Story of the Church - Middle Ages, part 2: The Challenge of Islam

In the Middle Ages, Islam was born and expanding rapidly and aggressively, mostly over territory that had been under the influence of the church.  The church responded with the Crusades.  They were an utter failure.  Now we face a new challenge from Islam; it is at the center of our national debate.  How can we do better than our spiritual forefathers?


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Story of the Church - Middle Ages, part 1: Human Nature

"Follow Your Heart"

It seems to be the official advice of American culture reinforced across all corners of our culture from Apple to Disney to graduation speeches.  But is it really good advice?  What does the Bible say about human nature?  Are we basically good or basically evil?  

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Story of the Church - Councils and Creeds, part 3: The Nature of Christ

Once the doctrine of the Trinity was affirmed, it led to natural questions about the nature of Christ in His humanity.  The answers to these questions give us understanding to how we can actually live like Jesus, as God has promised and as He has called us to live.


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Story of the Church - Councils and Creeds, part 1: The Canon

How do we know the Bible is God's Word?  How do we know the books we have in the Bible are inspired?  How can we trust the Bible is complete and no books were left out?  As the authority of the Bible is being questioned, we need to answer these questions by examining how the Bible came together, how it was written, and how it has been preserved.


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Story of the Church: Savage Wolves, part 3: The Persecutors

Persecution is at an all-time high worldwide, and Satan wields his weapon of fear against Christians all over the world, including right here.  "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12).

So what is the cause of this fierce opposition?  What does God expect of believers facing fearful situations?  And what is our comfort?  We looked in to Revelation and other passages to answer these questions.

(Revelation 12-13, Hebrews 10, Romans 8)


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Story of the Church: Savage Wolves, part 2: The Gnostics

When Paul was nearing the end of his ministry, he warned of the "savage wolves" that would come after and threaten the church.  Paul was primarily referring to false teachers.  This week, we looked at one set of false teachers who infected the early church called the Gnostics.

Gnosticism was a short-lived heresy with lasting effects.  In fact, the fundamental error of Gnosticism--the separation of the physical from the spiritual--still infects the beliefs of many Christians today.  This week we looked at three devastating consequences of separating the physical from the spiritual in your thinking...


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The Birth of the Church, part 9: The Apostle's Heart

It's been almost two months since we've been able to post a sermon, due to technical problems we were not able to work out.  We've got a new way to record now, so we hope that now more sermons will be missed.

What do you think of the apostle Paul?  Who was he?  What was he like?  How people answer that question often determines how they look at the church.  This week we look into the heart of the apostle Paul...


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