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Elijah & Elisha The naturally supernatural work of God This week we launched into our summer sermon series, using 1 & 2 Kings as a backdrop to the lives, words, and work of two prophets (Elijah and Elisha); work which actually highlights the patience, power, and promises of God and how everything in the Old Testament points towards Christ. The whole of the book of Kings is one tragedy after another; from the demise of the splendor of Solomon to the split of the kingdom to multi-generational idol worship and, eventually, the destruction of Jerusalem and exile. Elijah enters the scene in chapter 17 during the reign of the especially evil Ahab and his wife, Jezebel. Elijah’s sudden appearance reminds the people of God that, even though evil is prevalent and disheartening, we don’t need to despair or, in Peter’s and Isaiah’s words, ‘fear what they fear…’ God’s counter-culture work is already in motion. The thread of Scripture is God’s tenacious pursuit of His people. Elijah proclaims the word of God; specifically that there would be no rain, a direct assault on the empty promises of Ahab and Jezebel’s god, Baal. During the famine, we see God’s creative provision through the daily delivery of (unclean) ravens and the care of an (unlikely) Gentile widow. Through it all we see (and will continue to see) God’s unshakable promises being kept throughout the tragic and inconsistent storyline of the Israelites; all paving the way for the King of Kings to redeem, restore, and enact His eternal Kingdom.

Scripture

1 Kings 17
Deut 11:16-17
Amos 8:11-12
2 Peter 3:9

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Does forgiveness feel like something you are supposed to do but not necessarily something you want to do?  What if the practice of forgiveness actually leads to our freedom, joy and peace?  

In this sermon, we look into the reality that we reflect the image of God as emotional beings, and our emotions help us to understand and interpret our experiences.  Emotions, rather than being bad or wrong, help in our sanctification process by the Spirit into the image of Christ. Furthermore, we dive deeper into the emotion of anger in order to understand its connection to justice and leave you with a practical tool for forgiveness.  

Scripture

Ephesians 4:26-27, 32
Romans 5:1-2
Psalm 6
Psalm 145:8-9

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Who wants to experience more of God’s Love? Today we will explore one way of experiencing (not earning) more of God’s Love is through his obedience. We will see how our obedience is actually about residing in and experiencing his Love. We will see this through Sweet Gum Trees, the first two chapters of Acts and the some teachings of Jesus.

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Acts 2-3
John 15: 9-11
Matthew 7:24-27
Isaiah

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What does it mean to live a life pleasing to God? Especially during this time of transition in our community — as students graduate, make plans for the future, and all of us transition to summer rhythms — we want to keep before us what God has said is of greatest significance. The Bible has a summary phrase to describe a life pleasing to God: “the fear of the LORD.” In our sermon today we take a brief systematic overview of this phrase in the Bible to discover what it is, how we lost it, and how we can grow in “the fear of the LORD.” What we find is that though God is due our reverence and honor and has called us to a good life rooted in his love for us, we tend to reject him and his love in favor of ourselves. We are far more afraid that we won’t be pleased with our lives than we are with pleasing God with our lives. Yet even then by God’s grace in the Gospel Jesus feared God when we would not so that we might grow in “the fear of the LORD” — which is the only way we gain happiness, life, rest and satisfaction in all things.

Scripture

Colosians 1:9-10
Psalm 33:8
Malachi 2:5
Deuteronomy 10:12-15
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
5:5. 9-15
Romans 3:18-19
Proverbs 28:14
19:23
23:17-18
Philippians 2:12-13.

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Change Inevitable. Intentional. Incremental. The question is not whether we will change, it’s how we will change. Who are we becoming? What is the impetus? What is the goal? The message of the Gospel is that Jesus transforms us by His grace, through His Spirit, in the context of a faith community, and for His hope and glory. There are no shortcuts to this kind of change; it is an ongoing obedience and participation with the Spirit in every area of our inner and outer life. Through it all, we are anchored to the One who doesn’t change; who consistently and lovingly sanctifies us bit by bit to be conformed to the image of Jesus.

Scripture

1 Corinthians 6:11
2 Corinthians 5:17
Galatians 2:20
Romans 12:2
2 Corinthians 3:18
Romans 8:8
Galatians 5:16
Psalm 51:10-12
Colossians 3:10
Acts 9
2 Corinthians 4:16
Hebrews 12:1
James 1:17
Malachi 3:6
Numbers 23:19
Lamentations 3:21-23
Joshua 1:9

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Listen to testaments from graduating seniors and graduate students.

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“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” -Kuyper Today we look at Colossians and how the amazing gospel of Jesus impacts our whole lives and how that bears fruit in the world around us.

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Abraham Kuyper was a theologian, journalist, author, politician, and Prime Minister of the Netherlands. He founded a newspaper, established a church denomination, a university, and a Dutch political party as well. This brilliant, incredibly influential man who was well-acquainted with looking at life through the different lenses of culture, media, academia, politics, theology, etc. said this: “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” In our series called Every Square Inch, we are exploring how the Gospel shapes our whole life and leads us into the whole world for Christ & His Kingdom. In part 2 of the series called “The Whole of Your Life we first look at the integration of who we are. The integrated life in Christ is one that is rooted and established yet continuing to grow and mature. It is one that walks with Jesus, that sets one’s heart and mind on Him, and puts away anything and everything that would ‘disintigrate’ our relationship with HIm. The integrated life also affects what we do and how we do what we do; our actions and motivations, character and calling, and states that everything we do is to be done in the name of, and for the glory of Christ.

Scripture

Colossians 1:9-12; 2:6-7; 3:1-17, 23-24

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In the early 20th Century, Dutch politician, educator and theologian Abraham Kuyper said, “There is not one square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine!’” As we finish Spring 2018 and look towards summer, we want to be reminded of our vision: to join God on his mission to proclaim the whole Gospel with our whole life in the whole world. From Colossians 1, we see the character, foundation, and grace of the Gospel. The Gospel is the proclamation of God’s good news for us: that Jesus Christ is Lord of everything. This good news is not something we discover but God’s truth that we receive, express, and grow in as we remain in Christ, who is holds first place in the universe and our lives. In him alone we can be sure that there is no greater experience we need in all creation and no greater redemption we can find than to know Jesus Christ our Lord.

Scripture

Colossians 2:8-10, 16-19.
Colossians 1:3-23