Parable of the Soils

Dennis McCallum

Mark 4:1-20

Jesus describes people's responsiveness to God's Word in a parable of four soils. The four responses of the soil include: 1) forgetful hearer; 2) superficial hearer; 3) distracted hearer; and 4) the soil that bears much fruit. The focus for Christians is sending forth God's message to people and being faithful to His message even when people don't respond to it. The choice is still up to the individual on which type of soil they'd like to be.

Gospel and Postmodern Culture (Part 3)

Jim Leffel

Hosea 2:5-14:4

Part three of a four-part series connecting the gospel to our culture. God wants us to dialogue with people about the truth and be able to defend our faith in a loving and compelling way. Many people are turned off to Christianity because they think a loving God will not judge people or they wonder how God can judge both a little old lady and Hitler. Satisfying responses are given along with a look at the loving heart of God revealed in the book of Hosea.\r\n

Gospel and Postmodern Culture (Part 2)

Jim Leffel

1 Peter 3:15-16

Part two of a four-part series on how the Gospel can impact postmodern culture. As we live out the Gospel, we need to have honest, compassionate and respectful answers for peoples' honest questions. Compelling arguments are given for how to dialogue with people regarding: 1) the exclusive claims of the Bible; 2) the issue of people having sincere beliefs but on different paths; and 3) the problem of those who have never heard the Gospel. A powerful video testimony by Gary Saalman, a lawyer who examined the evidence for the faith and became a Christian, is shown.\r\n

Why Jesus Became a Human

Gary DeLashmutt

Hebrews 2:5-18

Hebrews makes the case that Jesus is greater than any person or institution. This second chapter provides understanding about why this is: because of his sacrifice in order to rescue humanity. The necessity of Christ to become human is explained in three reasons: 1) to regain humanity's lost dominion over the earth (prevailing where Adam failed in the fall), 2) to die in our place for the guilt of our sins(allowing us to join God's family), and 3) to help us when we suffer (since he, himself, knows what it means to suffer).

Freedom Manifesto

Dennis McCallum

Galatians 1

The church in Galatia was being invaded by false teachers proclaiming that grace was not enough; extra works were needed in order to be saved. Paul explains the real gospel - that we are saved by faith in Christ alone, and gives his evidence for why this message is real truth that we must confront. Paul was not preaching the gospel in order to please men, but because he knew his message was from God.

A Leadership Crisis in the Church

Jim Leffel

Romans 1:16

Christian leadership is all about facilitating and having vision for the work that God is doing. For the church to move forward in God's work, their knowledge of what is going on in culture needs to be understood. Leaders must be able to maintain and spur the church on with the biblical mission, the biblical message, and the biblical means of communication.

Praying for Others

Jeff Gordon

Ephesians 3:14-21

Why does anyone pray? The apostle Paul was compelled to pray when he reflected on the mystery of Christ. ?The mystery of Christ' is explored as well as how it embodies the way God pursues us despite a stark contrast between His perfect nature and our human nature. He advocates praying for ourselves and others as a means of relating to God and closes with two personal examples of lives transformed by prayer.

The Simplicity in Christ

Dennis McCallum

Galatians 5:6

Paul explained that the message of Christianity is quite simple. Jesus died on the cross for our sins and all we have to do is accept God's free gift of forgiveness through Jesus in order to start a relationship with God and go to heaven. There is no reason to add any unnecessary barriers to this message.

What Motivates Christians?

Dennis McCallum

1 John 5:15

Paul explained that when someone accepts Christ's reconciliation for themselves they have a new identity. They become a citizen of heaven and a child of God; this new identity is something we can share with others. Christians who understand this are motivated to go out and share God's message of reconciliation as His ambassadors to this world.