Salvation

Mine Shaft of Sin

2 Corinthians 3:17, Acts 13:38-39, Colossians 1:21-23, Fear, Freedom, Galatians 5:1, Glorify God, Guilt, John 8:36, Rescue, Romans 6:22, Romans 8:1-4, Salvation, Sin

God repeatedly uses his people not to glorify themselves or to give some advantage to others, but to glorify God. “God has given us…

Running The Race

1 Corinthians 9:24, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Acts 9:1-19, Colossians 1:11, Endurance, Growing, Hebrews 10:36, Hebrews 12:1-3, Matthew 24:13, Paul, Philippians 3:12, Philippians 3:13-14, Salvation, Sanctification, Strength

Olympic runner Dave Wottle can teach us something about running a race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=120Bi0vhRPg. In the Bible, the Apostle Paul describes the process of sanctification (growing…

Character Development

1 Thessalonians 5:23, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 2 Peter 3:18, Change, Character, Development, Ephesians 4:22-24, Galatians 2:20, Growth, Philippians 1:6, Philippians 2:13, Salvation, Sanctification, Transformation

The best stories have character development. This is where a character changes throughout the events of the story. For example, the 2008 blockbuster movie Iron…

Multifaceted

1 Corinthians 1:30, Colossians 2:1-3, Ephesians 3:10, God's Plan, God's Wisdom, Isaiah 28:29, Isaiah 40:28, James 1:5, James 3:17, Mystery, Proverbs 2:6, Redemption, Romans 11:33, Salvation, The Gospel, Wisdom

In the Bible (Ephesians 3:10), Paul describes the wisdom of God as “manifold,” a word that can be understood to mean “multifaceted,” like a…

Get Out of Jail Free

1 Thessalonians 5:23, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Change, Galatians 2:20, Galatians 5:16, Heaven, Hell, Life, New Life, Philippians 1:6, Relationship with God, Romans 12:1-2, Romans 6:1-23, Romans 6:6, Salvation, Sanctification, The Gospel, Transformation

One of the best cards you can draw in the game Monopoly is the “get out of jail free” card. It completely lets you…

Grace For The Process

1 Thessalonians 2:13, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Change, Colossians 3:10, Grace, Hebrews 2:11, Journey, Marriage, Now And Not Yet, Philippians 1:6, Philippians 2:13, Process, Romans 12:2, Salvation, Sanctification, Transformation

When a bride and groom get married, the bride’s name (usually) changes immediately. One or both of their addresses change and often so do…

God’s Masterpiece

2 Corinthians 3:18, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:10, Ephesians 4:24, God's Masterpiece, New Creation, New Life, Philippians 1:6, Philippians 2:13, Restoration, Salvation, Sanctification

There was a sad but true incident that took place in an old Spanish church not too long ago. A parishioner took it upon…

Ambassadors

1 Peter 3:15, 1 Timothy 4:10, 2 Corinthians 5:20, Ambassadors, Children of God, Ephesians 2:10, Evangelism, Luke 10:2, Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:19-20, Mission, Psalm 96:3, Reconciliation, Representatives, Salvation, The Church, The Lost, The World, Witnessing

A US government’s ambassador is the President’s highest-ranking representative to a specific nation abroad. She is a spokesperson for the United States to the nation…

Our Greatest Failures

1 John 3:16-18, 2 Corinthians 5:15, Ephesians 5:2, Gain Christ, Grace, Idols, Lose, Loss, Perspective, Possessions, Romans 5:6, Romans 5:8, Romans 8:2-4, Salvation

Sometimes it takes having our most precious possessions taken from us to gain perspective on what really matters. Back in 2012, Ted Kluck wrote…

Battles We Continue To Fight

1 Corinthians 10:13, 1 John 4:4, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Battle, Galatians 2:20, Identity, New Life, Now And Not Yet, Philippians 2:13, Romans 7, Romans 8:1, Salvation, Sanctification, Sinful Nature, Struggles With Sin

Romans 6:8-14 captures the central tension of the Christian life on earth: we have died to sin, but we still sin. Why do we…

Safe In Christ

1 John 4:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Fears, Galatians 3:26, God's Love, In Christ, John 3:16, Opposition, Romans 5:8, Romans 8:38-39, Safety, Salvation, Security, Victory

Romans 8:38-39 gives an exhaustive list intended to cover every possible fear we could have—issues of mortality, supernatural forces, time, powers, physical space, anything…

God Restores

God's Work, Hope, New Life, Restoration, Salvation, Sanctification, Transformation

In Ephesians 1, Paul emphasizes God’s sovereignty and his work as a master planner who can restore a lost world back to right relationship (vv….

Kindess Grows

2 Timothy 2:15, Acts 1:8, Boldness, Evangelism, Harvest, Kindness, Love, Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:19-20, Matthew 9:37-38, Paying It Forward, Salvation, The Gospel, Trusting God, Witnessing

The film Pay It Forward imagines what can happen if everyone gave someone an act of kindness that could not be paid back and…

Temptation

Desert, God's Promises, Hebrews 2:18, Hebrews 4:15, John 16:33, Mark 1:13, Matthew 4:1-11, Omnipotence, Salvation, Satan, Savior, Strength, Temptation, Triumph, Withstanding

In summer 2016, a movie called Last Days in the Desert was released. The film explores Jesus’ 40 days in the desert and how…

Paradigm Shift

2 Corinthians 5:17, Colossians 1:21-22, Ephesians 4:22-24, Ezekiel 18:31, Ezekiel 36:26, Grace, Influence, Mercy, New Life, Outlook on Life, Perception, Psalm 51:10, Redemption, Romans 12:2, Salvation, Titus 3:5

“Christianity isn’t something you add. It is an explosion that changes everything you had” (Timothy Keller [@timkellernyc], Twitter, November 10, 2017, 1:30 p.m.)To follow…

False Understanding

Acts 4:12, Evangelicals, Faith, Following God, Heaven, Hell, Luke 19:10, Mark 16:16, Poll, Romans 1:16, Salvation, Skeptical, The Gospel, Titus 2:11-12, Tradition

A 2014 study from Ligonier Ministries found: “Just under half of Americans (45 percent) say there are many ways to heaven—which conflicts with traditional…

New Beginnings

Confession, Conviction, Faith, Growth, Holy Spirit, Hosea 6:1, Luke 18:13, Matthew 19:25-26, Ownership, Psalm 38:18, Psalm 38:4, Redemption, Salvation, Sanctification, Sin

“The recognition of sin is the beginning of salvation.”- Martin Luther We remember that without the Holy Spirit first convicting us of our sin…

Dual Citizenship

1 Peter 1:4, Child of God, Citizenship, Ephesians 2:19, Hebrews 13:14, Inheritance, John 14:2, Kingdom of God, Luke 22:29-30, Philippians 3:20, Salvation

Military children often face an interesting dilemma. When a family is stationed overseas, a newborn child can attain “dual citizenship,” considered a citizen of…

Compelling Conversions