We have been working through the true character of a Christian in our time in the Sermon on the Mount series. When a man is truly poor in spirit, recognizing his bankruptcy before God, meek, pure, desiring righteousness and a peacemaker—he will be salt and light for Jesus to a lost world around him. Now, as we turn to this next section of the Sermon, we begin to see that the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees to avoid murder meant they were keeping the sixth commandment; but Jesus lays ... continue reading...
EP 112: Jesus, the Law and the Christian (Matthew 5:17-20 – Sermon on the Mount Series)
Jesus did not come to do away with the Law—He came to fulfill it. As we continue on in our series on the Sermon on the Mount we will see how Christ fulfills the scriptures and what place the law has in our lives as His followers. Through the law comes knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20), and the law is a plumbline that shows us how far we fall from God's righteous laws. We don't need straightening, but we need to be reconstructed, made new. The law shuts our mouths and shows us all to be ... continue reading...
EP 111: Getting Things Done: A Walk Through Ephesians 5:15-16
We want to get things done. We want our days to be productive. Deep down, we always want to get all those items on our to-do list checked off, which rarely happens. We may have days or seasons where we’re productive and on top of things, and there are other seasons where we feel like we’re trying to catch our breath and we’re always behind, and the to-do list is ever-growing, and deadlines for things are getting missed, and we may even feel overwhelmed at times. I’m so prone to overwhelm ... continue reading...
EP 110: A Walk Through Psalm 1
Last year our ladies' bible study group at church studied several of the Psalms together. My Psalm to share a message and put together some study questions was Psalm 1, and I wanted to share my time from that study with you today. Psalm 1 is one I memorized years ago and I thought I was pretty familiar with it until I studied through it. So I hope when you listen to the podcast below or read the post; it will open up Psalm 1 to you a bit more. I'm including in the links a PDF download of ... continue reading...
EP 109: God’s Blessing Does Not Depend on Our Performance
We know we’re saved by grace through faith as believers, and we know scripture also teaches we’re called to live lives that strive towards and are growing in holiness. Let go and let God isn’t biblical. Jerry Bridges reminds us how the gospel deals with these two issues that seem to oppose each other. He reminds us to rely on God’s grace alone for our salvation and to strive by His grace to be holy. If we forget this truth, we will fall into one of two camps; self-righteousness ... continue reading...