A Ransom for Many

One of Jesus' most familiar sayings is that He (the "Son of Man") came to "give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).  In our language, "ransom" almost always implies a kidnapping or some other form of extortion.  People read this word and they think of Satan kidnapping humanity for ransom, and the blood of Jesus being the price.  But this week's message shows that the story of God ransoming us for Himself by the blood of Jesus is not a story of villainy on the part of Satan but of heroic love on the part of God.

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Prayerwalking Stephens Sunday Evening

Time: 6:00 p.m. Sunday, March 27th

Place: meet at the church, then off to the streets of Stephens

Purpose: to ask God to call hearts to Himself and claim Stephens for His Kingdom!

Prayerwalking (or prayer-driving for some) is praying "on-site with insight."  We will ask God to see these places He has called us to reach with new eyes (with His eyes), praying for God to move in these areas and do His will.  In doing this, we will gain a greater vision for the task ahead and greater love and compassion for the people in Stephens.

This is a great opportunity to pray for your neighbors, to see with new eyes the people and places God has called us to touch with the gospel, and to bond with one another as God accomplishes His purpose through us.

What's with all the blood?

There is no doubt that when you read the Bible, it is a bloody book.  Leviticus, with all its animal sacrifices and blood sanctifications, is dripping with blood.  And the apostles consistently pointed to the cross--the blood of Jesus--as the central feature of the gospel.  We have marveled in the last few months at what Jesus accomplished in his coming and in his life... why did he need to die?  Why blood?

This is the first sermon of three that will attempt to answer the question of what the blood of Jesus accomplishes for our salvation, and why blood in particular is God's requirement for the remission of sins.

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The Preaching Project: Movie Thoughts: Inception

The Preaching Project: Movie Thoughts: Inception

From the Pastor's Blog: Thoughts about reality, temptation, and hope, as it relates to the movie Inception.

Jesus is My Super Hero

Joseph has a t-shirt he wears to bed that says, "Jesus is my super hero."  Now Jesus has a lot in common with super heroes (or rather, they have a lot in common with him).  He was sent from heaven from the Father, like Superman was sent from Krypton.  He looked like one of us, but had a higher purpose and great power, and he gave himself sacrificially for the good of humanity.  And I certainly want Joe to think of Jesus as his hero.  But we are supposed to be like Jesus.  How can we be like him if he is so superhuman?  What did the author of Hebrews mean when he said Jesus was made "like his brothers in every way"?  What does it really mean to follow Jesus' example and live as he lived?  I try to answer that in this week's message, as we look into the humanity of Jesus.

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Heaven... Hell... Eternity... Evangelism...

At the beginning of Sunday's sermon, I referenced a controversy that involved a promo video for an upcoming book.  If you want to read some of my thoughts about the whole thing, check out the pastor's blog.

Freedom on the Narrow Road

One of the most neglected (and hardest to really understand) concepts from the New Testament is our freedom from the law.  It is one of the central messages of Paul, it is the undercurrent of many of Jesus' teachings about the law, and is essential for how we understand Jesus' sufficiency for our salvation. 

A lot of people think that Christianity is just a bunch of rules to follow, but that is emphatically not true.  In fact, Paul teaches that the written code (religious rules) were nailed to the cross with Jesus (Colossians 2:13-14), meaning that since Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf, rules no longer have anything to do with our acceptance before God.  So what does that mean?  Does it mean we should live however we feel like living?  Does it mean we should follow the rules anyway, just out of respect?  I do my best to scratch the surface of what this all means for us in Sunday's message...

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(By the way, the power went out for a moment and then came back on about 20 minutes into the sermon.  You will notice when it happened, but the recording is fine).

Winter Bible Study Notes Available

Our Winter Bible Study with Dr. Bill Steeger was last weekend, March 4-5.  We had a good time learning many different ways to explore Galatians.  If you are interested in using the notes from the bible study for your personal use but were unable to attend last weekend, we still have copies available at the church.

Free Audiobook Download for March

There is another free audiobook available from christianaudio.com. This month's title is The Holiness of God, by R.C. Sproul. Click below to go to the download page.

http://christianaudio.com/the-holiness-of-god-rc-sproul

Enjoy!