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- Ephesians: Together in Christ 10
- Fight for Joy! 8
- Fighting Fear with FEAR 6
- From the Garden to the Cross 3
- Heartbeat 5
- Hebrews: Jesus is Better 11
- Jesus' Heartbeat 3
- Joy Full 20
- Legacies Are Unavoidable 1
- Living for Jesus as the Nation Heaves 2
- Mission Conference 1
- Praying For... 5
- Press Pause 4
- Rethinking Suffering 6
- Share a Meal With Me 2
- Speak! 3
- Strange Encounters 3
- The Doctor's Cure 17
- The Final Countdown 27
- The Last Words of Jesus 8
- The Story of (Your) Life 12
- Transitions 6
- Truth Be Told 5
- Upside Down Christmas 3
- Visions of Hope 6
- Visions of a King 4
- Welcome Home 5
- What If? 2
- Which Kind of Parenting is Best? 5
- Worth the Wait 3
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A Better Reward Part 1
Kyle Kauffman
Christians are called to live by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). And yet can also be accused of having blind faith in this life. The reality is that everyone lives by faith in certain areas of their lives. In our own time, the words, “You just need to believe” are a common refrain. And often the object of that belief is simply ourselves. The Christian puts his or her faith in a far greater object then self or any other human. We put our faith in the God who created this world and his Word. As a result, we live our lives seeking to gain what he has promised to us. We are willing to give up things this world values because we value the reward God offers more. In this way faith may look foolish in the eyes of the world, but faith is living for what can never be found in this world.
Hebrews 11:1-22
A Better Assurance
Kyle Kauffman
How can I be sure? That’s a question we might ask in all sorts of areas in our lives. And yet there may be no more important place we ask this then when we ask, “How can I be sure I am saved?” Or “How can I be sure I will remain a Christian?” A lack of assurance can be a terrible thing to endure. A false sense of assurance can lead to terrible consequences. But a true assurance of salvation is a wonderful thing to have. And it’s something God wants us to have. We should not base our assurance on our own feelings, a previous prayer, or a powerful conversion story. Neither should we dissolve into endless self-reflection that may cause us to doubt our salvation. In Hebrews 10:19-39 we find God gives us a better way to find and hold onto an assurance of salvation. He gives us the place to look for assurance, a practice to maintain assurance, a problem that can (and should) undermine our assurance, and proof that can help our assurance.
Hebrews 10:19-39
What If Jesus Wasn't Raised from the Dead?
Kyle Kauffman
Most historians agree that a man named Jesus lived in the first century and died by crucifixion at the hands of the Roman Empire. Yet many believe this was the end of the story of Jesus. What if this really was the end of story? What if Jesus remained in the grave and he was never truly raised back to life like the gospels say he was? We often take for granted that Jesus rose back to life because we’ve heard the Easter Story so frequently. But we can push our hearts and minds to consider just how significant this event was and is by dwelling on the question: “What if Jesus Wasn’t Raised from the Dead?” We find Paul playing out this exact scenario in 1 Corinthians 15 as he details what it would mean for us if Jesus’ death was the end of the story. Thankfully, Paul points to good reasons we have to believe that Jesus really was risen from the dead. And It’s because this event really did happen that our lives can truly be changed by Jesus.
1 Corinthians 15:1-22
A Better Sacrifice
Kyle Kauffman
How can someone who has done something wrong be made right again? How can our wrongs be atoned for? We can be prone to both minimize our own sinfulness and presume that we deserve forgiveness for whatever sins we have committed. The sacrifices in the Bible consistently make clear that our sin is a far bigger deal then we realize and that we deserve punishment, not forgiveness. And yet the sacrifices in the Bible also tell us that God makes a way for our sins to be forgiven. Our sins are not forgiven through good deeds, penance, time, or any other means. They are forgiven only through the shedding of blood. Hebrews directs our eyes to Jesus as the greatest sacrifice (and the one that ALL the other sacrifices were pointing to). His one sacrifice is sufficient to forgive all our sins and to fully make right what sin has made wrong.
Hebrews 9:15-10:18
A Better Covenant
Kyle Kauffman
Relationships can be very fragile. They can easily be fractured and broken in all sorts of ways. And when a relationship is fractured, we often look for a way for the relationship to be fixed/restored. We were created to enjoy a relationship with God. But that relationship has been fractured because of sin. And yet we find there is no way for us to fix or mend this broken relationship. If we are to know and enjoy God, then we need God to act to restore the relationship. We find in Scripture that time and time again God has acted to restore and maintain His relationship with Humans. He does this on the basis of covenant. Hebrews tells us that Jesus is at the center of the final and better covenant that all the other covenants pointed toward. Hebrews tells us we relate to God on the basis of Jesus. Which means that as long as we are trusting in Jesus we cannot be separated from God. And all other ways of seeking to secure or maintain a relationship with God are futile.
Hebrews 8:1-9:14
A Gracious Warning
Kyle Kauffman
One of the things that we notice as we read Hebrews is that it is not only full of descriptions of how Jesus is Better, but it is also interspersed with serious warnings about turning away from Jesus. While these warnings are contained throughout the book, perhaps nowhere is the warning and what’s at stake clearer then in Hebrews 5:11-6:12. The purpose and effect of this warning can often get lost in the midst of the debate between whether someone can lose their salvation or not. The warning was originally addressed to those who called themselves Christians. This warning makes it clear that apostasy (turning away from and denying the faith) is a real possibility and reality. While the Bible teaches that those who are truly saved will not lose their salvation because God will hold onto them and enable them to persevere, warnings like this also teach that there are some who will appear to be truly saved to us who will turn away and deny the faith. In God’s hands, serious warnings are a means of His grace that are meant to help us persevere in our faith and not turn away from what is Better – Jesus and all he promises to us.
Hebrews 5:11-6:12
Arrival
Kyle Kauffman
Jesus’ first coming shows us further what type of King he is, the hope he offers us, and what our rightful response should be to him. We honor him by trusting his word, submitting to his rule, and giving our lives in worship to him. In these ways we not only remember and celebrate his arrive but also anticipate and look forward to his return.
Matthew 1:18-2:12
The Warrior King
Kyle Kauffman
When we think about Jesus, how often do we think of him as a warrior? Yet that’s a picture of Jesus that’s given to us both in Zechariah and in Revelation. That’s really good news for those who feel weak, needy, and oppressed. Which is exactly the case for the Israelites who have returned from Exile. They need to know that God will come to fight against there enemies, strengthen them, and ultimately bring peace. We often feel like we are losing in this world. The world mocks us, sin and Satan tempts us, and death one day comes for us. But we are not called to live with a defeatist mindset. We look back to the king who fought against sin, Satan, and death and won. And we look forward to the King’s return when he will eradicate all evil and bring perfect piece. In the meantime we know our King is advancing his kingdom through the church and so we join him in the fight as we declare his victory and live in light of his victory and remember that our battle is not against flesh and blood
Zechariah 9; Ephesians 3:10, 6:10-20
Not The Way It’s Supposed to Be
Kyle Kauffman
The Israelites returned from the Exile, that was caused by their sin, and yet still they were plagued by the problem of sin. The Exile could not remove their sin. It could simply remove sinners from the land for a little while. What were they supposed to do? The same problem remains for us today. We live in a world that is full of sin. We don’t have to look far to see it. We see it in the news, we see it in our neighborhoods, we see it in our homes, and we see it in ourselves. Sin seems to taint everything in this world. And when we come face-to-face with sin we are left wondering – is there hope? There is hope in the face of sin and it’s rooted in God. God sees sin, judges sin, and removes sin. That’s where our hope lies in the face of sin.
Zechariah 5:1-11
Hope for Fallen & Failing Followers of Jesus
Joel Wood
It’s all too easy for us to live discouraged in the present because we are haunted by the guilt and condemnation of our sinfulness. We are all too aware of all the ways that we have let God down and failed to obey him or of how we have wronged others. And Satan is all too happy to accuse us and play the record of wrongs over and over in our heads. We respond by beating ourselves up, trying to do better, and feeling discouraged when our best efforts don’t seem to be enough. We have a sneaking suspicion that God is forever disappointed by us at best and angry at us at worst. We desperately need a solution for the condemnation that we rightfully deserve and often live under.
Zechariah 3:1-10