One Another 09/26/2011
How do the "one another" passages in the New Testament work? What do they mean? Find out by listening to this sermon. 
Add Comment Gossip and Godliness 09/12/2011
In Ephesians 4:17-32, Paul teaches about the importance of building people up in our speech rather than tearing them down. Gossip taints us, and it taints the people being gossiped about and gossiped to. You will see more growth when you stop complaining about people (and gossiping about them) and start building them up instead.
How to Grow Spiritually 09/06/2011
In Colossians 3, Paul outlines a path to spiritual growth that involves living a resurrected, raised life with Christ now by leaving aside the old self, putting on the new self, and doing everything you do for Jesus. This sermon also includes 8 habits that will help you grow spiritually.
Heart and Hypocrisy 08/29/2011
In his "Sermon on the Mount," Jesus taught that God desires obedience that comes from our heart. Obedience that is done to be seen by others, to impress them, is not obedience at all--and those that practice such "obedience" have already received their reward. But when we pray in secret, serve the needy without fanfare, and prepare to worship God for his sake (and not to impress others), we please God, and God, who sees what is done in secret, will reward us.
Technique or Transformation? 08/22/2011
When you cook, you might choose to follow the recipe. There is a difference in rotely following the recipe, putting in exact measurements and following the recipe in exactness in order to produce a "finished good" and in following the recipe, but infusing your cooking with the joy that comes from desiring to produce a good, tasteful, healthy meal. It's the same with our service to God. We can either follow his rules by rote and without joy, or we can obey God out of the sincere desire of a heart that loves him. In the latter case, the "rules" still matter, but obedience to God arises out of one's love of God, from the transformation that comes when technique is abandoned for God alone.
Doing the Will of the Father 08/15/2011
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus makes clear that God desires inward purity and a changed life that arises from that inward purity. He does not want empty obedience that is done half-heartedly in an attempt to please him. Jesus makes this especially clear in Matthew 7:13-27 through an example of a fruit tree (a bad tree does not produce good fruit), a declaration that not everyone who does things in his name is a true disciple, and a parable about building proper foundations. He teaches us that those who are true disciples are those who do the Father's will, which he explains as both hearing his words and doing them. Obedience requires action in Jesus' name--that's how we do the Father's will.
Grumbling and Grace (Numbers 11) 08/08/2011
The Lord always graciously provides. We are to be thankful, not grumblers.
Contending for the Faith 08/01/2011
Jude interrupts his planned letter to write about ungodly and divisive people. He warns the church against being part of their games and reminds them to contend for the faith by building up their own faith and the faith of others. We should do the same.
Jesus Only (John 2:1-22) 07/25/2011
When Jesus used ceremonial jars that were involved with rituals of purification and when he cleansed the temple and prophesied about his body as the temple, he showed that he, and he alone, is the access point to God. No longer were people dependent on complex rituals and locations to find their way to God. The way to God is not Jesus + something else, but Jesus alone; Jesus only.
Come and See (John 1:19-51) 07/11/2011
In this passage, John provides a pattern for outreach and evangelism, modeled through the lives of John the Baptist, Jesus, and Jesus' followers. First, John the Baptist witnesses to Jesus. Then, those he witnessed to begin to follow Jesus. Upon being questioned by them, Jesus invites them to "come and see." They do, and then they go out and invite others to also "come and see." When we witness to others about Jesus--whether in word or deed--we are offering an invitation to "come and see" him.
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