Galatians 6 I don't know about you, but I love the final chapter of New Testament letters. They are like the "catch all" chapter. It's like the author gets to the end and the Holy Spirit decides to hit you with 10 random and very practical applications. Galatains 6 is no exception to this rule. (Galatians 6:1-2)Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you wh...

Galatians 5 In Francis Chan's Book 'Multiply' he asks "When is the last time someone asked you about your faith? Most of us would have to answer "never"" "We don't give anyone a reason to ask about what makes us unique, so nobody asks" Ouch! As we've been going through our series over Galatians we've heard over and over that human efforts to be "obedient" and "go...

"So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." - Galatians 4:7 I remember growing up dreaming of what I wanted to be as an adult. It's almost like I was consumed by the thoughts of what I would do or be, and from that I would establish my identity. This was a tension that I struggled with most of my life. But then I met Jesus and...

Galatians 3 As someone that was raised Catholic, attended Catholic school and was an altar boy, Galatians 3 reminds me how I sometimes hold to the traditions of my youth, even though they are senseless to my salvation and relationship with God. Even though I am sure of my salvation, I still can fall into Satan's trap that it is "not enough". When it is Mardi Gras time w...

GALATIANS 2 Galatians 211 When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. When there's a gap between what we expect and how someone performs, we choose what goes in the gap. Do you fill the gap with trust, or suspicion? Do you believe the best, or assume the worst? Healthy relationships with friends, families, neighbors,...

Galatians 1 We have been studying the book of Galatians on Sunday mornings for the past 4 weeks. I love this little letter! It only takes about 15 minutes to read the whole thing and yet I know that I'll be attempting to apply its truths for the rest of my life. Here are some of my jumbled thoughts from my sermon prep and my quiet time. If we embrace the message of Gal...

What a challenge our reading in Hebrews has been. We've seen Christ magnified. We been strongly challenged to "pay attention", to "grow up", and to not reject God's message. We've seen the symbolism of Old Testament worship explained in the light of Jesus' sacrifice. We've been reminded of the faithfulness of the saints in history and been challenged to live out th...

HEBREWS 12 We are instructed to lay aside our weights and our sins which cling to us so that we can run with endurance the race set before us. This isn't a sprint to see who can serve the hardest for the next year. This isn't about serving the Lord 40 in Children's Ministry for a couple of years and saying "that's it I did my time". We are instructed to prepare for a l...

HEBREWS 11 To understand Hebrews 11, we need to look back to all we've been shown in the previous chapters of Hebrews: the supremacy of Christ as the exact representation of the Person and Nature of God the humanity of Jesus, who, as God, allowed Himself to be tempted in all things just like us, but without sin, and tasted death for us the battle we fight by faith ag...

HEBREWS 10 Hebrews 1011 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. 14 For by one...

Hebrews 9 In Colossians 2:17, writing about Old Covenant ceremonies and festivals,Paul states,"These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ." That verse could serve as an explanation of much of what we have been reading in the book of Hebrews... especially chapters 8 and 9. In Hebrews 9, I find much for which to thank God. (Hebrews 9:...

For our new series "Free At Last" our pastoral intern, Spencer Roth, wrote a new worship song for a church, "Hallelujah It is Finished." You can download a recording of the song here(right click to download the file). ...

HEBREWS 8 "Your love never ending, Your grace never failing. Redemption is calling us home." When we sing that song, I am reminded of the contrast between the Old Covenant and the New. How we could never be perfect, we were corrupt and foolish, but in his love God sent his son to be perfection and to be sacrificed so that we could be forgiven, know God, enjoy ...

Hebrews 7 Admittedly, as I've been reading through the first few chapters of the book of Hebrews, I've been really struggling with trying to understand and grasp all of the information and doctrines. I've found the daily blogs to be really helpful in filling in a few of the gaps, but in chapters 5 and 6 we are introduced to a peculiar phrase that I was not sure how to p...

Hebrews 6 As I read Hebrew 6 it is clear to me that Paul is imploring followers of Jesus to understand that maturing in our faith is a goal we need to strive for. Throughout my life as a Christian I have identified "mature" believers whose faith I strive to mirror. These are men and women that clearly pursue Gods Word with a passion and priority that becomes an out-flow...

HEBREWS 5 Hebrews 5 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have train...

Hebrews 4 When we decided to read through the New Testament this year, our thought was simply this: Is there anything we could do this year that is more significant than helping our people meet daily with their Heavenly Father? Is there any discipline in the Christian life that could more profoundly impact our church family more than spending time in God's word? I must ...

Hebrews 3 I'm by nature a procrastinator. I suppose it is a form of lack of submission to authority and it is a failing I need work on with the aid of the Holy Spirit. I've got a long list of things I'd like to do, investigate, learn, consider, or work on someday. And some of the entries on that list have such a thick layer of dust on them that I've forgotten they w...

Hebrews 2 The author starts with a "therefore" so we must look back at Hebrews 1 to understand the context. The previous context was to help the reader to understand that Jesus was placed higher than the angels in His divinity and power and supremacy. Now the author challenges the reader to listen closely and pay careful attention. He challenges us to pay careful attent...

Hebrews 1After reading Paul's steadfast pursuit of the hearts of men and women (Gentiles and Jews) throughout the latter chapters of Acts, and seeing how greatly God showed up to support and lead and direct him, it is time to stop and worship Jesus for Who He is and the book of Hebrews (and particularly chapter1) gives us that opportunity. What an amazing picture of the r...

ACTS 28 Last we saw Paul, he was shipwrecked on his way to Rome. Chapter 28 picks up right where 27 left us. Paul washes ashore, and spends three months where he landed. Then, he continues his journey to Rome. After years of attempting to go to Rome, he finally arrives. What does he do? He goes to the Jewish leadership. He preaches the gospel. And then, it ends with ...

Acts 27 As Paul travels for Rome on the open seas he faces a devastating storm. As the other travelers panic, Paul hears from an angel of God that no one's life will be taken by the storm. "Do not be afraid Paul; you must stand before Cesar. And behold God has granted you all those who sail with you" Acts 27:24 Paul encourages the passengers to be at ease, he ha...