Christ – The True and Better Christmas!
Jesus is the focal point of all creation and human history, and true hope, peace, joy, and love are given in Him.
Colossians 1:15-20
Christ The True and Better King
Jesus is the True and Better David, the Great Shepherd-Warrior-King Who cares for, protects, delivers, and rules over God’s people, working out all things to God’s glory and their good now and into eternity.
Colossians 1:15-20
Christ the True and Better Deliverer
Jesus the Anointed One fills out the redemptive patterns (or “types”) in Genesis 22, revealing that our salvation rests on Jesus’s perfect, lifelong, patient, vicarious obedience to the point of death a cross and on his vindicating resurrection from the dead.
Hebrews 3:1-6 (ESV)
Christ – The True and Better Man
We live in a world made by two men. Adam’s sin plunges the world into chaos and curse and gives us an inheritance of sin, shame, guilt, hell, and death. But Christ comes as the true and better Adam to undo Adam’s sin and our’s, and give us new life.
1 Corinthians 15:45-49
Glory Bound!
The parable of the sower, the seed, and the soils teaches the secret of the Kingdom of God – that it has broken into the world in the Person, teaching, and work of Jesus, that is rejected by many, but that the Word of Jesus will bear great fruit in the lives of those who hear and embrace it.
Mark 4:1-20
Forming A Grateful Soul
The parable of the sower, the seed, and the soils teaches the secret of the Kingdom of God – that it has broken into the world in the Person, teaching, and work of Jesus, that is rejected by many, but that the Word of Jesus will bear great fruit in the lives of those who hear and embrace it.
Mark 4:1-20
The Gift of God’s Word
God has given us His Word, the Bible, to feed us, guide us, point us to Christ, and show us how to live in a manner that is pleasing to Him and for our good.
Matthew 4:4; 2 Timothy 3:14-17
The Disciple’s Cross
Disciples are called to follow Jesus, which means they must deny themselves and take up their cross, enduring persecution and suffering in this age while looking forward to the eternal reward they will be granted at the return of Christ.
Mark 8:34-38
King’s Cross
Jesus is the Messianic King Who came to suffer, be rejected, die, and be raised so that He might save us from our sin.
Mark 8:31-33
The Good Portion
We can be distracted by many things, even good things, but fellowship with the Lord should always be our top priority.
Luke 10:38-42
Growing Sight
The two-stage healing of the blind man is a living parable for how spiritual blindness was being healed in the disciples – and is healed in people through the ages.
Mark 8:22-30
Do You Still Not Understand?
Even after Jesus miraculously fed a multitude a second time in the wilderness, the Pharisees refused to believe and the disciples still lacked understanding of Jesus and His ways.
Mark 8:1-21
He Does All Things Well
Jesus’ miraculous healings were signs that He was the promised Messiah, the foretaste of His renewal and restoration of all creation for the glory of God.
Mark 7:31-37
Humble Faith
The Syro-Phoenician woman is a paragon of humility and faith, accepting her utter need for God’s grace and actively seeking until she receives it.
Mark 7:24-30
On Mission Together!
The parable of the sower, the seed, and the soils teaches the secret of the Kingdom of God – that it has broken into the world in the Person, teaching, and work of Jesus, that is rejected by many, but that the Word of Jesus will bear great fruit in the lives of those who hear and embrace it.
Mark 4:1-20
Life Is Better Together!
The Church is called to be a community that worships together, shares life together, and is on mission together.
Acts 2:42-47
God’s Law in the New Covenant
In the new covenant, the ceremonial law has been fulfilled by Jesus and is no longer in effect, but the moral law, which is a reflection of God’s unchanging character, continues to define sin and righteousness for all humans.
Mark 7:14-23
Truly Clean
Jesus teaches us that impurity, which is the violation of God’s moral law, arises from inside our hearts rather than from outside sources, and therefore true cleansing is not a matter of external religious rites but rather an internal change of heart.
Mark 7:14-23
Scripture and Tradition
Jesus taught that Scripture alone is the final authority for God’s people; therefore all traditions and extra-biblical teachings and practices are helpful only when they clarify, support, uphold, and submit to the Scripture.
Mark 7:1-13
The Good Builder
When we pursue Christ, we can withstand the storm, be cleansed from our sin, and grow wise as we become more like Him.
Matthew 7:24-27
What is the Lord’s Supper?
The Lord’s Supper is the sacramental meal Christ commanded all believers to eat, in which the death of Christ for our salvation is represented in the breaking of the bread and the pouring out of the cup, and through which the believer spiritually feeds upon Christ, giving thanks to God as the elements are received in faith.
Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:16
Water Walker
Jesus refuses the false expectations of the crowd, but reveals His true identity to His disciples by walking on the water, and confirms it through His healing power.
Mark 6:45-56
The Good Shepherd
Jesus is the Good Shepherd who provides physical and spiritual rest, nourishment, and care, even in the wilderness.
Mark 6:30-44
Pledge Your Head To Heaven
The beheading of John the Baptist is a sober reminder to Christians of the difficulties and costs of the mission we have been given by Jesus, but we must not shrink from calling others to repentance and faith.
Mark 6:7-30
Rejection and Resurgence
The way of God’s Kingdom and Word causes scandal and offense to many, but God calls His people to continue to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom and minister to push back the kingdom of darkness.
Mark 6:1-13