From Ritual to Reality

Jim Leffel

Hebrews 8:1-9:12

The Old Testament was filled with the symbols of what Jesus would accomplish as a reality in the New Testament.  The animal sacrificial system was only a shadow of the saving work Jesus would do on the cross.

John the Baptist

Brian Adams

John 1:19-37

John the Baptist testified that he was not the Messiah but that he was paving the way for Him. He cultivated a lifestyle of humility by never trying to any fame for being the Messiah's announcer. We can cultivate a mindset of humility by thanking God for who He is, by learning what God says about us, and considering how to serve others.

Final Instructions

Dennis McCallum

2 Thessalonians 2:15-3:18

Paul gives final instructions to the Thessalonians to not live an unruly life but to work hard so as to be able to share with others and thus help spread the Word of God.

Putting Others Before Ourselves

Kay Robinson

Philippians 2:1-15

Jesus is our perfect example of putting others ahead of self. He set aside His godly attributes to become like us in human form in order to rescue us from the penalty of our sin. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to follow His example of self-sacrifice through dependence upon the God's Word, prayer, and the ministry of suffering.

Arm Yourself with Readiness to Suffer

Ben Foust

1 Peter 4

Human nature apart from God will always pursue personal comfort and pleasure. But that is a recipe for disappointment. Christians have a category for enduring suffering because they are living for something greater than themselves. Peter instructs his audience to arm themselves with the willingness and expectation of suffering for the sake of the Gospel because they can entrust themselves to a faithful God.

Excellent Behavior:Suffering Unjustly Part 2

Ben Foust

1 Peter 2:18-25

Peter urged his listeners to show Christ to the world by what they do. When they suffered unjustly, they responded with good and not evil. They exchanged the favor of men for the favor of God and deferred justice to the One true Judge.

Worship

Danny Walker

John 4:23

The Father created us to be in relationship with Him and to worship Him. It is not to be a burdensome chore but an acknowledgment of the amazing glory of God. To truly worship God, we must have our eyes opened to see His unsearchable attributes, His power and sovereignty. "When we magnify His name and celebrate His glory, our own souls partake of greatness."

Freedom and Love

Ryan Lowery

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Paul writes to the Corinthians about eating meat sacrificed to idols. He urged them to practice their freedom in Christ and eat the meat if they feel okay to do so, but to not eat the meat if it will stumble other Christians. The application in our lives is that we should have a willingness to sacrifice our own freedoms in morally gray areas in order to show love others.

The Tabernacle

Conrad Hilario

Exodus 25:1-8

The Tabernacle was a scale model of the heavenly reality. It communicated God's desire to have a relationship with His creation but that there were barriers that prevented them from drawing near to Him. The Tabernacle was a powerful symbol of how He would remove those barriers by the the work of His Son Jesus.