Luke 2:22-35 NLT It was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. (23) The law of the Lord says, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord.” (24) So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord - “either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was right...

READ: Luke 1:26-38 Mary was a normal person, like you and like me. She was chosen by God because she found favor with Him, and she had a divine encounter that changed her life. Because she was a normal person like us, we can look at what she did and learn from her so we can grow in our own walk with God. Her story highlights some truths and how to respond to them: TRUTH: When God speaks we don’t always get it RESPONSE: Bring questions and doubts to God When the angel of the Lord spoke t...

READ: Isaiah 9:2-7, Genesis 1-3, Luke 2 In the final part of the “Dear Church” series, the focus is on the practical application of deep theological truths in everyday life. 1. The reality of chaotic darkness It wasn’t always supposed to be this way. The reality of the chaotic darkness was never the plan. In fact, God had a much different idea in mind for how we were supposed to experience life and relationships. Humans made a choice to believe the Deceiver instead of the Cre...

READ: Matthew 1:1-17 In Matthew 1, the genealogy of Jesus is more than a long list of names - it’s an announcement that Christmas is God stepping into real, messy human history. Jesus enters a broken family line filled with failures, outsiders, and complicated stories so He can redeem broken people. 1. Jesus has a family with failures, not perfect faith. Abraham lied, Isaac repeated his father’s sins, Jacob deceived, Jush sold his brother into slavery, David committed adultery...

READ: Romans 12:9-21 In the final part of the “Dear Church” series, the focus is on the practical application of deep theological truths in everyday life. 1. AUTHENTIC LIVING Fake living is exhausting; trying to be something you’re not is tiring. Authentic living is energizing. It means being honest about your weaknesses, doubts, and pain, yet trusting God. Jesus modeled this by being open with his friends about his grief before the cross. Paul’s instructi...

READ: Romans 12:1-8 When we take a moment to think about the intricacies of the universe and the divine timing of events in our lives we come to the conclusion that our God is AWESOME. Everything comes from God. Everything exists because his power allows it to exist. Everything is intended to bring Him glory. When we really get that, the only way we can respond is by giving our whole selves to Him. Our spiritual, mental, financial, relational, occupational and yes, even physical selves....

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2). When you hear these powerful statements, what goes through your mind? Do you immediately think, “YES! AMEN! I am free in Christ Jesus!” Or…if we’re being honest, maybe some of us quietly think, “I know what the Bible says, but I don’t feel free today.” Jesus said that when we know the truth, the truth w...

As followers of Jesus, we are offered a new way of living…in the Spirit! “But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.” (Romans 7:6) We are not only freed from the power of sin, but we are EMPOWERED to do good works in the name of Jesus! Following Jesus is not about following a list of do’s and don’ts an...

READ: Romans 6:11-18 We are saved by grace because of the death and resurrection of Jesus. The work on the cross has granted us access to God and we can now be reconciled to Him. Yay! But that is not the only thing that happened at the cross. Because the power of the gospel is not just a promise of eternity with God, but also a new life here on earth. And the new life starts when we finally realize our new identity: We are no longer slaves to sin Before we put our faith in Jesus, we wer...

read: Romans 5:1-11 There are amazing benefits to being “made right” (justification) in God’s sight by faith in Jesus. BENEFIT 1: Peace with God We are moved from being God’s enemies and strangers to friend. This peace is undeserved privilege - a gift from God, not something earned through good deeds or religious efforts. It means that when you believe, you belong. BENEFIT 2: Purpose in Pain Being “made right” doesn’t make life easier, but it give pain a purpose. ...

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Romans 4:1-5 NLT The key to overcoming the struggle of performance-based faith is to understand that true righteousness comes from trusting what God has already done for us, not from what we do for God. We often have an internal drive to please others and meet their expectations. While this drive can lead to success in some areas, too often it can affect our approach to faith, leading to a performance-based faith where we wonder, “Am I doing enough?” In Romans 4, the Apostle Paul...

Romans 1:16-17 “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes –the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, ‘It is through faith that a righteous person has life.’” (Hab. 2:4) Romans 3:23 - “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Everyone’s got sin: I...

Luke 10:25-37 "Be the Neighbor" challenges the traditional question of "Who is my neighbor?" posed by a religious expert to Jesus. Instead of giving a definition, Jesus flips the question by telling the story of the Good Samaritan, instructing us to be the neighbor. This isn't just about being a good person, but about putting our faith into action. Being a neighbor means meeting a need, and it requires three things: energy, time, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Energy: The Good Samaritan di...

THE POWER OF YOUR STORY Jesus knew the power of a story. When a religious expert tried to trap Him with the question, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus didn’t just give him a simple answer - he told a story. IN the same way, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit not just to debate or preach, but to share our own stories and bear witness to God’s goodness and faithfulness. Remember, every number has a name, every name has a story, and every story matters to Jesus. Your story is...

A religious leader comes to Jesus with a question. But it’s not really a question because he already knows the answer. The problem is not that he doesn’t know. The problem is that he doesn’t do it. Yes, the way to eternal life is loving God and loving our neighbor. We know that. But do we do it? If we’re honest, most of us would have to say “no.” The story of the good samaritan starts with two people who had excuses to not get involved in someone else’s pain. They twisted God’s word to justif...

In Luke 10:25-29, before Jesus tells the Parable of the Good Samaritan, an expert in the law tests Him with a question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds by pointing back to the commandments to love God and love your neighbor. But when the man presses further - “Who is my neighbor?” - Jesus tells the story. This “story before the story” show us three truths: 1. Every story has tough tests: Following Jesus means our faith will be tested, not to ma...

There’s some people that just make us feel uncomfortable and trigger our insecurities. Why is that? It’s because we’re insecure. That’s why we compare and compete. We’re insecure in our identity, our value, and our calling, and so we look around to see what everyone else is doing. And we feel secure as long as we feel like we’re better/richer/smarter/prettier than the rest. When someone who has more shows up, we feel small and separate ourselves from them. It’s a fake kind of security that is...

No matter where you are on your spiritual journey, everyone is welcome! Our faith is more of a journey than a trip. While a trip is a planned event with a specific destination, a journey is an adventure focused on experience and transformation. 1. Everyone is called to the journey. Everyone is on a path of twists and turns, ups and downs. Social media often shows a “highlight reel”, making it seem like others have it all together, but the truth is everyone has their own stru...

We are all searching for fulfillment in life. We want to pursue something bigger than ourselves. Whatever it takes as long as it is worth it. Whether it is by accomplishing through our works, the things that we have, we start to realize that Jesus is inviting us to a deeper calling that goes beyond our comfort zones. We will look at an interaction a man had with Jesus and learn that to follow Jesus means leaving everything behind because He is worth it. Support the show 📍 English Worship J...