When Jesus famously tells Nicodemus that he must be "born again," he is really striking directly at his religious identity. For a man who placed all his hope in his Jewish heritage and superior morality, Jesus was alerting him to a deeper reality. He didn't need more teaching - he needed to be rescued just like everyone else.
Though we focus on the stature of Zacchaeus, the truth is he was likely a very bad guy. And so while it is important to notice Zacchaeus looking for Jesus, the beauty of the story is actually that Jesus was searching for Zacchaeus. And when Jesus found him, he embraced him which led to his transformation.
When faced with a well-orchestrated trap by the religious leaders of the day, Jesus responded by demonstrating the brokenness of all people - religious and irreligious. And he announced a radical forgiveness that would be made available to everyone who believes in him.
In the interwoven story of Jesus healing a bleeding woman and the daughter of a synagogue leader, we see two important truths about Jesus. First, he is completely interruptible. And second, he is completely impartial. For Jesus, it is not about who we are or what we can do for him. Rather it is about who he is and what he intends to do for us.
The story of Moses meeting God at the burning bush is at its core a story about our God who relentless pursues us. He seeks Moses by coming down the mountain and entering into the natural path of Moses life. And when Moses (and us) turn aside to God, we find a God who doubles our name and calls us deeper into his story of rescue. Study Guide with questions
Baptism is an act of obedience that announces and aligns ourselves with God's gracious rescue in Jesus. In our baptism, we dramatically and symbolically portray the great thing God has done to ultimately set the world right and how he has given us the gift of true life.
This teaching ends our series on the Holy Spirit by highlighting Paul's urge to the church to not quench the Spirit. It is followed up by a question and answer time based on questions we received during the series.
The Spirit works supernaturally in and through the church according to his will and power. This is not a license to pursue spiritual elitism, power, gain or ecstatic distraction. Rather it is a reminder of our dependence upon the Spirit to live and be the people of God.
Spiritual gifts are part of God's empowerment in our lives to serve his church and extend his kingdom. They are from his grace and meant to be used in his power and for his glory. We discover our gifts as we live in light of the gospel and hear the affirmation of others, see our impact and realize what motivates us.
The Spirit is in every believer in Jesus. In fact, he is at work in our lives in power and testimony. He is powerfully transforming us from life to death and testifying to us about our acceptance by God as his sons and daughters. Why then do we struggle so much with sin in our lives? We fail to give the Spirit space and control. We experience victory in our lives when we make space to hear the Spirit's voice and allow him to work in power.
To best understand how the Holy Spirit guides Christ-followers, we need to see that God created humans as creative decision-makers, that the Spirit wants to us to understand WHO we are WITH God on mission rather than simply what we are to do FOR God on mission, and that the Spirit guides us using the Scriptures as a source of gospel life, moral guidance, and wisdom.(*During the announcements, Pastor Adam felt compelled by the Spirit to lead us in prayer/small prayer huddles for a family from our...
The "Fruits of the Spirit" in Galatians 5 are actually the fruit of Belief that leads to Behavior by the power and motivation of the Holy Spirit. When we believe that we are alive to righteousness and dead to sin, behavior naturally starts to flow out of us. That behavior is the fulfillment of the law of love, and ultimately brings glory to Jesus which has been the role of the Spirit all along.
The presence of the Spirit in our lives makes true life accessible and it is by the Spirit that true life is achieved. The indwelling of the Spirit is a down payment guaranteeing access to the life that Jesus promised us. The filling of the Spirit is the means of tapping into the full life.
In Acts 2 we see the event of Pentecost dramatically shape the early church. What we discover is that the event is not as important as the intent of the Holy Spirit to make Jesus known IN us and THROUGH us. The intent of the Holy Spirit is to transform us in such a way that the world looks on and says "Clearly God is among you."
Jesus told his disciples that it was better for them that he went away, so the Spirit could come. Why would he say something like this? Because the Spirit would break two critical boundaries to the advance of the gospel. In breaking a geographical boundary, the Spirit would oversee the advance of the gospel to the word. And in breaking the bodily boundary, the Spirit would indwell the disciples and teach the gospel to the depths of their heart.
The Holy Spirit is an often overlooked, but critically important part of the Christian faith. This introductory talk covers the doctrine of the Trinity, the Spirit's role therein, and the continual work of the Holy Spirt in our world and in God's story.
In the Christian life, worship and mission go together. Genuine mission cannot exist apart from worship. And genuine worship always leads to mission. There's much to do as we bear witness to God in this world. But true effectiveness in this effort comes from a life fully given to God in worship.
True happiness comes from a life lived God's way. But obedience is not something to simply be added to our lives. It is the result of a true and deep affection for a God whose grace, mercy and love overwhelm us. As we meditate on God's loving rescue and presence, our affection grows. And from our affection springs forth obedience and a life lived in light of the gospel and therefore for God.
In Psalm 72 we see that God is a God of justice and compassion and that throughout human history He has sought to bring those things to bear using the people and kings of Israel. Ultimately, justice and the peace of God are brought by Jesus and found in his kingdom. However, compassionate and just living are to be carried out by followers of Jesus as an act of worship so that all people can experience the shalom of God.
When David wrote Psalm 51 after his colossal sins with Bathsheba and Uriah, his poem of confession gives us a picture of the role of worship in restoration. He affirms the story of restoration from human brokenness to God's mercy and faithfulness. And he responds to the reality of restoration with a posture and life bent towards God. In so doing, David enlivens his restoration by taking hold of the life that God offers.
"God is our refuge" and "Be still and know that I am God" are encouraging words of exhortation from Psalm 46 for times of struggle in our lives. But they are hard to live in to if we have not been living a life of worship during the "normal" days of our lives.What we learn from King Hezekiah is that worship as a way of life prepares us for the worst of life; that daily taking refuge in God paves the way for us to find God as our refuge in times of trouble. And ultimately, we find that Jesus is o...
In Psalm 24, we are faced with the challenging question, "who can ascend the mountain of God?" In relaying this question, the psalmist shows us the identity of God as Creator and our identity as creation. He is the one to be worshipped and we at our core are worshippers. And just as we are realizing the impossibility of climbing God's mountain, the psalm shifts to ask a different question, "will you open your gates?" The God of the mountain we cannot climb, descends the mountain to meet us and i...
In the book of Acts we find the dramatic account of Saul, the destroyer of the early church. He has an encounter with the risen Jesus that changes his direction in life and the course of history. What we learn from this is that when we have an encounter with Jesus today, it confirms or leads to new life, new purpose, and a new image for us.
As severe as Peter's three public denials of Jesus were, the resurrection of Jesus was far more powerful. And so Peter experienced a beautiful and complete restoration. Where there was distance, Jesus restored their relationship. Where there was toil, Jesus restored genuine life. And where there was shame, Jesus restored a true identity. All this, he offers to us as well.
In this message we look at the famous story of Thomas, a disciple of Jesus. Known for his doubt, he should also be known for his declaration of Jesus as his Lord/King and his God. We, too, can look to the resurrected Jesus as the proof that Jesus is truly King over all of the earth and God who offers us full life.
When the resurrected Jesus appeared to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus, he showed his heart for those experiencing disappointment with God. The plans they had didn't go as they expected, but Jesus showed them how God was telling a far bigger and far better story for the whole world that culminated in the resurrected Jesus. Because of the resurrection, we can believe that God is truly working for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.
When Mary Magdalene is the first to see Jesus after his resurrection, we are reminded that there is real hope for the broken and broken hearted. To a world and humanity who has been defined by its broken past, the resurrected Jesus offers a new and validated identity as children of God.
Even in the most challenging circumstances, we can experience real peace. This is possible because of the nearness of God in Jesus, not the absence of struggle. The greatness of our God is evident in his drawing near to us. And our experience of peace is found in our willingness to turn our mind and hearts to the One who experienced the loss of peace on the cross so we could draw near to God and find peace there.
In Philippians 3:12-4:1 we find Paul completing his thought that he started in the verses prior concerning the Gospel. We can sense his desire to know Jesus fully by joining in his suffering and triumph. Paul is challenging the Philippians and us to be steadfast as ones who will die to self and live the cruciform life. And by doing so, we come to know Jesus in a deep way and learn to expand the kingdom now rather than simply waiting for heaven.
To many people, religion seems harmless. And yet both Jesus and Paul are very careful to warn about the traps of religion. Paul, who met Jesus in the midst of an impressive religious life, is determined to remind his readers that the only thing that matters is knowing Jesus. The rest amounts to nothing. In the gospel, we discover that hard as we try we can never rise high enough to meet God, but more importantly we find a God who loves us so much that he comes down to meet us.
