Making the Holidays Holy Days #2, Part 1
December 20, 2019
The only way to have our holidays be holy days, to become more spiritually mature and to deal with sin in our lives is by a process Pastor Josh calls "spiritual violence." We've got to rip out sin out by the root.
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One group says the Bible is a book about love, mercy, and kindness. They think of the story of the Good Samaritan and of Jesus telling us to turn the other cheek. So how could anyone think the Bible prevents a tolerant society? But for another group, the Bible is far from tolerant. There’s the conquest of Canaan. There’s Elijah killing Baal’s prophets by his own hand. And in the New Testament, Jesus talks often about hell. That’s not tolerant. What then can we say in answer to this question? Get your free resource and learn more today!
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You can say that you understand how to become a real Christian, then seek Him as an act of will, and then set your mind to what pleases Jesus. But what if you still don't feel very motivated? Why should you be holy?
December 19, 2019
The most important way to become holy and please Jesus is to set your mind on things above and not on earthly things. It is a battle of the mind. During the holidays, let's figure out what they were all meant to be about and who Christ really is, and let's commit to Him and make our holidays holy days.
December 18, 2019
Society seems to be growing out of the idea of life after death. But can we really attend a funeral and not give a thought to whether this is all life is about? When you're around death, you're close to eternity, and the veil parts a little bit and life seems very translucent.
December 17, 2019
There is a high motivation for us to deny ourselves for Jesus, because when we choose what Jesus says in His Word, we bear the fruit of a true Christian. While denying ourselves does not come naturally, we need to lean into this counterintuitive and paradoxical way to find real life.
December 16, 2019
People today tend to think of God's righteousness as being strange or unfamiliar, or they just think of it in terms of trying to be good enough to please God. In Romans we find a different definition of righteousness.
December 15, 2019
What do you really want? We could offer to help you construct a dream around your desires. But that's a cruel thing to do, because as we elevate the cross, that's the real way to find fulfillment. You must lose your life to save it.
December 13, 2019
Stress contributes to health, relationship, and spiritual problems. This passage tells us how to find rest for our souls. Jesus talks about the burden of our sin and alienation from God. He takes that burden so that we can live as free people.
December 12, 2019
Jesus explains that sacrifice for His sake is good because this is right at the heart of his core purpose. Biblical faith must require sacrifice. It costs something to be a real follower of Jesus and put Him first.
December 11, 2019
What God is saying here is that He desires this mercy, love, and faithfulness in us, and not sacrifice. What this means is that He doesn't want religious ritual. Today we tend to focus on our morality over grace. In reality, it is Christ who saves us and then empowers us to obedience.
December 10, 2019
I was taught to define mercy like this: Grace is God giving us what we don't deserve; mercy is God not giving us what we do deserve. In this story, the tax collectors and the Pharisees energize the story as Jesus teaches about mercy.
December 9, 2019
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Free Resource | Does the Bible Promote Tolerance or Intolerance?
One group says the Bible is a book about love, mercy, and kindness. They think of the story of the Good Samaritan and of Jesus telling us to turn the other cheek. So how could anyone think the Bible prevents a tolerant society? But for another group, the Bible is far from tolerant. There’s the conquest of Canaan. There’s Elijah killing Baal’s prophets by his own hand. And in the New Testament, Jesus talks often about hell. That’s not tolerant. What then can we say in answer to this question? Get your free resource and learn more today!