Text: 1 Peter 1:13-2:3 | Listen to Message If salvation is by grace alone through faith alone, then why does holiness matter? If we’re saved not by what we achieve, but by what we receive, then do Christians really have to obey all the rules in the New Testament – or can we just believe in Jesus? If it’s not about our performance for Christ, but his performance for us, then why do we still have to . . . perform? The Apostle Peter agrees with Paul that the grace of God has a purpose, a goal, a telos. The Gospel...
Text: Matthew 21:1-17 | Listen to Message Can we start with the simple acknowledgement that our world – from the most traditional to the most progressive culture – is built on an obsession with self? We constantly and instinctively put our own opinions and interests above the needs of others. We want what we want, and we’re mad when we don’t get our way. Our pride makes us miserable, frustrated, and envious. It produces conflict, division, and even war. But we’re not about to stop being proud anytime soon, are we? That’s the funny thing about pride: we can always convince...
Text: 1 Peter 1:10-12 | Listen to Message “All religions are just different paths to the same God.” “Religion is just a fairy tale, and only fools believe in fairy tales.” “There’s nothing unique about Christianity. It’s just another copycat religion.” “With so many religions in the world, who’s to say theirs is the right one? Just live and let live.” If you interact with our relativistic, pluralistic culture around the subject of religion, it won’t be long before you hear a bunch of statements like these. All religions get thrown in a blender and treated as if they all claim...
Text: 1 Peter 1:3-9 | Listen to Message Christians don’t live by wishful thinking or a vaguely positive feeling. We don’t make a blind leap of faith and then take a “wait and see” approach. We have a new and living hope – because our hope is nothing less than our Risen Savior, Jesus Christ. Thus, Christian hope is an exclamation point, not a question mark. If we functionally believed this good news, it would completely transform our perspective on trials (which the Bible sometimes refers to as tests). And yet trials/tests pose one of the biggest existential threats to our...
