Why do we pray "in Jesus' name"? Maybe it’s important to ask ourselves, do we know what this phrase really means? Do we fully understand the meaning and power of these words? Do we think that God will hear us better if we say that we come to him in Jesus’ name?...
This trip not only fueled and stirred my affections for God and missions, but having the Providence church body commission us the Sunday before we left was a moment I will never forget. Being obedient to the call of missions embedded me even further into the heartbeat of Providence because I was a member who was sent....
Redemption Groups forced me to be honest with both God and myself, to ask Him the hard questions, and wait for a response....
The best part of Advent is not Advent itself, but what it points to...
In the middle of the holiday-hype and musician-lament, our church gets to be centered on the joy of singing biblical Advent songs. ...
It’s that time of year. Lights are going up, decorations are out, and Christmas movies are on TV. As we approach Christmas, the church enters into the celebration of Advent. But what is Advent? ...
Recently God has impressed one thought on my mind: Keep looking for joy, even in the mundane or the very difficult times. If all I’m doing in my current season is wishing for the next season, then I am missing so much joy and so many gifts which God has given me in the here and now....
As The Christ-Centered Home sermon series comes to a close, our staff has curated a list of recommended resources to continue to equip you and your family. You'll find books, articles, podcasts, and other great resources that we've found helpful. Our hope is that your home would be strengthened by one or more of these resources....
Earthly adoption is a beautiful picture of the gospel and it points to the greater adoption that Christ has offered all who call upon his name. ...
The term “sound doctrine” is a term that I have always associated with people who know more than me. I thought pastors, seminary students, or biblical scholars dealt with doctrine. It never occurred to me that doctrine was something I should be concerned about. It was always over my head and above my pay grade....
On Father’s Day, we looked at God’s word for Fathers and came away with three charges: Fathers are to pursue Christ, honor their wives, and train up their children....
Suffering comes in many forms, some physical and some spiritual. At times, it is more intense than others, but according to James, all our suffering as believers is to be related to in the same way - with pure joy and gratitude....
Community is so much more important to us now because we can remember times that we didn’t have it. Our Community Group has not only become our dear friends, but also people who remind me of the truth of God when I most need it....
Each year, our staff puts together a short list of our favorite books of the year. Not all of these books were released this year; in fact, many of them are a few years (or centuries) old, but we read them this year....
Pray with us for revival and awakening in our hearts, our church, our community, and our world....
Pray with us for revival and awakening in our hearts, our church, our community, and our world. God, please make us your servants and help us be faithful to steward your gospel where you’ve placed us....
Pray with us for revival and awakening in our hearts, our church, our community, and our world....
Pray with us for revival and awakening in our hearts, our church, our community, and our world. Here's how to pray the Lord's Prayer in your own life....
We need to be awed by the incredible privilege opened for us to have an intimate relationship with God. As we consider God as Father, we need to remember we serve a God who wants us to know him intimately....
Providence Kids has given me the great gift of getting to know and love some pretty amazing little humans, but it’s also given me at least three unexpected gifts....
The July 4th holiday celebrates a pivotal event that defines the identity of a nation and its people. How should we celebrate knowing that our identity is found in Christ (Galatians 3; Ephesians 2)?...
By speaking the truth in love, we fight the lies of the enemy in each other’s lives and offer hope in Christ. We all need brothers and sisters who know us, know our struggles, and know how to speak truth into them....
What do your children see when they watch you? The familiar text of Deuteronomy 6 teaches us about God, about ourselves, and about teaching our kids to follow God....
This building process reminded me that it takes many people to help build the spiritual foundation for our children as well. Mothers have a unique opportunity to shape the lives of their children by providing a firm foundation on which to build a godly life, but we are not meant to go it alone....
I hope that after taking a closer look, this verse will give you a more complete view of your past, present, and future salvation. It should also provide you with another Scripture for your arsenal to combat the lies of the evil one. Most of all, though, I pray that God will use it to reassure you of his faithfulness to finish what he started in you....
An interruption is a break that reveals our brokenness. And as broken people, we don’t always do well with brokenness, do we?...
Prayer is hard. I’ve been following Jesus for nearly 30 years and I still don’t have this figured out. A little over a year ago I began feeling convicted that God wanted me to love Him with more of my heart, not just my mind and my habits. After reflecting on the matter, I loaded up with some books on prayer and study materials for the Psalms and asked God to lead me into a more powerful and intimate prayer life....
Each woman who joins Little Legacies is in the same place—trying to figure out the same things none of us have encountered before, needing wisdom and guidance as we navigate all that comes with the new title we’ve been given....
The Sermon on the Mount contains some of the most well-known, loved, and even challenging sections of the entire Bible. As we continue to walk through these chapters, here are some resources we recommend if you’d like to do further study....
The fact that Jesus lists persecution as a beatitude and mentions it twice underscores the reality of persecution for every believer. This doesn’t mean that we should be persecuted for our faith at all times. But this does mean that persecution is inevitable and that it is a mark of being a Christian....
When Josh asked the students during the debrief Sunday morning to raise their hands if they loved Jesus more than they did before the weekend started, I didn’t hesitate to raise my hand. God did some unbelievable things in my heart and the hearts of many other students during FOCUS 2017, and I was so blessed to be part of such an amazing weekend....
You’ve probably heard that we are transitioning to two services at 9:15 and 11:00 a.m. To prepare for this transition, we have added seating in the sanctuary and classroom space in Providence Kids. Our hope is to make this transition as smooth as possible for families coming to worship with us on Sunday. Here are a couple things to keep in mind......
I was barely 22 when I became pregnant by a guy that I wasn’t really dating at the time. I was scared, confused, lonely, and felt like I let everyone down. The world told me that marriage or abortion were the only solutions, and at least with abortion nobody would have to know....
This past week we started our new sermon series walking through the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5-7. I spent a considerable amount of time giving introductory remarks that I believe will help us as we navigate through Jesus’ most famous sermon....
Making resolutions can be tough and keeping them past a few weeks can be even harder, but as Jonathan Edwards demonstrates, making resolutions can be a fruitful venture in seeking to be disciplined and self-controlled for the glory of God....
Each year, our staff puts together a short list of our favorite books of the year. Not all of these books were released this year; in fact, many of them are a few years (or centuries) old, but we read them this year....
A perennial favorite carol has been “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” My love for this song goes all the way back to childhood - watching Charlie Brown and the gang singing the carol, gathered around that magical scrawny little tree. (“I never thought it was such a bad little tree!”)...
My favorite Christmas song is “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” I’ve heard a lot of versions of this song, but it’s hard to find a good one. You can sing the notes perfectly but miss all the emotion. This song expresses such deep longing for freedom that it’s almost impossible to sing without tears of joy and desperation. “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” helps us explore life’s trouble and our need for help, and it’s a call to rejoice in the God who rescues....
This year, we’ve found several great resources we recommend to help you celebrate the season of Advent and the birth of Christ. Check them out!...
Two short-term mission teams returned from South Asia just a few weeks ago. We are so grateful for everyone who prayed for these trips (much was needed, and much was given), for those who helped support the team members for both teams financially (again much needed and much given), and for your support of Advance that is helping the word go out in a dark area of the world....
The result of this election has left a wake of emotions throughout our country ranging from jubilation and hope to anger and despair. So how are we as followers of Christ to respond?...
How are the Psalms instructive? They train me on how to come before the Lord honestly in all seasons of life, setting the foundation of my heart on the truth from His word....
My kids beg me often to tell the story of the cactus. They love hearing about kid-sized Jeremy who was told that he couldn’t have a cactus from the neighborhood park. At the end of that story, we always talk about how it’s better to obey because parents don’t want to keep good things from their children, but because we want them to have the most fun possible....
At Providence Students, our goal is to fulfill the church’s mission by making disciples who love God, love the church, and love the world. Everything we do, from our big annual events to our regular weekly gatherings, is meant to encourage 6th through 12th grade students as they learn to grow in their faith and live it out....
The new season marks the kickoff of another year of women’s bible study. I’m forever grateful for how God has used studying his word with other women to encourage me. I want to encourage you to come to this fall women’s bible study by listing 10 reasons that I love it!...
Ask me to work somewhere and, even if I don’t know how, I’ll figure out how do it and how to do it well. Ask me where to serve? Now that’s a completely different concept....
Is serving exhausting? Sometimes. Does it make for a long day for our family? Yes. Would it be easier to just say no? Absolutely. But it is worth it. Not serving means missing out on the joy of being a part of what God is doing in the church body. ...
We expected serving the church to be a drain on us as we had a newborn and a 7-year-old along with a stressful job and busy schedules (as all of us do). But we found the opposite....
When I first started serving in Providence Kids, I expected to walk in every Sunday and have a bible story ready with some activities or crafts. What I didn’t expect was how much more truth I got out of preparing and teaching each week....
As we’ve been going through 1 Corinthians, we’ve talked a lot about marriage and singleness. Ever since we looked at 1 Corinthians 7, I’ve had really interesting conversations with my single and married friends, and thought it might be helpful to share a few things singles wish married couples knew, along with bits of my own story....
Have you been here before? A friend offers to pay for you, or you are complimented, or someone offers you some practical help, yet you feel that you just can’t accept it? You feel uncomfortable or like you need to contribute something. And in one way or another, you decline it. Or accept it reluctantly. What is it about receiving grace that is so hard?...
How would you feel if the Taliban or ISIS gave you the choice to join them or leave the country because you work for the government, are a soldier, or because they just don’t like you? If you stay and don’t join the Taliban, then you and your family will be killed. On our recent trip to Athens, Greece, we met several families who relayed this story of total despair at the choices forced upon them. Without any real choice, they flee their home countries with only what they can carry....
Is anyone good at waiting? I know I‘m not. Waiting has never been easy for me. When I look back on my life, I haven’t had to wait for many things… until now....
“Dad, God loves me even when I sin.” I remember hearing my son say this when he was only three years old. My wife and I quietly laughed together at the truthfulness of the statement, but we also realized our need to teach and model the pursuit of holiness in a grace-drenched environment....
When did this happen? When did I—when did we—get so busy that it became hard to sit for two minutes at a red light? The smallest moments of our day have become moments to get something done or escape....
On Sunday, Afshin preached on our need for prayer and how we pray. As we grow in seeing our need for God and confessing our need in prayer, here are some great resources that can help us along the way....
It’s 6:30 a.m. and my alarm is going off. I look at the clock, hit snooze and turn over in bed. How did I get here AGAIN? How did I miss another opportunity in the morning to spend time with God, reading his word?...
Storytelling is one of the most powerful and compelling ways to communicate truth. This is incredibly important when it comes to biblical truth, as we see Jesus use simple stories and parables to communicate deep truths about God and his kingdom....
For so long, I believed that my fears, anxieties, and people-pleasing tendencies were a product of my circumstances. But when my circumstances changed… surprise! All those tendencies were still there! With encouragement from my Community Group, I cautiously ventured into Redemption, knowing that there was something more beneath the surface of my sin, and wanting to see more clearly....
In the Psalms, we see that David often voiced his feelings as he endured suffering. I resonate with him because there have been seasons where I’ve experienced similar feelings: loneliness, spiritual despair, and fatigue from long periods of suffering....
As moms, we’ve all been there--those moments when it seems the world is shattering around us and we feel lost in the chaos....
My husband and I became foster parents last summer. We welcomed our first placement, a little girl, a week after we became licensed. Despite all the training, her arrival seemed like a stork delivery....
The purpose of Focus 2016 was to take a weekend (Friday night through Sunday morning) away from distractions and dive into fellowship with our youth group and with God. We had a lot of time to grow closer to each other and really begin to know one another as not only friends but as siblings in Christ....
It is easy for us to approach God and ask him to bless what we bring him, only to be frustrated when his blessings aren’t what we expect. ...
By the grace of God and the gentle nudge of my wife, I signed up for Redemption. Even though I didn’t know what to expect, God moved in my heart....
Looking back over the early years of my Christian journey, I realized that I was young and immature. I needed to learn a lot about God and the spiritual discipline of reading his word. I knew that reading my bible was a good thing but struggled to be consistent....
The Dominican kids who were with us thought we were nice, but that we talked about a “God” who was only for us...
Our prayer is that God would empower and equip each of our members to make disciples who make disciples. As we all engage in this mission, our dream is to see this kind of movement sweep across our community....
We’re often too busy trudging through the mountains to stop and take in the majestic view of what God is doing. And unless we stop for a second and intentionally look outside the day-to-day specifics, we’ll keep moving and keep living without making it a point to seek God in our purpose and rhythms of life....
It’s the week of Christmas and everyone is busy with last minute preparations. Some are running to the store to buy the perfect gift for that loved one, and others keep checking the front porch to see if Amazon has delivered the gift they ordered. But as we enter into another Christmas celebration, let us remember that the greatest gift was not a last minute decision but rather a gift that had been planned and in the heart of God from the beginning of time....
As a church staff, we work to equip and encourage one another with resources that help focus our lives on the gospel and teach us more of what it means to follow Christ. We've compiled a list of the books each of us has found most helpful in 2015 which we hope are helpful for you as well....
I love so many things about Perspectives. But what I love most is what motivated me to change. It’s wasn’t a powerful speaker (though there are great speakers). It’s wasn’t the numbers, although the need is urgent. It was the simplicity and inarguable truth of looking at Scripture. I was motivated by focusing on God’s heart and his mission....
In this season, we celebrate how God kept all of his promises and came to rescue us, and we encourage you to use this Advent season to kindle the flame of our hearts. This year we are highlighting three resources that we pray are an aid to you and your family....
As we embark on this season of Thanksgiving, let’s reflect on why God desires us to be thankful people....
This song holds a special place in helping articulate prayers I’ve prayed for my own children....
Orphan Sunday is an annual reminder to churches across the world of this call to serve these children. Ultimately, it is a reminder that caring for orphans is about making disciples. But making disciples requires action, and action requires preparation. So, how do we prepare?...
I don't know any Christian who would disagree with the statement, “We should love all people." Scratch that, I don’t know anybody – religious or not – who would disagree with it. What’s not to like about it? Wouldn’t it solve the world’s problems if everyone just loved each other?...
While we can never fully understand how sovereignty and responsibility interact with one another, the Bible provides us with some relevant insights about how predestination is compatible with free will....
Why did Paul write these chapters? What were they meant to accomplish and how do they fit in with Romans as a whole?...
The author has discussed his readers’ immaturity (5:11-14) and offered a prescription for growing out of it (6:1-3). In the verses that follow, he paints a sobering picture of what happens when that medicine isn’t taken....
Keep ReadingIn Hebrews 5:1-10, the author briefly introduced Melchizedek (5:6, 10). He still has “much to say” (v 11) about Melchizedek and Jesus’ high priesthood which he’ll get to in chapters 7-10. But first he shifts gears to address his readers’ immaturity (5:11-6:3), to warn them against falling away (6:4-8), and to call them to endure in their faith (6:9-20)....
Keep ReadingIn the Old Testament, there were two primary qualifications for a high priest. First, he needed to be from among the people he represented (v 1). As one of them, he could represent them. And by sharing the nature and weaknesses of his people (and by having his own sins to atone for) the high priest could deal gently with the people’s sins (vv 2-3). In other words, while ...
Keep ReadingBecause of their “disobedience” (4:11) and “unbelief” (3:19), the first generation of Israelites who came out of Egypt were forbidden from entering the land of Canaan - God’s “rest” (3:11). But the next generation, led by Joshua, did enter it. ...
Keep ReadingIn Hebrews 3:1-6, the author compared Moses and Jesus. Now he compares the people each of them led. He shows that Christians living in these “last days” (1:2) are in a similar spot that the Israelites were in the wilderness - free from slavery but not yet home....
Keep ReadingIn Hebrews 2:17, Jesus was referred to as a “faithful high priest”. Now the author reflects on Jesus’ faithfulness by comparing him to an Old Testament model of faithfulness: Moses....
Keep ReadingRegarding angels, the author has so far argued that the Son is superior to angels (1:5-14) and thus deserving of our full attention and obedience (2:1-4). In 2:5-9 he focused on the Son becoming human to restore humanity’s rule over the earth. Now he meditates on why the Son had to be truly human....
Keep ReadingWhen God created people, he created them in his image to rule over the whole earth (Genesis 1:26-28). In Psalm 8, David reflects on humanity in its pre-fallen state. Looking at the stars in the sky, he marvels that the God who created such a vast universe should pay attention and give such great honor to humans. ...
Keep ReadingEverything the author has been saying about the Son’s superiority to angels has been building to 2:1 ...
Keep ReadingAngels were highly revered by the Jewish people. God had often used angels in the Old Testament to give his people guidance (Genesis 19:17), protection (Psalm 91:11), deliverance (Isaiah 37:35-37), and even judgment for their sin (2 Samuel 24:16-17). As one author writes: “When an angel spoke, people listened.”...
Keep ReadingWhen life gets hard, what do you turn to for comfort? And where do you go for relief when the Christian life in particular becomes difficult? Do you persevere in your walk with Jesus despite the hardship? Or do you return to the comfortable habits and patterns of life that marked your life before becoming a Christian? These were the kind of questions facing the original re...
Keep ReadingGenesis 23:1-25:18 wraps up the life of Abraham by focusing in the land, offspring, and blessing God had promised him. In Genesis 23, Abraham became the legal owner of a small plot of the promised land when he purchased a cave in which to bury Sarah. In Genesis 24, the focus shifts to the promise of offspring....
Keep ReadingHaving waited decades for the promised child to arrive, Abraham was tested by God to see if he valued God above all other things, even his beloved son. In the climax of the whole Abraham story, he proved that he did by being willing to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice (see Genesis 22)....
Keep ReadingIn between God’s initial promise to Abraham of offspring and Isaac’s actual birth were years of waiting as well as numerous trials. But the greatest test to Abraham’s faith in God’s promise wouldn’t come until after Isaac came on the scene. ...
Keep ReadingIn Genesis 20, Abraham again tried the “Sarah is my sister” ruse out of fear for his life (see Genesis 12:10-20). This time, he tried it with Abimelech, king of Gerar. God intervened to assure that Abimelech didn’t touch Sarah, and for the entire time she was in his palace, the women of Gerar couldn’t get pregnant. After the truth came out, Abimelech returned Sarah...
Keep ReadingIn Genesis 12, God promised Abraham that he would give him offspring and make him into a great nation. Since then, many obstacles have threatened to stand in the way of that promise. Some were circumstantial, such as Sarah’s barrenness (11:30) and eventually her age (18:11). Others were moral, like the incidents in Egypt (12:10-20) and the one with Hagar (16:1-16). On th...
Keep ReadingIn Genesis 18:1-15, Abraham was met by three visitors: God himself and two angels. After being treated to Abraham’s remarkable hospitality, God told him that his promise to give him and Sarah a son would be fulfilled in a year. In response to Sarah’s skeptical laughter, God reminds her that because he is God, nothing is impossible for him....
Keep ReadingIn Genesis 17, God gave Abram several new details regarding the covenant he had made with him in chapter 15. First, Abram was to be the father of not just one nation but many, so God changed his name to “Abraham” which means “father of a multitude”. Additionally, kings would come from him, this covenant would be an everlasting one that included his descendants, and...
Keep ReadingGod’s plan for Abram has been slowly revealed in stages. First, Abram was promised that he would become a great nation and that his descendants would occupy the land of Canaan (12:1-9). Later, God clarified that this nation would come from Abram’s biological son, not an adopted heir, and he made a covenant with Abram to fulfill his promise (15:1-21). In Genesis 17, God...
Keep ReadingINTRODUCTION In Genesis 15, Abram believed that God would fulfill the promise of offspring (12:2) through his servant Eliezer (15:2-3), probably assuming he was too old to physically have a child. But God made it explicitly clear that Abram himself would have a son. But the passage of time continued to put a strain on him and Sarai, and chapter 16 presents us with an ex...
Keep ReadingAfter his military victory against Chedorlaomer’s armies, Abram was met by two kings: Melchizedek, the king of Salem, and the unnamed king of Sodom. While Melchizedek celebrated Abram’s victory and blessed him, the king of Sodom offered him a business transaction: “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” (Genesis 14:21) Not wanting to be indebted to ...
Keep ReadingINTRODUCTION After a "trial of abundance" in which the land was not big enough to accommodate both Abram and Lot's possessions, Abram graciously offered to let Lot choose whatever portion of the land of Canaan he wished to dwell in. Instead, Lot chose to leave the land of promise and dwell near the beautiful (but ungodly) city of Sodom. MAIN POINT Love inconvenien...
Keep ReadingAfter failing to trust God to provide for him in famine and a disastrous trip to Egypt, Abraham returns to the land of promise and worships God again. Back in Canaan, he now faces a new test....
Keep ReadingINTRODUCTION In obedience to God’s costly call, Abraham left his family and homeland to go to a new land that God would show him. Upon arrival, God promised to give this land to Abraham’s offspring. In response, Abraham worshipped God....
Keep ReadingAfter the flood, God told Noah and his descendants to “the fill the earth” (Gen. 9:1). Instead, they proudly settled in one place and attempted to build the tower of Babel (11:1-9). In judgment, God confused their language, causing them to separate from one another and form the nations of the earth (Gen. 10). Following the account of Babel is a genealogy (11:10-32) tha...
Keep ReadingINTRODUCTION Jude's short letter has been called by at least one scholar as the "most neglected book in the New Testament." That may be due in part to how short it is and its being tucked away near the back of the New Testament. Nevertheless, this short letter contains God's very words which are given to us for our good, and therefore we should pay close attention to it. ...
Keep ReadingAfter God created the world, after Adam and Eve sinned, then what? Join us for our sermon series on Genesis 4-11 as we see how sin escalates from Cain and Abel through the flood to the Tower of Babel. You can pick up a hard copy on Sunday morning if you prefer. Many Community Groups take a break during the summer, so this is a great resource to encourage and equip you to ...
Keep ReadingIn this final section of the Sermon on the Mount so far, Jesus has used a series of contrasts to demand a response from his audience. They are to choose the narrow road as opposed to the wide road (7:13-14), listen to true teachers as opposed to false ones (7:15-20), and to do God’s will over and against merely professing to love him (7:21-23). Jesus turns to one more co...
Keep ReadingEvery good sermon closes with a call to action. Having established what life in the Kingdom of Heaven is to look like (Matthew 5:17-7:12), Jesus now invites us to choose whether we will follow the path he has laid out in this Sermon or the way of the world. ...
Keep ReadingAfter instructing his followers not to judge others, Jesus begins to close out the main body of the Sermon on the Mount with an appeal for his followers to regularly approach their heavenly father in prayer....
Keep ReadingAs Jesus begins to wind down his sermon, he returns to the theme of hypocrisy that dominated 6:1-18. In this case, he deals with hypocrisy in the way that believers address sin in each other’s lives....
Keep ReadingIn Matthew 6:19-24, Jesus addressed our values, the things we treasure. This leads quite naturally to the subject of anxiety, for if our heart is where our treasure is (v. 21), and if our treasure is something on earth that can be lost, then our hearts will always be restless with worry that our treasure might be taken from us....
Keep ReadingA major theme in the Sermon on the Mount is how different Jesus’ followers are to be from the rest of the world and what role our distinctiveness plays in God’s mission. In 6:1-18, Jesus illustrated the Christian’s distinctiveness in terms of his devotional life. Now he addresses our perspective and values. As citizens of the kingdom, the things we value (vv. 19-24) ...
Keep ReadingJesus spent much of Matthew 5 illustrating the principle he stated back in 5:20: that his followers’ righteousness should be an inner one that delights to obey God’s commandments. This theme of inner righteousness carries over into this next section (Matthew 6:1-18) where Jesus contrasts hypocritical and authentic faith. In 6:1, he states a principle and illustrates it...
Keep ReadingIn his discussion on prayer so far, Jesus has critiqued two methods. In contrast to the Pharisees, Christian prayer should be sincere rather than hypocritical. In contrast to the pagans with their multitude of gods, Christian prayer should be purposeful and direct, knowing full well that we are addressing our Father. To drive home his point, Jesus now gives his listeners a...
Keep ReadingIn Matthew 5:20, Jesus said that his followers’ righteousness should exceed that of the Pharisees who were considered by many to be the pinnacle of godliness. For the rest of the chapter, he illustrates the kind of righteousness he’s calling for by contrasting the true meaning of various Old Testament laws with how they were being misapplied by the Pharisees. In these ...
Keep ReadingThe Pharisees thought they had discovered loopholes in several laws of the Old Testament. They won’t murder, but they’ll hate. They won’t commit adultery, but they’ll lust. In this section, Jesus calls them out on their attempts to justify adultery and lying....
Keep ReadingTo many in Jesus’ day, the Pharisees were the pinnacle of righteousness. It was shocking then to hear Jesus tell his followers that they must have a greater righteousness than them. The Pharisees’ problem though was that their righteousness was often only outward, whereas Jesus’ followers were called to inward righteousness as well. The remainder of chapter 5 (vv. 21...
Keep ReadingMatthew 5:21-48 is made up of six examples of the “greater righteous” that Jesus calls his followers to; a righteousness that is not just external but internal. In this second example, Jesus unpacks the deeper implications of the Old Testament prohibition against adultery....
Keep Reading The Sermon on the Mount contains some of the most well-known, loved, and even challenging sections of the entire Bible. As we continue to walk through these chapters, here are some resources we recommend if you’d like to do further study....
Keep ReadingIn the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:1-12), Jesus described the characteristics of the Kingdom of Heaven’s citizens. Shockingly, the kind of people God values in his Kingdom are quite different than the kind of people the world values. Jesus now turns to address the role that his followers are to play in a world that deems their lifestyle undesirable and perhaps even dangerous....
Keep ReadingJesus has taught his disciples and the crowds who it is that belongs in the kingdom of Heaven (vv. 3-12) and what their role in this world looks like (vv. 13-16). But what role does the law play in the lives of those Jesus has been calling “blessed”? Jesus now turns to address how the Old Testament fits in with what he has been saying....
Keep ReadingIn the Old Testament, God told Abraham that he would bless all the nations of the world. As his descendants grew into the nation of Israel, God made it clear that they would bless the nations by modeling God’s character for them, and to do this, they needed to be holy, or “set apart” from them. But instead of being different from the kingdoms around them, Israel cons...
Keep ReadingHaving addressed the major issues and questions of the Corinthian church, Paul brings his letter to a close with instructions regarding the collection for the Jerusalem church, his own travel plans, and personal greetings....
Keep ReadingIn the first eleven verses of 1 Corinthians 15, Paul emphatically stressed the historical reality behind Jesus’ resurrection as well as the central place it holds in the gospel message itself, a message which is “of first importance”. It is crucial for the Corinthians to understand how important the resurrection is, and Paul will now explain why....
Keep ReadingBefore closing out his letter, Paul devotes an impressive fifty-eight verses to the topic of the resurrection, and it’s not until verse 12 that we learn why: some in the church were saying that “there is no resurrection of the dead”. Paul spends the first eleven verses highlighting how crucial Jesus’ resurrection is to the gospel itself and how well-attested it is....
Keep ReadingThe importance of some spiritual gifts were being exaggerated in Corinth while others were minimized. Those with more “impressive” gifts saw their gifts as proof of their spiritual superiority and as a means of serving themselves rather than others. So far in this section, Paul has reminded the church that God has given them numerous indispensable gifts (ch. 12), and t...
Keep ReadingMany in the church at Corinth were exaggerating the importance of certain spiritual gifts such as tongues, prophecy, and knowledge, and the church was fracturing because of this. Those with these gifts deemed themselves more important than those who didn’t, and those who didn’t were tempted to feel useless and unimportant in the church. In chapter 12, Paul reminded the...
Keep ReadingThe Corinthians found no shortage of things to be divided over. There was Team Paul vs. Team Apollos (1:12), weak Christians vs. strong Christian (chs. 8-10), and wealthy Corinthians vs. poor Corinthians (11:17-34). In chapters 12-14 we’re introduced to yet another point of division: spiritual gifts. Instead of appreciating the many ways God gifted his people, many in th...
Keep ReadingSo far, Paul has written to the Corinthians about divisions (1:10-4:21), sexual immorality (chs. 5-7), and Christian freedom (chs. 8-10). In this next section of his letter (chs. 11-14), he turns to address how the Corinthians should conduct themselves in the context of public worship, beginning with their conduct regarding head coverings and the Lord’s Supper....
Keep ReadingPaul has used the controversial issue of eating in pagan temples to teach on Christian freedom and love. In chapter 8, he argued that Christ-like love forbids us to do anything, however lawful, if it will harm other believers. We ought to be more concerned with building each other up than asserting our “rights”. In chapter 9, he pointed to himself as an example of this...
Keep ReadingPaul began this section of his letter (8:1-11:1) by addressing foods sacrificed to idols and emphasized the priority of sacrificing one’s rights for the good of the “weaker” brother who could not eat those foods with a clear conscience. Love for others, he said, should take precedent over our “rights”. Paul now turns to show how he has modeled this in his own lif...
Keep ReadingIn chapters 5-7, Paul addressed issues relating to sexuality. In addition to being sexually promiscuous, Corinth was also steeped in idol-worship, and Paul now turns in this section to address how to live faithfully in such a culture (8:1-11:1). Specifically, he addresses the matter of eating food that’s been sacrificed to idols. In doing so, he addresses the more founda...
Keep ReadingFirst-century Corinth was well-known for its sexual immorality, so it was no surprise that Paul had to address reports of it within the church (1 Cor. 5-6). Others in the church, however, perhaps as an over-reaction to Corinth’s blatant immorality, promoted an ascetic lifestyle which looked down on sex, even within marriage. Paul now turns to address this group in the ch...
Keep ReadingIn 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, Paul rebuked the church for its failure to deal seriously with the sin of the of sexually immoral man in their midst. He concluded by saying that churches are responsible to pass judgment among themselves. In 6:1-11, Paul expands on this topic and rebukes them for “outsourcing” judgment to unbelieving courts. ...
Keep ReadingPaul has been emphatic that the gospel stands opposed to worldly thinking or “wisdom” (1:18-25). The cross, which demands a humble confession of our own helplessness, is at odds with and offensive to the Greek understanding of wisdom and power. As evidence of this, Paul pointed out that the church was predominantly made up of Corinth’s poor and unlearned (1:26-31), a...
Keep ReadingThough Paul has already addressed sexual immorality in chapter 5, his main emphasis there was not so much on the sin itself but how the church should respond to the man sleeping with his stepmother. In this section, Paul addresses sexual immorality more broadly, urging the church to flee from it and to glorify God with their bodies....
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The book of Ecclesiastes teaches us that "there is nothing new under the sun," and that's certainly true of sexual sin. From Genesis to Revelation we see sin's effects in this area and are reminded that all generations experience temptation to sexual immorality. Yet the unlimited and anonymous access to pornography that technology has provided has allowed this ancient sin ...
Keep ReadingFirst Corinthians is Paul’s response both to reports he had heard about the church and to questions the church itself had sent him. Having addressed the report of divisions (1:10-4:21), he now turns to address reports of immorality within the church (5:1-6:20)....
Keep ReadingThis week's passage: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 Discussion guide...
Keep ReadingINTRODUCTION Division within the church is the first issue Paul addresses in 1 Corinthians, and it's an issue that dominates the letter's first four chapters. Having mentioned the divisions in 1:10-17, Paul went on to argue that worldly wisdom lay at the root of them, and that such wisdom is at odds with godly wisdom (1:18-2:6). He then went on to show that only the Holy ...
Keep ReadingINTRODUCTION Having established that the divisions within the Corinthian church were the result of worldly wisdom and that such "wisdom" is incompatible with godly wisdom, Paul now brings this first major section of the letter to a close by reminding his readers how they are to view him as an apostle and as their "father". MAIN POINT Christians should not boast about wh...
Keep ReadingIn Genesis 37 we're introduced to the tense family dynamic between Jacob's children that culminates in Joseph's betrayal and enslavement. The final verse of the chapter tells us that he ended up in Potiphar's house, and Genesis 39 picks the story up from there. But between these two chapters is one that can feel unnecessary. Despite the presence of one familiar face from ...
Keep ReadingI don't know any Christian who would disagree with the statement, “We should love all people." Scratch that, I don’t know anybody – religious or not – who would disagree with it. What’s not to like about it? Wouldn’t it solve the world’s problems if everyone just loved each other?...
Keep ReadingWhile we can never fully understand how sovereignty and responsibility interact with one another, the Bible provides us with some relevant insights about how predestination is compatible with free will....
Keep ReadingWhy did Paul write these chapters? What were they meant to accomplish and how do they fit in with Romans as a whole?...
Keep ReadingUnderstanding what Paul means when he says, “…all Israel will be saved,” is something that has divided Christian readers for a long time. Brilliant, godly men and women even within the same denominations and theological camps are often at odds on how to best interpret what this phrase means....
Keep ReadingYou’re not going find this verse on a coffee mug at your local Christian bookstore. If we’re honest, it makes God sound unfair, doesn’t it? Especially when we take in to account that God’s treatment of Jacob and Esau is something he determined before they’d even been born “and had done nothing either good or bad” (Romans 9:11). So did God just decide to hate ...
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