The Bible On… Miracles Part 2 – Living Miraculously (Chris)

We define “everyday miracles” and explore the keys to purposefully aligning ourselves with God’s power in order to accomplish God’s purposes in amazing ways.  The goal is to seek opportunities to deliver God’s blessings to those around us.

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The Bible On... The Light of Jesus (Randy)

Jesus said, “I Am the Light of the World” while attending the Feast of Tabernacles, one of three national festivals the Jews celebrated and the one that celebrated the exodus wilderness journey in particular.  In that journey, God led the Israelites with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  During the feast, the Jews lit a huge candelabra to remember God’s presence on their journey, and it was by that candelabra that Jesus made his claim.  He was revealing both himself as God and the nature of God as the Light that guides us at the same time.

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The Bible On… Miracles Part 1 (Chris)

We explore the nature of miracles in the Bible and discover two things.  First, miracles serve God’s purposes not our own.  Second, miracles require faith and obedience.

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The Bible On… Heaven (Chris)

There are 807 mentions of “heaven” in the NRSV Bible.  Interestingly, Jesus teaching about heaven references everyday experiences.  This indicates that heaven is both forever and right now wherever God is allowed to rule.  There also are hints – albeit controversial ones – that Christ’s presentation of heaven and hell may be different from common understanding.

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The Bible On... Forgiveness (Randy)

Why did Jesus have to die?  Why couldn't God just forgive us without the cross?  Our inability to understand the true nature of sin and problem of forgiveness cause us to ask these common questions.  Yet forgiveness is truly a costly endeavor, and because God forgives us, we are called to forgive others.

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The Bible On... Human Nature (Chris)

We explore the origin and nature of sin, its consequences, and the greater power of salvation as presented in Scripture.  A classic TV show provides context.

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The Bible On... Work (Randy)

We are called to work because God worked.  But our sin frustrates our work, making it toilsome and exhausting.  Jesus redeemed us through his work, and now we are free to work for the glory of God and for the common good.  When we approach our work with that attitude, we can do it with excellence, but never making it an idol. And we can rest in Jesus to regenerate and rejuvenate.

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The Bible On... Love (Chris)

From art to pop culture to the tawdry tabloids, our society is fascinated by “love.”  Not all of this love is noble and good, however.  What does the Bible say about love?  We use C.S. Lewis and his book “The Four Loves” as our guide.

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The Bible On… Faith (Randy)

We tend to approach faith with the same self-centeredness that we approach everything else in life.  We attempt to earn it through our good, moral behavior. In reality, God initiates faith.  It was his act on the cross that enabled him to credit us with a perfect record.  It was not something we earned, but something God gave us as a free gift of grace.  We must accept that gift by putting our faith in Christ’s blood – that it was sufficient to save us and live by.  When we do, we can begin a true walk in faith.

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The Bible On... Belief (Chris)

We are Christians.  We BELIEVE in Christ.  What does this mean?  Seeking answers, we go to Mark 9:14-29 and the story of a desperate father seeking healing for his child.   We use the passage and the father’s pivotal line “I believe; help my unbelief!” as a means to explore the paradox underlying faith itself.

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The Bible On… Idolatry (Randy)

God expressly commands us not to put any other God before him or to worship images because he is a jealous God.  While we don’t tend to worship statues today, we live in a world full of idols and tend to worship them without even realizing it.  We must identify the idols in our lives and set them aside so that we can worship God alone. Only then will we experience his full peace and joy.

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The Bible On... The Bible (Randy)

We know the Bible as God’s inspired Word, given to us through 66 books and 40 different authors over a 1500 year period.  It contains God’s story of salvation in our lives, and so much more.  As we kick-off our “Bible On…” series, we will examine what the Bible is and why we should trust it.  Over the course of the series, we will examine a range of life topics that the Bible addresses.

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Sermon on the Mount - Making the Choice (Randy)

Wrap up the series on the Sermon on the Mount, reviewing key themes and messages.  Commit our lives to the radical choices Jesus presented in the Sermon on the Mount.

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Sermon on the Mount - What does it all mean? (Chris)

This lesson summarizes the series and steers towards some concluding thoughts involving the nature of life, our reactions to life, and our opportunities for Christian living.  Ultimately, our most important personal choice is abandoning the false promises of the world for the true and eternal promises of God.  In the SOTM, Jesus provides us with his perfect example of how to do so.

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Sermon on the Mount - Christian Relationships (Randy)

After explaining the two choices we have in life late in Chapter 6 of the Sermon and culminating with a big “Therefore…” that points us to God, Jesus now turns his attention to telling us how we should relate to God and one another.

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Sermon on the Mount - God or the World? (Chris)

We revisit Matthew 6:19-34 this week.  With John Wesley as our guide again, we see how Jesus emphasis “focus.”  Where is our attention?  Is it on worldly things or God?  Are we confident and happy and loving or not?  Who and what has control over us?  There are two choices: God or the world.  If Christ is your key, he unlocks immediate access to the riches of God’s kingdom.

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Sermon on the Mount - Christian Ambition (Randy)

We have two choices when it comes to how we live out our lives. We can seek the kingdom of earth or seek the kingdom of heaven.  Jesus tells us not to worry about the things of this world, but to focus on God’s kingdom instead – and everything we need will be given to us as well.

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Sermon on the Mount - Responding to God (Chris)

This lesson covers Matthew 6:1-18.  The SOTM offers specific and practical – albeit difficult – examples of how to grow in our faith as Followers of Jesus.  This week we explore three key actions: giving, prayer, and sacrifice.  Ultimately, these involve three critical relationships: our relationship with others, our relationship with God, and our relationship with the world.  Again, Jesus invites us to follow his example.

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Sermon on the Mount - Exceeding Righteousness (Chris)

We focus on Matthew 5:17-20.  Jesus again presents a study in contrasts.  He shows us “lame” human standards vs. “impossible” divine standards.  Rather than dooming us to not being able to live up to God’s expectations, however, the message is one of radical Grace.  God’s loves us no matter what and, through Christ, offers us passage from ignorance and inadequacy to love, mercy, and redemption.

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Sermon on the Mount - The Beatitudes (Chris)

The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12) are a step-by-step guide to the journey of faith and an invitation to exchange our sinful lives for holy ones.  Each teaching builds on the next as a series of Christian virtues: humility, mourning, meekness, righteousness, mercy, purity, peacefulness, and acceptance.  According to John Wesley: “This is Christianity in its original form, as was delivered by Jesus.”

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Sermon on the Mount - Another Introduction (Chris)

We look at the context of the SOTM in terms of “who,” “what,” “where,” and “why”.  We then introduce a framework for understanding the message based on three states of human existence provided by John Wesley: the Natural State, the State of Law, and the State of Grace.

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Sermon on the Mount - The Beatitudes (Randy)

The Beatitudes run completely counter to the values of the world.  They had to have been music to the ears of original listeners, and even we find some solace in them.  However, they also challenge us because many of the phrases suggest hardship that we do not want to face.  What do we make of them?

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Sermon on the Mount - Introduction (Randy)

The Sermon on the Mount is the first of Jesus’ five discourses in the book of Matthew.  It lays out the core tenets of Christian discipleship. On the one hand, reading it excites us because it describes a world order unlike our current age.  And yet, as we dig in deeper, it offends us given the impossibility of the standard.  What do we make of this?

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