Peace in a Pandemic (Psalm 131)
Key Idea: A peaceful heart comes from a humble heart that hopes in Christ. I. A Peaceful Heart Starts with Humility Humility (in Psalm 131) is living for God, by living dependent on God. Humility is living for God An anxious heart comes because we live for the wrong things. Humility is living dependent on God […]
Purposeful Suffering (John 15:1-11)
Key idea: We find joy in our sufferings when we embrace Christ’s loving purposes behind them. Four truths to inform and shape our theology of suffering: I. Suffering is not the whole story, but part of the greater story of redemption II. Suffering is not meaningless, but has greater purposes Applications: A. We embrace suffering by […]
A Healthy Helplessness (John 15:1-11)
Summary – Apart from Christ, we cannot live the Christian life. Key Idea: To live for Christ we must abide in Christ. I. The Priority of Abiding in Christ: We must abide in Christ over anything else. “I am helpless, and the world offers no hope” A. I am helpless… We need a humility that is […]
Caring for One Another (Philippians 2:19-30)
Context: Caring as Echoes of Christ (Philippians 2:1-11) Philippians 2:1-11 isn’t just exhorting us to be positionally humble, but that humility has a direction – it moves toward others. And it has an origin – Jesus. Our caring are echoes of Christ. Key Idea – We echo the mind of Christ in counting others more significant than […]
Safer-with-the-Church (Ephesians 4:11-16)
Key idea: The church is essential to us, and we are essential to the church. I. The Church is Essential to Us The picture we are given is that the church consists of believers transformed by the Gospel of Christ (chapters 1-3), united around the person of Christ (4:13), ministering the truths of Christ (4:15), so […]
Parenting – Faithfulness and Faith (Psalm 127)
Key Idea: We must give up the illusion of personal sovereignty I. Faithfulness – giving up the illusion of sovereignty reorients our faithfulness If what we are pursuing for our kids, is not what GOD is pursuing for our kids, God is not in that, and it is ultimately meaningless. Parenting is ultimately about addressing […]
Online Church, Zoom Fatigue, and the Gospel
Key Idea: Perseverance is about hope in Christ. I. Remember the heart Philippians 4:6–7 a. Consider the sins and idolatries that make virtual church more difficult b. Consider how you are training your heart II. Recognize grace Philippians 1:12-13 a. It can create in us a greater longing and a deeper faith (Philippians 1) b. […]
Bona Fide Peace (John 14:25-31)
Key idea: We can experience peace in times of trouble through faith in the sovereign God who is our help and salvation 1. We have the Holy Spirit who is our Support 2. We have the Father who is Supreme 3. We have the Son who is our Savior
Calling and Comfort (John 14:15-24)
1. Live for Christ by living with Christ – The first Helper/Advocate/Counselor is Christ – The second Helper/Advocate/Counselor is the Holy Spirit – The role of the Holy Spirit (from Dr. Bruce Ware in Father, Son, & Holy Spirit): – The Spirit Assists in Carrying out the Work of the Father – Spirit works to […]
Jesus’ Promises for Troubled Hearts (John 14:1-14)
Key Idea: When our hearts are troubled, Jesus promises his presence, his sufficiency, and his power. Jesus Promises His Presence (vv. 1-4) Jesus Promises His Sufficiency (vv. 5-11) Jesus Promises His Power (vv. 12-14)