Main idea: Trust God for grace as we live in a painful, sin-cursed world.  In the midst of conflict and hostility, trust in Jesus who crushes the head of the serpent. (v. 14-15)Revelation 12:1-121 Corinthians 15:...

Renounce sinful responses to guilt and humbly turn to God who pursues you. Luke 19:10 Jesus says “The son of man came to seek and save the lost.” Renounce the sinful responses to guilt: Pretending it doesn’t exist, Hidi...

Main idea: Falling for Satan’s lies leaves us guilty, ashamed and condemned and only God’s grace can restore us. Be watchful for the cunning of Satan John 8:44 Revelation 12:9 Ephesians 6:1...

Introduction Trusting God’s Grace in a Fallen World We saw in Genesis 1-2 the glory of God at creation. He created a very good heavens and earth where he chose to dwell with the man and woman he cr...

Sin has infected every single human being. It is important to know how our sin has broken a relationship with our sovereign God. No one seeks him, and as a result we make a mess of our lives. Only when we understand this bad news can the good news...

Main Idea: Believer, sin no longer rules you, so don’t live like it does. Instead, your life is God’s, so live righteously under His rule. Consider yourself united with Christ (v. 3-5). Consider ...

Introducing Romans: The gospel is the heart of ministry and the only solution to our sin problem (Romans 1:1-17) Main idea: Paul outlines the nature of the world's sin problem in order to point to the gospel as the only solution. ...

God is righteous, man is not so receives the wrath of God – and there’s nothing we can do about it!...

This is the second book in C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy, but it can be read stand-alone—in fact, I read it before I read the rest of the trilogy. Like Lewis’ Narnia series, this book feels a bit like biblical fan fiction. Though not technically...

Main idea: Look to Christ when tempted, he will provide a way of escape to safely and faithfully finish your race. Secure yourself in Christ not his blessings (1 Corinthians 10:1-5)Avoid the idolat...

Main idea: God made sex special, but not ultimate, so no matter what glorify God with your body. Correct your view of the body (6:12-14).Correct your view about your body’s relationship to Christ (6:15-17).Glorify ...

Think about where the unrighteous will beMatthew 7:21-23The Creator’s View of Sexual SinGenesis 1:27Leviticus 18Matthew 5:17Matthew 5:27-30Matthew 19:1-4Romans 1...

Main idea: Live out the holy calling of the church by representing Christ to the world and the church.  1 Corinthians 1:2, 9 Revelation 4 1. Associate with sinners like Jesus did. Be salt and light in the world. (1 Cor...

Three Gospel realities behind church discipline: Gospel Story (1 Corinthians 15:2, Romans 6:1-2) Gospel Call (Mark 1:15) Gospel Identity (1 Corinthians 1:2)     Main ide...

In 1 Corinthians 5-6, Paul continues to exhort and teach the Corinthians what it means to be a church that is marked by the Gospel, not the sinful flesh or the culture around them. He focuses on their need to protect the purity of the church ...

In 1 Corinthians 3-4, Paul continues his rebuke of the pride that led the Corinthians to create divisions and factions based on their pursuit of worldly status. He shows them the right way to think about how God uses servants of the Lord as His st...

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...

Tony Medina is a man who can attest to the change brought about by denying self and following Christ. Tony grew up in a home where he and his five siblings were pretty much left to themselves. His father was in and out of the...

Many pressures and influences all around us seek to form and shape us. Our own way of thinking and living can oftentimes be shaped by our old sin nature. This results in deformed Christianity that does not reflect Christ. Paul sought to address al...

The effects of sin are so broad and deep, our only hope overcoming and being freed from them is the grace of God. Ephesians 2:1-4; Romans 3:9-18; Isaiah 64:6; Jeremiah 17:9; 1 John 1:8-10....

Though God has spoken clearly, the Bible often seems unclear to us because of our human limitations and our sinful rebellion. Submission to God through his Word gives you clarity, as Moses told the Israelites on the plains of Moab. But sin makes y...

Main idea: Guard your heart from the deadly deception of sexual sin. Listen to WisdomPsalm 119:9Watch where your heart goesProverbs 4:23Romans 13:13...

Main Idea: Knowing what foolish worship looks like can help us worship wisely.  At this point in Ecclesiastes, Solomon turns his eyes upward toward God, more so than he has already. He directly commands his readers to be careful ...

Main Idea: Correctly understand sin to clarify those who are truly Christians and motivate you to purify yourself from sin. Consider the practice of sinConsider the severity and source of sinRemember why Chri...

Main Idea: Malachi exhorts the priests to be faithful by showing them the gravity of unfaithfulness and the glory of the priesthood. The passage also points to the grace of the Faithful Priest. Call to Faithfulness (...

Tragedy Turned into Bitterness Tragedy followed this poor woman. And she blamed it all on God. She and her husband and two sons left their hometown and went to a foreign country to escape famine. Instead of a temporary exile, they remain...

While reading the book of Exodus with my family a few weeks ago we came upon the scene at the foot of Mt. Sinai where Aaron molds a golden calf at the commissioning of the people while Yahweh met with Moses on the mountain above them. Talk about s...

Luke addresses three kinds of thinking Big Idea: Luke tells us the account of an unlikely convert that beckons us to receive Christ and find others who are unlikely to receive him. An U...

Main idea: Be a repenter or perish 1. All will face death and judgment 2. All will see God’s patience come to an end Romans 2:4-5 "Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing tha...

“Does sin have sizes or degrees?” This question was posed to me during our missionary church planting context in Tenerife. Maybe you have asked the same or similar question. Why would we ask this question? Maybe we have wanted to win a theolog...

With a little help from John Piper (A Hunger for God), Donald Whitney (Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life) and a couple of others, I have tried to outline the biblical occasions for fasting. Here is the fruit of tha...

Introduction: Main idea: God is a good and holy father who grants forgiveness to his children when they ask with the right heart Understand your daily need of forgiveness...

If you have spent any time around Christians at Christmas, you have probably heard the phrase ‘Jesus is the reason for the season’. It’s a good statement, intended to counteract the overwhelming voices saying otherwise, voices bent on making...

Notes The Dynamics of True Hearing (Luke 8:1–8, 11–15)The Source of True Hearing (Luke 8:9–10)...