that reveal Christ as the source of their faith, wisdom, & satisfaction.
The essence and fullness of the Old Testament and New Testament call on all of humanity is simple. It is to love God with all our heart, soul and muchness. Anything else is falling short of the glory of God, which we have all done but, thanks to Christ, not longer must continue in it.
Christ calls us and equips us to wait expectantly for his return and the Spirit will lead us forward into his mission and worship until he comes.
God tells us that his glory is his main motivation. Understanding this will help us be people of hope.
Prayer is our direct access to the Father. If we rely on our own power, our prayers will be sporadic, self-centered, and distracted. With the help of the Spirit, our times of prayer can become consistent, God-centered, and focused on His will.
Christians are made a new creation by God when we put our faith in Jesus. We love and worship him, and are propelled on his mission to love his family and proclaim his excellencies to the world.
God has called us to be his people and to live as his family. We, now, seek to live in light of this family identity that he has given us.
In Titus 3 we see how God establishes us as his people through his gracious work in us, and now, how we live as his people is shaped by who he says we are
Paul closes out his second letter to Timothy by exalting in God’s faithfulness to him in his time of most need.
In order for us to persevere in ministry we need the help of other believers and even more so, our affections must be deeply rooted in Jesus.
Joy To The World, Let Earth Receive Her King – Jesus was born to be king, and we find that the kingdom of the beloved son is better than the domain of darkness. He is worthy of all our worship!
Expounding on Romans 5:6-11, Mark peaches the good news of reconciliation, as sung about in the classic Christmas carol, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”, for the purpose of deepening worship of the Lord.
Jesus’ followers are called to imitate Him. So we lovingly incarnate into the lives of others through relevant relationships. It’s the work He gave us, making disciples.
Meaning of Messiah Handout
The life offered us in the Gospel is radically different. It is a new, moment by moment relationship with Christ where we actively live and interact with Him by the power of His Spirit through the Word and prayer. There alone is glory is given, joy found , love experienced and any true fruit is produced