There are two kingdoms vying for our attention and affection: the kingdom of self and the kingdom of God. Jesus rescues us from the self and empowers us to live on mission for the kingdom of God. What does that look like in daily practice?
Underneath every problem in life is a wrong view or application of the character and nature of God (Theology), so in this storm tossed life, sandcastle thoughts about God will not do. We need a solid foundation an anchor, an accurate weighty view of God, about all that He is, all that He has done and all that He continues to do. But if right thinking about God is so essential to all aspects of life, and with so many opinions out there, how do I know I am thinking rightly about Him?
The church is a living community where Christ dwells by his spirit for his mission.
God embraces the unlovely so that we can embrace those unlovely to us.
To find life you must embrace a love stronger than death.
Given the disenchantment and discouragement that many have experienced from the church, why should we remain so committed to the church? Isn’t it enough just to say that we love and follow Jesus? In this sermon, Pastor Al Abdulla examines Ephesians 1:22-23, and discusses how we should view Jesus’ Church.
Through Christ, God is able and willing to resurrect every part of our broken and dead world and lives. Pastor Britt speaks about that here in his sermon from Easter 2012.
The Holy Spirit provides power for God’s people. One of the keys to experiencing the power of the person of the Holy Spirit is to acknowledge our general weakness and need when it comes to right living. Some of the areas where we quickly realize we are in need are in facing the power and temptation of sin, and in doubt and despair. God has made great provision to address these in the life of the believer through the Holy Spirit. But, do we really want it? Pastor Britt explains here.
God has made tremendous power available for the Christian’s life. The Word of God is one of the ultimate ways in which we appropriate and experience this. In fact, it is impossible to live the Christian life without the regular experience of the transformative, saving, delivering, sustaining power of God’s Word. Listen and discover the resurrection power available for you in and through Scripture for every facet of living.
The Christian life is meant to be one of power—God’s power for us, the same power that resurrected Christ from the grave! Therefore, the Christian’s life should be radical and radically different. How do we appropriate and experience this power and how does it affect our lives? The answer is in the blood of Christ, the Word of God, the Holy Spirit and prayer. Pastor Britt explains as he teaches through Ephesians 1:19-20.
Despair and brokenness are everywhere and humanity needs hope to survive. But what is hope? Surely it can’t be the limp, uncertain optimism portrayed when people say, “I hope things get better someday.” No, there is more—so much more. Those who have faith in Christ have a confident hope because they are God’s special possession.
Light and darkness are universally understood metaphors for good and evil and the concepts are very much in play in Scripture and our lives. Jesus has rescued us from darkness and brought us into God’s marvelous light. And yet, we still struggle with the power and lure of darkness everyday. What can we do to walk in the light and daily overcome the darkness?
We spend so much of our lives doing things that don’t actually matter. What does matter? More than anything else, what really matters? And what the heck is epignosis anyway?
It doesn’t take any special skills or enabling by the Holy Spirit to see where others are not doing well spiritually. Commendation, rejoicing over, loving and praying for people though is deeply spiritual. Unfortunately, it is all too rare among Christians. Here Pastor Britt urges the whole Body of Christ to practice love and unity for the glory of God and the furtherance of His mission.
The gathering of the church is important. Through Christ it fulfills God’s ancient desire to meet with His people. Therefore, it requires our careful, prayerful, worshipful, active engagement and not mere passive attendance. In this sermon Pastor Britt shares a vision God recently gave him about Reality and what it means for our gathering and scattering as Christ’s church.
So what? After giving attention to the Bible, what difference should it make in my life personally? How can scripture change me? Taken from James (1:21-25), this lesson takes a practical look at scripture reading and meditation.
How am I supposed to read the Bible? Similar to following a road map to reach the end of your journey, this lesson seeks to give you practical tools & guidelines for reading scripture through a proper hermeneutic.
