A Call to Prayer
Today we’ll be gleaning from a story found in the Old Testament about a Judean King by the name of Jehoshaphat of how he and the people of Judah responded when they were facing a crisis of their own.
Read MoreFaith in Crisis
As we are now in a state of nationwide emergency, we want to know what it means to have faith in crisis. We look to God, we prioritize others and we are prayerful.
Read MoreA Life of Perseverance
Title: "A Life of Perseverance"
Passage: Acts 14:21-28
Synopsis:
1. Persevere thru physical trial out of the love for the gospel.
2. Persevere by being devoted to the local church.
3. Persevere with those you love.
In Remembrance of Me
"In Remembrance of Me" (or Remembering Jesus)
1 Corinthians 11:17-26
Why Communion? In chapter 11, Paul unpacks the meaning and the importance of including Communion in Christian worship. As Christians in Corinth were abusing this sacred command of Jesus, the very thing meant to unite the body was causing them all sorts of divisions. Christ is to be remembered in the way we worship and fellowship as that is the very thing that brings unity among us.
In it to Win it
We’ve talked about the use of our freedom in the past few weeks—we should edify, not stumble others, and we should focus on doing what is beneficial for our spiritual lives. As Paul shares his approach to life as competing in a race, we hope to gain insight on how we can live for eternity as we fight off all that entangle us in our running.
Read MoreFree but Intentional
Text: 1 Corinthians 10:23-31
Summary:
We, as Christians, often find ourselves assessing what we do is ‘good’ or ‘bad’, or ‘acceptable’ or ‘not acceptable’ in God’s view. It isn’t particularly easy to discern the “not-so-clear” lines of boundaries for each individual act we partake in. In lieu of our previous talks of stumbling others, we hope to live engaging in the things that are “profitable” for our walk with God. Our mission, then, is “whether we eat or drink or whatever we do, do all to the glory of God.”
Paul's Use of Freedom
Paul cautioned the Corinthian church regarding their use of freedom—he conveys that we should be mindful in our actions and behaviors possibly hindering other believers. Today, we look into Paul’s use of his freedom in defending his apostleship and in reaching all audiences, both Jews and Gentiles.
Read MoreLove Edifies
What matters is not what or how much we know. What matters is what we do with what we know. With our knowledge we can act arrogantly and selfishly or we can act in love by helping and building others up. There were “elitist” in the church of Corinth who had certain knowledge which allowed them to eat meat sacrificed to idols, while some “others” in the church struggled with eating the meat because they saw it as the same as idol worship. This is precisely what Apostle Paul addresses in today’s passage.
Read MoreMarriage, Singleness, and Sacrifice
We are back in 1 Corinthians. Following up on Paul’s teaching on sexual immorality in chapter 6, here, he teaches what it means to honor God first and foremost in different stages of life(married, divorced ,and single). Many Christians in Corinth did not know how to honor God while wrestling with their ungodly sexual practices of their former lives. Here, Paul’s instructions for the Corinthians should serve valuable for all Christians today.
Read MoreBut Jesus Only
Mark 9:2-8
2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,
3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.
4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.
5 And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.
6 For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified.
7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”
8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.
Read More