Christ Is King Ministries: Recent Episodes
Gary Fox
Most people do not worship Jesus Christ. Even many Christians lack the profound sense of awe and wonder in the Gospel needed to experience the deeply-rooted life of praise God is so worthy of. As a result, lesser things are adored, and the joyful life God desires for His people is sacrificed. This is a colossal tragedy.
Christ Is King Ministries is on a mission to change that.
Just because the way is hard, and the storm is real right now does not mean you are not doing as the Lord wills.
"There Is A King" by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Christian ministry is not for the weak of heart, the cowardly, the easily exhausted or the wishy-washy. It takes soldiers willing to march off to war, every single day, and to do so gladly. The mission is great, you cannot play at this thing called ministry. You are either all in, or you need to get out.
"There Is A King" by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
The Prosperity Gospel is shallow, silly, untrue, and destructive. God’s people will suffer and experience grace upon grace in the midst of it.
"There Is A King" by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
The meaning of life is not hard to find, it is in following Jesus Christ into His mission on the Earth!
"There Is A King" by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Even when given every possible reason to believe, the sinful and fallen heart will always find a way to justify to itself why it keeps saying “no”.
"There Is A King" by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
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Stop and think about how utterly Sovereign and Powerful the Lord Jesus Christ is…He defeated DEATH!
"There Is A King" by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
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Demons are real, even if you don’t believe in them. They can possess people, they can manifiest outrageous power. Dabbling in wickedness and occult practices is no game and has dire consequences. And yet have no doubt, God is infinitely mightier than them all, and Christians have no reason to fear them. We fear God, not the Devil.
"There Is A King" by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
A small view of God and a high view of man is a recipe for anxiety, fear, and nihilism. Those who truly believe in and embrace the doctrine of God’s absolutely Sovereignty are able to walk in supernatural peace in the midst of a great storm.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
The supernatural power of God is real! Is it any wonder that are ate up with doubt and filled with anxiety when we look at life through the lens of naturalism? Stop doing that, God is always at work and He never fails!
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
We do not need to be anxious and struggle: the seed of the Word of God will bear fruit of its own accord. We cannot understand the process of spiritual growth, any more than we can understand the process of natural growth, but we do not need to understand in order to share in it.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
The more you seek out and appropriate the Word of God now, the more truth you will comprehend in the future. On the other hand, if you do not lay hold of the truth now, even the little spiritual perception that you have will be taken away. Those who accept the truth of Jesus’ teaching will receive even more truth and understanding; those who reject the Gospel will fall further into darkness.
“There Is A King” By Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
The purpose of the Parables of Jesus was not for them to obscure the Gospel message, even though initially people did not immediately understand them. Their purpose was to manifest the light of the Gospel, to bring clarity to people. We seldom immediately understand how the Lord is at work, but as we look back at our life, in light of the Gospel, we can see far more clearly what He was doing for His glory and our good.
‘There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Gospel resistance is not evidence that there is something wrong with the message, it is evidence that there is something wrong with the hearts of people. The seed is not the problem, the soil is the problem.
“There Is A King” By Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Jesus Christ considered the relationship He has with His people, true Christians, to be far more precious to Him than His earthly relationship with His mother, brothers, and sisters. Think about that!
There Is A King by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
The unpardonable sin is dead serious, it’s not forgivable and instantly cuts those who commit it off from the possibility of grace, and they don’t care.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
People know instinctively that life should have some sort of meaning, yet so few feel like they have any idea what it is. They live the normal humdrum expected of them and yet really do not know what the point of it all is. God’s people are called into His service, to each one a mission has been assigned, and the only way to understand what that calling is to be spending time with Him.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Jesus Christ attracted massive crowds during His earthly ministry, yet many church leaders seem to have no interest in doing the same today. The idea that it is better to remain small, pure, and committed to only each other is absolutely contrary to the way in which Jesus ministered, and yet in church after church that is either the expressed desire or it is implied. Jesus was out in public, preaching the Gospel to and doing good works for very large crowds, we should seek to follow His example and do the same.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Rejection of the Gospel is a heart issue, not a head issue. There is nothing unreasonable or illogical about the Gospel of Christ and indeed the alternatives are themselves unreasonable and illogical. The problem is not intellectual, it is spiritual.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
The Sabbath rest is a gift of God for the blessing of the people of God, it is not ever to be used a legalistic way to control and manipulate people. Jesus Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath, it was created by Him, for His glory and for our good!
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
There is no need to pray for things that we already have, we must in faith recognize God’s provision of grace and mercy in our lives through the saving work of Jesus Christ! The disposition of our prayer and fasting must then become supplication for others more than for that of ourselves.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Jesus showed far more disgust for the self-righteous than He ever did for the outcast sinner. He ate with many tax collectors and sinners; He publicly rebuked the self-righteous hypocrites.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
How much of a burden do we carry in our hearts for the lost, especially for family and friends who do not trust Jesus for salvation? Really think about that. Does our attitude, our disposition, our prayer life, and our witness to them reflect any urgency over their spiritual condition? We long for the things that we care about, do we long for the salvation of those we who know need grace?
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
This week on a special 5th Sunday Edition of the podcast, Pastor Gary Fox deals with the root causes and only solution to the terrible sin of racism. Racism is a rooted in false doctrine and blasphemy.
There Is A King by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
The fact that Jesus physically touched a leper to make Him clean ought to shock us! It foreshadowed the way in which He would save His people from their sin.
There Is A King by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
How do you know if your ministry is on track? Do you spend more time with God in prayer for ministry direction or do you spend more time reading blogs and listening to church growth strategists and gurus?
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Jesus Christ is Lord over all, and that includes being Lord over every disability or sickness. He has the power to heal, He does heal and ultimately each and every one of His people will be healed. Do you believe that? Are you in faith for that? Are you satisfied that He is working in your life, even through times of suffering, and that one day when He puts an end to our momentary afflictions that He will receive maximum glory?
There Is A King by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
We do not live a 3D reality, there is a very literal 4th Dimension and it is spiritual in nature. This is the realm where Angels and Demons exist and interact with humanity in various ways. The modern day, hip and trendy evangelical church will hardly ever get into this top (especially the topic of demons) but make no mistake at all – Angles and Demons are as REAL as you and I. Jesus has full authority over demons (along with all other things of course) and because of that, His people are safe from possession. However, we must never be unaware of their potential activities in our homes, churches, and nation.
"There Is A King" by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
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Jesus is the one who takes the initiative when it comes to gaining His disciples, He does not wait on them to come to Him, He goes to them. And when they hear His call and follow Him, He makes them into something new – He makes them become fishers of men!
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Unlike so many trendy churches of our day, Jesus Christ proclaimed the Gospel of God and commanded all men to repent and believe in the Gospel…
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Jesus was driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan for 40 days, demonstrating for us all that Jesus Christ is God and cannot sin. And because of that, we can always trust Him because He cannot fail!
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
The baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ was a stunning and deeply meaningful, prophetic event and the announcement of God the Father after God the Spirit descended upon the Lord is the very reason why we can trust that Jesus is an all sufficient Savior!
There Is A King by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
The promises of God are locked in forever, He does not change His mind and He never fails. We are at the very beginning stages of what is shaping up to be a very trying time and so it is as important as ever to be reminded of all that God has promised His people.
There Is A King by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
John the Baptist wasn’t very seeker sensitive, but he was highly effective.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God…THAT is who the Savior is!
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
The Apostle Paul ends this amazing epistle in his own handwriting, taking the pen away from the scribe in order for these Galatian Christians to weight of how personally their salvation and sanctification was to him. He leaves them with a strong warning and yet an endearing encouragement in grace.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
The Lord does not bless us with our finances for them to be hoarded for ourselves. His will is for us is to bless others. Our first priority is the health of the local church and so our main concern is to make sure we are faithfully giving to support it. But our giving doesn’t stop there, we are called to be generous with everyone as the Lord would give us opportunity.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Christianity is no lone wolf adventure; we are called to community. As we live out our faith together there may be times when correction is needed and those who are spiritual are called upon to restore the one who has wondered…in a spirit of gentleness!
“There Is A King” By Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Christians have the Spirit of the Living God dwelling within them, and that changes everything!
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Christians are set free from sin; we are not free to sin. This is something neither the legalist not the lascivious person understands. We serve and obey the Lord from a heart of love.
There Is A King by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
False doctrine is a sin and just like any other sin, it spreads and it must be confronted, corrected and purged from the life of a congregation. The Apostle Paul is clear, heresy cannot be tolerated!
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Believing that Jesus is real will not save you. Believing in and only trusting in the Gospel of Jesus Christ will save you.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
If Jesus Christ did not want His people to live in freedom, He wouldn’t have set them free.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Legalists may appear to look like true Christians, but they are just bastard half-brothers with no inheritance.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
We are called to make disciples, and in order to make disciples it takes personal and emotional commitment to the person and the process. If we ever see someone we have truly discipled begin to fade away from the faith to which they were called, it should hurt us! It should hurt us because we should care for the ones we minister the Gospel to!
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Our relationship with God is based upon His adoption of us into His family. It has nothing to do with our merit, ability, track record or talent. God the Father sent the Son to fulfill the requirements of the Law and then apply that merit to those who are redeemed and adopted into His household of faith!
"There Is A King" by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
The implications of the Gospel and the ramifications of preaching it are deeply pervasive. Not only does it set the individual free from the bondage and condemnation of sin, but it also liberates societies from sectarian and sexist oppression because it equalizes all people before God!
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
God’s promise to save by His grace, through our personal faith predates the Law of Moses by centuries! That promise was never annulled by the Law of Moses, rather, the Law of Moses proved the need for the promise in the first place!
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
The problem with thinking you can earn or keep yourself from losing your salvation is that God doesn’t accept “good enough”. He demands pure holiness, otherwise, you are cursed. The Holy Spirit is only promised to those who come to God through faith alone!
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Regardless of ethnicity, class, wealth or gender, ALL true Christians are one family! We are all children of Abraham, by faith!
There Is A King by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Those who teach you can lose your salvation deny that the Spirit who saves you by grace is the Spirit who keeps you by grace, through faith!
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Because we have been crucified with Christ, we are no longer under the condemnation of the Law! We are free because Christ has saved us and now, He lives within us, forever!
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
The Lord Jesus Christ experienced both suffering and glory as He atoned for the sins of His people!
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Justification comes only by God’s grace, through personal faith, in Jesus Christ ALONE! Nothing the world has to offer and nothing the world’s religions have to offer can make anyone whole. Only King Jesus can do that! THIS is the GOSPEL!
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Christians ought never be overly confrontational, otherwise we’re just acting like jerks. However, there are certainly times when confrontation is not only optional…it’s required! When the message and impact of the Gospel is at stake, confrontation is necessary.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Peace and harmony with the culture and within the Church is certainly something we should hope for but we must be unwilling to sacrifice the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in order to attain it. The message of the Gospel glorifies God and saves sinners, no other motivation can trump either of those.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
There are FIVE Sunday's in the month of September, and whenever we have a month with five Sunday's we like to produce a special bonus edition for the podcast! This month Gary Fox interviews Pastor Michael Meadows, the church planting missionary pastor of New Hill Church in Medina, OH. They talk about the mission in Medina along with the need for church planting to continue throughout the entire nation.
"There Is A King" by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Every Christian has a personal testimony of how Christ came into their lives and personally saved them. We all have a story. However, we must be careful not to overemphasize our personal experience over our confession of faith in the Gospel. It is equally important to understand what the Gospel message is and what it is not. People need to know more than our personal experience; they need to hear the message of the Gospel which has been passed down generation after generation. But never forget, people need to know more than the doctrine we teach, they need to know that Jesus has revealed Himself to us personally.
It’s not either doctrine or personal experience, our witnessing must emphasize both.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Christianity is not a man-made religion; it hinges upon direct revelation of God. The Lord wanted to reveal Himself to sinful humanity and was able to do so. We have the revelation, all of it, in the 66 books of the Bible. The Apostle makes no uncertain claims, the message he delivered came directly from Jesus.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Christians who seek to minister are going to be motivated by one of two things. They will either seek the approval of man or they will seek the approval of God. They cannot and will not do both. Those who seek to please God will be hated by the world, those who seek to please man will compromise and sell out the Gospel.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
We live at a moment in time where not only is the Gospel not always clearly articulated or understood, it is now relegated to a secondary matter. It is truly an unprecedented thing to have churches treat the message of the Gospel as if it is a secondary issue and one not worth fighting over. The Apostle Paul certainly didn’t hold that view, he lambasts anyone who distorts the message of Jesus and declares such a person as accursed. When was the last time you heard a message that heavy and urgent behind the pulpit of your church?
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
The Apostle Paul planted churches all around the Galatia region and wanted (and needed) to write to them to encourage them to remain in the faith. He was inspired to write to them to confront the false teaching of a group known as the Judaizers who working to undermine the Gospel message by insisting these new converts also take on most elements of OT Judaism. This pressure to conform to legalistic, extra-Biblical religious standards is and will always be an ongoing batter, human nature rejects the profound simplicity of the Gospel which announces Jesus Christ…and Jesus Christ ALONE…is the Savior.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
It is great to have a church with a wide opened door at the front, all should be welcome to come! In most of our churches, most of our efforts are focused on drawing people into that front door. That might be a great thing if the fact that we also tend to have a massive back door that is not only opened but has had its doors blown off the hinges wasn’t sadly so real. What are we doing about that back door? What happens when church folk just…disappear? Do we care? Do we even notice? If so, do they know we care about them and hope they return to the congregation in hope that the message of the Gospel will go past their heads and will penetrate their hearts?
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Do you believe in the power of prayer? Most Christians are quick to say, “absolutely!” …but do you really? It seems like we are all so prone to turn to the world whenever we face trials and the celebrate with the world when things go well, and when we do that it should cause us to question ourselves about what we truly believe about prayer.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
For the Gospel to be effectively proclaimed, Christians must be taken seriously. When we speak people should believe and trust in our sincerity and have confidence that we know what we are talking about. This goes not only for the formal declaration of Gospel truths, but this should be true when we speak to people on any topic. We must be sincere and credible any time we speak and if not then our witness is shot long before we even get to the details of the Gospel.
The Apostle James says that above everything else, we are to be credible. Our “yes” or “no” should be good enough for anyone that knows us to believe in.
There Is A King by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
If you asked most evangelical pastors today about "end times Bible prophecy" you'd probably get the impression that such things are not all that important and certainly not worth spending much time looking into. Of course, that is not at all the Biblical vision of the Last Things, after all, God put all that stuff in there for a reason! Obviously, HE doesn't think it's no big deal!
And the Apostle James directly ties our hope in and mediation upon the Second Coming to our ability to endure hardships, tribulation and trial. He connects our eschatology to our ability to remain patient and steadfast in our Christian walk. Clearly Biblical eschatology is more than just points to debate and cool trivia impress baby Christians with!
"There Is A King" by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
The Bible nowhere condemns wealth, but it strongly condemns oppression of the poor by fraud. The Apostle James sounds much like an OT prophet as he rails against the abuse of wealthy, non-Christian land owners who he warned of impending doom.
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"There Is a King" by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
How quick are we to make plans without leaving any consideration for what the Lord would have us to do? How quick are we to accept the glory for good work being done, for profits that are being made or growth that our department or company is experiencing? The Apostle James says living life like that, living as if God is not directly involved in our lives, is a type arrogant boasting.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
One does not need to read the Bible long before they come to understand that God forbids people to judge one another, but have you ever wondered why it’s such a big deal? Often times we chalk up a command like that as one of those “be nice to people” type of things without realizing the serious nature of the sin itself.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Whenever there are 5 Sundays in a month we like to take a break from our regular study and introduce bonus content that we pray will be encouraging to you! For this 5th Sunday Bonus we go all the way back to July 8th, 2007 when Gary Fox preached at his first church plant, Southside Christian Fellowship (just outside of Akron, OH).
The Bible is clear, the supernatural realm is real. It is impossible to read God's Word and come away believing it is presenting a naturalistic world. It speaks about God, Satan, Angels, Demons along with other beings referred to as Heavenly Hosts, powers and principalities. While this teaching of the Bible is undeniable, how many of us live our day to day lives keeping these realities in mind? There is a fourth dimension with real beings at work…some good and some evil…and life will not make any sense at all until that is recognized and accounted for.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Fidelity to God is not something He takes lightly whatsoever, and neither should we. The devotion which we ought to display towards God is to be nothing short of radical, hard core and all pervasive. So extreme should our fidelity be to the Lord that it would seem to the world that we have lost our minds. We cannot both love the ways of the world and love the ways of God, and there is no middle ground between those two things.
This week Gary Fox expounds upon the Apostle James’ teaching the difference between spiritual adultery and spiritual fidelity. One is friendship with the world and the other is passionate abandonment of all to draw near to God.
“There Is A King” by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
The sin of adultery is so heinous because it mars the purpose God has for marriage. God intends marriage to represent to the world the type of relationship He has with His people. Stepping outside of marriage to find fulfillment is the same thing as saying, "God didn't provide for all of my needs..."
The Apostle James equates loyalty and fidelity to the world with infidelity towards God. He says those who are loyal to the world are adulterous people. We have all been guilty of seeking pleasure, prosperity and peace in places other than in God...and each time we do so we have committed spiritual adultery.
There Is A King by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
The Apostle James gets to the heart of every conflict, the desire to please the self. Often times it takes two selfish people, church members or nations to spark conflict, but not always. When we find ourselves in conflict, as Christians, we must examine our hearts and ask the Lord to show us if we are being motivated by His Kingdom...or ours.
"There Is A King" by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
There is a way in which the world thinks and a way in which the people of God will think, and those two ways are highly distinct. Worldly wisdom is based in selfish ambition, self promotion and self advancement. The wisdom which is "from above" is pure, gentle and all about seeking peace.
This week Gary Fox exposes the evidence which demonstrates how we can be sure the modern evangelical movement is being significantly influenced by worldly wisdom and how we can distinguish between counterfeit and legitimate wisdom.
"There Is A King" by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
The Apostle James describes the tongue as a "fire" which is in and of itself neither good or evil. A fire can help or hurt, a fire can save or kill, a fire can produce or destroy. Our tongue is no different.
This week Gary Fox unpacks this highly illustrative section of Scripture and pleads with his audience to do as the Apostle James instructs and that is to be sure the content of our speech is consistent with our regenerated hearts.
"There Is A King" by Zach Loomis, Used with Permission, All Rights Reserved
Few things are as powerful as the tongue. It can be a tool which builds or tears down. It can be used to heal or to hurt. I can reflect the goodness of God by speaking truth in love, or it can be used to mar the glorious nature of God by speaking lies or bitterness.
This week Gary Fox explores the urgent warnings the Apostle James gives us regarding the very real danger of having an unbridled tongue, these are warnings all of us heed and take very seriously.
***There Is A King by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
The office and role of "teacher" in the Bible is one which is elevated to strict standards, and should never be taken lightly. When a man stands before people and declares to them what is and is not true, he had better be called, educated and gifted to do so because nothing is more vitally important for people than for them to know the truth.
The Apostle James said there should be a limited number of men called upon to teach in the church and he reminds us that we are not doing anyone any favors by pushing people into a teaching ministry wrongly...the judgement they face will be at a higher standard than everyone else.
This week Gary Fox explains why this issue is so important and how churches can identify who is likely called and who is likely not called to teach the Bible.
***There Is A King by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
Just because someone says they are a Christian does not mean they actually are one. Their life, their works and their actions will PROVE what they say about what they believe. Even a weak Christian will be taking steps, albeit tiny ones, in the direction of obedience.
If Jesus is not your Lord, He is not your Savior either.
This week Gary Fox unpacks the power examples the Apostle James gives to us which prove without any doubt whatsoever that faith without works is dead.
There Is A King by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
While it is very true that Christians are saved through faith alone, saving faith is never left alone. True saving faith will always be followed by genuine, God-fearing works.
The Apostle James wipes out any doubt that anyone may have regarding the nature of the Christian life, he says it will be marked by good works. And if anyone claims to have faith but has no corresponding good works that person should not expect to be welcomed into Heaven because his faith is "dead".
This week Gary Fox highlights how the teachings of the Apostle Paul and the Apostle James regarding the nature and result of salvation are in perfect harmony with one another.
There Is A King by Zach Loomis, Used With Permission, All Rights Reserved
We are quick to either justify or minimalise sin rather than accept the responsibility of guilt. This is exactly how so many of us try to get around the sin of partiality, favoritism, racism and classism. We either try to justify it by saying nature intended for us to stick with our kind or we will say things like, “well, I was just raised this way...it’s just how I feel…”
The Apostle James lays waste to these arguments. He makes it very clear that sectarianism is sin and even if we are perfect in every other way, this sin of partiality makes us transgressors against the whole law. In his series in the Epistle James, Gary Fox explains how we must not only confess sin, we must turn away from it in repentance
***There Is A King by Zach Loomis, used with permission, all rights reserved
It's bad enough that people have to deal with constant judgement out in the world, but to come into church and having to feel looked down upon (for whatever reason) is terrible.
The Apostle James deals with this big time sin and says that it is rooted in "evil thoughts". Judging people based upon superficial standards such as their net worth is so contrary to the Gospel, yet even 2000 years later we are STILL too easily prone to do it!
Join us this week as Gary Fox drills down into what motivates that very worldly way of looking at people.
"There Is A King" by Zach Loomis, used with permission, all rights reserved.
Finding identity in tribes, races or genders is out of harmony with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God's people are chosen by God, are transferred out of the kingdom of darkness and into the Kingdom of God...so our identity is in HIM! We are no longer citizens of this world, we are a new people!
The Apostle James commands us to "show no partiality". This week Gary Fox unpacks the implications of this charge and shows how worldly tribalism, racism and sectarianism truly is.
"There Is A King" by Zach Loomis, used with permission, all rights reserved.
Whenever there are 5 Sundays in a month we like to take a break from our regular study and introduce bonus content that we pray will be encouraging to you! For this 5th Sunday Bonus we go all the way back to Feb 11, 2007 when Gary Fox preached at his first church plant, Southside Christian Fellowship (just outside of Akron, OH).
The topic is one as old as the Christian faith itself and that is addressing the question, "Can a Christian lose salvation?"
We hope this message will be an encouragement to you in your walk with Christ, may it build up your faith and gratitude in the Gospel this week!
***There Is A King by Zach Loomis, used with permission, all rights reserved
Not every religious person has been saved, that is abundantly clear from teaching of the Bible in general and from the writing of the Apostle James in particular. The whole first chapter of the Epistle of James hammers this point repeatedly and the it ends with two more verses which drives the point home.
Join us this week as Gary Fox shares the heart condition behind worthless religion and religion that is pure before God the Father!
***Music by Zach Loomis, used with permission, all rights reserved.
Christianity is an action "religion"! There is no such thing as an unchanged Christian, or a Christian who does not care to get up, take up a cross and follow Jesus. Those who think they can sit on the sidelines and simply be aware of the Gospel without taking steps as a result of it are totally deceived.
This week Gary Fox details what the Apostle James has to say about "easy believism", or the idea that Christianity is nothing more than the acknowledgment of certain orthodox tenants. Real faith, saving faith will lead us to act!
Music by Zach Loomis, used with permission, all rights reserved.
Are you growing in grace or do you feel as though you are not spiritually maturing like you should? What is causing that stunting effect in your life?
You do not want to miss this edition of New Testament Chronology. This week Gary Fox unpacks a powerful teaching from the Apostle James who drills down in the deep, heart-level issues that will prevent us from “receiving with meekness” the Word of God which has already been implanted in us.
***Music by Zach Loomis, used with permission, all rights reserved
It would be impossible to sit down and list out our blessings, to "name them one by one". Each and every perfect thing, and all the good things as well, all come for the hand of God. And yet how little praise does He actually receive? Our constant ingratitude provides ample evidence that we are fallen and need to be changed.
This week Gary Fox unpacks this encouraging reminder from the Apostle James, that every good and perfect gift is from our Heavenly Father, and since He is intentional in giving those gifts, we ought to be intentional in thinking of them and giving thanks.
Music by Zach Loomis, used with permission, all rights reserved.
Far too often we like to justify ourselves and our sin by saying things like "God made me like this". The Apostle James lays into that way of thinking and in no uncertain terms commands that we stop saying things like that. Our sinful desires are internal, not external. They spring forth from our hearts, they are not downloaded into us by God.
Join us this week as Gary Fox points out the careful distinction the Apostle James makes between "desire" and "sin"...they are not one in the same.
Music by Zach Loomis, used with permission, all rights reserved.
What does it mean to be "blessed"? We hear an awful lot about "being blessed", there's even a social media hashtag that says #blessed which is supposed to let everyone know how good things are. But what does it actually mean? What if times are hard, are we no longer "blessed"?
Join us this week as Gary Fox smashes into this false way of thinking about what being "blessed" is and is not. Make sure you share the link to this important message, the misunderstanding which is so prevalent in American Christianity is not helpful at all.
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Music by Zach Loomis (used with permission, all rights reserved)
We live in a culture consumed with the "here and now", with a hyper focus on comparing our lives with others. This of course leads to depression in some and arrogance in others. The Apostle James instructs us to be intentional in looking past the immediate and to always keep an eternal prospective in mind.
Music by Zach Loomis
Christians have access to supernatural insight described in the Epistle of James as "wisdom", and yet so often we needlessly grope around like blind people in the dark.
Join us this week as Gary Fox explains how we plug into the wisdom so desperately needed as we navigate through life!
Music by Zach Loomis, All Rights Reserved
The Apostle James both encourages and commands us to "Count it all joy..." when we suffer in the midst of the various trials we face in life. Why would he say that? What does that mean and what's the point of it all?
This week Gary Fox shares from James 1:2-4 and explains how God has a glorious plan for our lives, a plan which will take us through seasons of trial.
Music by Zach Loomis, All Rights Reserved
Did you know James was the first book written in the New Testament?
Join us as Gary Fox dives into an introduction to this amazing epistle written by the little brother of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Music by Zach Loomis, All Rights Reserved