Text: Luke 8:26-39 | Listen to Message No Longer Slaves The Gospels tell the story of a wild, demon-possessed man with superhuman strength, commonly referred to as “the maniac of Gadara.” Devils had overtaken his mind and body, and he was little more than a pawn in their ongoing hostility toward God. They drove him into the desert where he lived naked among the tombs, cutting himself with sharp rocks, shrieking at any who would pass his way. His name was simply “Legion” – for an army of devils had claimed his identity for themselves. On the surface, he was so...
Text: Luke 8:22-25 | Listen to Message The Value of Storms Storms are awesome, violent displays of the uncontrollable power of nature. Fierce winds, driving rains, golfball sized hail, funnel clouds, and torrents of water all have a way of making us feel small, helpless, and afraid. Maybe this is why storms are a common metaphor for the adversity, the trials, that we all face in life. Threats to our health, our finances, our relationships, our reputations, and our job security are every bit as real as any hurricane. And they’re every bit as terrifying. So why does a good God...
Text: Luke 8:4-21 | Listen to Message Hearing AND Doing It’s one thing to hear the Word of God and another to actually do it. That was Jesus’ message to the crowds that followed him. The enduring practice of faith through the midst of adversity and testing is a defining quality of all who belong to the family of Christ. Consider, from Jesus’ Parable of The Sower, how often you respond to God’s words with something other than faithful obedience: The Indifferent Response: Many hear Jesus’ words and never let them sink in. They regard them as worthless and trample them...
Text: Luke 7:36—8:3 | Listen to Message A Pharisee And A Prostitute God calls us to holy living. And it’s good to live holy lives. But holiness dissolves into graceless legalism when it’s pursued apart from Christ. See, the more self-righteous a person becomes, the more he thinks grace is unnecessary for himself and unavailable to others. Both of these erroneous presumptions are illustrated by Simon the Pharisee in Luke chapter 7. Simon invited Jesus to dinner in his home, which is a good start … but his demeanor remained cool and detached throughout. He was a good, religious guy, so...
Text: 1 Chronicles 16:11-12, 15; Philippians 3:13-14 Sing It Out Or Let It Go? Whether you’re the New Years Resolutions type or not, the end of one year and the start of another is an appropriate time for reflection. But not everything is worth remembering. In fact, that Bible teaches us that there are certain things we should actually choose to forget. So what’s what? Start by making a list of memories: What were the best and worst things that happened to you over the past year? What were the highs and lows? So you’re not hampered by recency bias,...
