You should force yourself to read to this one. People often try to deceive others and hide their true actions, but when the truth is exposed, it can cause anger and outrage. This can be seen in various situations, such as social media personalities promoting products they have never used, politicians going against their campaign promises, athletes cheating with performance-enhancing drugs, preachers committing the sins they preach against, and individuals putting on a show of devoutness while making everyone miserable at home. The truth can expose insecurities and self-delusion, leading to anger and frustration. God's Law defines sin and guides us on how to live our lives, but we all fall short and make mistakes, which is called sin. It is a fatal error that cannot be ignored or excused. However, through the Gospel, Jesus forgives our sins and justifies us before God, defining us by who we are in Christ, rather than by our failures or successes. The Law shows us the standard, and the Gospel offers forgiveness and salvation.
Read MoreUse your money to make friends, not your friends to make money. What if in order to get into heaven, you have to be welcomed by someone who you told Jesus canceled their debt? This is the weirdest story Jesus ever told.
Read MoreWhat would happen if we applied the same standard to the resurrection of Jesus that we apply to other historical stories? Folklore. Myth. How do you think it would hold up? Do you think we’d find any real evidence? Or do you think it’s all just going to come down to faith? That we can’t really be sure about it? In this sermon, Pastor Frank will attempt to give you a bit more confidence in the claims Jesus made about Himself and the historical evidence of His resurrection. If Jesus Christ rose from the dead then nothing else matters. If He didn’t, then nothing matters.
Read MoreThis is a story about two lost sons. Which one do you relate to the most? I think we all start off as the prodigal son. We make a mess of our lives (“Reckless living.” “extravagant.” Wasteful with everything God gave us.) then we come back to the Father, and find out how merciful and forgiving He is with us—He takes us back no matter what we’ve done and we just stand in His presence interrupted by grace, thankful for His kindness and generosity. Fully restored. But then, after just a short time, too many of us become like the older brother. Disown your heavenly Father at your own risk. Raise your fist to heaven and say, “I’m sick of You, I’m sick of Your church, I’m sick of your rules, I’m sick of waiting to die before I can have all those good things You’ve promised me in heaven!” If you live like there is no God, ignore His wisdom, selfishly grasp for wealth and pleasure recklessly—find out where that gets you. Well, our prodigal punk had sunk as low as he was going to go. He came to himself—came to his senses. This is his story and it directly affects all of us. You will be interrupted by grace.
If God filled up your church with people who looked like nasty sinners to you—the wrong kind of people—who would those people be? What do they look like? We always seem to think “repent” is something we have to do in order for Jesus to save us. I want to challenge that a little. What did the sheep do to repent? Nothing. What did the coin do to repent? Coins can't do much. The church has done a terrific job of letting the lost know they aren’t really welcome. Not until they repent. Not until they’re where they should be. Not until they change. Not until they find their own way out of the lake. That’s not how grace works. Grace jumps in and pulls you out of the water.
Read MoreI have a love/hate relationship with Jesus. That probably sounds wrong but I think it’ll make sense after you listen to this message. Jesus says in this passage of Luke that we must have a love/hate relationship with everything in the world. We must hate everything we love. Hate. This wouldn’t have sounded any friendlier to them than it does to us.
Read MoreHow should Christians feel about parties? Jesus teaches us about the importance of humility, generosity, and not making everything about ourselves. He reminds us that true joy is not found when we selfishly grasp for pleasure but by our willingness to serve others and honor God. A humble party rather than a pity party. How should Christians feel about parties? Should we go to parties? Jesus uses a humble party to teach us about the kingdom of heaven.
Read MoreWhat role has been assigned for you to play in the story of your life? In this blog post, you may discover a way to look at your story that will change your life forever. This is the central point of Luke's travel narrative. Jesus is traveling to Jerusalem and nothing is going to stop Him from fulfilling His destiny.
Read MoreThe Gospel is a limited time offer. You can’t push the door open by being good, the door is only open because Jesus is holding it open for you. Strive to enter now, drag your friends in, too. The offer expires when you expire (or when He comes back down here.) Pray for urgency! Too many of us are living in apathy.
Read MoreSay what you need to say, plant the seed, and then let God do what He wants with it. A little Gospel changes everything. We live in a culture that is repulsed by the way Christians have misrepresented the Gospel. We need to change that—Little by little.
Read More• Why do you believe in the existence of God? • Why do you trust the Bible? • What does the Bible say about Jesus? • What does this mean for you?
Read MoreIn this final episode of a four-part series, we take a deep dive into how to deal with conflict in relationships. Any relationship but especially between a man and a woman.
Read MoreLast week we talked about how God tells husbands to love their wives. This week is all about how wives need to respect their husbands. Unconditional respect. If he isn't loving you the way you want to be loved, if your relationship is "off," there's a good chance the reason is that he doesn't feel respected.
Read MoreIt's probably because she doesn't feel loved. That's usually the problem. Also, there's a really good chance neither of you actually know what love is. I can help you if you give me a chance—well, God can. Your relationships aren't about you.
You are the problem in all your relationships. You don’t know everything. You have to unlearn, untwist, and with great humility—hear what God has to say to you about how to treat the people in your life. You can’t learn something you think you already know. This is a message on grace. The Gospel. It's also about submission, marriage, sex, and parenting.
Read MoreWhat do you think Santa would say if he stood in the pulpit of a church on Christmas Eve? A message about how he got started with the whole Christmas thing.
Read MoreWe love to talk about bad news. Jesus gives some insight on what we should do with all the bad news of the world. Leads to a discussion on the problem of evil.
Read MoreJesus goes straight to awkward. This is the Gospel, maybe you've never really heard it. It will kick your feet out from under you. You should listen. Do you have sense enough to come in out of the rain?
Did Jesus come to bring peace? Why does He say He wants to burn down the world? Do Christians have a license to be jerks?
Read MoreDo you think the disciples were surprised that Jesus threatened them with a beating? Are you awake and listening? Are you doing what you’re supposed to be doing with the things God has put you in charge of? The resources you’re managing for Him? Are you awake? Are you listening? You have been set free and invited to stay in the Lord’s house. You are promised to be blessed when the Lord returns and finds you awake. He will reward your faithful service by serving you. He will seat you at His table, in a place of honor, and you will feast on rich food and the best wine in the house of the Lord forever.
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