Solus Church Podcast: Recent Episodes
Solus Church
, a four-week study through Colossians that accompanies a chapter per week reading plan. We pray you are encouraged in your faith and love for Jesus!
, a four-week study through Colossians that accompanies a chapter per week reading plan. We pray you are encouraged in your faith and love for Jesus!
, a four-week study through Colossians that accompanies a chapter per week reading plan. We pray you are encouraged in your faith and love for Jesus!
, a four-week study through Colossians that accompanies a chapter per week reading plan. We pray you are encouraged in your faith and love for Jesus!
Logan Poirier is the founder and Executive Director of Eleventh Element Ministries.Eleventh Element exists to combine and elevate the importance of physical and spiritual health by providing a pastoral presence to the fitness community.
Pastor Andrew Lundy comments on the theological realities of the current state of the world and the historic overturning of Roe V. Wade.
From our series "Majoring in the Minors", where we are seeking to uncover the major messages of the twelve Minor Prophets.
From our series "Majoring in the Minors", where we are seeking to uncover the major messages of the twelve Minor Prophets.
From our series "Majoring in the Minors", where we are seeking to uncover the major messages of the twelve Minor Prophets.
From our series "Majoring in the Minors", where we are seeking to uncover the major messages of the twelve Minor Prophets.
From our series "Majoring in the Minors", where we are seeking to uncover the major messages of the twelve Minor Prophets.
From our series "Majoring in the Minors", where we are seeking to uncover the major messages of the twelve Minor Prophets.
From our series "Majoring in the Minors", where we are seeking to uncover the major messages of the twelve Minor Prophets.
From our series "Majoring in the Minors", where we are seeking to uncover the major messages of the twelve Minor Prophets.
From our series "Majoring in the Minors", where we are seeking to uncover the major messages of the twelve Minor Prophets.
From our series "Majoring in the Minors", where we are seeking to uncover the major messages of the twelve Minor Prophets.
From our series "Majoring in the Minors", where we are seeking to uncover the major messages of the twelve Minor Prophets.
From our series "Majoring in the Minors", where we are seeking to uncover the major messages of the twelve Minor Prophets.
//John 1:35-51 | Andrew Lundy In this message Pastor Andrew teaches on what the first followers of Jesus found in Him and what we will find if we follow Him too.
//John 1:1-18 | Andrew Lundy As we begin our series in the Gospel of John, Pastor Andrew gives an introduction helping us make three observations so that we do not "jump into it" blindly.
//Mark 3:13-19 | Andrew Lundy On this first Sunday of 2020 Pastor Andrew shares three new year's resolutions for Solus Church.
//Ecclesiastes 6:10-7:14 | Andrew Lundy As human beings, we only have so much capacity to give meaning to life. Man’s way of life is subjective — based on our own opinions — and subjected to vanity because of our sin. Because of this, who can know what is really good in life? This week, Pastor Andrew taught us how to go beyond man’s best to God’s better. We saw King Solomon speak of eight better ways of living a good life. First is the better way of good character. A good name (character) is far better than riches. The cracks in our character can become the crevices we fall into. We must remember that we bear the name of Christ. There is the better way of mortal awareness. The day of death is better than a day of birth, because considering our end causes us to take our short lives to heart. Next is a better way of sorrow and sadness, which is better than laughter. Laughter may feel good for the flesh, but sorrow brings us more productive wisdom. It makes our hearts simpler, stronger, and softer. There is a better way of wise rebuke, as opposed to the songs of fools. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; we need rebukes more than we need flattery if we wish to become wise. There is a better way of completed things, rather than leaving something unfinished. Long obedience in the same direction will build in us an internal resilience, so that we can be those who say we have finished the race of faith. There is a better way of humble patience, instead of pride. Our default tendency is toward anger, which stems from pride, and this needs to be controlled rather than being allowed to control us. There is a better way of present expectation, as opposed to esteeming the past. Today is better than yesterday, because God does His work in the present; we must not focus on past experiences. Finally, there is a better way of trusting God. We must trust that His way is better than our best efforts, as Jesus Christ has done for us what we could never do for ourselves.
//Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:9 | Andrew Lundy As Christians, many of us seem to disconnect our relationship to God with the importance of money in our lives. But Scripture has much to say on the subject of money. Money is a tool and gift to be stewarded for the glory of God alone, not an idol to be worshipped. The problem is the human heart; our love for money produces greed in our hearts. Pastor Andrew talked about three ways greed can negatively impact our lives. First is the corruption of greed. Greed can lead us to value money over people and take us away from the ideal reality in which all are equally rewarded for their hard labor. Next is the seduction of greed. Greed takes us away from our true love: the Lord. We cannot love and serve both of these masters. It creates the illusion that your problems will all go away, but it really creates more of them! Finally is the destruction of greed. Putting your trust and faith in your money will only hurt you and leave you with nothing. The love of money will leave us pierced through with many sorrows. In contrast to these, we must do what is good and fitting: work hard and enjoy the blessings of life God has provided us! Money comes from God as a gift to be used for the glory of His kingdom and the enjoyment of His children.
//Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 | Andrew Lundy Throughout this series, we have learned the vanity of many different areas of life. Now we turn to a more pervasive and dangerous form -- religious vanity. One of our core values at Solus is that we seek to function as a family, agreeing with God’s word that the church is not a place, but a people. We seek to gather around the worth, word, and work of God each Sunday, but we must be vigilant to mind the way in which we come to the Lord’s house. The people of God must continually be pulled out of autopilot, or “going through the motions”. This week, Pastor Andrew covered four ways in which we should go to church. First, we must go regularly (and on time!). In an age of DIY spirituality, we must practice the weekly rhythm of gathering together or else risk falling into spiritual disaster. God wants to see our faithfulness in the small things, such as simply showing up. Next, we must gather receptively. Coming to church is pointless if you are not coming to listen! And it’s hard to listen when we are constantly talking internally. The Lord wants to speak to each of us, not just have us sit and learn about Him. We must also go to church reverently. He is our Father, but He is also the Almighty, a consuming fire, and deserves our awe and reverence. We should let our words be few; too much talk only leads to foolishness. Finally, we should go to church responsively. We don’t come here just to hear a list of things we should do, but to respond to what Jesus has done for us! Our response should be sincere, but also realistic. Going to church -- gathering as a family -- is what healthy families are meant to do. Be present with us!
//Ecclesiastes 4:4-16 | Russ Kyff We all have relationships in our life, but the reality is that relationships are hard. Our humanity is almost always cause of relational strain, and sometimes it may seem better to avoid them altogether. This week, Russ three things that can destroy the relationships in our life. The first of these is envy. All of us are competitive by nature and wish to see ourselves succeed above others. Even though a little “friendly competition” seems innocent, it often progressively worsens to much worse feelings toward other people; Cain and Abel are a stark reminder of this truth. But through Jesus, we have been given everything we could ever need; our need to envy others can be thrown away in light of this truth! Next, is isolation. Sometimes this is circumstantial, such as when you face unexpected loss in your life. But many times, this is self-inflicted. We say we have no time, we want to be self-sufficient, or we’re just weirded out by how complicated relationships can be. Ultimately, this is rooted in selfishness. Companionship is much better, in that it increases the results of our work, give us stability when we struggle, gives us intimacy, and gives us security. Finally, being a know-it-all can destroy relationships. These are the people that take over every conversation, always needing to be heard and showing off their knowledge. In reality, they avoid God, because to be a disciple requires humility. In truth, we don’t know anything, and we depend on the Lord to lead us into all truth. If we wish to grow in our relationship and with others, relationships must not be avoided, but embraced.
(Please excuse the technical difficulties with this audio recording.) //Ecclesiastes 3:18 - 4:3 | Andrew Lundy There is probably nothing more uncomfortable for a person to think about than death. Yet King Solomon (and much of Scripture) has a lot to say on this morbid subject and it demands our consideration. All of us must deal with it in some way, but is that way healthy? Pastor Andrew showed us three truths Solomon declared about death. First, is the reality of man’s mortal condition. Death comes to us all and life is all about what you do with the one “breath” you have. In our modern culture, we shield ourselves from this reality and this creates an illusion of invincibility. Then he talks about the uncertainty of man’s destination. We are indeed a soul with a body, and all humans know this because God has put eternity into the hearts of men. But can anyone really say what happens directly after death? We know the righteous are divided from the wicked, yet we also know that none are truly righteous… Solomon then mentions the tragedy of man’s hopeless situation. If all die, the righteous and wicked alike, where is the justice? If there is no comfort in death, there is none in life. BUT -- thanks be to God our Father for the Lord Jesus Christ, who has dealt with death far better than Solomon (or any man) could! He transforms each of these ideas by giving us the correct answer to every question. Through acceptance of His sacrifice and resurrection, our new reality is eternal life and our lives have eternal purpose. We have a set destination since Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us to dwell with Him forever. And He has given us an eternal hope that justice is done; all will be held accountable and we will be declared righteous under the cover of His righteousness. The Lord Jesus dealt with death once and for all -- by running it through with its own sword.
//Ecclesiastes 3:1-17 | Andrew Lundy In this section of Ecclesiastes, Solomon is “taking a break” from his visions of vanity to move into a scene of certainty; vanity is not mentioned even once. Here we see that God is not idle or inactive, but is always working with sovereign authority over time. Pastor Andrew shows us three ways God’s sovereignty is related to time. First, that God is sovereign over all time. There is a time and a season for everything in life, and it does not respect our desires, but it does respect God’s authority. Vanity may be all around us, but God has placed eternity in our hearts, assuring us time is in His hands and there is more to life than this. God is also sovereign for all time. His authority never ceases; it will always be. Regardless of who is in charge (or who is in office), God will always sit on His throne. Jesus’ kingdom is an everlasting one, and this fact should lead us to repentance and faith in Him in every aspect of our life. Finally, God is sovereign with all time. God is very good at what He does, including how He manages time. He is never late and is not slack concerning His promises; He is patient toward us all! Ultimately, we must acknowledge His control of time, rather than attempting to take control ourselves.
//Ecclesiastes 2:11-26 | Andrew Lundy The vast majority of us, if we want to survive in this life, need to work. But as Christians, many of us are still living as practical secularists; we are Christians on Sundays but put aside our faith during the week, making a barrier between the sacred and secular. King Solomon was a man of labor, who accomplished so much through his work, but even he ultimately wondered what it was all for. Pastor Andrew helped us see four limits to our labor “under the sun” this past Sunday. First, was productivity, our limited ability. No one was more productive than Solomon. He acknowledged that whoever came after him would only ever accomplish as much as him, and not more. There would be nothing new under the sun. He also saw mortality as limiting his destiny. Being wise can certainly make life easier than being foolish, but the same fate awaits both types of people: death. This idea is of course uncomfortable to consider, but it forces us to evaluate the motives behind what we do. Next is legacy, or a limited memory. The celebration of a person’s life after they’re gone will eventually fade away, until no one really remembers anything of who they were.There have been billions of legacies in the world’s history, and no one on Earth remembers them all. Finally, he sees a limit to security, which is our prosperity. Even though we may leave all our possessions to those after us, we cannot fully control how it will be used. And we can’t take any of it with us, so working for this is also vanity. But there is good news! Solomon is giving us a taste of what is bitter, so we may reach for something better. God did not design life this way, and He did not leave us in this state. Jesus Christ redeems all of these limits on the cross. He has delivered us from the vanity of work, and removed the limits to our productivity, mortality, legacy, and prosperity. We now work for our Lord, not for limited Man, and we can fully commit our work to His cause!
//Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:11 | Andrew Lundy King Solomon is a man with an impressive resumé -- a man of royalty, a man of renown, but also a man of research. He sought out and gained all knowledge, understanding, and wisdom that exists under the sun. The end result? All is vanity. This past Sunday, Pastor Andrew laid out five pursuits we seek after under the sun that will not grant us satisfaction apart from God. These things are not inherently bad, but when good things become “God things¨, they then become bad things. The first of these is attainment, the pursuit of knowing. King Solomon was wiser than any other person on Earth, yet he wrote that increasing knowledge increases sorrow. We tend to think “if only I knew then what I know now, I’d be better off”, but this is putting our hope in the vanity of knowledge. The next pursuit is amusement, the pursuit of feeling. We look to amuse our heart and our flesh, but only God can give us true satisfaction. There are many who live an amusement park lifestyle, going from one good feeling to the next, thinking “if only I felt this way, I would be happy”. But this too vanity. Third is accomplishment, the pursuit of doing. Many people focus on their work and accomplishments, thinking “if I only I could do this, I would be happy”. But this is a dream we will always be chasing, because it will never be enough; there always seems to be more to do. Next is acquirement, the pursuit of having. Solomon had everything he desired; he kept nothing back from himself. But still he was unsatisfied. Jesus rightly said our lives are more than what we possess, and Paul realized the contentment that can be found in Jesus regardless of what you have. Finally, there is achievement, the pursuit of being. Many of us fall into the lie of the American dream; that I need to be someone for my life to matter. But achieving (or at least trying to achieve) some other identity other than who we are in Christ will never satisfy. Ultimately, this futility we feel in pursuit of the world’s standards and desires is a GIFT from God, because it causes us to turn in hope towards Him. Only by lifting our eyes to Jesus can we ever find true satisfaction, and sometimes seeing the emptiness of these pursuits is what it takes to make that happen.
//Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 | Andrew Lundy “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!” These iconic opening lines of the book of Ecclesiastes pave the way for the Preacher’s teachings on what truly matters in life. This past Sunday, Pastor Andrew properly introduced us to Ecclesiastes, in giving us some background on the author and his main message of this mysterious, yet wise book. First, we talked about the Preacher’s identity - King Solomon, son of King David, the wisest and most powerful king Israel has ever seen. When God approached Solomon, asking what he most desired, Solomon’s reply was the wisdom to govern his people, Israel. Not only did God answer his request, but he also blessed him with every other manner of material blessing possible. He was famous the world over for his knowledge (even of the trees, animals, birds, and fish!), his large heart, and compassionate spirit. We also talked about the Preacher’s message. He says everything under the sun is vanity (meaningless, like smoke), a conclusion reached after he began to drift from dependence on God to dependence on His blessings. This forces us to examine the harsh reality of the world as it is, and demands the church stop ignoring the world’s questions about life and the meaning of it all. Finally, we get to the Preacher’s point. Spoilers, Solomon will conclude this book saying that God knows every detail of your life and that it is ultimately best to fear Him and serve Him. We must get “over the sun” to find our meaning, and allow Solomon to lead us to King Jesus, the “one greater than Solomon”. He will point the way, but in the end, Jesus is the Way.
//Psalm 22 | Andrew Lundy We all face times of spiritual disorientation. Trials have this ability to confuse us to the point of losing our sense of direction. Pastor Andrew walks us through Psalm 22, a messianic psalm often referred to as the psalm of the cross, where we see David navigating his disorientation in relationship with God. We find that when we bring our confusion to God, He is faithful to reorient our lives around what's true.
//Acts 2 | Andrew Lundy As a part of our August Vision Series, Pastor Andrew teaches on the absolute necessity of following Jesus within the context of deep and true community.
//John 9 | Andrew Lundy On this special VISION Sunday, Pastor Andrew walks us through some new and update direction that God has given our church. We learn to see Jesus as one who specializes in the vision-giving, eye-opening, sight-supplying business.
//Acts 1 | Bill Schott The ninth of nine essential doctrines every Christian should know from our series "Nine-ologies".
//2 Kings 22 | Andrew Lundy The eighth of nine essential doctrines every Christian should know from our series "Nine-ologies".
//Acts 19:1-7 | Andrew Lundy The seventh of nine essential doctrines every Christian should know from our series "Nine-ologies".
//Matthew 28:16-20 | Casey Cleveland The sixth of nine essential doctrines ever Christian should know from our series "Nine-ologies".
//Ephesians 1:15-23 | Andrew Lundy The fifth of nine essential doctrines every Christian should know from our series "Nine-ologies".
//Matthew 16:13-28 | Andrew Lundy The fourth of nine essentials doctrines every Christian should know from our series "Nine-ologies"
**Keep in mind that our third "ology", Soteriology (the study of Salvation)has been consolidated into week 3 (Anthropology) and week 4 (Christology).
What historical evidence is there for the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ?
//Psalm 8 | Andrew Lundy The second of nine essential doctrines that every Christian should know from our series "Nine-ologies".
**Keep in mind that our third "ology", Soteriology (the study of Salvation)has been consolidated into week 3 (Anthropology) and week 4 (Christology).
//Psalm 145 | Andrew Lundy The first of nine essential doctrines that every Christian should know from our series "Nine-ologies".
//Acts 17:16-34 | Andrew Lundy The first of nine essential doctrines that every Christian should know from our series "Nine-ologies".
//Luke 11:1-4 | Andrew Lundy (Pt. 4 from the series "Teach Us To Pray") Surprisingly, one of the most difficult things to know how to pray for is ourselves. Many of us do pray for ourselves, but we pray for the wrong things or from a wrong motive. Some do not want to pray for themselves because they feel their problems are too small, or they are not worthy of God’s help. This is why this last section of the Lord’s Prayer is so important, where Jesus teaches us how to pray for our own real needs. Pastor Andrew broke down these last three personal petitions into three categories: the body, the soul, and the spirit. First we ask for material provision (body). Asking God for our daily needs acknowledges that He is the source of all we have. Sometimes we have so much that we think we no longer need Him, or so little that we think there’s no point in asking. But our Father knows what we really need before we even ask, and simply wants us to actively pray for our provisions. This is not a passive prayer, but one that requires our effort to actualize it. We also ask for relational preservation (soul). Receiving forgiveness of sins from our Father will change our relationships with others, allowing us to then extend forgiveness to them. And we truly NEED His forgiveness -- something we sometimes neglect because we either only see His love and not His holiness, or see His holiness but not His love. We have been forgiven so much more than any offense anyone has given us, so how much more should we be forgiving others? Finally, we ask for spiritual protection (spirit). There is a real spiritual brokenness behind our world that is based on evil, and God can give us protection from it. He never tempts us, but will use our temptations for His greater good. Through this prayer, we recognize our spiritual vulnerability and our need for the Lord’s deliverance.
//Luke 11:1-4 | Andrew Lundy (Pt. 3 from the series "Teach Us To Pray") The way our prayers are answered depends heavily on what we’re asking for -- our petitions. The majority of our prayers are spent asking the Lord for help, which is not a bad request! But the Lord Jesus helps us to prioritize our petitions to the Father so that we can pray according to His will, rather than trying to bend Him to our will. There are three petitions Pastor Andrew showed us in Verse 2 this past Sunday that must be prioritized. These petitions are intercessory, done on our behalf to change things. And they also center us back on Jesus, changing us so that WE can change things! The first of these petitions is for His Name to be worshipfully acknowledged. Praying for His name to be hallowed means we want it set apart as holy, and that we want our world to do the same. We pray that His reputation and character is rightfully proclaimed and understood in our community. The second petition for His Kingdom to be powerfully advanced. Our earthly kingdoms are limited in duration and distance, making them foolish foundations to build upon. But Jesus Christ brought Heaven back to Earth with Him, reversing the effects of our sin upon the world. He did not come to take His kingdom by force, but to give His life to see it displayed. The third petition is for His Will to be delightfully accomplished. In Heaven, God’s will is done perfectly. But on Earth, it is only done permissively. He accomplishes His will in our world through our surrendered lives. In the end, it comes down to either our will, or His will, being done. And even if our petitions are not answered as expected, we can trust that our Father knows best.
//Luke 11:1-4 | Andrew Lundy (Pt. 2 from the series "Teach Us To Pray") Think about the way you open your prayers. All of us tend to do it a little differently. But Jesus used very specific words in the opening of the Lord’s Prayer that has deep meaning attached to it: “Our Father in Heaven”. This opening is not a strict formality, nor some secret formula, but a spiritual foundation for our prayers. Our prayer life is fundamentally connected to what we believe about the truth that God is our FATHER. This is a fact based on theological truth, not a feeling. We were once children of wrath, but have now been born again as children of God. He became man in the form of Jesus Christ, that we might be enabled to be sons and daughters of God. This important truth is the foundation of our formation. It informs why we pray. Not to get the attention of man or the affection of God, as the hypocrites and heathens do in Matthew 6. We already have God’s attention and affection in abundance as His beloved children, and we pray knowing that truth. It also transforms how we pray. We must become like children to enter the Kingdom, something the world tends to beat out of us. We should pray to our Father thankfully for all He’s done, confidently because of His character, dependently in our need, and honestly as we are. And it also reforms what we pray. We don’t always know what to pray as we should, so the Spirit makes intercession for us. The Lord Jesus balances out our petitions to God with praise for Him and forgiveness from Him. When we pray knowing God as our Father, we are home with Him.
//Luke 11:1-4 | Andrew Lundy (Pt. 1 from the series "Teach Us To Pray") Jesus received more requests during His time here on Earth than we could count. Requests for healing, provision, and teaching. But in Luke 11, the disciples had a specific request about which Jesus was particularly passionate: “teach us to pray.” Pastor Andrew explained how we must first resonate with this request and make it our own before we can learn the intricacies of the Lord’s Prayer. We must first acknowledge the necessity of prayer. If communication with God the Father was so central to the life and ministry of Jesus, how much more do we need this to be central in our own lives! To truly know God and see Him move to revive His church, we must pray. Second, we also acknowledge the difficulty of prayer. So many things keep us from prayer, such as our perceived independence from God, our easy distractibility, and the anxiety of our prayer’s outcome. We are steeped in a secular culture that believes we don’t need prayer, but only action. Finally, we acknowledge the specialty of prayer. If you truly want to learn a skill, you need to see the specialist -- someone who excels at it. Prayer is the specialty of Jesus, as He currently sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. We may feel like our prayer lives are weak, but we must allow that weakness to drive us to the Lord Jesus with this request: “teach us to pray”. In our weakness, His power is made perfect.
//1 Corinthians 15:12-22 | Andrew Lundy The hope of our Christian life -- the load-bearing pillar upon which we build our lives -- is the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says that without this truth, our preaching and faith is empty, and we are of all men the most to be pitied. Pastor Andrew showed us on Sunday that there are three things we can lose if we remove this vital piece of our faith. We first lose the whole truth of Christ. All of us search for the truth of the meaning, origin, morality, and destiny of our lives. Jesus gave the answer we’re looking for: He IS the way, the truth, and the life, and He verified this claim by His own resurrection, an event that more than five hundred people witnessed and staked their lives on. We also lose the saving work of Christ. Without the Resurrection of Jesus, we are still in our sins, and there is nothing else to save us! Jesus came to save the sinners, and this salvation can only be ratified by His resurrection. Finally, we lose the ultimate hope of Christ. Without the Resurrection, the dead are gone forever. There is no future hope of restoration. Because of the reality, however, we are able to sorrow as those who DO have hope, looking forward to a blessed future and the end of death. The reality is that Jesus Christ has indeed risen from the dead, and by this fact, we can know all He said is true, and we can rest in the power of His resurrection.
//Mark 11:1-1 | Russ Kyff A significant portion of each Gospel is spent on this last week of Jesus’ life, which begins with His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and ends with His perfect victory upon the cross. But what was required in order that Jesus might be victorious? This week, Russ explained the four requirements of Christ’s perfect victory. First, it requires perfect timing. In Daniel 9, we see a prophecy about when the Messiah would come to Jerusalem perfectly fulfilled by the Lord Jesus. God’s timing is perfect and we must align ourselves to it rather than our timing, or else we risk missing out on His victory. Next, perfect victory requires perfect obedience. We must model our obedience after the obedience of the disciples carrying out Jesus’ strange request. And the obedience of Jesus Himself despite what He had to suffer, through which many are made righteous. And even the obedience of the donkey, who despite never being ridden, knew his place before the authority of Jesus. It also requires perfect praising. As the people paved the road to victory with palms and shouts of “Hosanna”, they praised the King the way He deserves to be praised. We must also worship our Lord the way He should be praised, not the way we desire to worship. Finally, it requires perfect calculation. Jesus counted the cost of His perfect victory, but ultimately counted it less than the perfect love He has for us. Through His victory, we are victorious.
//James 5:13-20 | Andrew Lundy As we wrap up the book of James, Pastor Andrew delivers a message on three "one-another" areas of life that James gives us quality counsel for.
//James 5:13-18 | Andrew Lundy All of us receive advice on an almost daily basis, but what we really seek and need is not just advice, but good advice. We can define quality counsel as any guidance/advice that agrees and aligns itself with God and His Word. Our Wonderful Counselor is all-hearing, all-loving, and all-knowing, so the very best counsel comes from Him. The question is now, whose counsel are you listening to? On Sunday, Pastor Andrew showed us three points of wisdom James gives to three types of situations. First, for those who are suffering, James tells to pray. This may sound simple, but we often misdirect our cries for help in our suffering, either towards other people or bottling it up in ourselves. In prayer, we cry out to God and process our pain in His presence, laying hold with our hands what we believe in our heads. Second, for those who are stoked (excited, cheerful), James tells us to sing. Our joy does not and must not be suppressed; we need to praise God because He is the only One who is big enough to hold our praises! Our times of worship are important and should not be skipped or treated as a “buffer” before service. Finally, for those who are sick, James tells us to reach out to the elders of the church. This is illness to the point of weakness, that can brought before the leaders of the church to be healed. Elders are shepherds, protecting the flock, and healing our spiritual, mental, and physical illnesses is a God-driven demonstration of this protection. We must take the counsel of God’s Word to heart, as He alone can perfectly sympathize and solve the struggles of life.
//James 4:11-5:12 | Andrew Lundy No one likes to be called out, yet to be the Church means to be the “called out ones”. Thankfully, the Lord does not call us out the same way the world does; He calls us out and upward by confronting us with who we are in light of who He has called us to be. This week, Pastor Andrew explained the five types of people that James is calling out in chapters 4 and 5. First, he calls out the incompetent judge. These were people who thought they were God’s law enforcement. They spoke evil of others in secret, ruining their good names and hiding behind the spotlight, rather than walking in the light. He also calls out the independent planner. To plan with intention is good, but making our plans our god is not. Tomorrow is never promised, life is short, but eternity is long, so we should plan in pencil, not permanent marker. Our plans must be surrendered to God, giving Him space to “re-route” in the right direction. He then calls out the indulgent hoarder. Growing your business and being wealthy is not bad in itself, but God calls us to store up treasures in Heaven. His generosity in giving us all we have should spark the same generosity in our heart, acknowledging we own nothing. We are meant to be channels of His wealth, not reservoirs. He then calls out the impatient grumbler. Life happens and trials always come, and our reaction to them shows the true colors of our hearts. Do we grumble all day long or wait patiently for our Lord’s coming? God is looking to refine us through our struggles, not attack us. Finally, he calls out the inconsistent committer. Whenever we say yes, that means saying no to something else. We cannot commit (or not commit) to everything. Jesus made His Father’s will His priority, only pursuing and accomplishing the specific things He was called to do. He is the opposite of all these types of people, and we are called to be like Him and display Him to our world.
//James 4:1-10 | Andrew Lundy There are many valuable pieces to our relationship with God. One of these essential pieces is peace. This forces us to ask ourselves, “Is my life missing peace?” On Sunday, we learned three ways in which peace can be pursued. One is peace with others. Our fights with other people come from our unmet desires; in fact, we can probably trace all our relational conflicts to some unmet expectation we have of someone else. Paul said in Romans 12:18 we should live peaceably with all, as much as it depends on us. We must pursue peace with others in the same way God pursued peace with us, before our hearts naturally take root in bitterness, which can defile many in our church. We also need to pursue peace within. Much of our internal turmoil comes from an innate dissatisfaction with our lives. We expect others to give us what only God can. Christ alone is the living water which always quenches our thirst. Finally, and most importantly, we must pursue peace with God. If we resolve to be a friend to the world, we set ourselves up as enemies of God. And who would ever want God as an enemy? Only by true repentance and humility can we draw near to God, and in turn, He draw near to us. That alone is our hope -- where sin abounds, grace abounds even more.
//James 3:13-18 | Russ Kyff As consumers, we all like to compare the products we’re going to buy in order to get the best value; this could save us a lot of time and money. So should we not make this same comparison between earthly and heavenly wisdom? This past Sunday, Russ compared the attributes and results of the wisdom of the world versus the wisdom of God, showing us how to get the best “bang” for our spiritual dollar. It’s important to first know that wisdom is not just knowledge, but the application of that knowledge. It demonstrates what you know in your conduct. Worldly wisdom is only concerned with things of the earth, always looking within for the answers, and takes it influence from the demonic. The end result ends up being confusion and discord, which can destroy a church from within. Whereas heavenly wisdom has no ulterior motive, grants us peace with God and others, forgives while maintaining strict discipline, is not stubborn, and shows mercy to the undeserving (like us!). It results in righteousness (right living) when it comes through Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. We must always seek this heavenly wisdom for ourselves and others through prayer.
//James 3:1-12 | Andrew Lundy In this sermon we learn about three characteristics of the kind of speech that is under the control of the Holy Spirit.
//James 2:14-26 | Andrew Lundy We all know the names of famous iconic duos, and this past week we learned of one of the most important duos of our walk with Christ: faith and works. At first glance in Scripture, these two seem like enemies, but through careful study, we know they cannot function apart from one another. Pastor Andrew explored three ways in which works function with faith. First, works express a fruitful faith. Rather than seeking to perform dead works (which is anything we try to contribute to our salvation), we must pursue those works we were created to do in Jesus Christ. We are not saved by our works, but for them, and they demonstrate the liveliness of our faith. Works also extend a useful faith. Faith is not useful if it is not practiced, like telling a drowning man all he needs to do is swim. We need to make ourselves available to be used by God and then when given the opportunity to demonstrate our faith, just do it! Finally, works exhibit a truthful faith. Our culture has grown tired of hearing about our faith; they need to see it. If we truly believe what we say we believe, it will be seen and verified to be true.
//James 2:1-13 | Andrew Lundy In this message we learned that since God shows no partiality, neither should we. Faith and partiality (showing favor or preference to one kind of person over others) are totally incompatible; they cannot coexist. Whether we favor the rich, the influential, or certain personalities, this partiality is rooted in our selfishness. Pastor Andrew talked about three reasons this is incompatible with our faith. For one, because of how God sees worth. Our worth is not linked to extrinsic things (things that come to us in life), but to our identity in Christ. He set the example for lowering ourselves below another, and lifting them up. Secondly, it’s because of how God shares wealth. God was rich and became poor, so that we who were poor can be rich. True wealth is not built on this Earth, but in Heaven, which is difficult for the rich (us!) to comprehend. Finally, it’s because of how God shows wrath. He is impartial with His grace, and “His judgment is without mercy for the one who has shown no mercy”. To judge others in partiality is to sin, and one sin is enough to make us guilty of the whole Law.
//James 1:26-27 | Andrew Lundy To be religious means a lot of different things in today’s world. Some people see it as being good more than you’re bad, superstition, or being legalistic. This past Sunday we learned it’s our system of organized belief centered on worshipping God, driven by relationship with Him. Pastor Andrew talked about three characteristics of a pure religion. The first is sincerity. The world craves people who are authentic and honest, not people who are trying to hide their brokenness. Covering up your flaws may seem useful (at least to ourselves), but is actually useless. Religion needs charity, or love. God’s love for us and our love for others are intertwined; God’s love should produce love IN us and FROM us, toward the broken and oppressed, the widows and orphans. There should also be purity in our religion. Jesus makes us clean by His own blood; we can maintain this cleanness by confessing our sin and keeping ourselves unspotted by the world.
//James 1:18-25 | Andrew Lundy God’s Word is powerful. He created using His word, Jesus raised the dead with a word; His word is truth. However, being around His word is not enough. This past week, we talked about our posture when it comes to the word of God. We need a posture of attentiveness. God is a God who communicates and loves to speak to us. We must be “swift to hear” and “slow to speak”. We need a posture of receptiveness, receiving the word with meekness. Transformation of our lives comes after reception of the Word. We hold the Scriptures high, but we do not edit them. Finally, we need a posture of responsiveness, which means we must be doers of the word, and not only hearers. God’s Word is a mirror, showing us what needs to change; it is instruction meant to be followed.
//James 1:9-17 | Andrew Lundy In this message we look at the full scope of the temptations we face and how we should deal with them. We are tempted to pursue the desires of this world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (as mentioned in 1 John 2:16). James tells us to endure these temptations, because God will never allow us to be tempted beyond our ability (1 Cor. 10:13), and He Himself tempts no one (James 1:13). It is our flesh that brings out these temptations, and He will allow it to happen to test us and see us approved. Just as Jesus was when led into the desert by the Spirit to be tempted. But even when we fail this test, we are not “expelled” from the school of God; Jesus Christ passed all the tests. We can safely (and determinedly should) lean on His grace. (This message is part of a series entitled "The New Humanity".)
//James 1:2-8 | Andrew Lundy In this introductory sermon to the Book of James, we learned of James’ challenge to us to become a new type of “creature” in Christ. To do this, we need to change. James cuts right to the heart in telling us to count it all joy when we fall into various trials. These trials are inevitable, happen unexpectedly, and come in various forms. The idea behind joy is in the greeting James gives us. We are to greet our trials -- almost cheerfully. Pastor Andrew broke these ideas down into four points: there is a joy that comes from knowing, there is a growth that comes from letting, there is a wisdom that comes from asking, and there is a receiving that comes from believing.
A Quick 12-Minute intro to our new series "The New Humanity", a study through the book of James.
For our first Sunday Gathering of the new year, we take a moment to look back on what God did in 2018, what He's doing today in the present, and what we anticipate He will do in 2019.
Joshua 8:1-10 | Guest Speaker, Russ Kyff, teaches on the importance of how we should respond to the inevitable failures that we experience in life.
John 1:1-18 | Pastor Andrew delivers a special Christmas Eve message entitled "The Heart of Christmas".
//Matthew 1:18-25 | Andrew Lundy Pastor Andrew wraps up our O COME series by focusing on the passion and power that Jesus has to save His people from their sins.
Matthew 2:1-22 | In this third installment of our Advent series Pastor Andrew teaches on a clash between the Kingdom of Herod and the Kingship of Jesus.
Luke 2:21-38 | Pastor Andrew continues our Advent series by looking three parties of people surrounding Jesus in Jerusalem after His birth and how they each represent a different season of our life.
Luke 2:1-20 | Pastor Andrew begins our new Advent series by looking at the First Christmas story revealed to some unlikely shepherds.
"You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever." //Psalm 23:5-6
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." //Psalm 23:4
Ephesians 6:10-20 | Kyle Chamberlain preaches on the weapons of our warfare as we engage in Christian Combat.
As we break into our new series through Psalm 23, Pastor Andrew reintroduces us to the most famous chapter in all the bible by looking at the placement, poet, and purpose of this beloved Hebrew poem.
Mark 3:13-19 | On this special VISION Sunday, Pastor Andrew shares three essentials for our church to be a community of disciples following Jesus, together. (This audio recording begins about a third of the way into the sermon.)
Colossians 4:15-18 | Kyle Chamberlain wraps up our study in the book of Colossians with an inspired conclusion challenging us to heed, receive, fulfill, and encourage the ministry.
Colossians 4:7-14 | Pastor Andrew begins to wrap up our study in Colossians with a message about three key friends to always have on board our fellow "ships" as we journey through life.
Colossians 4:2-6 | Pastor Andrew continues our study in the book of Colossians with a message about how the gospel transforms our communication with God, about God, and like God.
Colossians 3:22-25 | Pastor Andrew continues our study in Colossians with a message about how the gospel transforms the way that we see and approach our work.
Colossians 3:18-4:1 | Pastor Andrew continues our study in Colossians with a message about how the gospel transforms the way that we live in and under authority.
1 Timothy 3:14-15, Acts 2:42-47 | From our Family Weekend, Pastor Andrew teaches a special message based on our fifth core value that expresses our desire as a church to function as a family.
Colossians 3:8-14 | Kyle Chamberlain continues our study in the book of Colossians by encouraging us to reflect our designer by changing into on our christian clothes.
Colossians 3:3-7 | In this teaching Pastor Andrew continues our study in the book of Colossians as we see the Apostle Paul describing a certain sequence to our salvation. Through Christ, we are saved through the work of justification, in hope of glorification while in the process of sanctification.
1 John 3:1 | Pastor Andrew takes a break from our study in Colossians to deliver a special Father's Day message from 1 John 3 entitled "Beholding the Father". We're encouraged to behold the Father's pleasure, presence, provision, and protection. The result is that God's Spirit leads us to become what we behold (2 Cor 3:17).
Colossians 2:8-15 | Pastor Andrew continues our study in Colossians as Paul is calling the church out of legalism and into a fresh rediscovery of the gospel.
Colossians 2:1-10 | Pastor Andrew Lundy continues our series in Colossians by looking at three keys to disarming deception - valuing truth, treasuring Christ, & studying scripture.
Colossians 1:28-2:1 | Pastor Andrew continues our study in the book of Colossians as we look at and learn from the Apostle Paul's Model for Ministry.
Colossians 1:24-29 | Guest speaker Kyle Imbimbo teaches from Colossians 1:24-29 encouraging us to "remember the hope" of Jesus in times of trial and suffering.
Proverbs 31:10-31 | Pastor Andrew delivers a special Mother's Day message helping us recognize "The Gift of Mom". We look at the incredible value of her making touch, open arms, and mirroring life.
Colossians 1:15-23 | Pastor Andrew Lundy continues our study in the book of Colossians as we seek to answer the question "Who is Jesus Christ?"