MARRIAGE TELLS THE STORY OF THE GOSPEL

On the heels of teaching humility, we journey with Jesus into an arena in which humility is much required: marriage. Jesus arrives in Judea and is thrown a controversial question by the Pharisees: "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" (10:2). Jesus answers the question about whether it is permissible to break a marriage covenant by expanding the conversation to hold out God's good and wise design in the marriage covenant. A design that goes all the way back to the beginning (Gen 1-2). A design that points to the great end for which God created the world: that his Son would have a bride. In the Old Covenant, God made an exception for man’s hardness of heart. Under the New Covenant, God’s highest intention for marriage is fulfilled in Christ’s unbreakable union with the Church (Eph 5:22-32). A union made possible by the cross - so that we could rightly say the true meaning of marriage is shaped by the cross. In the cross-shaped marriage, Jesus' marriage becomes the model and motivation for our own. His sacrificial love softens the hardness of our hearts toward our spouses. His undying faithfulness spurs on those tempted toward unfaithfulness. 

If after listening to last Sunday’s sermon, you’d like to spend more time studying the topic of marriage, divorce and remarriage in the Bible, here are some suggested resources for you:

• Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage by Jay Adams

• Before you Leave Your Wife by Marshal Segal

• Why “Falling Out of Love” Never Justifies Divorce by John Piper

• Child of Divorce, Do Not Fear Marriage by T. Kim

• Love That Lasts by Gary and Betsy Ricucci

• When Sinners Say “I Do”: The Power of the Gospel for Marriage by Dave Harvey

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

DO YOU WANT TO BE GREAT?

We all want to be great. But all too often, we pursue greatness according to the world’s way. In Mk 9:30-50, Jesus doesn’t call us to quit this pursuit, but challenges our perception of true greatness. It’s a greatness which can’t come apart from humility shaped by the cross. A humility that thinks less of ourselves, more of others, and most of the Christ who became least, lowest, and last of all for us. Listen to the sermon to learn more about the cross-shaped humility that frees us to serve and celebrate those around us.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

FIGHT AGAINST ANXIETY WITH PRAYER

This past Sunday we had the privilege of hearing the preached word from Trey Richardson, from our sister church, Center Church in Gilbert, AZ. We were reminded that in one way or another, we're all affected by the enemy of anxiety. Life often feels like too much. We're prone to be overwhelmed, paralyzed, or fearful as we look at what's before us today, tomorrow, or in this new year. In Philippians 4:4-7, Paul addresses our problem of anxiety by holding out the promise of prayer. Prayer is the weapon God provides to fight against anxiety. Because through it, we entrust ourselves to a sovereign God who's greater than any anxiety. 

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO MEDITATE UPON GOD’S WORD?

On Sunday we were joined by guest preacher Greg Dirnberger from our sister church, Emmaus Road in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We heard from God’s word in Joshua 1:8 and were reminded of the importance and impact of biblical meditation in our lives. What is meditation? “Meditation is a holy exercise of the mind whereby we bring the truths of God to remembrance, and do seriously ponder upon them and apply them to ourselves” (Thomas Watson). This practice grounds us in God’s word, steeps our souls in the riches of God’s truth, and empowers us to persevere in the Christian life.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

BELIEVE IN THE GLORIOUS, CRUCIFIED CHRIST

With the narrative's turn in chapter 8, Mark turned on the lights. In chapter 9, he raises the dimmer switch as far up as it'll go. Who Jesus is literally shines forth to the disciples as Peter, James, and John behold him in radiant glory. Talk about a mountaintop experience! The two scenes in the beginning of the chapter are reminiscent of the events of Exodus 19-34. Through two discipleship failures, Jesus further reveals the contours of the cross He’s now actively moving toward. For us, these scenes help us to better understand precisely what living a cross-shaped - or in other words, a “Gospel-centered” - life really looks like. Listen to last Sunday’s sermon to learn more.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

SURROUNDING THE IDENTITY OF JESUS AND THE NATURE OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS THE SHAPE OF THE CROSS

In Mark 8, Jesus directly asks His disciples, “who do you say that I am?”. God opens Peter’s eyes to see, albeit still dimly, that Jesus is the Christ. In response to the first accurate confession of Jesus’ identity by another human being, Jesus makes a prediction about “the Christ” that leaves His followers baffled and dismayed. Further, He explains just what it means to be a follower of the Christ. Everybody is stunned. Why? Because both of Jesus statements - about the identity of the Christ and the nature of discipleship - are characterized by suffering and self-denial. In short, the cross shapes everything. This is as true for Christians today as it was for Peter and his compatriots. Listen to last Sunday’s sermon to learn more from this stunning passage of God’s Word.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

RESOLVE TO SEE HIM EVEN JUST A BIT BETTER EVERY DAY

For the Christian, the new year is a series of opportunities, month by month, day by day, moment by moment to behold Christ. 365 days filled with every providential detail the Lord has designed to set our sights on his Son. Returning to Mark’s Gospel this past Sunday, we came to the section right before the main hinge of the story - Peter's confession of Jesus as the Christ (Mk 8:27-9:1) - and encountered 3 stories about spiritual sight. Through them, we’re warned about the blinding effects of unbelief and encouraged by Christ’s eagerness to open our eyes to all he is. We see now "in a mirror dimly" (1 Cor 13:12) yet await that great day when we'll see Jesus "face to face," just "as he is" (1 Jn 3:2). Until then, in every year in between, especially this new year of 2023, our prayer is that the Lord would help us to see Jesus more clearly.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

AFTER WEEKS OF ANTICIPATION, WE ARRIVE AT THE BIRTH STORY OF JESUS CHRIST

All Advent season we’ve been learning that Christ was born for us. And born to bring us incredible blessings at that. But on Christmas Sunday, we learned from Luke 2, that above all else, Christ was born for us to be glorified by us. His worship is worth our every moment. His glory is the foundation, fuel, and goal of all of our Christmas joy.

LISTEN TO THE CHRISTMAS HOMILY HERE

THE ANSWER TO OUR GREATEST FEARS IS THE ARRIVAL OF PERFECT LOVE

Christ was born to bring sinners into his joy. The birth of Christ holds out to us good tidings of great joy and peace on earth among those with whom God is pleased (Lk 2:14). But is he pleased with you or me? If he is, will he continue to be? What confidence do you and I have that having received the joy of Jesus, we can remain in the joy of Jesus? Even as a Christian, maybe you're afraid you really don't belong. Fearful that you'll be found out and exposed as a hypocrite. Afraid you won't be able to keep God pleased with you and persevere in the Christian life. Whatever fears you're facing, the Christmas season has traditionally held out the hope of better things to come. The classic songs of the season celebrate the coming of Christmas as the dawn of a new day where “all our troubles will be out of sight” and we can look ahead to a future “without any fear.” In Luke 1, Zechariah the priest sings a similar song. He agrees that the coming of Christmas means the end of our fears. But he disagrees on the root cause of our fears and the true remedy to live lives "without fear" (Lk 1:74). The song of Zechariah points us to the reality that Christmas is the answer to our greatest fears because it's the arrival of perfect love. 

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

GOD OPPOSES THE PROUD BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE

Christ was born to be the Savior of sinners. A category that includes us all. Yet, not all have received him. Why is this? What sort of sinner is able to receive the joy he came to bring? Mary's story & song key us in: the humble. Christmas joy comes to us as a gift that's unearned, undeserved, and unconcerned with our pride. Mary takes God at his word and rejoices in her Savior. Elizabeth & John leap and shout for joy. And all those "who fear" the Lord shall receive his mercy and join in Mary's song (Lk 1:50). Rightly understood, Christmas is the most wonderful & humbling event of all time. God coming to us when we could not come to him to do for us what we could not do ourselves. To those who seek to have their hunger satisfied by the Lord, he fills with goods things, but to those who believe they've come into a better joy than what God provides, he sends away empty (Lk 1:53). We're all sinners - the message of Christmas makes that clear. But, the wonder and warning of the gospel is this: that "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (Jas 4:6) - as the meaning of Mary's song makes clear. The birth of Jesus was not a silent night. It was an utter upturning & reversing of men's values & joys - destabilizing the proud and comfortable of the world and satisfying humble sinners who were hungry for the joy that God alone could provide.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE