Calvary Bible Church-NH

Have you ever asked yourself “why is humanity like this in the first place?” Every one of us live in the consequences of a broken world. We inherit brokenness, experience its effects, and contribute to it through our own sin. Paul takes the reader of Romans 5 back to the beginning of creation to show us why we desperately need Jesus. The life of Adam explains how sin and death entered the world. Adam brought sin and death. Jesus brings grace and life.

What does the cross tell me about how God feels about me when I am at my worst? Romans 5 reminds us that God's love wasn't attracted to us at our best. It moved toward us at our worst. Paul doesn't simply tell us that God loves us, he tells us when God loved us. Not when we were strong. Not when we had cleaned ourselves up. Not when we were looking for him. “While we were still weak…”, “While we were still sinners…”, and “While we were enemies…”.

Most of us know what it feels like to lose our peace when life gets difficult. When we face uncertainty, disappointment, and suffering, we wonder, “Where is God in this?” Paul reminds us that the gospel doesn't promise a life without trouble, it gives us a new way to walk through trouble. Because we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God, we stand in His grace, and we have a hope that suffering cannot destroy.

There are moments when faith is easy in our lives. When things are going well, when relationships are healthy, or when prayers get answered exactly the way we wanted. However, it is much harder to believe God when everything you can see seems to contradict what God has said. In Romans 4 Paul continues to highlight Abraham to show us what faith looks like. God made Abraham a promise. Timed passed, and passed, and passed. Abraham and Sarah grew older. Their circumstances became less favorable. Eventually, from a human perspective, God's promise looked impossible. Yet Abraham believed. This passage is important to us now because most of us don't struggle to believe God when life makes sense. We struggle to believe God when our life doesn't make sense. God is able to keep His promises, even when circumstances seem impossible.

What makes me acceptable to God? The religious person wants to know: What makes someone part of God's people? Is it heritage? Circumcision? Keeping the Law? Religious performance? Paul goes back to Abraham and says something radically important: God declared Abraham righteous before Abraham received the religious sign of circumcision and centuries before the Law was given. In other words, the blessing of God doesn't come because we have the right religious credentials. It comes because we trust the God who gives grace. Like we read in Romans chapter 3, faith receives what works can never earn.

Romans 1 down through Romans 3:20 reports the bad news: None is righteous, no, not one (3:11). But then, in 3:21 - 3:31 Paul shares the good news: We Are Saved! By Grace Alone! Through Faith Alone! In Christ Alone! Paul builds his case in Romans 1 - 3 using logic and skillful argumentation. In Romans 4:1-8 Paul looks to the Patriarchs, Abraham and David, to illustrate and confirm the glorious doctrine of justification by faith. The passage concludes describing the staggering blessing we believers in Jesus enjoy - - - our lawless deeds are forgiven... our sins are covered... the Lord does not count our sin against us... we are counted righteous apart from works. In short, and as it says later in Romans 5:1, we have peace with God. And even more than this, we become children of God. Imagine. Really - - - try to get your mind around this. Peace with The Almighty. Daughters and Sons of the King. We Who Believe Are Breathtakingly Blessed.

Salvation by grace eliminates all spiritual pride and self-righteousness. God freely justifies all people by grace through faith, replacing our urge to brag with resting entirely in Christ's completed work.

Have you ever felt like no matter how hard you tried, you could never quite measure up? Most of us know that feeling, not just in life, but spiritually. Deep down, we wonder if we've done enough, been good enough, or could ever be enough for God. After spending three chapters exposing humanity's guilt, Paul now turns the corner with two of the most hope-filled words in Scripture: “But now…” God has done for us what we could never do for ourselves. The gospel is not about lowering God's standard; it's about God meeting His own standard on our behalf through Jesus Christ.

Join us live as we study Romans 3:9–20 and examine what the Bible teaches about human sinfulness and our complete accountability before God. We'll look at how understanding our deep need for grace points us directly to the righteousness found only in Jesus.

Have you ever had someone break a promise to you? Perhaps it was a business partner. A close friend. A spouse. A parent. Most of us have learned through painful experience that human promises can disappoint. We begin to wonder, “Can I really trust anyone?” That question lies underneath Romans 3. Paul has just dismantled every source of human confidence. The pagan is guilty. The moral person is guilty. Even the religious person is guilty. At this point, someone might ask, “If God's own covenant people failed so miserably, has God's plan failed too?” Paul answers with one of the strongest statements in Scripture: “By no means!” The failure of God's people never means the failure of God's promises. Our unfaithfulness magnifies, not minimizes, the unwavering faithfulness of God.

Paul's entire argument culminates in addressing circumcision - the outward reflection of being keepers of the law, or being God's covenant people. This argument would've ruffled some feathers, but Paul shifts the focus of the Jewish people to an INWARD matter. Now circumcision becomes an inward reality, not of some outward sign. Paul's argument shows that it's easier to be an outward Christian because that doesn't require heart change.

Paul continues his diatribe which now fully identifies "the typical Jew" as his imaginary opponent. As Paul walks through areas of false security, he teaches that being a good guide makes all the difference in the world, but only if you practice what you preach.

Paul draws on the standard distinction that Jews make between themselves and Gentiles - Gentiles as those outside the law of Moses (torah), and the Jews as ‘within' the law. However, Paul explains that the gospel becomes the judge, not the law. Faith becomes relevant in righteousness. Whether you heard the law and didn't do it, or didn't hear the law and did do it, all fall short of God's standard. Faith in Christ is the only solution.

In Romans 2:6-11, we see the impartiality of God and how He renders to each according to their works.

Every one of us has an internal courtroom. We quickly prosecute the failures of others while quietly defending our own. We become experts at identifying sin across the room but novices at recognizing it in the mirror. In Romans 2, Paul turns the spotlight from “those people” to “you.” He reminds us that God's greatest concern isn't simply the sins we condemn in others, but the hypocrisy we tolerate in ourselves. Before God's kindness can transform our lives, His truth must first expose our hearts.

One of the most frightening judgments in Scripture is not when God sends something upon people. It is when God gives people over to what they already want. Three times in Romans 1 Paul says: “God gave them up”. This passage is not merely explaining why the world is broken. It is explaining what happens when humanity exchanges the Creator for created things. Paul shows us a progression: Sensual, mental and ultimate corruption. It is easy to read Romans 1 as ammunition to condemn sinners but remember it is a diagnosis meant to help us understand why the gospel is necessary. It explains what happens whenever humanity exchanges God for idols. The farther we move from God, the more corrupted everything becomes.

After declaring the glorious power of the gospel in 1:16-17, Paul immediately turns to humanity's darkness problem. Why? Because before people can appreciate the cure, they must understand the disease. Before grace becomes amazing, sin must become horrifying. Romans 1:18-23 is one of the Bible's clearest explanations of unbelief. Paul shows us something critical: Unbelief is not ultimately an intellectual problem. It is a spiritual problem. Humanity does not reject God because evidence is absent. Humanity rejects God because hearts are resistant. This passage helps us understand why people suppress truth, why idolatry is universal, why culture drifts from God, and why GRACE is our only hope. People do not stumble into unbelief; they suppress truth into unbelief.

Faith is the only means of justification before God. Allow the good news of Jesus to fuel how you live by faith and take heart in the fact that that no matter what you experience, God will always be faithful to you.

In Romans 1:8-15, we move from Paul's introduction to Paul's heart. Before unpacking the deep theology of Romans, Paul reveals the passion driving his ministry: gratitude for God's work in others, deep love for the church, persistent prayer, and an overwhelming burden to make Christ known. These verses remind us that the gospel was never meant to remain private or merely intellectual. The Gospel creates a people who are spiritually connected, missionally driven, and eager to see lives transformed by Jesus.

The book of Romans was written by the Apostle Paul around A.D. 57 to the church in Rome, a diverse group of Jewish and Gentile believers navigating tensions surrounding identity, grace, and the Gospel. Though Paul had not yet visited them, he wrote to strengthen their faith, unify the church around Christ, and clearly explain the Gospel he preached. Romans presents the clearest picture of humanity's sin, God's righteousness, salvation by grace through faith, and the transforming power of life in Christ. The Gospel is not advice about what you must do; it is an announcement about what Christ has done.

Everyone has parents. For some, that brings gratitude. For others, grief. Some experience complicated silence. God gives a command, not a suggestion, to “Honor your father and your mother…” What Does It Actually Mean to Honor Your Mother? Does it mean agreement? Closeness? Pretending everything was good? The bible gives us something deeper, richer, and more transformative as we seek to Glorify God as we honor our parents.

Most of us don't struggle to see where others are wrong. We struggle to see where we are wrong. We replay what they said. We justify what we did. We explain our tone, our reaction, our words. And even when we apologize, we soften it: “I'm sorry if you felt hurt.” “I didn't mean it like that.” “That's not what I was trying to do.” But Jesus presses deeper. Because in the kingdom of God, reconciliation is not optional and repentance is not superficial.

Jesus' forgiveness fuels our forgiveness, and this forgiveness is a giving up of yourself, but what you will find is not death but abundant life and freedom.

Jesus wants us to live an abundant life, and we can't do that unless we practice forgiveness. Throw off your anger, and throw off your pride. Truly see Jesus, yourself, and the offender, and realize how much you need the forgiveness of Jesus.

Forgiveness is something we all talk about but often misunderstand. We know what it feels like to be hurt, to be wronged, or to carry the weight of something someone has done to us. Some of us minimize it, others replay it, and many of us quietly keep score. But when Jesus speaks about forgiveness, He shows us it is not pretending it didn't happen or simply moving on. It is something deeper, something costly, and something rooted in the gospel. Because forgiveness is not about denying justice, it is about knowing what to do with it.

From the very beginning, God created the world as it ought to be, a place of goodness, life, and perfect relationship with Him, as we see in Genesis. But the world we experience now is not that world. Sin has broken everything, and we feel it every day in death, pain, and the quiet realization that this isn't how life should be. Yet the message of the gospel is that something can be done. Through the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ, sin has been paid for, new life is possible, and real hope has entered the world. And even more than that, there is a promise of what will come: one day God will restore all things, making every wrong right, wiping away every tear, and destroying death forever. And the question is: how do we know this is true? Because of Easter.

As we close our series in Hosea, we see that to dwell with the Lord means that we must live His way. There are consequences for sin, but the Messiah has come to do something about it.

There is a kind of heartbreak that only comes from loving someone who keeps walking away from what is good for them. You remember how you cared for them, how you helped them, how you protected them, and yet they keep choosing their own way. And your love feels torn, because your love wants to comfort, but your love also has to confront. That is the tension we see in Hosea 11 and 12. In one chapter we hear the voice of a Father remembering His love, and in the next we see a people living in deception, convinced they are fine while drifting farther from God. And in the middle of that tension, we discover something about the heart of God: His justice confronts, but His compassion keeps calling us to return. He does not correct us because He hates us, but because He refuses to let us destroy ourselves.

Israel trusted in their king to bring them safety, prosperity, and guidance; things that can only be found in God. What we see from Hosea 10 is that God longs for the heart of his people, not just a verbal acknowledgement. The Lord desires for us to sow righteousness, reap steadfast love, and to give our allegiance to Him. And to do that, we must become disciples/apprentices of Jesus.

Most people assume God's judgment is sudden and dramatic. Lightning bolts. Fire from heaven. Instant consequences. But Hosea shows something far more sobering. Most of the time judgment looks slow. It looks like joy fading. It looks like worship becoming empty. It looks like blessings quietly disappearing. The tragedy of Israel in Hosea 9 is not that God suddenly turned against them. The tragedy is that their sin slowly removed them from the blessings God designed for them. And the frightening part is this: Most people don't notice the loss until the blessings are already gone.

Hosea 8 shows that Israel is heading for destruction BECAUSE they have violated God's covenant and Mosaic law. We too have broken God's covenant, rejected the good, set up our security in our lives without God, and made idols that have destroyed us. This chapter is a stark reminder that God will bring us into the wilderness so that we can see clearly that He is all we need.

Hosea 7 is a sorrowful indictment of Israel. The Lord describes the charges against Israel, the evidence of these charges, and His verdict: judgment is coming. But the tone is indeed sorrowful, like that of a longsuffering and loving Father (a hesed loving Father) who's patience has finally run out. And even in the face of Israel's sin: their false worship and professions of repentance, their failure to fear Him, their unfaithfulness to Him, and their folly and pride - - the Lord longed to restore them if they would only turn to Him. And so it is with us. Turning to God, repentance, is to be a defining characteristic of our walk with Him.

When have you heard an apology that sounded good, but nothing actually changed? In Hosea 5, God withdrew His felt presence to awaken Israel's repentance. Israel finally responds. They say the right words, speak of returning, and even mention healing. But Hosea 6 asks a haunting question: What if repentance sounds spiritual but isn't actually sincere? Israel is an example of a repentance that is not sincere or relational. Their repentance is strategic, emotional, and temporary. God is not impressed with repentance that wants relief without wanting a relationship with Him.

There comes a point in every relationship when warnings stop working. The conversations have been had. The concerns have been voiced. The consequences have been explained. And yet nothing changes. At some point, the tone shifts, not because love disappears, but because love refuses to pretend everything is fine. Hosea 5 is that moment in Israel's story. God has spoken through prophets, through discipline, through covenant reminders, and now the language turns heavier. This chapter is not God losing patience; it is God exposing what happens when leaders mislead, when people replace repentance with religion, and when hearts refuse to return to Him. Hosea 5 shows us a difficult but necessary truth: sometimes God's most loving act is to step back so His people will finally seek Him.

In Hosea 4 God speaks again as a covenant prosecutor. Charges are filed. Evidence is presented. Consequences are named. The charge is simple: There is no knowledge of God in the land. Not no religion, not no worship, but no knowledge. This is a relational, covenant knowledge. When God is no longer truly known, everything else begins to unravel.

There are those that quit when trust is broken. There are those that withdraw when shame enters the room. Then there is God's covenant love. The kind of love that moves toward betrayal, not away from it. Hosea 3 is not sentimental. It is scandalous. God commands His prophet to do something unreasonable, humiliating, and costly: “Go again. Love Her”. This chapter continues to strip away every illusion that redemption is deserved. Hosea buys back what never should have been sold and in doing so, He becomes a living parable of a God whose love refuses to let go.

Hosea 2 opens with a courtroom. It ends with a wedding vow. The same God who confronted betrayal now speaks tenderly. The Judge becomes the Bridegroom again. This is not emotional inconsistency. It is covenant faithfulness. God does not wait for Israel to prove herself worthy. He renews the relationship by giving more of Himself. Hosea 2:14-23 shows us how God restores broken people, not by demanding better performance, but by pledging His own righteous, just, merciful, steadfastly loving, and faithful character to them.

Some conflicts cannot be resolved with silence. When love is betrayed repeatedly, when warnings are ignored, relationship requires confrontation. Hosea 2 is not a temper tantrum from God; it is a lawsuit. God does not abandon His people quietly. He brings charges publicly. He calls witnesses. He names offenses. And He does so because covenant love demands truth. This chapter moves from the symbolic marriage seen in chapter 1 to formal accusation here in chapter 2. The metaphor sharpens as God addresses Israel directly, not through children's names, but through legal language. Hosea 2 shows us something unsettling and necessary: His people embrace Idolatry. Idolatry is misdirected love, when we give God's glory and gifts to something else.

The book of Hosea opens with a marriage that God ordains as a living sermon. Hosea does not merely preach the Word of the Lord; he is commanded to live it, embody it, and suffer it. The book was written during one of the most deceptively prosperous yet spiritually bankrupt seasons in Israel's history. Hosea did not minister in a time of visible collapse, but in a season that felt successful, stable, and blessed (historically, during a pause before the storm). Hosea sounds so emotional because he is confronting confident citizens and pleading with people who feel no urgency to repent from sin and turn their affections back towards Yahweh.

As 2025 ends and we begin 2026, we see what it means to truly inspect and build our homes on the Rock.

There are seasons when God's call feels bigger than our strength. Moments when obedience feels costly, courage feels thin, and the future feels uncertain. We know what God is asking but we're not sure we have what it takes. The promise of Immanuel reminds us that God never asks us to move forward alone. When fear rises and strength fades, God doesn't remove the assignment, He reinforces His presence. From anxious kings to hesitant disciples, God's message is the same: You are not enough but I am with you. And because God is with us, we have the strength to stand, endure, and obey no matter how impossible the task may seem.

Christmas reminds us that God does not wait for perfect conditions. He steps into real life, into conflict, chaos, and confusion. The birth of Jesus is God invading our broken world with His redeeming presence. And when Christ is present, peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of Christ.

Loneliness isn't just about being alone, it's about being disconnected from the One who is always present. Matthew's Gospel opens up with a declaration that changed human history: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.” The miracle of Christmas is not only that God came down, but that He came to ensure we are always with Him.

As we conclude our study in the book of Acts, we study Paul's trip to Rome, and how the Kingdom of God is expanding. No matter what happens in our lives, the gospel will go where God wants it to go. Jesus is alive, and the gospel is going. Will you?

In Acts 27, we learn about Paul's ill-fated journey to Rome. We'll see what happens when Godly advice is ignored, how to persevere in light of a promise, and we'll learn a very important lesson: just because God has put a desire or calling on your life, doesn't mean you'll be the one planning the journey.

As we start to wrap up our study in the book of Acts, we focus on chapters 22-26, where Paul shares his testimony multiple times as he's brought before various people. In the final analysis, we'll see Paul's eternal perspective, how he experienced the nearness of Jesus in his life, and how he hoped in the Lord's resurrection.

This week, we have the privilege to hear from our keynote speaker and supported missionary Josh Duncan. We encourage you to pray for our missionaries and their families as they serve the Lord in their respective mission fields.

In Acts 21 Paul is warned by everyone who loves him: “Don't go to Jerusalem.” The Spirit reveals the danger ahead as his friends plead in tears, but Paul keeps walking towards the danger because the Holy Spirit is leading him there. Sometimes obedience to the Holy Spirit doesn't lead to safety or comfort, it leads to suffering. This passage shows us what it means to keep following the Spirit, even when obedience hurts.

When Paul said goodbye to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, he was at a turning point. He had faced riots, rejection, and relentless trials. Yet he kept going. He believed the mission of Christ was worth ever tear, every danger, and every mile. We live in a world where giving up feels easier than pressing on. This is true in ministry, marriage, parenting, and faith. Acts 20 serves as a remind that faithfulness is costly, but it's worth it.