By Topic

  • Titus 3:1-2

    The Gospel Makes us Citizens of Heaven First.

  • Titus 1-2

    Grace Develops God's People to Live Counter-Culturally among All People.

    We're taking a break from our series on 2 Corinthians for a few weeks to study Titus 3:1-11. This passage will be our ultimate focus; but first, we need to know the context of the whole book.

  • World Missions Sunday

    This Sunday, we heard from 3 prospective missionaries during our evening livestream.

  • Psalm 66

    If God would hear your prayer, then He must hear your praise!

    We are familiar with Psalm 66:18: "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." We need to understand it in its context. Often, this verse makes us question whether God hears our prayers; however, the following verses show that the psalmist had assurance that God heard his prayer because he was not one who cherished sin in his heart. The main emphasis of this psalm is the need to give praise to God. In fact, 14 different ways to praise God are mentioned in this psalm. We can be assured that if God would hear our prayer, then He must hear our praise.

  • 2 Corinthians 4:3-6

    The Message of Gospel Ministry.

    God’s nature is unity (Deuteronomy 6:4). When we are baptized into Christ, we are one with Him and with each other spiritually (John 17:11, 20-22). David and Solomon both praised the importance of unity among God’s people (Psalm 133:1, Proverbs 6:17-19). Anyone who dismisses the unity God has created and spreads strife unnecessarily is considered an abomination. The job of believers in the church is to maintain the unity of the Spirit in peace (Ephesians 4:3, Philippians 4:2). God’s people love what God has provided and persevere in unity.

  • Luke 9:57-62

  • 2 Corinthians 4:2

    Manifesting the Change of Christ to All People.

    As Paul continues to write according to his theme of ministry integrity, he turns to the quality of Christian relationships. This is one way people can suffer in a local church. When they are persuaded that Jesus is not enough, their relationships inside the church struggle, and they don't know how to develop redemptive relationships in the community. When unsure of the permanence of their relationship with God, then people have no foundation from which to build other relationships and no message of how the Gospel changed them.

  • Psalm 32

    The Blessedness of Forgiveness and Trust in God.

    Opinions on finding happiness are not hard to find. In the Bible, true happiness is an effect, not a cause. It is the product of making God-honoring choices in critical areas of life. Psalm 32 shows the watershed which divides true happiness from unhappiness. The transformative nature of God’s forgiveness sets us firmly on the path of true happiness. The psalmist gives us 4 reasons why.

  • 2 Corinthians 4:1-2

    The Motivation and Activity of Ministry with Integrity.

    Paul's discussion of ministry with integrity permeates 2 Corinthians through chapter 7. 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 can be divided into 5 sections which we will study over a couple weeks.

  • 2 Corinthians 3:17-18

    Our Freedom to Be Bold in Spiritual Growth.

    2 Corinthians 3:17-18 teach us about the power, boldness, and freedom we have in Christ to grow in Christ-likeness.

  • 2 Corinthians 3:12-16

    Our Freedom to Be Bold in Christ.

    Among a remnant in Corinth, a disrespect for Paul was growing because of religious people who taught that one needed to do religious works to be saved. As a result, the Corinthians distrusted Paul and his behavior and plans for ministry.

    There have always been religious intruders in the church who seek to dethrone the sufficiency of Jesus. Beware of anyone who undermines the sufficiency of Christ in salvation and spiritual growth or who undermines a messenger of Christ’s sufficiency.

  • 2 Corinthians 3:7-11

    The Comparison of Glories.

    God created the moon to be the lesser light of the night sky and the sun to rule the day (Genesis 1:16). When the sun comes up, the light of the moon no longer seems bright. Paul makes a similar comparison between the Old and New Covenant in 2 Corinthians 3:7-11, using a typical rabbinical comparison of the lesser to the greater.

  • Luke 9:18-27

  • 2 Corinthians 3:4-6

    The Greater Glory of the New Covenant.

    2 Corinthians 3:4-6 compares a life lived under the Law with a life lived under grace. Paul knew the Corinthians had begun to lose their Gospel influence when they began embracing the false message of the Judaizers. The Law, even though divinely given, could not transform a person. No standard can change a heart. Its splendor is to convict.

  • Luke 9:10-17

  • 2 Corinthians 3:1-3

    A Ministry that Desires Integrity Must Be Trustworthy.

    The best way to protect the church from religious racketeers is to compare the nature and practice of the false and genuine.

  • Luke 9:1-9

  • 2 Corinthians 2:14-17

    Ministry Progress in the Light of Difficulty, Part 2.

    God always and in every place enables us to carry on effective ministry despite difficulties. 2 Corinthians 2:12-17 gives 4 truths we can use to maintain effective ministry as a church during these providentially difficult times. Last week, we looked at the first.

  • 2 Corinthians 2:12-13

    Ministry Progress in the Light of Difficulty.

    God always and in every place enables us to carry on effective ministry despite difficulties.

  • 2 Corinthians 2:1-11

    Ministry Integrity Requires Forgiveness.

    The only way to minister with integrity is to have relationships continually maintained by God's Word. This must include forgiving those who have offended us.