We’re back to our Romans series this week, exploring Romans 3:25-26 and examining why the Gospel is such remarkably good news. This passage breaks down three key aspects of this good news: how Jesus serves as our propitiation and absorbed God’s wrath through his shed blood, how salvation requires only faith rather than works, and how Christ’s sacrifice demonstrates God’s perfect righteousness and justice. Listen as Pastor Chris unpacks these profound truths, showing how the Cross allows God to be both perfectly just and graciously merciful.
As we enter a new year, we took a moment to explore 1 John 3:1-2, two profound verses that show God’s love for Christians is uniquely demonstrated in three places: the past (Christ’s rejection and crucifixion), the present (believer’s current status as God’s children), and the future (the promise of Christ’s return when believers will be transformed to be like Him). While New Year’s resolutions often fail and are forgotten, believers should never forget this radical, one-of-a-kind love that God has given specifically to those who have received Christ and believed in His name.
This week we explored Genesis 6-9, emphasizing God’s faithfulness to His promises even in judgment and salvation. These chapters trace how God punished humanity’s pervasive evil with the flood, preserved Noah and his family through the ark, and established an everlasting covenant pointing toward Jesus Christ as the ultimate Deliverer from sin and death. Listen as elder Elliot Kang unpacks how Noah’s obedient faith in God should inspire Christians today to live according to God’s promises with confidence in His complete faithfulness.
As we finished up our Christmas sermon series this week, we explored the often-overlooked figure of Simeon from Luke 2:25-35, who waited his entire life to see the promised Messiah. Simeon’s story and prophetic words over baby Jesus reveal four key truths about the Christmas message: Jesus comforts those who are weary, Jesus has come as the long-awaited anointed One, Jesus saves all people, and Jesus divides humanity based on their response to Him. Listen as Pastor Chris unpacks how the Christmas story reveals what is truly in our hearts and encourages us to reflect on the true meaning of this Christmas season.
This week we continued our Cast of Christmas series, examining Joseph’s faithful response to the birth of Jesus. Despite facing the difficult situation of Mary’s pregnancy outside of marriage, Joseph obeyed God’s command to marry her and thus became the adopted father of Jesus Christ. Listen as elder Rick Maples explores Joseph’s example and challenges us to respond with similar obedience to God’s direction in our lives.
We’re taking a break from Romans this December to delve into the Cast of Christmas. This week we examined three contrasting responses to Jesus’ birth found in Matthew 2:1-12: King Herod’s hostility driven by his desire to maintain power, the religious leaders’ apathetic indifference, and the wise men’s joyful, humble, and sacrificial worship. Listen as Pastor Chris encourages us to identify which response reflects our own hearts, and encourages us to worship King Jesus both individually and corporately this Christmas season.
Romans 3:21–24 reveals that though all humanity is hopelessly sinful and unable to achieve righteousness through the law, God has provided a perfect righteousness through Jesus Christ. This righteousness is received not by works but by faith, as God justifies sinners by His grace as a free and costly gift purchased through Christ’s redeeming sacrifice. Listen as Pastor Chris shares the hope of the gospel and the beauty of God’s grace.
This week we looked at the powerful passage in Romans 3:9-20 in which Paul presents humanity’s condition before God as a divine court case, where the argument is clear: “None is righteous, no, not one.” The counts against humanity are devastating and the verdict is final, leaving sinners with the only choice to repent and turn to Christ. Listen as elder John Hannigan calls us to face this sobering reality and rejoice in the grace of God that has saved us.
The Apostle Paul addresses difficult objections about God’s character in Romans 3:1-8, using a rhetorical debate style to defend God against accusations of being deceitful, unfaithful, and unrighteous. Through careful examination of the Mosaic Covenant and examples like King David, Paul demonstrates that God remains perfectly faithful even when judging sinners. Listen as Pastor Chris unpacks this challenging passage and shows why having an accurate view of God is the most important foundation for Christian living.
This week we discussed Romans 2:17-29, a passage that exposes the danger of religious hypocrisy. The apostle Paul asserts that outward religious practices and moral knowledge mean nothing without genuine obedience and a heart changed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Listen as Pastor Chris emphasizes that being “good” or “religious” isn’t enough for salvation, but only God can transform our hardened hearts into hearts that truly love and obey Him.
This week we discussed Romans 2:6-16, examining God’s impartial judgment where every person will be judged according to their works, with the wicked facing wrath and fury while the righteous receive eternal life. This passage emphasizes that no one can escape God’s judgment through their own efforts because all have sinned and fallen short. Listen as Pastor Chris reveals how our only hope comes through Jesus Christ, the only perfect doer of the law, absorbing the judgment that lawbreakers deserve and offering forgiveness and freedom through His sacrifice.
This week we studied Romans 2:1-5, unpacking how both openly immoral people and secretly hypocritical religious individuals stand condemned before God. This truth reveals that knowing God’s law without obeying it offers no special protection from divine judgment. Listen as Pastor Chris explains how God’s kindness is meant to lead us to genuine repentance, and warns that unrepentant hypocrisy stores up wrath for the coming day of God’s righteous judgment.
This week we wrapped up the first chapter of Romans, confronting the biblical doctrine of total depravity and God’s wrath revealed through humanity’s rebellion against Him. All people are sinners desperately in need of redemption, but the Gospel has transformative power to forgive and restore even the most broken souls. Listen as Pastor Chris explains how the emptiness of life without God is meant to drive us to hunger for the beauty found only in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.