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Why God's Word Matters

Jim Leffel

Isaiah 46:9-10

If God has not spoken, our life experience is void of meaning, a sad reality that is increasingly present in our age today. Our culture is quick to confuse facts and truth with matters of taste and opinion. Without God's Word, there is a divide between meaning and evaluative truth, cognitive meaningless (or matters of opinion), the physical word, and science. Values become feeling states, and convictions become preferences. There exists a thirst for reality, for substance, and for purpose, all of which are found in God's powerful Word. God's Word is so powerful that it has spoken creation into existence, proven itself in history, and personally created us.

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Amos 8:11-13, Isaiah 45:12-13, Isaiah 46:9-10Amos 8:11-13,Isa 45:12-13,Isa 46:9-10 Am 8:11-13, Isa 45:12-13, Isa 46:9-10By Jim Leffel Tea...

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The Sermon on the Mount (Part 1)

Dennis McCallum

Luke 18:9-14

Jesus teaches on the Sermon on the Mount and opposes the view of the Pharisees that real spirituality comes from external conforming to rules and regulations. Instead, Jesus teaches first on the "Beatitudes" or the attitudes that should be cultivated in a relationship with God, all of which go against the self-righteous,self-centered attitude of the world and the Pharisees during Jesus' ministry. Jesus' picture of a blessed life would be exemplified by humility, transparency, kindness, and a yearning for God. These attitudes go directly against the self-righteous mentality of Jesus' culture and our culture today.

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Matthew 5:1-8, Luke 18:9-14Matt 5:1-8,Luke 18:9-14 Matt 5:1-8, Luke 18:9-14By Dennis McCallum Teaching Date: 06/21/2010Jesus teaches on t...

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Becoming Spiritual Adults (Part 1)

Jim Leffel

1 Corinthians 2:14-4:21

This is part one of a three-part series that explains how God transforms people into spiritually mature believers. Important steps include taking the time to reflect on our own beliefs and where those beliefs come from as well as actively searching out the truth. The key to this process is daily, prayerful reading of the Bible.\r\n

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1 Corinthians 2:14-4:211 Cor 2:14-4:21 1Cor 2:14-4:21By Jim Leffel Teaching Date: 06/13/2010This is part one of a three-part series that ...

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Jesus Confronts His Enemy

Dennis McCallum

Matthew 4:1-10

Jesus is confronted by Satan in the wilderness after 40 days in the desert. Satan tries to tempt Jesus to become spiritually autonomous instead of depending on God, twisting scripture to try and trick Jesus and worshiping him instead of doing God's work in God's way. Each time he was tempted, Jesus responded to Satan's accusations with scripture, an important decision within spiritual warfare. This confrontation between Jesus and Satan demonstrates the importance of relying on the truth of scripture and depending on the Holy Spirit's power amidst spiritual warfare.

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Matthew 4:1-10Matt 4:1-10 Matt 4:1-10By Dennis McCallum Teaching Date: 06/03/2010Jesus is confronted by Satan in the wilderness after 40 ...

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The Great Secret

Dennis McCallum

Philippians 4:10-20

A life of contentment consists of daily choices to trust God to meet our needs and responding to God in faith. This life is in direct opposition to a life of covetousness in which one can never be satisfied and constantly demands more from others and this world. Paul's confident assertion in Philippians that he has learned the secret of contentment is not an impossible goal for Christians, but rather a perspective that is available to anyone who knows God personally.

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Philippians 4:10-20Phil 4:10-20 Phil 4:10-20By Dennis McCallum Teaching Date: 04/29/2010A life of contentment consists of daily choices t...

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Into the Furnace

Jim Leffel

Daniel 3:1-36

When Nebuchadnezzar demanded universal worship of a statue, God's people faced a difficult and painful decision against the pressures of their culture. Today, the cultural bottom line that demands our loyalty has to do with the exaltation of the self. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego made their decision based on integrity and an informed confidence in God. In the furnace, God was with them in their suffering.

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Daniel 3:1-36Dan 3:1-36 Dan 3:1-36By Jim Leffel Teaching Date: 01/31/2010When Nebuchadnezzar demanded universal worship of a statue, God'...

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Living in Exile

Jim Leffel

Daniel 1:1-21

For the Jewish people living in exile, there were challenges to their identity as their lives were controlled by the Babylonians. They chose neither to assimilate to their spiritual hostile culture nor to totally separate from it, but instead to be different in a good way. Modern-day culture is just as spiritually hostile as in the time of Daniel. Believers today should be different in a way that lends credibility to God and His message, without compromising in important areas of morality and truth.

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Daniel 1:1-21Dan 1:1-21 Dan 1:1-21By Jim Leffel Teaching Date: 01/17/2010For the Jewish people living in exile, there were challenges to ...

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Kings and Teens

Jeff Gordon

Daniel 1:1-21

Daniel was among the teenage boys who were taken to Babylon as captives to train in the king's palace. They received education and training and were offered choice food and wine from the king's table. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to eat food that was sacrificed to idols. God honored their loyalty to Him by making them stronger than the other boys and by giving them wisdom and understanding. Two lessons are taught: 1) live in the culture while being aware of where to draw lines. Maintain allegiance to God while being engaged in the culture; 2) parents should be aware of what the culture is teaching kids and model how to honor God as they involved in their kids' lives and activities.\r\n

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Daniel 1:1-21Dan 1:1-21 Dan 1:1-21By Jeff Gordon Teaching Date: 11/22/2009Daniel was among the teenage boys who were taken to Babylon as ...

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Three Pseudo-Spiritualities

Tom Dixon

Colossians 2:16-23

Paul warns the Colossians against three false spiritualities that will move them away from the hope of the gospel. The first is ritualism, where Christians do external acts of service to God without dealing with the internal heart attitude towards Him in order to gain closeness with God. The second is mysticism, a type of of focus on intuition and feelings that become more trustworthy than God's Word. Lastly, there is moralism, the sense of focusing on strict obedience to morals, while neglecting what God desires, like love or compassion towards others. Each of these false ways of relating to God can hinder our ability to stand firm in the gospel.

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Colossians 2:16-23Col 2:16-23 Col 2:16-23By Tom Dixon Teaching Date: 11/08/2009Paul warns the Colossians against three false spiritualiti...

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