Those called to belong to Christ should know their spiritual surroundings and step carefully in wisdom, seeking to do what pleases the Lord. Believers must also choose to be filled with the Holy Spirit and live worshipful lives with one another....
Those called to belong to Christ should know their spiritual surroundings and step carefully in wisdom, seeking to do what pleases the Lord. Believers must also choose to be filled with the Holy Spirit and live worshipful lives with one another....
Those who are united in Christ are transformed into children of light, starkly contrasting the way they used to be. Those children of light are to live fruitful lives by not only avoiding the unfruitful works of darkness, but by also warning the w...
The epistle to the Ephesians transitions from talking about all of the things that Christ has done in unifying believers to Himself and to one another. If those blessings are true, and believers have been called to belong to Christ, that calling w...
Paul ends the first half of his letter with a prayer. All of these blessings that he has explained in chapters 1–3 do not happen automatically. They are ours in Christ. But since they are from the Lord, we need to seek the Lord in laying hold of...
We all need regular reminders of the bigger picture of our salvation... the bigger picture of the church. And 'bigger picture' doesn't mean 'something we should think about every once in a while for an interesting perspective,' it means the pu...
Believers can rejoice in the spiritual blessings in Christ because of God’s commitment to his purposes. He blesses believers by making his master plan known to them, by making believers his possession, and by guaranteeing their inheritance by th...
God is the blessed one, and he lavishes blessings on believers because of his grace and sovereign determination. Some of those blessings are being chosen by him, being adopted as children, and having redemption through Christ's blood....
The apostle Paul starts this epistle explaining his gratitude for the way God had worked and was at work in the Thessalonian believers' lives. This work, when applied to our own lives, helps us declare Christ with our lives, on our campuses, and i...
The believer’s confidence, strength, and hope for daily obedience is anchored in the eternal promise of their salvation. The realities of justification, sanctification, and glorification which are accomplished through the blood of Jesus Christ t...
The devil’s arrows are dipped in the tar of deceit and lit by the flame of wickedness. Lies, deception, half-truths, doubts: These are what the flaming darts are made of. The shield of faith is the believer’s only hope when it comes to defendi...
The devil’s arrows are dipped in the tar of deceit and lit by the flame of wickedness. Lies, deception, half-truths, doubts: These are what the flaming darts are made of. The shield of faith is the believer’s only hope when it comes to defendi...
How can you tell the difference between a street fighter and a professional MMA fighter? Many things: Stance, strength, agility, body control, technique, and various evidence of training (or lack thereof). How can you tell the difference between s...
If we are going to stand against the schemes of the devil, we need to be aware of what he is like. In any feat of competition, battle, or contest, a contender is wise to be knowledgeable of their opponent. If Christians have an adversary, ...
This section of Scripture shows us our natural state and that we desperately need new life in Christ, or regeneration. Out natural state is this: we are spiritually dead and unable to save ourselves, nor are we able to resist sin, the world, the D...
Ephesians 6:10-20 is the foundation which this series will be built on, and if verses 10-13 tell us anything, it’s this: Scripture is crystal clear that spiritual warfare is real, and we’re commanded to engage in it. This is a vital reminder t...
“Can I ______; can I ______? What’s ok, what isn’t? I can agree sex should be kept for marriage, but I still want to show physical affection while dating.” It is unavoidable that this tension will come up in a dating relationship. In this ...
This message finishes where last week’s left off: Biblical principles for addressing the tension some feel about Christians putting too much pressure on dating for marriage. The two principles proposed here are (1) The believer’s first respons...
It is a common claim in Christian circles that ‘dating should be for the purpose of marriage.’ And yet, what is also a common claim among believers is that there can be ‘too much pressure for marriage’ in dating. Do you feel the tension? W...
In this message, we pick up where we left off from the previous message. We address yet another tension in the dating conversation. The goal is to evaluate potential causes of these tensions, address them with Biblical principles, and then propose...
A survey of Christian college students and non-Christian Americans revealed some common tensions in the ‘dating’ conversation. For example: ‘It feels weird to date a guy/gal that’s one of my closest friends… and yet I want my future spou...
Trying to ‘date well’ can feel like navigating a hot air balloon through the depths of the Grand Canyon… blindfolded. And sometimes it feels like there are more questions and opinions on the matter than fish in the sea! Wouldn’t it be nice...