The God of the Bible

Jeff Gordon
Revelation 1:1-20

God communicates through John to write to the seven churches in Asia about their new standing in Christ and how they can anticipate His return. John's vision of Christ's deity and a closer look at the elements in the vision reveal Christ's power and motivations as the perfect sacrifice and ultimate master of death.

Standing Firm Against Legalism

Ryan Lowery
Philippians 3:1-16

Paul warns the Philippian church about legalism, a works based approach to drawing close to God. Legalism has negative effects on Christians, including being contagious to others and destroying our intimacy with God. Paul looks back on his own life to warn them of these dangers and encourage the Philippian believers to stand firm in their new identity in Christ and operate under God's grace to grow with Him.

Freedom

Jeff Gordon
Galatians 5:1-15

The Bible teaches that Christ saved us so that we could actually experience freedom. Instead of subjecting ourselves to slavery. This freedom means that we can approach God freely, follow Him with our lives, be open about our sin, and choose to serve others in love.

Supernatural Living

Jeff Gordon
Galatians 4:8-31

Paul turns to the example of Isaac and Ishmael to demonstrate the difference between God's two covenants. Sarah represents the heavenly Jerusalem, the free woman who is our spiritual mother, while Hagar represents slavery to the Law. Believers should choose to live as those who are free from the Law.

Leading Home Group Evangelism

Doug Patch
1 Corinthians 3:5-9

Leading home group evangelism can be challenging to say the least, but it can first be helped by avoiding some common errors. Several general principles that help promote this include having leaders agree on the need for change and beginning change with themselves. There is no rigid formula, but there are steps we can take to approach the group in an effective way to motivate believers. This workshop presents five key steps to summarize an effective approach.

Sexual Sin and Grace

Brian Gardner
1 Corinthians 3:5-9

A false belief around sexual sin is that behavior modification or restrictions have the power to change people. They do not. There are four key dynamics that result in lasting heart change: knowing sin, hating sin, knowing the total forgiveness and grace of God, and being astounded at the love of God.

The "Jesus" Test

Doug Pollock
Luke 5:29-32

In our culture today, we get tested on things all the time. But there also exists the "Jesus" test, a test in which not even all who are outspoken Christians pass. Many people think they are passing the Jesus test by obeying religious rituals and withdrawing from sinful people who may rub off on them. These people could not be more mistaken, as it is Jesus who calls us to love the sinners as he did himself. We must recognize that we are all sinners that needed saving, and embrace befriending the "sinners" of our society.

Deuteronomy - Seeing God's Heart in the Old Testament

Cathy Treyens
Deuteronomy 1:1-34:12

Despite common thoughts that the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New Testament, both God's grace and His priorities are clear throughout the book of Deuteronomy. Looking at the structure and considering the historical context of this book, it is clear it is organized in such a way that God intended it to be remembered. By looking at the organization of the book as a whole, we can also see that God's grace is highlighted as the basis for the requirement of Israel's obedience to Him. His law also reflects His priorities for morality: property, then people, and God above all. Although we are under a new covenant, this Old Testament book dispels common beliefs that God was different under the old covenant, and the old covenant should, therefore, be ignored by us today.

What is the Blessing of Faith?

Jeff Gordon
Galatians 3:23-4:7

Many Christians fall into a legalistic paradigm, where they believe that they earn God's blessings by living faithfully. While a good life of blessings can be reached by living a faithful life, submission to this linear arrangement actually adds pressure and guarantees failure. The blessing of faith, as opposed to legalism, is a growing relationship with God through faith. In light of this, we should live as children of God, developing closeness with our Father in heaven.