La Crosse Baptist Church: Recent Episodes
La Crosse Baptist Church
All of Christ for All of Life
- In relation to the Father, Christ is the Image (v. 15a)
- In relation to the Creation, Christ is the Heir (vv. 15b-17)
- In relation to the Church, Christ is the Head (v. 18a)
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In relation to the Resurrection, Christ is the Beginning (v. 18b)
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Live by the Word (Mt. 4:4)
- Be constant in prayer (Rom. 12:12)
- Sing to the Lord (Col. 3:16)
- Give thanks meticulously (Eph. 5:20)
- Hold to an honest heart (Luke 8:15)
- Be angry (Eph. 5:26)
- Speak for edification (Eph. 5:29)
- Honor marriage (Heb. 13:4)
- Instruct the little ones (Eph. 6:1-3)
- Restore family worship (Dt. 6:4-9)
- Recline at table (Ex. 24:11)
- Keep the Lord's Day (Heb. 10:24-25)
- Prioritize the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. 11:26)
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
Pastor Rick Cupples (one of the pastors at Grace Church Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee) shows us Jesus in the Gospel of John, a book written in order that "...you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name" (John 20:31).
"So God created man in His own image in the image of God He created him male and female He created them." Genesis 1:27
(Days 1-3) The Supernatural Animation of the Cosmic Spheres: God's workmanship, dominion, and providence.
Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
The Apostle Paul rejoices in the Lord greatly that the Christians in Philippi gave of their resources as an act of worship for the cause of Christ Jesus.
In this passage, the Apostle Paul encourages the local church in Philippi to join together in imitating him in his pursuit of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. This exhortation is supported by two opposing realities: there are those who are enemies of Christ and those who are citizens of Heaven. In following his example, Christians "work out their salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God at work in them both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (2:12-13).
The purposes and perfections of God manifest in the everlasting matrimony of the redeemed and their Redeemer.
A local church is made up of members of God’s family living together as God’s medium for displaying the greatness of Jesus.
One of the most well known and rightly beloved passages of Scripture begins with a little three letter word: "For God so love the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). The "for" connects this summary verse to the previous story (John 3:1-15) and, by extension, the rest of the Gospel and, ultimately, the rest of the Bible. What does it mean to be "born again"? How does the Old Testament foreshadow the person and work of Jesus? How are we to respond? Consider this nighttime talk with Jesus.
Qohelet (the teacher in Ecclesiastes) uses the phrase "under the sun" 30 times in his message to draw attention to the futility of a life which seeks satisfaction in the things of this world.
As we read through Ecclesiastes ("Qohelet") this week, consider the metaphor repeated no less than 35 times in the book: "mere breath" (captured in many translations as "vanity" or "meaningless").
"Merest breath, said Qohelet, merest breath. All is mere breath" (1:2).
"Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the places by the blood of Jesus ... let us consider one another to encourage to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near" (Hebrews 10:19, 24-25).
Having labored to expose the deepest recesses of his heart (“I want to know Christ,” v. 10), the Apostle emboldens the Philippians to press on in their heavenward march. The Christian life is an “already-not yet” reality. Christ has taken hold of us already; we have not yet obtained all that He has promised (v. 12). As long as we draw breath, we press on toward the goal (v. 14). This is the mindset of the mature in Christ (v.15). A fixed forward gaze characterizes a life lived for that which Christ has already secured (v. 16).
In chapter 3, Paul transitions (“Finally”; “Furthermore”) with the command to “Rejoice in the Lord” (v. 1) Although the many rejoice in their own accomplishments (v. 2), Christians worship by the Spirit of God (v. 3). Far from putting confidence in the flesh, Christians, like the Apostle Paul, are to voluntarily renounce any worldly gain for the sake of Christ. Paul’s Jewish pedigree exceeded that of his contemporaries (vv. 4–6), yet all of it he counts as loss in order that he might gain Christ through the righteousness from God on the basis of faith (vv. 7–11).
With the chief example of Christ Jesus—God become slave unto death and glorious exaltation—the Apostle Paul reminds the Philippians that God is actively working in them. He describes this work of God in the lives of three believers. As it was beautiful when Christ put our interests above his own earthly comforts and died for us, it is also beautiful that Paul suffered every day to plant the churches that brought us the gospel. And it was beautiful when Timothy served side by side with Paul, putting the interests of others first. Finally, it was beautiful when Epaphroditus risked his life to complete the Philippian service to Paul.
Exodus is the advancement of God’s purposes and promises laid out in Genesis. His dominion over creation is reasserted: the Israelites multiply as Adam and Eve were commissioned and Abraham was promised, He displays His power over nature through the plagues, and triumphs over Pharaoh and false gods. God discloses Himself (“that Egypt and Israel may know that I am the LORD”) by judging His enemies and by creating a “new Eden”, a new people under God’s rule, among whom He comes to dwell. He re-commissions His people to spread His glory throughout the earth as a “kingdom of priests” (as Adam failed to do). In doing this, He keeps His word to Abraham to make him a people and bless all the nations of the earth through him.