From the Blog
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Set Free by Faith
Freedom is connected to our faith. The word “faith” appears 12 times in today’s reading. Paul emphasized that it is faith in Christ that truly sets us free, not our own works of the law. In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatian churches, he told them that true freedom came not by works of…
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Set Free by the Gospel
The reason many people are not receiving the good news that sets us free today, is because they really haven’t heard the true gospel, or they heard it and received it, but then fell back into living by self-effort. This is what was happening to the Galatians. They had heard the true gospel from Paul,…
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Contribute to God’s Kingdom
Most of us want to feel like we have accomplished something, like the work we do is actually reaching some objective. We all want to be great at something and be thought of as influential. We want to look back on our lives and believe that we truly contributed to something of value.
In the book of Matthew, Jesus taught His disciples that being influential in His kingdom meant being a servant like Him. We too can be influential in God’s Kingdom by being a Christlike servant. -
Matters of…Marriage
Marriage: a wonderful union designed and declared by our Creator God for the our good. But it doesn’t always feel so good does it? Not always a “dream within a dream.” Two people, uniquely different, trying to be one unified family for life facing all the internal challenges of dealing with differing opinions, goals, and dreams and all the while facing the challenges of work, bills, sickness, and sometimes kids.
God’s plan goes far beyond the divorce statistics. God designed marriage and has a wonderful plan for couples according to His Word. A plan that will show off the glory of God to the world. In the book of Ephesians, Paul taught wives and husbands how to have a Christ-like marriage that reflected Christ’s relationship with His church. -
Matters of…Reconciliation
We heard last week about having oneness and unity in our families, but sometimes things divide that oneness and we can’t see how to reconcile. In this message, we learn how to reconcile the division that has come between us and become unified once more.
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Matters of…Oneness
“Oneness” as it relates to the family refers to the state of being in complete unity with one another and with the Lord. Why don’t we see the oneness that God intended at creation and that Christ came to give with our salvation? Why are so many families and marriages fractured and broken? One of the main problems is poor communication.
In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he taught them to seek oneness in Christ as the goal of their family communication. We can make oneness in Christ the goal of our family’s communication. -
Matters of…the Family
You matter to God and your family matters to God. After all, the family was God’s idea. Yet, today families have strayed from God’s design and intent. In the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul prayed that believers would experience God’s blessing on the family. We can experience God’s blessing on our families.
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Following Christ’s Commands
Many in the church today falsely think they are Christians when in fact, they are not. They have prayed the prayer, but they have not truly come to faith in Jesus, because their lives are unchanged. So, how can we be sure?
In the apostle John’s first letter, he wrote to give believers confident assurance of their salvation in Jesus Christ. We can have confident assurance of our salvation in Jesus Christ. -
Receiving Christ’s Love
Pastor Gary continued our sermon series called “So You Think You’re a Christian?”. Once we confess our mess and our need for a savior, the second movement of the gospel in our lives is receiving Christ’s love. Do you have a hard time forgiving yourself or others? Do you find yourself working really hard to…
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Confessing Our Mess
As we kick off the sermon series, “So You Think You’re a Christian?”, we look at the first movement of the Gospel, confessing our mess. When we fail to confess our mess, we limit God’s mercy and grace and we hinder fellowship with Him and our fellow believers. In 1 John, the apostle John taught…