Wednesday Night Youth: Recent Episodes
Grace Community Church
These sermons are lessons taught to the 6th-12th grade Youth Group at Grace Community Church of Maryville, TN
Paul testifies before the Sanhedrin. His statements create division and Rome once again swoops in to intervene. Paul then receives a word from the Lord with further directives. Keywords: History, Christian living
Paul didn't share his background as a boast, but as a testament to his transformation. This is not a tale of arrogance, but of humility and redemption, a stark contrast to his former self.Keywords: History, Christian living
A study in Acts chapter 22 outlining the Apostle Paul’s defense before his Jewish kinsmen. Paul outlines 4 ways that don’t lead to salvation as he presents his testimony. Keywords: Salvation, Evangelism, Good Works
"We, like Paul, must remember that pity and compassion must be shown to those who are held captive to sin; although they are instruments of the devil, they are in desperate need of a clear Gospel presentation, and the love of Christ demonstrated to them by those who have been set free from the bondage of sin. The Gospel is offensive to those who are perishing, but let it be that they are offended by the Gospel and not by us." Keywords: History, Christian living
The crowed grabs Paul and drags him out of the temple, the doors are shut behind him and all Jerusalem is in an uproar. The Romans come marching down the street and everyone stops, now Paul is taken away. Keywords: History, Christian living
Would you take a moment and consider the things that hinder you from being a bold witness for Christ and then consider who Christ is and what he has done for you, He did not draw the line when it cam to sacrifice for you. Would you consider the fact that He is worthy of all we can give and more. Keywords: History, Christian living
Truth without love is a hard pill to swallow, love without truth is useless, but truth in love is both powerful and affective. Keywords: Christian Living
As Hebrews 11:1 call to mind what faith is before leading us into what is often called the Faith Hall of Fame, it is important to pause and consider what is a biblical definition of faith, and what makes faith, saving faith.
False teachers can be persuasive and make things sound good and make sense. Oftentimes, the teaching sounds right at face value but attacks the foundation of doctrine at its core. Only by studying Scripture do you see the implication of what is being taught. Keywords: False Teachers
When we fail to respond properly to God in the midst of difficult circumstances, He is faithful to comfort, gently confront us with the truth of His word, and call us to faithful obedience. God continually comforts, confronts, and calls His people to obedience. Keywords: Elijah, Commission, Remnant
NOTE: POOR AUDIO QUALITY. Even as the curse fell though a promise was made for a coming redeemer. The love which moved God’s hand to make us hadn’t changed or turned. His magnificent holiness required our destruction but his steadfast love moved him to promise redemption. He would pay the price, and we could be saved.Keywords: Christology, Christ, Prophet, Priest, King, redemption
God accomplishes His powerful work through ordinary Christians who faithfully pray for His will and obey His Word. Keywords: Prayer, Faith, Obedience, Elijah, Rain
Jesus is fully God and fully man. Not a mix but full, Jesus has always existed as the second person of the Godhead and never became less than God when He took on flesh. Jesus did not merely take on the form of a man, He became man, yet never laying aside His deity. Keywords: Theology
The Lord God of the Bible is the One True God who alone is worthy of worship and who hears and answers His people when they cry out to Him. Keywords: Baal, Worship, Idols, Fire
A study exploring the Incarnation of Christ, the validity of his deity, and the necessity of his sacrifice. Keywords: Christ, Incarnation
The Lord God of the Bible is the One True God who alone is worthy of worship and who hears and answers His people when they cry out to Him. Keywords: Elijah, Ahab, Baal, Idolatry
How much do you think about the significance of the resurrection? How much would you say the fact that Jesus Christ is alive impacts how you choose to live your life day by day? If you’re like me you spend more time thinking about the death of Christ, the work atonement more than the victory and reward of atonement in the resurrection. We would do well to meditate more deeply, often and practically on not only the death but especially on his resurrection. The resurrection of Christ raises the spirit of believers for every day righteous living and secures the hope of a final full resurrection on the last day. Keywords: Resurrection, God's Love, Salvation, Atonement, Eternal Life, Holy Spirit, Power, Authority
They could not be more sobering or serious. If Christ is not raised there is no Christianity. The resurrection is not up for debate it is the capstone doctrine holding our fruitful faith together. Without it we lose everything. Without it Christianity is not merely worthless it is pitiable. The resurrection means the work of atonement is complete by proving the person of Christ as the perfect son of God and his work as the acceptable, once-for-all, sacrifice for sins. Keywords: Resurrection, Christ, Christology, Forgiveness, Atonement
I read about Apollos and I can’t help but think of all of you. Talented, gifted, blessed beyond belief, ambitious, poised for great service. I wonder though are you holding back? Are you saving some service for yourself? Do you doubt your place or opportunity? Are you waiting for something? More time, more training, more…whatever? Don’t wait, right now is always the right time to serve with everything you’ve got. Keywords:Ambition, service, sacrifice, purpose, Christian life, church
God will provide strength, wisdom, and courage to His people to stand against the idolatry of their culture by proclaiming the truth of His Word. God’s servants have courage when they speak God’s Word. Keywords: Courage, Elijah, Ahab, Idolatry, Drought, Baal
The richness and reward of life is won and lost in your mundane moments. So perk up and fill your arsenal with the encouragement and admonishment our passage has for us in the day to day of the Christian life. A faithful, fruitful, Christian is patient, stable and available. Keywords: labor, faithfulness, mundane, patience
No matter how dark and difficult things may seem, God is always in control and will raise up His servants to glorify His name and accomplish His purpose. God’s servants have courage when they speak God’s Word. Keywords: Elijah, Ahab, Idolatry, Prophet
"It is easy to agree to disagree, and professing Christians can walk in peace and harmony with unbelievers. It is spiritual laziness to forsake the Gospel for the sake of peace. Proclaiming the Gospel will cause friction, discomfort, and even anger. Are you willing to abandon your wants and desires for the sake of the Gospel? Matthew 16:24-27Keywords: History, Christian living, Gospel
This passage really struck me this week as I was studying it. I’ve always been fascinated by this dynamic duo of Aquila and Priscilla. They don’t show up a whole ton but it’s clear they were an incredibly effective and beloved Christian couple gifted to the early church. In this passage is where it starts and contained within their story is a tremendously compelling and convicting message for those of us called to be “normal” Christians working jobs, living life, serving the Lord. Lean heavily with everything you’ve got into lay ministry.Keywords: Ministry, Work, Church, Service, Sacrifice, Church Planting
God is not a mere intellectual exercise, he is the creator and judge of all men and it is given to us to repent. This isn’t a sport, it’s salvation.Keywords: Evangelism, apologetics, gospel
Believers are to be controlled by the Spirit of God through the Word of God so that they will have proper discernment to hold fast to what is good and abstain from evil. The lives of true believers are controlled by the Spirit of God through the Word of God.Keywords: Spirit, Prophecy, Good, Evil
Paul uses his dial time wisely as he proclaims the Gospel while waiting for Silas and Timothy. Keywords: History
The will of God for every believer is that we always rejoice, pray, and give thanks for these actions demonstrate our understanding and appreciation of the work of Christ and enable us to bring God greatest glory. Rejoice, pray, and give thanks always!Keywords: Rejoicing, Prayer, Joy, Thanksgiving, Will
We all have starting points and preconceived notions; we are brought up a certain way and hold certain views. This is not bad, but if we keep these views to the point that we will not listen to sound doctrine and biblical reasoning, then we are in a dangerous place.
Believers have a confidence and joy in Christ to know that because of Him, we are not working to achieve victory, but we are living and working in the light of the victory He has already provided. Not only this, but the Lord in His grace has provided for us to not walk alone through this work we have, awaiting the day we arrive to that victorious finish line. Instead, He has made a provision for leaders to nurture and build up the church, and has also made a provision for fellowship, so that we may live and move and grow bonded together in the living hope of Christ. Therefore, in light of the encouragement Paul reminds us of in the prior passages, we have a common bond of hope and grace in Christ that should shape our work together as a church, how we regard each other, as well as how we respond in that victory to the challenges we encounter.
Our aim with unbelievers needs to be the same, not merely an information dump but acceptance, conversion, salvation. The unbeliever stands beneath the focused fiery beam of the wrath of God and we’re called to persuade them of the danger and call them out.Keywords: evangelism, faith, salvation, persecution, Jews, Israel, Gentiles
It is so easy to get distracted by the world and to forget that it is fallen and under judgment. How careful we need to be not to take the benefit of our salvation and upbringing for granted and begin to pursue the lifestyle and actions of those who are in darkness.Keywords: Judgment, Wrath, Hope, Faith, Love, Righteousness, Encouragement
The certainty of the judgment of the Day of the Lord should drive us to passionate, evangelistic imitation of Christ. Keywords: Judgment, Sober, Alert, Drunkenness
A proper understanding and appreciation of God’s Judgment on sinners, and deliverance of His children, should drive us to a life of passionate thankfulness, holiness, and evangelism.Keywords: Rapture, Day of the Lord, Judgment, Deliverance
The return of Christ is the greatest comfort believers have for then, and only then will they be in perfect union and intimacy with their Lord.Keywords: Rapture, Death, Heaven, Glorification, Bodies
Ultimately, open theism fails in that it attempts to explain the unexplainable—the relationship between God's foreknowledge and mankind's free will.Keywords: Theology
The return of Christ is the greatest comfort believers have for then, and only then will they be in perfect union and intimacy with their Lord.Keywords: Death, Sleep, Salvation, Believe, Faith, Rapture
It is reasonable to accept scripture as the authoritative word of God. Indeed it would be foolish and perilous not to. Given the compelling argument for the nature of Scripture as a divine book it then must have authority over us and be obeyed. So do that. Take Scripture for what it is. Life itself. Cling to it, rejoice over it, read it, know it, obey it.Keywords: Apologetics, Bible, Scripture, Inspiration, Evangelism
The point of Theism isn’t to construct the most reasonable deity but to position ourselves rightly under that which is most powerful. The study of science isn’t to create reality but to develop the framework by which we can best utilize reality for our own benefit. In the same way theology isn’t the invention of God but the discovery and application of the reality of how to behave in light of spiritual realities. If God is real, if a spirit realm is in play we’d best know how to behave lest we risk danger and miss delight.Keywords: Arguments for God, Theism, Atheism, Agnosticism, Creation, Apologetics
God has some attributes that make him different from Angels, humans, and all other created beings. These are the Divine attributes of God, and they can't be communicable to other beings.
For us to truly know God we need to know his attributes. This is a life long study as we grow in our faith, but it is a necessary study for us to grow in our faith.
"We do not obey to be saved, we do not obey to stay saved, we obey because we are saved. It is a fruit not the seed or the soil or the sun. It is the product of that which God has chosen by grace through faith to work in us. The Lord opens our eyes to the truth of our dreadful condition. We repent and have our hearts washed clean by the Holy Spirit and now the rest of life is lived in an obedience from the heart to the truth of God. This obedience is not burdensome but rather delightful. It is our desire not drudgery. Our flesh will fail us, we will sin, but never again from the heart. For the Christian, life turns from a terrifying expectation of judgment to a delightful exercise of obedience and a hope of eternal reward."Keywords: Obedience, Thankfulness, Holiness, Evangelism, God's Sovereignty
"All of our problems in one way or another distill down into just two problems. We don’t view God as good as he is and we don’t view sin as bad as it is. And that is the beauty of our theological problem statement at hand. It cuts out all the cruft and gets down to the bare metal of the real problems. Good and Evil. God and Man. When asking why do bad things happen to good people. We have no right to ask that question or seek to answer it until we rightly view what is bad and what is good. We cannot pass the baton of blame onto God for the things he ordains and allows until we have in our mind clearly and rightly just how good God is and just how bad we are.The complete holiness of God requires the eternal torment of an entirely sinful mankind. He saves those who repent but the rest experience the curse of being sinful forever."Keywords: Good, Bad, Evil, Theology, Suffering, Hell, Holiness
God desires for us to be sexually pure so that we might escape His judgment and know the joy of delighting Him and truly loving others.Keywords: Purity, Sexuality, Marriage, Sanctification, Holiness
[Part 1 on January 22 did not record]. One God existing in three persons. “The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the most important distinguishing doctrines of the Christian faith and therefore is deserving of our careful study, passionate embrace, and thoughtful applications.” Bruce Ware
Thessalonian believers, his letter takes an interesting but expected transition here toward reminding them of what they have already received and pushing them to grow in it. It is an expected transition and by the end of the passage, you are able to see why it is an expected turn in this joy of his, and why Paul does not delay turning into instruction and exhortation.Keywords: Scripture, Sanctification
Real life is truly found in a vibrant Christianity expressing itself through faith and love to God and fellow believers in the intimacy of the local church. Real life is found in the church! Real men love the church!Keywords: Comfort, Trials, Suffering, Affliction, Wavering, Stability, Maturity
Yes there is a God and yes He can be known and that knowledge is derived naturally through his created order and spiritually in a saving way by His Spirit through His word. It’s as simple as that and yet there is a depth of context here that’s worth harvesting here which will prove tremendously valuable to you as you encounter a world of doubts and difficulties.Keywords: Theology, Knowledge, Knowledge of God
Salvation belongs to the Lord but it’s presentation belongs to us. Whatever the price or pivot, we must make way for the gospel to be spoken.Keywords: Evangelism, Missions, Salvation, Early Church, Timothy
On the heals of resolving a big conflict impacting many, Paul and Barnabas have a conflict of there own as they seek to tend to the flock of new believers. Do they give John Mark a second chance or stay the course and not risk it? It is a debate over empathy or efficiency.
With the Gentile conversions come great debate. We are now under the New Covenant, so how does that look for both Jews and Gentiles? What Jewish laws and traditions are still required, and what needs to go? The Jerusalem council paves the way and set the temple for resolving not just the issue at hand but further problems that will arise in the church throughout history.
Circumcision was so simple, just a bodily mark made at single point in time and then done. Why not just shrug, fine whatever and move on? Because there’s something far more subtle – poisonous – than circumcision at play here. This is a question of the authority over salvation and for Paul and Barnabas this is hill they will die on even when stood against their own fellow believers. Who guards salvation? Who chooses what the bars and doors are to the paradise within? Is it Moses and the law or is it Christ and his apostles?Keywords: Salvation, church, history, evangelism, Jerusalem council, circumcision
"From animal sacrifices in worship to barbaric stoning. The two-faced nature of the unbeliever is incredible. Public sentiment can turn on a dime at the drop of a hat. Would you really build your kingdom here? Place your hope on such instability? As the hymn song goes “on Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”
Notice though and hear me carefully. Building on the rock doesn’t keep you from getting stoned. Stoned to the point people think you’re dead. The rock doesn’t protect us from the wind and waves of the evil vicious world but the righteous wrath of Almighty God." Keywords: Persecution, evangelism, early church, christian living
The Word of God is fundamentally different from any word of man and is to be received and accepted for the purpose of ongoing transformation into the image of Christ. Keywords: Bible, Word, Persecution, Inspiration, Jews, Transformation
The worthiness of God to be worshiped as demonstrated in the person and work of Christ is the foundational reason that we give our lives in service and ministry. Keywords: Work, Labor, Sluggard, Burden
A choice of God has been made for each and every person as to their eternal destination. It is not an appointment unto the choice but rather the state. A list of names has been written into the Lamb’s book of life and for those found in that book their life is the arrival to the earthly human realization of the eternal spiritual reality that this creature will exist eternally forgiven and redeemed. Keywords: Sovereignty, Salvation, Evangelism, Gospel
The choice of God from before time, made effective through the powerful proclamation of the gospel brings abundant transformation in the life of the individual. Keywords: Choice, Election, Preach, Idols, Example, Imitation, Joy, Word
Paul encounters a false prophet in Cyprus, The truth prevails and the Gospel goes forth.
Salvation is the result of God’s choice from before the beginning of time which becomes active through the Spirit empowered preaching of the gospel and is evidenced through the transformation of the believer’s life. Keywords: Chosen, Election
Giving thanks to God and praying for others is a primary means of bringing glory to God and seeing His purposes accomplished in the lives of others. Keywords: Prayer, Thanksgiving, Love, Faith, Hope, Work, Labor
Christ is in control for the good of Christians. No unnecessary or untimely death, no impossible rescue. No untethered evil. Not a single atom out of place in the plan of Christ for the preservation and prosperity of His people. Keywords: Narrative, Acts, Trust, Control, Sovereignty
The true believer lives his life in anticipation of Christ’s return and passionately pursues holiness in preparation for seeing the Lord Jesus face to face. Keywords: Thessalonians, Thessalonica, Persecution, Holiness
Peter gives an account as to how and why the Gospel has gone forth to the Gentiles. Keyword: Doctrine
We left our narrative last week with Peter on his way to Cornelius’s house, the unthinkable, the unlawful, the unexpected as God very definitively and directly moves the gospel from Jews only to enveloping the entire human race. Keywords: History, Narrative, Early Church, Gentile, Jew, Conversion, Evangelism
This message is an exposition of Ephesians 2:4-10. The focus was on God's amazing grace in salvation. Keywords: Grace, Power, Faith, Love, Kindness
Salvation is on the move. The Holy Spirit is hungry for more souls, many more, to press far beyond the Jewish bounds of centuries. The ethnic separation of Jew and Gentile is poised to come crashing down. Keywords: History, Narrative, Early Church, Gentile, Jew, Conversion, Evangelism
Saul understandably is an outcast back in Jerusalem. A Christian without a church. The desperate situation should sit heavy on us. Saul needs a church, you need a church, no Christian can survive without fellowship. The Jews want to kill him, the Christians are afraid he’s out to kill them. There’s nowhere for him to go. But Barnabas. Keywords: History, Narrative, Early Church, Paul, Salvation, Conversion, Evangelism
When someone like Saul get’s saved what do they do? How do others react? When the dials get turned all the way up what holds and what breaks? What’s essential and what isn’t? So perk up and pay attention over the next couple weeks. None of our salvation stories are like this, likely none will be, but in this story we find some of the core essential attitudes and activities for all believers regardless of the way in which they were saved. Keywords: History, Narrative, Early Church, Paul, Salvation, Conversion, Evangelism
Continual growth in perseverance must be carefully cultivated in the life of every believer so that they will have the strength necessary to endure every difficulty between now and eternity. Keywords: Character, Trials, Perseverance, Hope, Maturity, Joy
Continual growth in perseverance must be carefully cultivated in the life of every believer so that they will have the strength necessary to endure every difficulty between now and eternity. Keywords: Perseverance, Character, Trials, Endurance
Love is: The Holy Spirit empowered delight in relationship with another which causes us to humbly obey every command of Scripture so that they would be continually conformed to the image of Christ, regardless of the sacrifice necessary, what we might receive in return, or the perceived value of the one loved.
A good friend is a helper given by God to partner with you as you work for and obey our Creator.