THE DYING AND RISING JESUS IS WHO WE NEED TO SEE

Easter is the good news of the new life made possible through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But we must remember that he couldn’t be raised unless he was first crucified. Though it seems so obvious, we can’t miss this. Because everyone wants life. One way or another, we’re all seeking resurrection, but no one wants to die. Yet according to the Easter story, life is given through death. Jesus died so that we may live and he invites us to come and die to that which is not life in order that we may truly live.

LISTEN TO THE EASTER HOMILY HERE

LIFE CANNOT BE SEPARATED FROM DOCTRINE

Does it really matter what you believe as long as you're a good person? According to the Bible, apart from believing what is true it's impossible to be a good person. While our culture today strives to separate beliefs and morality, the Bible won’t allow us to make this move. This is because religious beliefs don’t stay in our heads or hearts. They always make their way out through our hands, our mouths, and the way we live our lives. 1 Timothy 1:3-11 demonstrates the inevitable connection between what we worship, trust in, and believe to be true and the moral fruit that is borne in our lives. For this reason, Paul charges Timothy to put a stop to "certain persons" in the Ephesian Church who are teaching a "different doctrine.” Their roots are planted in error, they’re devoted to “myths,” all caught up in theological “speculations,” and their lives are marked by rotten fruit. On the other hand, those who have roots sunk deeply into "the gospel of the glory of the blessed God" will yield the fruit of "love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

THE SHAPE OF THE CHURCH

We began a series in 1 Timothy, an ancient letter from one pastor to another, penned for the good of the entire church. While privately addressed to Paul's protege, Timothy, it is publicly intended to shape the life of the Church in Ephesus - as well as the Church down through the ages. As we seek to live well in God's world (like we learned in the book of James) and avail ourselves of all the grace God has to give (as our study of the ordinary means has taught us) we don't do these things alone. This is because God has saved us into a community, the body of Christ, the Church. So how then should we live out our lives in the church? Or, to put it another way, what should shape our lives together as a church? More than anything else, the truth we'll encounter again and again in the pages of 1 Timothy is that nothing shapes how the church lives more than what the church believes. 

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

YOUR IDENTITY IS BOUND UP IN CHRIST

This Sunday, we were well-served by guest preacher, Derek Overstreet from Sovereign Grace Church of Tucson. He reminded us of the foundational truth that nothing in this life is more important than who we are in Christ. That no matter your station in life, your identity is bound up in Christ. This is where all spiritual growth and joy begin. And when we understand our past and future in Christ it shapes our present experience of life with Christ. Looking back to the cross, we are reminded that we are not who we once were. Looking forward to heaven, our life here and now takes on an entirely new focus.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

GOD GIVES FOR YOU TO GIVE

We come to our final sermon in the means of grace series. And this last one might surprise you: Generosity. A clear biblical command. A spiritual discipline to be embraced. But how does it bring us grace? Because, God gives for you to give. And in his economy, when you give you truly “get.” This is exactly what 2 Cor 9:6-15 is getting at. God purposes to bless the generous giver with many gifts of grace. Causing grace to abound to us so that grace would abound from us, all so that more grace would come our way! Enriching our lives - not so much with stuff, wealth, and comfort - but with a much better harvest, with joy, with everything we need to be ready to roll for good works, with understanding and clarity of what our money is for, with a gratitude that overflows from human hearts, and the deep satisfaction we receive at the shining forth of God’s glory most brilliantly reveled in the gospel - which our own joyful sacrifice reflects! In all this, generosity is not just a gift we give but a gift we get - and it's one that truly keeps on giving.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

SHARING IN THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST

This past Sunday, our study of the means of grace brought us to communion - the second sacrament Christ instituted for the church. Like baptism, this activity sets or signifies the grace of the gospel before our eyes in order to seal and confirm the good promises of God upon our hearts. Through baptism we enter God’s house. Through communion, we take our seats at his table. But what happens when we come to the table? 1 Cor 10:14-22 makes it clear that in this moment, God is doing something in us. It’s not only a reflection upon grace given in the past, but a true reception of grace in the present. Not simply an exercise of our faith in Jesus, but a means by which the Risen and Living Christ strengthens our spirits, nourishes our souls, and feeds our faith. Not just a memory of Jesus upon the cross, but a meeting with the Jesus who now sits upon the throne.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR JESUS, COME TO HIS TABLE

As we live out our new lives in Christ in the year 2025, what the Apostle Peter wrote of first-century believers is true of us. “Though you have not seen him, you love him" (1 Pet 1:8). We’ve never laid eyes upon Jesus, but we long for that day when our faith will turn to sight and we enter into the fullness of everlasting life. But our journey home is long. We often lose sight of where we're going. Our faith in the Beloved but yet-to-be-seen Savior ebbs and flows. We think to ourselves, “If only I could just see Jesus! If only he was right here with me. Walking alongside me. Then, I could keep going. I would know this is real and worth it.” We love him but we don't yet see him. But the good news is that he loves us so much that he provides a special way to behold him: the Lord's Supper. Through the broken bread and poured out cup, Jesus shows us that he’s with us and will never leave our side.

LISTEN TO THE HOMILY HERE

IMMERSED INTO THE LIFE OF CHRIST

Our study of the means of grace brings us to the sacraments of the church: Baptism and Communion. Two ordinary activities - immersion in water, sharing a meal - which bring the extraordinary grace of Christ to us in a special way. Visible words of the gospel which not only declare the good news of Christ's saving work but enact it and make it experiential for us. The first of these is baptism: God’s visible confirmation that we are his children. As we pass through the waters, God sets us apart. Bringing us from death to life. Taking us out of slavery and into freedom. Marking an end to our old identity and declaring to our heart, mind, conscience, and the depths of our spirit and to all those bearing witness, that we now belong to Christ. Baptism is the seal which confirms all this to be as really and wonderfully true as we were really submerged under the water and brought back up again. Would we remember our baptism - however long ago it was - and be spurred on to live like the new people we were shown to be. Trusting that God’s grace has come to us. Desiring to see more and more of our neighbors pass through the waters and move from being far from God to members of our family.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

SHARING LIFE IN CHRIST TOGETHER

This past Sunday, we learned that our relationship with God reaches its peak of joy through our relationships with each other. 1 Jn 1:1-4 taught us that to truly have Jesus is to share him with others. But we all know relationships can be hard. Christ won’t let us down, but others will. Our past experiences of Christian community or history with church might be marked by its share of disappointments. It may seem safer to go it alone or hold others at an arm’s length but the truth of the matter is that: You can’t live the Christian life alone and get all the grace that God has to give. Jesus gave himself to us so that we’d give ourselves to others. Through our fellowship, we’re caught up in Christ’s worship, mission, service, and friendship in a way we just wouldn’t be otherwise.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

GIVE YOUR NEED, GET GOD’S GRACE

As Christians, we've been born again by the word of God. Raised to a new life in a new family. Belonging to God as beloved children because of the work of the Son. Prayer is the means by which we call upon our Father. A special channel through which we connect with God and enjoy personal communication with him. But if we’re honest, for all we know about how good prayer is for us, we just don’t do it. Philippians 4:4-7 comes to us not to pile on the guilt, or charge us to offer better, more-disciplined prayers, but to provide us with a simple model for receiving God’s grace through prayer. One in which we give him our need and he gives us his peace. Because God is near to us through Christ, we don’t have to “be anxious about anything,” but can come to him with everything. Trusting that he hears us, loves us, and is ready to meet us in our weakness.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE