Caleb and Jeremy Freeman • John 11
Chris Wall • Colossians 2:11-17 The church at Colossae was dealing with false teaching coming from multiple fronts. There was the challenge of oriental mysticism, astrology, philosophy, and in this passage, it confronts the Jewish legalism. These Jewish Gnostics were pushing the church to submit to the Old Testament laws and customs. The message of the gospel brought about a rapid shift in traditions. You think we have traditions, imagine traditions that could be traced back to Moses. That is a long time. This gnostic legalism believed keeping the Jewish law would help believers be more spiritual. If they were circumcised, kept the dietary laws, observed the holy days, then God would be more pleased and they could be among the spiritual elite. Paul made it clear that the Christian is not bound by any of those requirements. Keeping these laws really do not do any good when it comes to your walk with the Lord. Jesus Christ alone is sufficient for every spiritual need. In Christ alone, our lives are complete. Our identity is found in our relationship with Christ, not in the rules we keep. ...
Chad Balthrop • 1 Peter 1:17-25 NKJV It doesn’t seem fair. The food that tastes the best is bad for us. The things we want to buy are more than we can afford. The life we’ve always wanted seems just outside our reach. Yet God reminds us. There’s more to this life than this moment. Every minor decision paves the way to monumental mistakes or builds memories that tell a story you can’t wait to read again. By the grace of God, your life has been transformed. You don’t have to live by the world’s rules anymore. You’ve received a noble name and with it come all the promises of God. ...
Chad Balthrop • Matthew 6:19-21 Who do you trust with your heart? We have a choice. You can invest your life in something that is temporary where time deteriorates and hurtful people take - OR - You can entrust your heart to something that is timeless. You can give yourself into the hands of the only one able to protect your heart from the ravages of time and the hurts of people. The position of your possessions becomes the condition of your heart. ...
