We are all hedonists at heart. We do what we think will bring us the most happiness. It is part of our design that is meant for us to pursue our joy in God’s blessing. Psalm 32 holds out to us the path to such blessing. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon for more.
No one respects a hypocrite. The key to avoid being one is to obey first God's command for yourself before correcting your brother or sister with what they need to do to obey the Lord. This is all the more important (and challenging) in relationships of authority and honor. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
We can think of the Psalms mainly about encouraging and comforting us. Yet the introduction to the Psalter highlights their focus on living righteously in all of life's circumstances devoted to God's Word and God's King. But we will miss the main thing about Psalm 2 if we only look at it in the context of Judah's dynasty. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
We see Paul's response to a question about those engaged to be married. Should they go through with it, considering his teaching that singleness provides an opportunity to serve Christ undivided? Both are permitted, Paul insists, and you do well in either case. Listen to Pastor David’s sermon on 1 Corinthians 7:25-40 for more.
All Christians are saints, set apart for God. Let us follow Christ's example in John 17 and pray for one another. He was praying not for himself but for those who would believe in him. What a great encouragement it would be to know the church is laboring in prayer with God's help for one another. Listen to Michael Urch's exhortation for more.
Surely the call to Christ would require a complete reorientation of life to a new vocation, right? Not so, says Paul. Rather, remain as you are, holding in tension contentment and ambition by abiding with God. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on 1 Corinthians 7:17-24 for more.
The prophet Nathan told a story to King David to reveal the part he had played. We too readily assume we’re the hero of our own story. Yet, knowing our role equips us to play it faithfully. Listen to Pastor Zach’s exhortation for more.
As we reaffirm our covenant commitments as members of one another, it is good for us to not be rash with our mouths, nor let our hearts be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and we are on earth (Ecclesiastes 5:2). We make such commitments to one another before the face of God. Listen to Pastor David exhort us to pay what you vow for more.
God designed established marriage to be a life-long, exclusive relationship between one man and one woman. He did so to communicate the beauty of the gospel in the union of Christ with his Bride. That is why divorce wreaks havoc on the communication of the gospel. Too often focus is on the exceptions rather than the norm when it comes to divorce, yet Pastor Brett points us to the focus of 1 Corinthians 7:10-16 on preserving marriages.
Like the Church of Corinth, we have our own slogans. One familiar one is, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." And you can—you ought to do all things. But not how it is often thought of. Paul is commending the spiritual secret he has learned, that rare jewel of contentment. Jeremiah Burroughs described it as a gracious disposition that submits to God's wisdom. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation to learn contentment for more.
A ceramic pig dressed as a chef was irreparably broken. Have you been told—or believed—promises about marriage that have similarly crashed and shattered? Living married has clear instruction. Being gifted to be contentedly unmarried has its merits. But what about being unmarried yet desiring to be? That is a hard place to be, especially in a cultural context when so much was promised if you only ____ . Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 1 Corinthians 7:6-9 for more.
If the chief end of man is to glorify God, then we dare not seek glory for ourselves. Ananias and Sapphira sought their own glory and paid for it with their lives. Listen to Toby Phillips’ exhortation to give and not take glory.
Cocaine isn’t all bad. It can be used for good purposes. And the body and its use in the full enjoyment of marriage isn’t bad. It is a gift to be enjoyed with guidelines. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on 1 Corinthians 7:1-5 for more.
The legacy of the Rechabites is a less prominent account found in Jeremiah 35. They honored their father and were promised to never lack a man to stand before the Lord. Listen to Pastor Zach’s exhortation that we might honor like Rechabites.
Stretching back to Plato, through Corinth, past Descartes, and to our very experience is an assumed schism between the virtuous immaterial and inferior material. And it’s destructive, being used as a cover for sin, especially sexual immorality. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on 1 Corinthians 6:15-20 for more.
King Asa was a good king of Judah. He made many reforms that served the right worship of God. Yet he didn’t go all the way; he left many of the places of idolatry. Listen to Pastor Brett’s exhortation to exceed the faithfulness of Asa.
Catchy phrases and quippy slogans are not a modern development of propaganda. The most clever versions are tough to deny initially. Yet getting past the yard sign or bumper sticker, their often insidious nature is revealed. Listen to Pastor Zach’s sermon on 1 Corinthians 6:12-14 for more.
It is moral insanity to rebel against God over and over, expecting never to meet judgment. It is moral insanity to call good that which is evil. It is moral insanity when so-called Christians and pseudo-pastors attempt to gaslight us when God's Word is clear. Yet we don't look down on moral insanity as though we're better, because we recognize that such were we apart from the grace of God. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 for more.
Walking through a centuries-old European city, you'll see the stark contrast of allegiances in a single building. There etched in the foundation, "To the Glory of God Alone," while flapping in the ephemeral wind is the fleeting exaltation of Self. Listen to Pastor David's exhortation to not be "carried about by every wind of doctrine" for more.
It is unbecoming of Christians to resolve their conflicts by airing them before non-Christians, whether in formal lawsuits or the court of public opinion. It would be far better for a Christian to be defrauded by a fellow Christian than to do so. That is the gospel way Jesus modeled. Listen to seminary apprentice Ben Aurich on 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 for more.
If the Minnesota Legislature had passed the "Equal Rights Amendment" and voters approved it and the legal cover provided for the abortion and LGBTQ agendas, would it be necessary for Christians to flee to conservative havens? Or, do we judge outsiders? Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 to see how Paul calls for us to not judge outsiders but insiders, especially when there is persistent, unrepentant sin.
In the face of sin, hardship, and suffering, we look to turn to something, anything that will provide rest, comfort, strength, and salvation. It is so tempting to run to other gods, whatever form they may take. Instead, come to Jesus and find that he provides rest for your soul. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation to be provoked to repent of ways you turn to other gods rather than come to Jesus.
Overlooking others’ sins can feel like a gracious response, but when we allow sin to go unchecked in the church, we choose cheap grace over Christ, our Passover lamb. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on 1 Corinthians 5:1-8 to learn how cleansing sin from among us involves applying gospel solutions to church problems.
Are you sensing the word of God charging you with guilt? Repent! Repentance to life involves changing allegiance from personal autonomy to the authority of Jesus Christ. This is the transformation from the old self to the new. Listen as Pastor David exhorts us to bow our knees to Jesus to save us.
Who is disciplining you? We are always watching and learning from someone, taking in examples of how to live—and it matters whom we imitate. In I Corinthians 4:14-21, Paul seeks the fruitfulness of the Corinthian church when he asks them to be imitators of him rather than being discipled by arrogant boasters. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon to learn how imitation entails admonition, instruction, and demonstration.
As Paul rounds out his argument against divisions in the church, he takes aim in love to pop the balloon of pride we each are inclined to cling to. Listen to Jared Compton, associate professor at Bethlehem College & Seminary, on 1 Corinthians 4:6-13 for more.
What is a dandelion, a weed or a flower? The distinction is if it is desired and not competing with other cultivated plants. When you read God’s Word, and it stings, will you regard it as a weed—unwanted and competing with other desires—or as the flower it is? Listen to Pastor Brett’s exhortation for more.
If you knew you would die tomorrow, what would you want to say to your loved ones? And what would you pray? In John 17, Jesus prays to his heavenly Father and challenges the disciples’ expectations of what his work will accomplish for them and for all who would believe in him. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on John 17:20-26 to learn how our unity in Christ reflects the intimate unity of the triune God.
As the body of Christ, we have the privilege and responsibility to take ownership of one another’s needs. Whether these needs are financial, physical, or relational, we are to take them on as if they were our own—knowing that Jesus took ownership of our needs so that we might partake of his fullness. Listen as Pastor David exhorts us to contribute to the needs of the saints.
What is true Christianity? Both inside and outside of the church, there’s confusion on how to answer this question. “True religion is a union of the soul to God,” wrote 17th-century minister Henry Scougal, and in John 15, Jesus uses the metaphor of a vineyard to illustrate this living and abiding union. Listen to Pastor David’s sermon on John 15:1-11 to learn more about the nature, practice, and result of the Christian’s union with Christ.
