Ephesians 1 ended with a glorious declaration of God's immeasurable saving power at work in our world. But when we look around at the death and sadness and ungodliness the world today, sometimes it's hard to see evidence of God's power. Where do we see God's power at work today?
We come this week to 1 Timothy's dramatic conclusion. It's as if the Apostle Paul is reaching through the page, grabbing Timothy by the shoulders, staring intensely into his eyes, and earnestly exhorting him: "Fight the good fight of the faith!" We'll explore this Sunday why the Christian life is a battle, and we'll see specifically what we're fighting for and against.
How do you know if your faith is genuine? In our passage this Sunday, Jesus confronts the hypocritical Jewish religious leaders head-on as he teaches us how to distinguish between fruitful faith and false faith.
Do you have family or friends who don't believe the gospel? I'm sure you do. Or perhaps you're seeking but struggling to believe the gospel yourself. Have you ever wondered, if the Good News is so "good" then why do so many people reject it? Why does it seem so hard to believe? Well we come to the teaching portion ("discourse") in Part 3 of the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus explains why so many people aren't seeing the "good" in his good news. From his famous parable of the soils, we'll hear Christ's defense of his message and see both the root and the fruit of true belief in him.
Why do you do what you do? What is the primary motivation for your day-to-day actions? God’s word commands us to do good works and obey God with our lives. However, Galatians 3:1-14 shows us that our motivation for our good deeds is just as important as the deeds themselves. This morning, we’re going to examine the difference between obeying God “by means of the flesh” and “by means of faith,” and we’ll see that the gospel message is the best motivation for our obedience.
