The Christian Life

Sunday, October 13, 2019: Meaningful Experience or Spiritual Transformation?

October 9, 2019 // 0 Comments

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10) In 1 Samuel 15, God rejects Saul from being king over Israel, and in chapter 16 David is anointed to be the next monarch. David is said to be a “man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14). Of Saul, it is said, “You have rejected the word (Read More)

Sunday, October 06, 2019: On Celebration and Loss

October 3, 2019 // 0 Comments

“We are…sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:8, 10) This weekend LifePoint will do two things that, on the surface, seem to contradict one another. On Saturday, we will bury a member of our congregation who passed away a few days ago. Then on Sunday, we will celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of our church. Because (Read More)

Sunday, September 22, 2019: God’s Presence and The Tension of Grace

September 18, 2019 // 0 Comments

But Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. (Joshua 6:25) But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of (Read More)

Sunday, September 15, 2019: We Know Where The Bread Is

September 11, 2019 // 0 Comments

And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up (Read More)

Sunday, September 08, 2019: To Want Nothing More Than God Himself

September 5, 2019 // 0 Comments

And the priest shall burn all of it on the altar, as a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD. (Leviticus 1:9) At the beginning of the book of Leviticus, the Lord speaks to Moses out of the tabernacle and tells him how the people of Israel are to offer sacrifices (1:1-2). When we think of the sacrificial system in (Read More)

Sunday, September 01, 2019: Your Unfulfilled Desires Are a Blessing, Not a Tragedy

August 29, 2019 // 0 Comments

“And I pleaded with the LORD at that time, saying, ‘O Lord GOD, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours? Please let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and (Read More)

Sunday, August 25, 2019: Putting Anxious Fear in Its Place

August 21, 2019 // 0 Comments

…for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7) There are two basic kinds of fear. There’s an instinctive fear, which forms in us when we find ourselves in a dangerous situation. Our bodies will run on adrenaline to counter this kind of fear. The second kind of fear, however, is anxious (Read More)

Sunday, August 11, 2019: We Come to Church Because We Need to Die

August 7, 2019 // 0 Comments

Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I (Read More)

Sunday, August 04, 2019: Gathered Worship Confirms Our Place in God’s Purpose

August 1, 2019 // 0 Comments

But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. (Read More)

Sunday, June 16, 2019: Participation in Gathered Worship Renews Your Mind

June 12, 2019 // 0 Comments

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Read More)