The Risen, Reigning, and Returning Christ
John is given a vision of Jesus as the Risen Christ, Who reigns over everything, and Who will return to complete God’s Eternal Plan.
Revelation 1:12-18; 19:11-16
Knowing Christ
Christ is the perfect image in character, quality, and power of God with whom we are reconciled by Christ’s death on the cross.
Colossians 1:15-22
Rest and Peace – The Heart of the Reformation
Understanding that we are saved by grace, justified by faith, forgiven through Christ, according to God’s word, to the glory of God is the key to the Christian faith and to entering God’s rest.
Romans 5:1-2 (ESV)
Disciples, Water Baptism, and the Local Church
Disciples are those who have personally responded to Christ in repentance and faith, obey His command to be baptized, and are vital members of a local church.
Acts 2:36-47
The Samaritan Woman
Jesus pursues us, meets our deepest need, and offers new life in His Spirit as a free gift regardless of our condition.
John 4:4-26
Born By Grace
Rebirth is radical spiritual transformation and a free gift from the Father, by the Son, through the
Spirit.John 3:1-15
Remember the Mission
Every miracle Jesus did, every parable Jesus told, and everything he said or did was to reveal God’s mission for his people. The people benefited, but the point was advancing the mission.
Mark 2:1-12 (CSB)
Purity in an Impure Age
The world is constantly working to press us into its mold. Jesus promises the blessing of seeing God if, in humility, we allow Him to purify our hearts through single-mindedly focusing on Him.
Matthew 5:8 ESV
You Belong
When a person is in Christ they are admitted into the body of Christ, a world wide community of faith. The next and most important step is to become a member of a local body!
1 Peter 2:9-10; 1 Peter 5:1-2; 1 Corinthians 1:2
The Way – Walking By the Spirit
The Spirit enables us to walk in the way of righteousness, enabling us to overcome the flesh in a way the law never could, so that we can become more like Christ.
Galatians 5:16-26
The Power of Praise
John’s vision of a heavenly picture of praise is the model we must emulate in order to see the Power of Praise in our lives.
Revelation 4:6-11 (ESV)
Newness of Life
Christians receive newness of life through the death and resurrection of Christ, and are empowered to walk in this newness through the bonds of grace.
Romans 6:1-18 (ESV)
Freedom From Death Through the Second Adam
Adam’s sin brought us slavery to death, but Jesus, the Second Adam, has conquered and gives freedom from death to His people through the resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:20-28
Authentic Community
Authentic community requires in person, face to face relationships rather than those mediated by technology.
2 John 12-13
UnAuthentic
Believers must be prepared to resist unauthentic teachings that distort the Person and work of Jesus Christ and thus create a false Gospel.
2 John 7-11
Authentic Love
Authentic love is rooted in the character of God, displayed in the life and death of Christ, described in God’s Law, and is an essential trait of the obedient Christian life.
2 John 1-6
Authentic Truth
Authentic truth has been revealed in Jesus Christ, preserved for us in Scripture, is experienced by Christians through the powerful Presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and is displayed in a life of obedience to God.
2 John 1-4
Authentic Blessing
God gives the blessing of grace, mercy, and peace to His people, the Church, through Jesus Christ.
2 John 1:1-3
Sola Scriptura – Scripture Alone
The Scriptures provide satisfaction for the Christian soul.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
The Advent of Life in Christ – Christmas Eve 2020
Christ has come that we might experience true, full life, now and eternally.
Romans 5:1-5
The Advent of Joy – The Life of Joy
All people are motivated by the search for joy and happiness, but the route to real joy is through the shadow’s valley and into the wide-open arms of your Lord.
John 15: 9-11
The Advent of Love
God showed His love for us by sending His Son to sacrificially lay down His life for us, and we are to follow His example by laying down our lives for others.
John 15:13; 1 John 4:7-12
The Advent of Peace – It’s an Inside Job
Peace comes from within through the strength that Christ provides, not from our external circumstances or possessions.
Luke 8:22-25
The Church – God’s People on Mission Together
Question 71: Are Christians only called to be part of the universal Church?
The Church has been given the Spirit to empower us to be on mission together, taking the Gospel forth and displaying the love of God to others from our location to the ends of the earth.
Luke 4:16-19; Luke 24:45-49
The Church – The Community of Servanthood
Question 71: Are Christians only called to be part of the universal Church?
The local church community is where we are taught humble servanthood as a virtue, where we practice acts of servanthood, and where our souls are shaped so that our whole life becomes characterized by the attitude and practices of servanthood.
Galatians 5:13-15