Messages: Recent Episodes
New Covenant Christian Fellowship: Greenville, SC
[Psalm 130:1-8] Waiting for the Lord is the essence of Hope in the Old Testament. Hope in the person and Word of the Lord, the steadfast love and plentiful redemption. God may hide His face but He won’t change His heart toward us.
[Gal 5:5-6] Faith, hope, and love bring stability, strength, and peace in your union wirth Christ through His Spirit. Notice how faith and works, so decisively separated when it comes to justification, are so closely joined in sanctification-the Christian life. James' epistle is not talking about justification by works but about the faith that justifies - genuine faith works.
[1 Thes 1:2-3] What do we have faith in? The God who Is, the eternal Son, and the Holy Spirit. Our eternal hope begins with justification by faith and the peace with God that we have through our Lord Jesus Christ.
[1 Thes 1:2-3, 5:8] Faith, love, and hope are the identifying marks of true believers. Paul is presenting these three spiritual dynamics of the Christian life as pertaining specifically to and derived from our Lord Jesus Christ--we cannot obtain these on our own.
[1 Peter 4:14] Believers are as sheep to be slaughtered in this life, but God tells us that suffering for his sake is a great blessing; being reviled for his sake indicates that the Spirit himself--the culminating feature of the New Covenant--rests on you.
[1 Peter 4:12-13] Suffering in the Christian life is not strange. You are experiencing the same path and have fellowship with your Lord Jesus as you walk through suffering, which helps you to know Him more.
[1 Peter 4:12] Expect all manner of painful and difficult trials as you follow the Lord. Surprise is the wrong response. They are from the God who calls you 'beloved,' and are for your testing.
[Psalm 119] What does it mean to seek the Lord with your whole heart? And why is there the constant refrain of "I do not forget your word" in the context of affliction?
[1 Peter 4:11] How is God glorified? Through Jesus Christ. This truth is written over our lives now and God sees us and everything we do through His son, our great propitiation and atoning sacrifice, our savior, Lord, and example. May our hearts overflow with the same outbursts of praise as Peter and Paul do in their letters to the church.
[1 Peter 4:11] Tracing God’s glory as a theme through all the scriptures shows us clearly how jealous God is for the glory of His own name. God values more than anything else to display His glory. Is it God or you who is at the center of your heart and thoughts? How does God get all glory from our lives? God must always be the giver and we must always be the receiver.
[1 Peter 4:11] Feeling your weakness is not a sign to give up or that we are unable to accomplish great things for God, but rather an awareness of your need for God's strength which is received through prayer.
[1 Peter 4:11] God gives speakers to the church, who are to keep in mind that they speak the very utterances of God--words from the mouth of God. Have you considered that these "sacred writings" are the very words of God, able to make you wise for salvation and equip you for every good work?
[1 Peter 4:10] Serve one another with the gift you’ve been given by God's grace. Love fuels service to fulfills perceived needs within the body. The Christian life is to be one of selflessness as stewards with differing abilities. This is not optional-Jesus will hold us accountable.
[1 Peter 4:10] God employed the people of Israel, putting skill in their hearts to complete His work when it came to building the tabernacle and He does the same today for believers in the temple of the new covenant-the church-as we build one another up to maturity in the unity of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[1 Peter 4:9] Peter wants us to have open homes and open hearts toward one another in the body, even when it's hard and we are tempted to complain. God instructs us by the example of the children Israel grumbling against God. God destroyed Israel for complaining and grumbling about lacking food and water-how much more if we complain about inconveniences and annoyances that come with opening our home to our brethren for whom Christ died!
[1 Peter 4:8] In this third sermon focusing on this passage, we narrow in on the priority of love, "above all" in Peter's mind. Healthy churches forbear and deal with sin in love. We must have thick skin and warm hearts, always humbly seeking the good of others, even when it means rebuking or overlooking a transgression in love.
[1 Peter 4:7] End of all things is near, THEREFORE... In this second sermon focusing on this passage, we narrow in on the first statement about being of sound judgement and sober - having a focused mind with control and clarity in all areas of life for the purpose of prayer. Sobreity in Paul's letters and the teaching of Jesus has a goal: alertness, prayer, and resistance to sin as the end draws near.
[1 Peter 4:7] In this first sermon focusing on this passage, we narrow in on the first statement about being of sound judgement and sober - having a focused mind with control and clarity in all areas of life.
[Acts 2:42-47] What does the quasi biblical term “discipleship” mean, and should we even be using it?
[Acts 2:37-38] Baptism is like a wedding; it is a public, formal commitment to another. Baptism accompanies repentence toward God as a symbol of core realities of Christianity and salvation through Union with Christ. Jesus himself defines how baptism should be done - by immersion.
[1 Sam 13:8-14] David was a man after God's own heart because he constantly and repeatedly inquired of the Lord as to what he should do, seeking God's will above his own. Jesus encourages us to do what the story of David in 1 Samual depicts - constantly ask, seek, and knock because your Father in heaven wants to give what is good to those who ask Him. How often do you come to your Father to ask for His will and His help?
[ 1 Pet 4:7] How should we think about this term "near/at hand" if it has been 2000 years already since Peter wrote this? 1. God’s perspective of time (2 Pet 3) and 2. Sudden and unexpected (Matt 24, 1 Thes 5)
[Heb 5:1-10] Priests are appointed by God to deal with our sin problem; blood is required to pay for sin. Prophets spoke to the people on behalf of God throughout the Old Testament, but priests are tied to a covenant and bring the people to God. Jesus is the ultimate and final great high priest who brings us to God.
[Heb 1:3-4] The radiance of His glory here is referring to the mount of Transfiguration where Jesus shone forth light. Jesus upholds all things by the word of His power, which is a job attributed to Yahweh all throughout the Old Testament. Jesus’ purification for sins is effective and final, evidenced by his sitting down at the right hand of the majesty on high, inheriting a more excellent name than the angels.
[Heb 1:1-2] The Psalms lay the foundation for the Prophets, hundreds of years beforehand. There are 7 Old Testament passages referenced in Hebrews 1, all from the Psalms and 2 Sam 7, not the prophets. Hebrews is a book of contrasts between the New Covenant and the Old Covenant, and the introduction highlights that God spoke long ago in type/shadow/Promise through Prophets (OT) vs reality/Fulfillment (NT) in Jesus. Jesus is the foundation of everything: our life and hope, the alpha and omega of Christianity
[1 Cor 15:23-26] Jesus, exalted at the right hand of the Father is ruling and reigning over all His enemies. He was raised from the dead as the firstfruits of the resurrection and will appear to bring human history to its appointed end, when death is destroyed as the last enemy and Jesus presents everything to God the Father.
[Col 3:1-4] Foundational to Christianity is that Christians have been raised with Christ and seated with Him at the right hand of God. This is the final culminating application of Paul's theology laid out in chapters 1-2. Does this passage explain you?
[Col 3:1-4] Foundational to Christianity is that Christians have been raised with Christ and seated with Him at the right hand of God, regardless of how much theology about this truth you understand. There is only one category in Christianity, not two types of believers; all believers raised up with Christ.
[Phil 2:5-11] Can man be proud after God has been humbled? This is New Covenant ethics; we go to Jesus Christ for our example of humble obedience to God our Father.
[Acts 2:32-33] Jesus is exalted at the right hand of God, a place of honor and responsibility. This current reign of Christ from beginning to end is a central issue to the gospel and the biblical message.
[Acts 2:32] Like the first disciples, we are all witnesses to the truth in the Gospel of Jesus Christ because we know the one true God. Luke’s introduction is clear that his Gospel account is based on sober-minded testimony from credible men and women; sound, historical, reliable, eyewitness testimony consistent with the whole Bible.
Starting with the Old Testament prophets up through the New Testament, God’s Covenant with David is reiterated, highlighted, elaborated, and fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah.
[Acts 2:29-31] David wrote over half the psalms and laid out the kingdom of God before the major and minor prophets came and wrote the rest of the prophetic books that are built upon the foundation of David. Psalm 16 is an elaboration of the Davidic Covenant made by God with him in 2 Samuel 7, where God promised that one of his descendants would sit on the throne and reign forever.
[Psalm 16:1-11] Psalm 16 is quoted by Peter in this first sermon at Pentecost. We walk through all eleven verses in this exposition, explaining how this Psalm is about the resurrection of Jesus, our eternal hope.
This morning we consider the uniqueness of the birth of Jesus, the eternal Son of God, as the Savior of the world.
[1 Peter 4:7] Just as Jesus did in His parables, Peter is urging believers to alertness about the closeness of the end so that we will be sober in prayer.
[1 Peter 4:6] These people who were alive at one time, had the gospel preached to them, believed and were saved, will bring them to judgement and life. This is our hope as well when we follow Jesus and walk in His Spirit. Men will think you foolish and you won’t have peace in this life with the world, but that is the price and path to eternal resurrection life in the Spirit of God.
[1 Peter 4:4-5] Do not be surprised that the world will view us as strange when we walk in righteousness and avoid sin; know that those who run into excesses of dissipation are the aberrant ones to God. Both Cain and Able made an offering to God, but God had regard for only one. Are you really giving God the very best of your life?
[1 Peter 4:3] We are not missing out on anything the world has, carrying out the desire of unbelievers. Do not look back at your former life with fondness like Lot’s wife. The time of being a slave to sin is over. How are you doing with the temptations to sin with sexual immorality and alcohol?
[Eph 6:1-10] Paul calls the church to take their stand against Satanic forces by arming themselves with all the armor God provides.
Hell is real a real place where sinners will go forever, and Jesus depicts it as both like a furnace of fire & outer darkness. Two different things are bing communicated by these descriptions, and they are completely complimentary, true, and harmonious in describing God’s judgement. All these attributes of Hell go together; there is no specific order of these things.
The consequences of sin, both inherited and actual, are separation from God in spiritual death. complete disinheritance as children of God, subjection to all the miseries of this life, physical death and eternal conscious punishment of both soul and body in the lake of fire in the age to come.
[Psalm 46] We have a heavenly city of God as believers in Christ, so we need not fear the instability in this world, even wars and rumors of wars.
[Psalm 16:1-4] Psalm 16 is quoted by Peter in this first sermon at Pentecost. We walk through the first four verses of Psalm 16 in this exposition, touching on prayer, verbal praise of God, love for the brethren, and the sorrows of the wicked.
[Acts 2:24] It was impossible for Him (Jesus) to be held in its (death’s) power or grip. He HAD to be raised, there was no other way or possible outcome because of who Jesus was and is according to the scriptures.
[Acts 2:24] Philosophy and science have no knowledge or authority on God, miracles, and eternal life. The resurrection of Jesus is a historical and prophetic matter, a fact attested to by divine revelation and testimony of men and the Holy Spirit.
[Acts 2:23] God's foreknowledge is in reference to His sovereign electing grace in His salvation of sinners. The biblical usage may be surprising to you when compared to how it's most often used in theological conversation today to justify man's free will.
[Acts 2:23] The eternal purpose of God since before the world was created is a deliberate plan and purpose that He ordained beforehand to save many sinners in His great love through the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
[1 Peter 4:2] Normal Christians do not live any longer for the lusts of men but for the will of God. Obedience is not an option in the Christian life, and it is not legalism to obey God in holiness and righteous living for the will of God. And we must always remember that there is abundant grace for all in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
[1 Peter 4:1-2] Since Christ has suffered in the flesh, we as believers also ought to arm ourselves with the same mind to suffer in the flesh like our Lord. Those who have taken up the mission of obeying God and suffer for it, have made a decisive break from sin so that they are done with living in sin.
[Matt 16:24-28] Jesus tells his disciples what it costs to follow Him - everything. This is the only way to save your life and soul, for when He comes, He will judge every man.
[Acts 2:23] The Gospel of the Kingdom of God is about the resurrection from the dead at Jesus’ second coming, not a worldly kingdom following His first coming. Jesus accomplished the great work of salvation on the cross by allowing himself to be delivered over.
[Acts 2:22] Peter appeals to the crowd of gathered Israelites to listen soberly to his appeal to their conscience regarding the man, Christ Jesus, and how God affirmed Him in their midst.
The Gospel is good news widely proclaimed and gladly received. This good news is God’s and from God.
[Acts 2:19-21] What characterizes the Last Days, the time between Jesus' first coming with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all flesh and His second coming? Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved! What does this mean? How does it work?
[Matt 23:29-25:46] The “Red Letter Second Coming” Jesus laid out for His disciples is simple and clear if you interpret it in light of the 4 questions/categories in Matt 24:3.
[Joel 2:30-32, 3:12-16] Starting with an overview of historical theology, through the Reformation and into the 20th century, we dig into the book of Joel to understand what is written there and how Peter explains these quotations as fulfilled starting at Pentecost.
[Acts 2:16-20] The Last Days begin with the greatest gift that God could ever give - Himself. The Last days are characterized by an era when the Holy Spirit is given to all believers as Christ reigns from heaven.
[Acts 2:14-21] According to Peter, quoting and interpreting Joel 2, the "last days" began at the day of Pentecost. It has been nearly 2000 years of Last Days, and we are living in those last days right now! This has great significance for our life in Christ.
[1 Peter 3:21-22] Baptism is patterned or modeled after God's salvation of Noah and his family through the judgement and destruction of the flood, and in some sense, actually saves us from the wrath to come.
[1 Peter 3:19-20] Whatever you think about sin, it’s clear that sin is man’s fault and it grieves and provokes God. The world is full of wickedness and continual evil thoughts; narrow is the path and few who find it, just like the few that the Lord saved on the ark with Noah according to His favor.
[1 Peter 3:18-20] We break down the passage phrase by phrase, comparing with similar enlightening passages elsewhere in the scriptures, to arrive at the author's intended meaning - and it's BIG!
Psalm 121 is a psalm of assurance, help and preservation by the hand of the LORD through the journey to Jerusalem. This is for Christian mothers and for all believers who desperately need encouragement that God is with us, preserving and helping us to the end. The only action in the whole Psalm is lifting your eyes to the Lord in faith as your helper as he helps. He has so ordained that our faith be of such a nature that as we look at Him through faith we receive help!
[Psalm 3:1-8] This psalm of David has a superscription that sets the scene for this psalm of lament that turns by the end into confidence in the Lord's protection as he flees from his son Absalom. How ought we to respond in the face of opposition and adversaries, including the spiritual forces of evil? We should turn to and trust in the Lord God as our refuge as we walk in righteousness, crying out to Him in prayer in our times of need.
[Acts 2:5-13] 1 Cor 14 describes speaking in tongues as when God gives His child words beyond human language to worship Him, full of the Holy Spirit, edifying oneself, not the body. Acts 2 records men speaking a clear message about the mighty deeds of God. According to Paul's explanation in 1 Cor 14, this is does not fit the category of tongues but rather prophecy in the language of those who needed to hear it.
[Acts 2:1-4] Pentecost was the final component of a single transaction including the cross, burial, resurrection, ascension, and pouring out of the promised Holy Spirit to fulfill the scriptures. This event of the Holy Sprint poured out on God’s people was signified by tongues of fire over each head, a fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy.
[Acts 4:33] The resurrection of Jesus Christ is historic event testified to by eye-witnesses, Old Testament prophecy, and finally the Holy Spirit.
[Matt 28:16-20] Taking a closer look at the great comission and its parallel passages in the synoptic gospels helps us understand the "what", "how", and "why" of discipleship. We are to go make disciples (converts) of all nations because Jesus reigns now!
[1 Peter 3:17] Following Jesus faithfully will bring persecution. Peter wants us to know here and in 3 other places (1 Peter 1:6-7; 2:15; 4:19) that this is according to the will of God. Knowing that even as we do good we may suffer for it if God wills should bring us great comfort. Jesus is our example through his sacrifice and propitiation for us on the cross, suffering for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.
[1 Peter 3:12] God is not an impersonal force like gravity; He is a personal living Spirit who cares deeply about the choices of His creatures What does the scriptures mean by the term "face"? The surface of something, what is visible, where one is heading with focus & determination, personal presence and attention given to someone. We must recognize that God’s face is set against those who do evil, and He will repay them fully in judgement. God does not judge out of pleasure, He judges because He cannot overlook evil; as a just and righteous king, He must judge the wicked.
[1 Peter 3:8-12] Why must we seek peace and pursue it? Because peace among the church of Jesus Christ is always in jeopardy. Peace is not just the absence of conflict but the presence of goodwill, blessing with harmony, health and wholeness, soundness and success. God is the source of all peace, and God’s king brings in a new era of salvation and peace through Jesus Christ; the blood of His cross reconciles all things to himself. Forgiveness is required, both to give and receive, in order to achieve peace within the body of Christ.
[1 Peter 3:10-17] Throughout the scriptures, God’s people are commanded to do good. What exactly is this “good” that we must do?
[1 Peter 3:10-17] Peter wants to push us away from fear and evil by reminding us to do good with a focus on others, doing righteousness and keeping a good conscience, even in the midst of imminent persecution and suffering.
[1 Peter 3:8-10] "Turn away from evil" is one word in the original Greek which communicates our obligation, the absolutely necessity of turning away from evil. Evil-that which ought not to be, brings harm or destruction; forsaking the Lord and living as though He doesn’t exist; not obeying the commands of the Lord The Lord's will is made clear in His Word, the Bible, which assumes we must have a good understanding of the scriptures in order to know how to obey Him.
[1 Peter 3:8-10] Election is unconditional-God in his own free and sovereign grace chooses who he wills. The blessing of God for believers however is conditional, it depends on our lives, behavior, choices, and in particular here, our speech; how we use our tongue and our lips.
[Matt 16:24-27] Repent of your sin, believe on Jesus, and follow Jesus all the days of your life - this is the discipleship. Justification is free by faith alone and we cannot add to what Christ has accomplished on that cross, but discipleship is mandatory and it will cost you everything.
[Matt 16:21-23] We continue on the significance of "discipleship" according to Christ, this time focusing on the first half of the well-known passage where Jesus tells Peter to "get behind me, Satan" in response to Peter trying to stop Him from going to the cross as a result of setting his mind on man's interests rather than God's!
[Acts 11:26] “Disciples were first called Christians in Antioch..." Discipleship - personally following Jesus Christ as Messiah, Savior, and Risen Lord according to His word in the dynamic of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Inclusive of everything from repentance to the new heavens and new earth.
[Matt 4:18-22, 28:18-20] Jesus' call to “follow me” is the essence and core of discipleship. This is different from Moses whose law/teachings were followed, not Moses the himself as a person himself; not so with Jesus, the image of the invisible God, the one who we know and follow at his command. Definition of Disciple-personal follower of Jesus and his teachings, especially as presented in the Gospels and Acts; adherent, follower, learner
[1 Peter 3:8-10] Peter quotes Psalm 34 at length to make his point, rooted in the Old Testament scriptures, about how we ought to behave as God's righteous children in the face of evil done to us in order to inherit a blessing. What is this blessing and how do we receive it?
[1 Peter 3:9] When someone does evil against or insults us, it tests our Identity, and Peter spent 2 chapters on who we are in Christ first before this exhortation on how we ought to respond. How do we maintain this Christlike mindset? By remembering that this is the life we are called to-there is no surprise that we find ourselves suffering because God called us to this purpose-blessing for evil done to us, unjust suffering. We suffer with Christ! That’s the difference from those suffering apart from Jesus-our brother went before us and we enter into his suffering, blessing those who inflict suffering and evil upon us just like he did. We need to Lord to answer our prayers for strength to respond like Jesus to evil and insults. How are you blessing those who insult you or do evil against you, especially within the body of Christ?
[1 Peter 3:8-9] Brotherhood-be a brother/like a brother (Philadelphia-brotherly love) Fervently loving one another from the heart is one of the reasons for your soul’s purification (1 Pet 1:22). Within the body of Christ, titles like "father" and "teacher" are forbidden by Jesus because we are all brothers. Even elders are first brothers, and we have one father and one teacher. Our common adoption and fatherhood makes us all brethren. You "plug in" to our church body by getting to know one another and fervently loving one another from the heart.
[1 Peter 3:8-9] Be humble in spirit / lowly in mind means not seeking attention for yourself, thinking of yourself less (not thinking less of yourself), regarding others as more important than yourself, becoming a servant and pouring yourself out for others in love Jesus was humble without sin. True humility is knowing who you really are in the sight of God, not thinking too lowly nor too highly of yourself. Confidence is not in conflict with humility, but humility actually grounds your confidence in truth.
[1 Peter 3:8-9] Kindhearted compassion will move you toward meeting needs and away from self-absorption and seeking your own comfort. Jesus has a heart of compassion for people, He has time for them, and he sacrifices his own comfort to help them. This is how we ought to be in our own lives toward all men and especially those of the household of faith, full of mercy, compassion, and kindhearted love. Kindness with the affection of Christ is how we ought to feel and act toward one another in the body of Christ, because God has been merciful to us in Christ. Are you making the time to listen to others in need (which is everyone apart from Christ!), such that your kindhearted compassion draws you into action to help them in some way?
[1 Peter 3:8-9] Paul is calling the church to genuine, heartfelt sensitivity to the condition of one another, how well each one in the body is doing whether healthy or unhealthy. To be sympathetic is to suffer with or alongside another, feeling what they feel. Do you care about how your brethren are doing spiritually? If not, pray 1 Thes 3:12 that your love may abound more and more for one another!
[1 Peter 3:8-9] Harmonious / Like-minded: the minds of Christ’s people, the way we think and live, are principally the same. We share a common mindset about who we are, our purpose, mission, and how we go about these things.
[Acts 22:1-16] In an effort to convince the Jews in Jerusalem of the gospel of Christ, Paul recounts his testimony, drawing attention to how sins are washed away by calling on the Lord, displayed in baptism. The glorious turth of union with Christ is made evident in Jesus identifying himself with the Christians that Saul was persecuting, and when Ananias calls him “brother.”
[Romans 15:13] Paul gives his benediction to the saints here referring to the God of hope filling them so they will abound in hope. Biblical Hope is an expectation or desire for a future salvation in a new heavens and earth; always with a sense of trust and certainty! We ought to always walk in this hope, asking God to fill us with all joy and peace in believing by His Holy Spirit.
[1 Peter 3:7] Peter follows his exhortation to wives with one for husbands, focused on understanding and honor. Men, you ought to seek to honor your wife because the Lord commands it and He will not hear your prayers if you do not!
[Matt 3, 11, 14] John the Baptist was the greatest man in history until Christ. What was John's mission, who was this Christ, and how should we respond to Him?
[1 Peter 3:7] Peter follows his exhortation to wives with one for husbands, focused on understanding and honor. Men ought to seek to continually learn your wife, how to love and honor her in a way pleasing to the Lord as a weaker vessel.
[1 Pet 3:5-6] This command from Peter to wives is based in creation and spans all time and cultures, with Sarah as the example, gives strong encouragement for women to submit to their husbands from the heart, knowing God will provide everything you need by His grace.
[Matt 22:34-39] Love has regard for others, desires connection, reaches out to share, and in the greatest commandment from our Lord Jesus to love the Lord our God recognizes, regards and respects God.
[Matt 22:34-39] There are some "compass" passages in the bible that help you orient the entirety of the scriptures. Compass passages summarize, clarify, simplify, capture the essence, keep us properly oriented, and define true religion. One of the best is when Jesus Christ, God himself in the flesh, tells us exactly what He requires and what true religion is.
[Mark 15:1-15; 1 Peter 4:1] Jesus, the king of the Jews, standing falsely accused is silent even as the crowd calls for the release of a murderer and crucifixction of the innocent one. We will suffer in this life just like our Lord Jesus and are to look to Jesus as our example in the way he suffered according to the providence of God, for this is one of the purposes of our calling.
[1 Peter 3:1-6] Peter has primarily unbelieving husbands in view (disobedient to the word 1 Pet 1:2, 14), The woman submitting to her unbelieving husband is working to give him observable proof of the power of the gospel that can lead him to victory over his sin. Women with a husband disobedient to the word are instructed to win those to the word without a word. The contentious woman is addressed in Proverbs multiple times (19:13, 27:15-16 constant dripping; 21:9, 19; 25:24 corner of roof or desert land is better) as the opposite of Peter's presciption of “chaste (pure) behavior with fear”-she acts with purity in all things with all other men because of her fear of the Lord. This wife's adornment (orderliness, harmonious arrangement; cosmetic) is not fundamentally external but rather the hidden person of the heart, a meek and quiet spirit.
[1 Peter 3:1-3] Wives are to be submissive to their own husbands. This is the command and wisdom of God from day 6 of creation when God created Eve from Adam. A wife's submission means to personally bring herself under the authority of her husband. This is the scriptural prescription to wives for peace in the home, honoring the Lord, and honoring her God-given earthly head-your husband.
1) Missionaries laboring to take the gospel to all peoples of the earth, fulfilling the great commission of Christ, 2) Faithful elders equipping saints for the work of the ministry through the ministry of the word and prayer, shepherding the flock of God
[1 Pet 2:24-25] Christ bearing our sins is the basis of our forgiveness and acceptance with God. The purpose for this is laid out at the end of 1 Peter 2:24: "so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness for by His wounds you were healed." We are led by our good shepherd and we are kept by the great guardian of our souls.
In what manner and with what attitude should we be giving of our resources to others, the church, and the kingdom of God? Generously, Secretly, Expecting reward, Cheerfully, Trusting, Content
As followers of Christ, why do we give? What are the reasons given in the scriptures by Jesus and His Apostles for generous hands and hearts?
[1 Pet 2:24] Jesus himself took the curse and wrath of His just father on the cross for us because He took our sins on himself.
[1 Pet 2:22-25] We know that we will suffer like Christ our example, and it is so important that we suffer in the way He taught and according to His example. Jesus as a perfect man suffered unjustly without reviling in return but entrusting His soul to His father.
[Eph 3:14-15] How does the Bible present fatherhood as a paradigm, manhood as the foundation of fatherhood, and fatherhood as the cornerstone of the family. God is righteous, just, and cares for you - these qualities foster a sense of trust in Him. He is a selfless leader who manages his house without micromanaging and exasperating his children. Earthly fathers ought to follow His example.
[1 Peter 2:21] We are called to suffer like our Lord Jesus suffered. It is not just that you will suffer, but also how we ought to suffer in order to be like Christ our example. Life is to be lived in the footsteps (“follow me”) of the one who has already blazed that trail, suffering at the hands of evil men, as an example for us.
[1 Peter 2:18-20] Just as all people submit to and honor governing authorities, slaves also should submit with all respect or fear to their masters, even the unreasonable. The principle of bearing up under sorrow when suffering unjustly finding favor with God applies to all men, including slaves. You can and ought to serve the Lord, walking with God, in whatever state you were called.
An exposition of Matt:24:36-51 which focuses on the need to remain alert as we await the unknown time of Jesus' return.
There are two prominent themes that run through the whole of Psalm 119: Life & Meditation.
[Acts 19:1-7] Belief in Jesus, receiving the Holy Spirit, and baptism are all happening in rapid succession with these disciples as Paul explains the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who previously only understood the baptism of John. "Your experiences are not the measure of truth, they need to measure up to truth."
In Isaiah 52:3-6, God says that "My people, redeemed without money, shall know my name and Him who is speaking." What does he mean by this, and in what context did He say it?
Paul’s testimony before Agrippa and Festus outlines how God has helped him in his ministry and the content of what he preaches, namely Christ's sufferings and resurrection.
Those who come to the city of God are citizens of the holy city, Jerusalem, and they are born there. This is fulfilled in the new covenant as people are born again. Jerusalem and Zion become synonymous as the symbols of the object of God’s love, salvation, and dwelling; this is the people of God. Be strong in the Lord, clothe yourself with strength! God has commanded His people to take action to walk with him and serve Him in righteous faithfulness.
God calls on his people to listen to His words, to pay attention to Him, and look at His works. They responsd by calling on the LORD to act and work in His world, as Jesus taught his disciples to pray "your kingdom come, your will be done." The latter part of the chapter, God outlines the suffering they have endured at his hand of judgement, and promises that the People of God will never drink of His wrath again.
These five chapters in Isaiah 51-55 are the message of the prophets, weaving all the preceding divine covenants together into the coming reign and glorious salvation God is bringing through the New Covenant that endures forever.
Jesus is the Head of the new humanity. Union with Christ is a reality in the New Covenant. Whereas the Law could not absolve of guilt, the New Covenant is such that sinners can actually be saved from their sins.
Peter gives the believers in this body a strong warning to abstain from fleshly lusts that wage war against the soul.
Who are the people of God, today? Peter applies these old testament identity markers to those who once were not a people but now are the people of God. What was God communicating about Israel and his future people in Hosea 1?
This is what we proclaim, the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light. Calling in NT has nothing to do with vocation, but rather His saving us, personal summons to light and life in Christ. We automatically praise anything or anyone of a superior quality, and what is more superior than God Himself.
We are all these things Peter has outlined in verse 9 for a reason, an intended purpose. The goal and end of all the preceding identity markers is proclamation.
As believers we are a holy nation to the Lord. To be holy is to be set apart, separate, for God’s worship and service, and this is not only true for objects in Old Covenant Temple worship but also for us as Christians in the New Covenant. Holy-set apart/separate for God’s use.
Our identity is vital to remember, to put on, and to live out of every day. We are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, reigning and ministering as servants and children of our Lord. We look closely at the word "race" throughout the New Testament and the significance of "royalty" of our priesthood. Jesus is the promised son of David, of the kingly line of Judah and the Melchizedekian priesthood. As members of His family with Jesus as a king-priest, we are likewise royal priests of God.
We as believers are chosen by God, elected for his purpose, to declare His praise and proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light. What exactly does election mean in the scriptures, and how does that characterize us as our Christian identity?
Apart from Jesus we can do nothing, but because of our union with Him we can do all things God desires, pleasing to the Lord.
This man mistakenly comes to Jesus thinking that there are some good people and bad people, and Jesus corrects him pointing out that only God is good. Becoming a Christian is not doing good and keeping the law or some set of rules, it’s about coming to and following Jesus. He is the only one good and the only one who can save, and we must be willing to give away everything to follow Jesus because we need Him to save us. Wealth cannot save, but it can keep you from coming to Jesus.
Christ has all authority and truth. A Christian cannot and should not compromise for the sake of ease, comfort, and peace. Jesus Christ is over and above all philosophies and religions, and the person of Christ should be the center and source of our hope, comfort, and authority.
Paul shows Jesus to be supreme over all creation as the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, who gives ultimate purpose and meaning to everything.
In the midst of syncretism, errors and heresy at Colossae, Paul exhorts believers to walk in the teachings of Christ they received from the beginning.
The purpose of Christianity is coming to Christ. Come and be taught by Jesus Christ as to who and what type of person you should be.
The living breathing word of God is essential to making it to the end. Put aside the cares of the world and the pursuit of riches. Pursue the word of God consistently, renewing your mind.
The Lord is good, so put away all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. We ought to long for the word of God like newborn babies long for milk.
The word of God brought about new birth, and it is the word of God that continues to work in our life.
Spiritual warfare is a reality in every believer’s life. David’s experience in Psalm 3 gives us hope and clarity to understand spiritual warfare in our lives and the lives of our brethren.
Paul’s doxology wraps up the first half of Ephesians, with a focus on God’s abundant resources available to His people through Christ Jesus to the glory of the Father.