Podcasts about therefore god

Hebrews 1:9 AMP - “You have loved righteousness [integrity, virtue, uprightness in purpose] and have hated lawlessness [injustice, sin]. Therefore God, Your God, Has anointed You With the oil of gladness above Your companions.”

Because of Christ's humility and obedience, Godthe Father responded. “Therefore, God has highly exalted Him”.The world rejected Jesus, but the Father exalted Him. Men mocked Jesus, but theFather crowned Him. Men nailed Him to a cross, but the Father raised Him fromthe dead and seated Him at His own right hand in glory. The resurrection andascension were heaven's declaration that Jesus Christ is Lord. Thephrase “highly exalted” means super-exalted or exalted to the highest place. InEphesians 1:20–21, Paul wrote that “God seated Christ at His right hand inthe heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might anddominion”. No one is higher than Jesus. No one is greater than Jesus. Noone will ever dethrone Jesus. Heaven is moving toward one great conclusion, andthat is the complete triumph of Jesus Christ.This exaltation of Jesus includes Hisresurrection, His ascension, His heavenly reign, and His future visiblekingdom. The One who wore the crown of thorns will one day wear many crowns.Revelation 19:16 says Jesus is, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” ThenPaul continues: “and given Him a name which is above every name.” Whatis that name? Some believe it might refer to the name Jesus, but most likelyPaul is speaking about the title Lord. In verse 11, every tongue confesses thatJesus Christ is Lord. In the New Testament, Paul is declaring thatJesus Christ shares fully in the divine authority and glory of God Himself. Thisis astonishing because, in the Roman Empire, Caesar claimed to be lord, butChristians boldly proclaimed, “Jesus is Lord.” That confession often cost themtheir freedom, their possessions, and even their lives. Still today, declaringJesus as Lord is radical. Because if Jesus is Lord, He has authority over ourlives. He determines truth. He deserves obedience. He deserves worship. Hedeserves first place in our lives. Manypeople want Jesus as Savior, but not as Lord. They want forgiveness withoutsurrender. They want heaven without holiness. They want salvation withoutsubmission. But the gospel calls us to bow before Christ as Lord. Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believein your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”The resurrection proves His Lordship.God exalted Jesus after Jesus humbled Himself. Thisis the principle throughout Scripture. James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselvesin the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” 1 Peter 5:6 says, “Humbleyourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” Wealso know that we live in a world obsessed with self-promotion. But God'skingdom works differently. The way up is down. The way to greatness isservanthood. The pathway to honor is humility. Wesee in the Old Testament that when people humbled themselves—like Joseph,David, and Moses—God exalted them. Jesus went to the cross before ascending tothe throne. Today, maybe you feel overlooked. You might feel forgotten or misunderstood,or faithfully serving without recognition. Remember, God sees humble obedience,and your humility is never wasted. God knows how to exalt His servants in Hisperfect time and in His perfect way. Ourresponsibility is not self-promotion. Our responsibility is faithful obedience.One day every wrong will be made right when Christ reigns over all. Today,worship Jesus not only as Savior, but as your Lord. Ask yourself: Is there anyarea of my life resisting His authority? Have I surrendered my plans, myfuture, and my ambitions to Him? Am I living for my kingdom or His? The exaltedChrist deserves complete surrender. Let'spray together. Father, thank You for exalting Your Son, Jesus Christ. Weworship Him today as Lord of all. Forgive us for the areas where we haveresisted His authority. Help us to walk in humility and faithful obedience,trusting You to lift us up in Your perfect time. We pray this in Jesus' name.Amen.

“He became obedient to the point of death,even the death of the cross.” Jesus'entire earthly life was marked by obedience. Hebrews 10:7 says: “Behold, Ihave come to do Your will, O my God.” From Bethlehem to Calvary, Jesuslived in perfect submission to the Father. In the Gospel of John Jesus made itvery clear that He did not do what He Himself wanted to do. He always did whatHis Father told Him to do. He went where His Father told Him to go, and Hespoke what His Father told Him to speak. It is very obvious that Jesus lived alife of submission to the Father. Where Adam disobeyed in a garden, Jesusobeyed in a garden. In Gethsemane, facing the horror of the cross, Jesusprayed: “Not My will, but Thine be done.” What obedience! Notice verse 8 says: “He became obedientto the point of death.” Obedience cost Him everything. Sometimeswe speak casually about obedience, but biblical obedience is often very costly.For Jesus, obedience meant: rejection, betrayal, false accusations, mocking, beatings,crucifixion, and ultimately death. Then Paul emphasizes: “Even the death ofthe cross.” Thecross was the most humiliating and shameful form of execution in the Romanworld. Roman citizens were generally exempt from crucifixion. It was reservedfor the worst criminals, slaves, and rebels. Victims were publicly stripped,mocked, and displayed in agony before the world. My friend, that is the deathJesus willingly obeyed unto—the death of the cross. Deuteronomy 21:23 declares:“Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.” Galatians 3:13 tells us: “Christhas redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.”Hebecame that curse for us by hanging on the cross. Jesusdid not merely die physically. He bore the wrath and judgment for our sins—thejudgment we deserved.Isaiah53:6 says: “The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” 2Corinthians 5:21 says: “For God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us,that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” At the cross, Jesustook our place. He suffered the judgment we deserved so that we could receivethe forgiveness we did not deserve. My friend, this is the heart of the gospel. Remember,Jesus chose this. Matthew 26:53 says that He could have called twelve legionsof angels, but love held Him to the cross. The nails did not hold Him there. Itwas the love of God and the love of Christ that held Him on that cross when Hedied. What application does this have for you and metoday? First, we must realize that obedience always involves surrender. Youcannot follow Christ while insisting on your own way and your own will. Jesussaid in Luke 9:23: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himselfand take up his cross daily and follow Me.” Second, true obedience istested when it becomes costly. Anyone can obey when it is convenient. Obediencebecomes real when sacrifice is required. Maybe the sacrifice will involve: ourreputation, our comfort, our popularity, our financial security, our relationships,or our personal plans. When we come to Christ and choose to follow Him, it willcost us something. But nothing we surrender for Christ compares to what Hesurrendered for us!  Thecross changes everything about how we view sacrifice. Paul later tells us inRomans 12:1:“Present your bodies a living sacrifice.” The Christian lifeis not about shallow, convenient Christianity. It is about cross-centereddiscipleship. But here is the wonderful truth: the cross is not the end. Sundaywas coming. Humiliation would give way to exaltation. Death would give way toresurrection. Tomorrow, in Philippians 2:9, we will see heaven's response toChrist's obedience: “Therefore God has highly exalted Him.”  Godbless you and may you have a wonderful, wonderful day!

12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.1 Corinthians 13:1233 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation.John 16:33When peace like a river, attendeth my wayWhen sorrows like sea billows rollWhatever my lot, thou hast taught me to sayIt is well, it is well, with my soulHoratio SpaffordThe same suffering that softens one heart can harden another—not because God changed, but because suffering reveals what we think about Him.Discerning SufferingDiscern: to detect with the eyes; a figure approaching through the fogSuffering has the ability to distort our vision.The problem isn't suffering itself, or even the groan we feel in the suffering. The problem is most people look at the suffering but never learn to ask the right questions to discern what they are looking at.17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”John 11:17-2621 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.John 11:2123 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”John 11:23-26Do you believe this?”John 11:26“If God were good, He would wish to make His creatures perfectly happy, and if God were almighty, He would be able to do what He wished. But the creatures are not happy. Therefore God lacks either goodness, power, or both.”C.S. LewisGOD IS GOODOh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!Psalm 31:19Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.James 1:17ASSUMPTIONS WE MUST QUESTION:“If God is good, He will prioritize my comfort”Reality: Because God really is good, we can rest in the fact that no suffering has the ability to take away true comfort.Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.2 Corinthians 1:3-4“If God is good, then He owes me an explanation”Reality: Because God really is good, we can rest in the fact that no suffering has the ability to change who He is.Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.James 1:17“If God is good, then He shouldn't allow suffering”Reality: Because God really is good, we can rest in the fact that no suffering is beyond is fatherly care.Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!Matthew 7:9-11QUESTIONS WE MUST ASK OURSELVES:What am I feeling?What story am I living?Is that story true?What is true?The cross helps us see in the darkAt the cross, ultimate suffering and ultimate goodness are not separate realities. Both can exist together.

"Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:9-11

Preacher: Annie Dimond Luke 1: 18, 34, 38 "Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.""How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"… "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled."  Hebrews 11:8-16 8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. 13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Audio Recording Sermon OutlineSpeaker: Rev. Charles DrewSermon Series: Guest PreacherPsalm 45 (ESV)1 My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.2 You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your splendor and majesty!4 In your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!5 Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you.6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;7 you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;8 your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;9 daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.10 Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear: forget your people and your father's house,11 and the king will desire your beauty.Since he is your lord, bow to him.12 The people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people.13 All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.14 In many-colored robes she is led to the king, with her virgin companions following behind her.15 With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king.16 In place of your fathers shall be your sons; you will make them princes in all the earth.17 I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.Sermon OutlinePsalm 45 blows like a fresh wind of hope into our gloomy social dysfunction, inviting our hearts to overflow with a pleasing theme (v. 1). 1. The Prince at the center of our hope Supremely attractive:v 2: The most handsome of the sons of men2. The Prince at the center of our hope His words: v 2: Grace is poured upon your lips3. The Prince at the center of our hope His character: vv 4, 7: In your majesty ride out . . . for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; . . . You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. 4. The Prince at the center of our hopeHis victory: vv.4-5: In your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand teach you awesome deeds! Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you. 5. The Groom10 Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear: forget your people and your father's house, 11 and the king will desire your beauty.Prayer of ConfessionLord Jesus, you are the Father's great gift to us. You speak words we don't deserve but gladly receive, words of healing and forgiveness, words that fill us with hope, words that change our motivations and appetites. You love us and our world and have done and will do all that is necessary to reverse the damage that we have brought upon ourselves. You desire us, eager for us to love you back. Forgive our tepid hearts. Forgive our ingratitude. Forgive our failure to listen carefully to what you say. Forgive our distractedness, our convenient reconstructions of who you are, and our divided loyalties. Please do not give up on us. We need and want more than forgiveness. We want to be better people, more like you, more responsive to you and to each other. How grateful we are for your promise to finish what you have begun in us. Alleluia. Amen.

Audio Recording A Leader Worth Following Rev. Charles Drew Download Sermon OutlineSpeaker: Rev. Charles DrewSermon Series: Guest PreacherPsalm 45 (ESV)1 My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.2 You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your splendor and majesty!4 In your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!5 Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you.6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;7 you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;8 your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;9 daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.10 Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear: forget your people and your father's house,11 and the king will desire your beauty.Since he is your lord, bow to him.12 The people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people.13 All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.14 In many-colored robes she is led to the king, with her virgin companions following behind her.15 With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king.16 In place of your fathers shall be your sons; you will make them princes in all the earth.17 I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.Sermon OutlinePsalm 45 blows like a fresh wind of hope into our gloomy social dysfunction, inviting our hearts to overflow with a pleasing theme (v. 1). 1. The Prince at the center of our hope Supremely attractive:v 2: The most handsome of the sons of men2. The Prince at the center of our hope His words: v 2: Grace is poured upon your lips3. The Prince at the center of our hope His character: vv 4, 7: In your majesty ride out . . . for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; . . . You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. 4. The Prince at the center of our hopeHis victory: vv.4-5: In your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand teach you awesome deeds! Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you. 5. The Groom10 Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear: forget your people and your father's house, 11 and the king will desire your beauty.Prayer of ConfessionLord Jesus, you are the Father's great gift to us. You speak words we don't deserve but gladly receive, words of healing and forgiveness, words that fill us with hope, words that change our motivations and appetites. You love us and our world and have done and will do all that is necessary to reverse the damage that we have brought upon ourselves. You desire us, eager for us to love you back. Forgive our tepid hearts. Forgive our ingratitude. Forgive our failure to listen carefully to what you say. Forgive our distractedness, our convenient reconstructions of who you are, and our divided loyalties. Please do not give up on us. We need and want more than forgiveness. We want to be better people, more like you, more responsive to you and to each other. How grateful we are for your promise to finish what you have begun in us. Alleluia. Amen.

"Therefore God will send them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth." That's Second Thessalonians chapter two, and this is Something Good. Well, those are ominous words from the book of Second Thessalonians. But make no mistake, in the last days there will be strong delusion, and God is the one who will send it. But there is good news, and plenty of it, and it comes your way next, as Ron continues his teaching series, “What On Earth Is Happening: Examining the Prophecies of Jesus.”  

Impact Video Ministries is here to give us the top 3 proofs of god! Will there be anything new this time?Cards:Apologist Admits that Christianity Makes the World Worse?!?

I Thessalonians 2 The Man of Lawlessness Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Stand Firm 13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.   I John 2:19-27 18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life. 26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.   Introduction: Understanding the Last Days The Reality of Lawlessness and Deception (2 Thessalonians 2:1–5)   The Man of Lawlessness: Future and Pattern (2 Thessalonians 2:6–10) The Spirit of Antichrist Is Already Here (1 John 2:18–23)   False Christs vs. the True Christ  Truth as Protection (1 John 2:24–27)  Christ Reigns Over All Deception  Application: How We Must Live           Discern Doctrine Carefully           Abide in Christ           Do Not Be Deceived  Conclusion: Victory in Christ 

Click here to WATCH LIVE STREAM Worship Service on our Youtube Channel. That You May Believe, Part 12 John 5:19-47 John 5:17-18 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” 18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. · The claims of Jesus. John 5:19-20 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. John 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. John 5:22-23 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. John 5:25-26 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. John 5:27-30 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. 30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. Daniel 7:13-14 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” · The witnesses for Jesus. John 5:31-32 If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. John 5:33-35 You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. John 5:36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. John 5:37-39 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, Luke 24:31-32 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” · The indictment from Jesus. John 5:40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. John 5:41-42 I do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. John 5:43-44 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? John 5:45-47 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” Deuteronomy 18:15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—” Galatians 3:10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Galatians 3:23-26 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. Luke 19:41-42a And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! Hebrews 12:2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Philippians 2:6-11 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Respond | Connect | Next Steps The post John: That You May Believe appeared first on Charleston Baptist Church.

The Liturgy of the Palms The Gospel Matthew 21:1-11 When Jesus and his disciples had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, `The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately." This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, "Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey." The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven! " When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?" The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee." The Psalm Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 Confitemini Domino 1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; * his mercy endures for ever. 2 Let Israel now proclaim, * "His mercy endures for ever." 19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; * I will enter them; I will offer thanks to the Lord. 20 "This is the gate of the Lord; * he who is righteous may enter." 21 I will give thanks to you, for you answered me * and have become my salvation. 22 The same stone which the builders rejected * has become the chief cornerstone. 23 This is the Lord's doing, * and it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 On this day the Lord has acted; * we will rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Hosannah, Lord, hosannah! * Lord, send us now success. 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; * we bless you from the house of the Lord. 27 God is the Lord; he has shined upon us; * form a procession with branches up to the horns of the altar. 28 "You are my God, and I will thank you; * you are my God, and I will exalt you." 29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; * his mercy endures for ever. at The Liturgy of the Word The Collect Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Old Testament Isaiah 50:4-9a The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens-- wakens my ear  to listen as those who are taught. The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious,  I did not turn backward. I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting. The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame;  he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who are my adversaries? Let them confront me. It is the Lord God who helps me; who will declare me guilty? The Psalm Psalm 31:9-16 In te, Domine, speravi 9 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; * my eye is consumed with sorrow, and also my throat and my belly. 10 For my life is wasted with grief, and my years with sighing; * my strength fails me because of affliction, and my bones are consumed. 11 I have become a reproach to all my enemies and even to my neighbors, a dismay to those of my acquaintance; * when they see me in the street they avoid me. 12 I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind; * I am as useless as a broken pot. 13 For I have heard the whispering of the crowd; fear is all around; * they put their heads together against me; they plot to take my life. 14 But as for me, I have trusted in you, O Lord. * I have said, "You are my God. 15 My times are in your hand; * rescue me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me. 16 Make your face to shine upon your servant, * and in your loving-kindness save me." The Epistle Philippians 2:5-11 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God  as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave,  being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself  and became obedient to the point of death--  even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name  that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend,  in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,  to the glory of God the Father. The Gospel Matthew 26:14- 27:66 One of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What will you give me if I betray him to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him. On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?" He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, 'The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.'" So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal. When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; and while they were eating, he said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me." And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, "Surely not I, Lord?" He answered, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born." Judas, who betrayed him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" He replied, "You have said so." While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, "You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd,  the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee." Peter said to him, "Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you." Jesus said to him, "Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times." Peter said to him, "Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you." And so said all the disciples. Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, "I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me." And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want." Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Again he went away for the second time and prayed, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done." Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand." While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him." At once he came up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him. Jesus said to him, "Friend, do what you are here to do." Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him. Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his hand on his sword, drew it, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen in this way?" At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled." Then all the disciples deserted him and fled. Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, in whose house the scribes and the elders had gathered. But Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest; and going inside, he sat with the guards in order to see how this would end. Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward and said, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.'" The high priest stood up and said, "Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?" But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to him, "I put you under oath before the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God." Jesus said to him, "You have said so. But I tell you, From now on you will see the Son of Man  seated at the right hand of Power  and coming on the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?" They answered, "He deserves death." Then they spat in his face and struck him; and some slapped him, saying, "Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who is it that struck you?" Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to him and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied it before all of them, saying, "I do not know what you are talking about." When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." Again he denied it with an oath, "I do not know the man." After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you." Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath, "I do not know the man!" At that moment the cock crowed. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: "Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly. When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus in order to bring about his death. They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate the governor. When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. He said, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? See to it yourself." Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since they are blood money." After conferring together, they used them to buy the potter's field as a place to bury foreigners. For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one on whom a price had been set, on whom some of the people of Israel had set a price, and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me." Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus said, "You say so." But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. Then Pilate said to him, "Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?" But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed. Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas. So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?" For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, "Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him." Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. The governor again said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" And they said, "Barabbas." Pilate said to them, "Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?" All of them said, "Let him be crucified!" Then he asked, "Why, what evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Let him be crucified!" So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves." Then the people as a whole answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!" So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole cohort around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon; they compelled this man to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots; then they sat down there and kept watch over him. Over his head they put the charge against him, which read, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." Then two bandits were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, "You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, 'I am God's Son.'" The bandits who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way. From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o'clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, "This man is calling for Elijah." At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him." Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, "Truly this man was God's Son!" Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee and had provided for him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, "Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, 'After three days I will rise again.' Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, 'He has been raised from the dead,' and the last deception would be worse than the first." Pilate said to them, "You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can." So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.

Philippians 2:9-13 [9] Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, [10] so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.[12] Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, [13] for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Romans 1 New King James VersionGod's Wrath on Unrighteousness18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

Whiskey Review: Jack Daniel's Old No 7   Topic: The Person of Christ   Thanks for listening, please Follow, rate and review.    Show notes:  Jesus is Fully God Col. 1:15-20: “15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by[a] him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” Jesus is not merely a teacher, prophet, or moral example He is: The image of the invisible God Creator and sustainer of all things Supreme over creation Head of the church Christ's authority rests on His divine identity. If Jesus is not fully God: He cannot reveal God perfectly He cannot rule with ultimate authority He cannot save completely A small view of Christ produces shallow devotion A high view of Christ produces reverent obedience Jesus is Fully Human Heb. 4:14-16: “14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Jesus truly became human.  He: Experienced weakness Faced temptation Entered suffering Identified fully with humanity His humanity makes HIm both substitute and sympathetic If Jesus were not fully human: He could not represent us He could not sympathize with us He could not stand in our place Christ is not distant in weakness He is present and compassionate Jesus is the Only Mediator 1 Tim. 2:5 “5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man[a] Christ Jesus,” There is one mediator between God and humanity –Jesus He uniquely bridges: Divine holiness Human sinfulness No system, ritual, or moral effort can substitute for Him.  Modern spirituality often reduces Jesus to one option among many (insert eye roll) Scripture present Him as exclusive and sufficient Exclusively inclusive Discipleship requires clarity about Christ's uniqueness He is not added to life; He becomes the Lord of life.  Jesus is Lord Phil 2:5-11 “5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,[a] 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,[b] 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,[c] being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Jesus humbled Himself, obeyed unto death, and was exalted The result: Every knee will bow Every tongue will confess His lordship is universal and ultimate Confessing Jesus as Savior without acknowledging Him as Lord fractures the gospel. True discipleship involves: Trust in his saving work Submission to His authority Where obedience resists His command, lordship is being contested The question is not whether Christ is Lord The question is whether I am surrendered.

Sunday, 15 March 2026   At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Matthew 18:1   “In that hour, they came, the disciples to Jesus, saying, ‘Who then, he is, greatest in the kingdom of the heavens'” (CG).   In the previous verse, Jesus's word finished Chapter 17 as He told Peter to go to the sea, cast a hook, and take the first fish he caught, opening its mouth, and taking out a stater that would be in its mouth. With that, Peter was to pay the temple tax for Jesus and himself. Chapter 18 begins with, “In that hour.”   Mark and Luke do not mention the account concerning Peter and the payment of the temple tax. Instead, they go into Jesus' words about Him being betrayed and killed (Matthew 17:22, 23) directly into the account now stated. Peter, being the one approached by the tax collectors, may have simply been drawn out of the flow of the narrative, or Matthew may have put that account in there categorically to ensure typology was maintained.   Either way, each account describes this scene a little bit differently, but all agree on the overall tenor of what occurs. Placing the three accounts together, a full picture of how the matter arose is easily seen. This matter is, according to Matthew, that “they came, the disciples to Jesus, saying, ‘Who then, he is, greatest in the kingdom of the heavens?'”   To introduce this account, Mark says, “Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, ‘What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?'” Luke records, “Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest.”   The substance of the matter is that of being great in their hoped-for Messianic kingdom. The disciples argued over who the greatest of them would be. Thus, there is a mark of selfishness and a desire to be recognized above the others. This is a part of the human condition, and few, if any, are exempt from it.   Life application: For the most part, those who appear exempt from feelings of grandeur and self-importance are simply aware of the fact that they don't have a way of becoming great, or they lack what is needed in whatever they think “being great” means. It's not that they don't want it, it's that they aren't able to attain it.   This may not be universal, but it generally becomes evident when someone who had no shot at becoming “great” suddenly has greatness thrust upon him. It is a very rare soul who will handle his elevation responsibly and with humility.   But such an attitude is contrary to what is biblically expected of all, much less leaders. Paul says –   “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3, 4   After saying that, he pens the example of Christ, the One to be emulated –   “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11   Therefore, even if this is not in our nature, we are asked to work on it, until it becomes our nature. The King of the Universe was willing to unite with humanity and take on the lowliest form of man, serving others. This is what God esteems in us. It is akin to the example that Jesus will set forth to His disciples in the verses ahead in Matthew.   Let us have this mind in us, to the glory of God who called us unto Himself.   Lord God Almighty, may we be willing to set aside our pride, lustful desires, and the earthly temptations that we are constantly bombarded with to pursue a life of humility and honoring others. Above all, may our actions be done to glorify You. You alone are truly worthy of all praise, glory, and honor. Amen.

Servanthood begins with a cross-shaped posture—humble, others-first.Philippians 2:1–11 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.John 13:34–35A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Istrouma Baptist Church (BR) Mar 1, 2026 ========== March 1 - Philippians Welcome! We're glad you've joined us today for our Sunday morning worship service! For more information about Istrouma, go to istrouma.org or contact us at info@istrouma.org. We glorify God by making disciples of all nations. ========== Connection Card https://istrouma.org/myinfo March 1, 2026 Matt Cate ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭27‬-‭30‬‬ Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭11‬‬ Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 1. Live In Light of the Gospel. 1:27-30 Paul mentions UNITY in several Epistles: · Romans 15:5-7 - living in one accord to glorify God · 1 Cor. 1:10 - let the be no divisions between you · 2 Cor. 13:11- be like minded and live in peace · Gal. 5:26 – Let's not become boastful, challenging and envious · Eph. 4:1-6 – with all humility and gentleness, with patience, show tolerance for one another in love · Col. 3:12-15 – Bear with one another, forgiving one another · 1 Thes. 4:9-10 – Paul praises them because they have no need for any instruction in unity! 2. Live In the Unity Christ - 2:1-2 If/ Then statement. If: · You have any comfort from His LOVE · Any FELLOWSHIP of the Spirit · Any TENDERNESS and COMPASSION Then make my joy complete by: · Being LIKE-MINDED · Having the SAME LOVE · Being one in SPIRIT and PURPOSE 3. Live with Unity Through HUMILITY- 2:3-4 4. Live in the EXAMPLE of Christ - 2:5-11 Want to receive weekly announcements in your inbox each week? https://istrouma.org/email Give Online Text ISTROUMA IBC to 73256 or go to: https://istrouma.org/give Our Website https://istrouma.org

Istrouma Baptist Church (ASC) Mar 1, 2026 ========== March 1 - Philippians Welcome! We're glad you've joined us today for our Sunday morning worship service! For more information about Istrouma, go to istrouma.org or contact us at info@istrouma.org. We glorify God by making disciples of all nations. ========== Connection Card https://istrouma.org/myinfo Unity Through Humility Philippians 2:1–9 ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭9‬‬ So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 1. Unity is possible because the gospel is real. "So if their is any encouragement in Christ..." Phil. 2:1a 2. Unity is preserved when humility is practiced. "By being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind." Phil 2:2 "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit..." Phil. 2:3a "Look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Phil. 2:4 3. Unity flourishes when we adopt the mind of Christ. "Have this mind among yourselves, which is your in Christ Jesus..." Phil 2:5 Takeaways 1. Unity is grounded in the realities of the gospel. 2. Unity is guarded through practiced humility. 3. Unity reflects the mind of Christ.

Philippians 2:5-115 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:6 Who, being in very nature[a] God,  did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,    being made in human likeness.8 And being found in appearance as a man,    he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place    and gave him the name that is above every name,10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,    to the glory of God the Father.

***We encountered some technical difficulties with this audio so we apologize for the lower quality on this particular sermon.QUOTES FOR REFLECTION“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance; it is the illusion of knowledge.”~Stephen Hawking (1942-2018), theoretical astrophysicist and cosmologist “It is an ironic habit of human beings to run faster when they have lost their way.”~Rollo May (1909-1994), psychologist and author “When man subverted order he did a great deal more than merely fall away from the rationality of his nature…; he brought disorder into the divine order, and presents the unhappy spectacle of a being in revolt against Being. [...] Every time a man sins he renews this act of revolt and prefers himself to God; in thus preferring himself, he separates himself from God; and in separating himself, he deprives himself of the sole end in which he can find beatitude and by that very fact condemns himself to misery.”~Étienne Gilson (1884-1978), French philosopher and scholar “Human beings are not self-referential. You don't make yourself feel loved by telling yourself ‘I love you.' We are relational beings, and so we need something outside of ourselves to tell us we have value and worth.” “What the heart loves, the will chooses, and the mind justifies.”~Dr. John Ashley Null, theologian and Anglican Bishop of North Africa “If you want your own way, God will let you have it. Hell is the enjoyment of one's own way forever.”~Dorothy L. Sayers (1893-1957), English novelist, playwright, and critic “The concept of substitution may be said, then, to lie at the heart of both sin and salvation. For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be. God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be. Man claims prerogatives which belong to God alone. God accepts penalties which belong to man alone.”~ John R. W. Stott (1921-2011) in The Cross of Christ “This is perfect and pure boasting in God, when one is not proud on account of his own righteousness but knows that he is indeed unworthy of the true righteousness and is justified solely by faith in Christ.”~Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on Humility, 20.3SERMON PASSAGERomans 1:16-32 (ESV)Romans 116 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. Romans 21 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. Proverbs 17 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of   knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Psalm 191 The heavens declare the glory of God,  and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.2 Day to day pours out speech,   and night to night reveals knowledge. Psalm 10619 They made a calf in Horeb   and worshiped a metal image.20 They exchanged the glory of God   for the image of an ox that eats grass.21 They forgot God, their Savior,   who had done great things in Egypt,22 wondrous works in the land of Ham,   and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.23 Therefore he said he would destroy them—   had not Moses, his chosen one,   stood in the breach before him,   to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

God Sees a Jesus Follower as Being “In Christ”; Therefore, God Sees a Jesus Follower as His Son or Daughter MESSAGE SUMMARY: As Followers of Jesus, you are "In Christ" -- God looks at you, as a Jesus Follower, and He sees Jesus in you. Throughout the Epistles we find: "In Christ" or "In Him". In Galatians 3:14, Paul tells you that your faith in Jesus makes you “In Christ” and a recipient of God's Covenant with Abraham: “so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.". Also, Paul goes even further, in Galatians 3:25-28, to tell you that, through your faith in Jesus, you no longer need any kind of intermediary because you are “In Christ” and you have a personal relationship with God, the Creator of the Universe: “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.”. When God sees you, “In Christ" as a Jesus Follower, He sees Jesus, the Son. Therefore, God sees you as His son or daughter.   TODAY'S PRAYER: Lord, everything in me resists following you into the garden of Gethsemane to fall on my face to the ground before you. Grant me the courage to follow you all the way to the cross, whatever that might mean for my life. And then, by your grace, lead me to resurrection life and power. In Jesus' name, amen.   Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 100). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Despair. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit's fruit of Joy. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Romans 3:21-26; Romans 6:5-11; Romans 6:22-23; Psalms 63:1-11. A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “Essentials Part 3 – Incomplete Finished Work”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Community // Week 4 // Living Life On TeamPastors JF & Ashley Wilkerson1. Is Your Focus the Team or the Talent?What Do You Value More: the Name on the Front or the Name on the Back?Philippians 2:1-2 NIV1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.Philippians 2:3-11 NIV3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.1. Is Your Focus the Team or the Talent?2. Do You Recognize Your Season and Are You Honoring It?Are you focused on your Formation or are You Focused on Your Frustration?Philippians 2:12-15a NIV12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. 14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”1. Is Your Focus the Team or the Talent?2. Do You Recognize Your Season and Are You Honoring It?3. Are You Practicing What You'll Need Under Pressure?Your Preparation will shape Your Patterns and Your Posture.Philippians 2:15b-18 NIV15b Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.Matthew 7:15-27 NIV15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' 24 Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”1. Is Your Focus the Team or the Talent?2. Do You Recognize Your Season and Are You Honoring It?3. Are You Practicing What You'll Need Under Pressure?

“GOD, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right and of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” Hebrews 1:1-4 “Hebrews is basically a book that encourages [exhorts] discouraged Christians to continue on strong with Jesus in light of the complete superiority of who He is and what He did for us.”- David Guzik. The messenger vs. the message “Are they (angels) not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:14. “GOD, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets…” the message > the messengerChrist is not another messenger. He is the message“GOD, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son” Hebrews 1:1-2. “The Bible is the record of the different places and different ways by which God has spoken to man. In the book of Genesis, we find God speaking to man by angels; they were the messengers…then God began to speak through anointed men such as Moses and Joshua…. Then God spoke to them through priests…then as time progressed God raised up prophets…But God's final revelation was given to man through Jesus Christ. Jesus came to bring man the final, the ultimate message of God. The ultimate understanding of God. So, all that man is to know about God can be discovered in and through Jesus Christ. This revelation is superior than all of the other revelations. His revelation through the Son is superior than the revelation through the angels.”- Chuck Smith.“39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” John 5:39“It isn't so much that Jesus brought a message from the Father; He is a message from the Father. He has revealed something no other prophet could”- David Guzik. “(Jesus)who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they” Hebrews 1:3-4“He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born over-all creation.16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” Colossians 1:15-18. Preeminent: surpassing all others; having the highest rank, importance or excellence. Gnosticism: salvation comes through special, hidden knowledge.Agnostic: without knowledge. Who Jesus is:#1 Heir (“Heir of all things” Heb 1:2) #2 Creator (“he made the worlds” Heb 1:2) #3 Revealer (“the brightness of his glory and express image of His person” Heb 1:3) #4 Sustainer (“upholding all things” Heb 1:3) #5 Ruler (“of His power” Heb 1:3) #6 Redeemer (“He had by Himself purged our sins” Heb 1:3)#7 Supreme (“sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they” Heb 1:3-4)“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.” Hebrews 2:9 “9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name” Philippians 2:9.Jesus' names: Second Adam (1 Cor 15:45)Advocate (1 John 2:1)Almighty (Rev 1:8)Alpha and Omega (Rev 1:8)Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2)Bread of life (John 6:32)Christ (Luke 9:20)Cornerstone (Ps 188:22)Creator (John 1:3)First and Last (Rev 1:12)Good Shepard (John 10:11)Great High Priest (Heb 4:24)Holy One (Acts 3:14)I am (John 8:58)Immanuel (Is 7:14)Jehovah (Is 26:4)King of Kings (1 Tim 6:15)Lamb (Rev 13:8)Light of the world (John 8:12)Lion of Judah (Rev 5:5)Lord of Lords (1 Tim 6:15)Man of Sorrows (Is 53:3)Mediator (1 Tim 2:5)Messiah (Dan 9:25)Mighty God (Is 9:6)Prince of Peace (Is 9:6)Redeemer (Job 19:25)Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25)Rock (1 Cor 10:4)Root of David (Rev 22:16)Savior (Luke 2:11)Son of the Highest (Luke 1:32)True Vine (John 15:1)Truth (John 1:14)Word (John 1:1)“Jesus' supreme status is demonstrated by a supreme name, which is not merely a title, but a description of His nature and character”- David Guzik. “What do you think about the Christ?” Matthew 22:42. Hebrews invites us to see the fullness of the message found in Jesus

We had planned to begin our new series in 2 Samuel this week, but due to weather and cancellations, we're moving that start date to next Sunday.In the meantime, we invite you to be encouraged by a special message from Isaac Hill, recorded at Old Lexington Baptist Church in Leesville on January 18. We're grateful for the opportunity to share this sermon with our church family.This week's group content will be standalone. Group Guide Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week. TranscriptThis morning we are going to be in Philippians chapter two. And so if you've got your Bibles, I would love for you to turn there with me. I'm going to read for us verses 1 through 11, and I'm going to pray and we'll dive in. This is what Paul says in Philippians chapter two.So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every nation bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word in the way that it reveals who you are and what you are doing and who we are and what you are calling us into. And so we would ask this morning that you would use your word to teach and instruct us, and that it would not return void in Jesus name. Amen.This morning, since we're jumping directly into the middle of a book, the Letter to the Philippians, I figured we could have a little bit of context. My Old Testament class professor always said, context is king. That was driven to my mind while I studied there. A little bit of context of the letter that Paul wrote. Paul was under house arrest when he wrote this letter to the Philippian Church. If you read the couple of chapters that are there, you find out that this is one of Paul's most encouraging letters that he has to write to the churches. We discover that he has a great and fond relationship of the church at Philippi. They mean much to him, both in his heart and then in his mission of declaring the gospel to those who have yet to hear. There's not a whole lot of correction in the letter, we do learn about some disagreements that show up between a couple members, but for the most part, Paul is really just encouraging this church to continue strong in the faith.In chapter one, which is immediately before what we're looking at this morning, Paul writes to them to let them know about his imprisonment that he was under, but more specifically to write about how he has found joy in the middle of his circumstance. It turns out that the Lord has used it as an opportunity for the continuing advancement of the message of the Gospel, both to the prison guards that were keeping watch over him and then anybody who he also got to be around. After he shares this update at the end of Chapter one, I believe that there's a transitionary paragraph that leads into the rest of the letter, and I want to read the beginning phrase of that paragraph, because I think it's going to position us to correctly understand what Paul is talking about in the passage of chapter 2. This is what he says in Philippians 1:27.Only let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ.Only let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ.There's a footnote in the ESV translation, which is what I like to use, and it writes that if you were to literally translate this phrase, it would read, only behave as citizens worthy of the Gospel of Christ, that what we're going to see today is Paul is going to show for us three aspects, three characteristics of a life that belongs to a citizen of the Gospel of Jesus, that Jesus is king, he is Lord, and for those that believe and trust in him, we exist inside his kingdom, and there's a way of life that is called for us to live in under the message of Jesus. With that, let's jump in to chapter two, verse. So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.He writes this language, if there is any. When he writes it that way, it's almost like when you and I would ask a rhetorical question. If you've ever been with your friend and you know somebody who did something totally outlandish, you might say, can you believe that? It's not really that you are asking. Can you show the proof and build out the reason as to why you believe that? No, you're just so confounded by what has taken place that it bursts out into question. In the same way Paul is saying, if there is any encouragement in Christ, there is. He's already written about it in chapter one, that there is encouragement in Christ as he's in prison. He writes, if there's any comfort from love, this letter is an encouraging letter, that the relationship that he has with the Philippian Church, there is comfort in love that he has from them. If there's any participation in the Spirit, he writes about their partnership with him in the Gospel. There's affection, there's sympathy. That's what Paul is seeing.In verse two, what we see is he's saying, complete my joy. He's driving toward what he wants them to understand, what he wants to instruct them in. What we're going to see is what I believe is three categories that are important for us in understanding what it looks like, our life to look like it is worthy of the Gospel of Jesus. Verse two, he says, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. I think these are the three categories here. While we talk about them this morning as three distinct categories, because that's helpful for us in engaging it, they're actually interconnected with one another, as we'll see. But as we see here, Paul wants them to be of the same mind, Number one wants them to have the same love. It's number two, and he wants them to be of one in purpose. That word purpose is another way of translating the word accord. Those are the three categories that I think Paul is getting after and that we would do well to consider and study.If you were to just read up to verse two here in the text, you would be asking some questions. What is the mind that we're supposed to be in? The same as what love are we supposed to be the same as what accord or purpose are we supposed to be full of? That's what I think verses 3 through 11 are going to help us this morning. Let's take these one at a time.First, Paul is going to write about what it looks like being of the same mind. Pick back up in verse 3.Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus.Paul begins to explain what it looks like to have this mind. First of all, he categorizes it as being the mind of Christ. We'll get to talk about that in more detail here in a minute. In verse three and four, he practically is walking through what it looks like to have the same mind. Let's work back through just bit by bit of what he said. Do nothing from selfish ambition. Ambition is that idea of drive or motivation by which we do things. What he's saying is, don't—those a negative command. Don't be driven to terminate what you do on self. Do nothing from selfish ambition. Don't let your ambition, your motivation, your drive to accomplish things be for the end and the purpose of ending on yourself. Then he says, do nothing from conceit. Conceit is the idea of thinking more highly of yourself than you ought to. The important thing about conceit is it actually has to do with our relationship with other people. The way that I can think more highly of myself is by thinking more highly of me over you.Then he goes on and starts to give the positive aspect of this, what it looks like in humility, count others as more significant than yourselves. That's the opposite side of the conceit that not only would I not think of myself as greater than you, but I would be thinking of you as greater than me. That's true humility of me bringing myself low and considering you as more than important. That's the mind he wants us to have. In verse 4 he says, look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Very practically what it looks like is not just me thinking about what I've got on my plate or whatever difficulties I'm facing or whatever wants I have thinking about you and what you're facing and what you're dealing with and what you want.To flesh this out a little bit more, I just figured I'd share some of how this passage in this last week was hitting home for me. How the Spirit was working in my heart, convicting me and thinking this in verse 4. I really appreciate Paul's language of look because in life what happens is we've got our stuff that we're dealing with, whatever it is. Your alarm goes off, my alarm goes off. I wake up and I go to my job and I sit at my desk and do my work and tackle my problems. Then I come home and I've got my house and my family and I'm zoned in. It's something about us that we've got to take care of it. We're looking at the things we're doing, and we're just looking and we're doing and we're looking and we're doing and just locked in. What Paul wants us to see—this is why I found that language of look so helpful—is that if we take a moment to pause and look, I see there's more than me. I see there's more than what I'm facing and what I'm dealing with and what I'm working at. Now I'm beginning to see you. If I spend long enough looking, I'll start to see the else who has all the things that you're doing that you're working towards, that you're facing, that you're struggling with.This is why it's convicting for me, is that I'm very driven by accomplishing, by getting stuff done, but I should slow down. I hope to consider and look and see other people. Another thing that was striking in this passage is Paul doesn't say, don't just look to your own needs, but look to the needs of others. He says, don't just look to your own interests, but look to the interests of others. I think we might find it a little easy to wrap our heads around. Well, yeah, they have a need, so I'll help them meet a need that makes sense. But he just says their interests, what they have want for. That's true humility coming all the way down low, that I would consider what you want above what I want. This is the mind that Paul is wanting us to have and to share.As mentioned earlier, Paul has a lot of commendation for the church, but he really wants to push them to grow in this way. As I was trying to consider how we might be able to connect in our own context with what Paul is writing here, I was thinking about verse one, as he's writing about the encouragement that's there, the comfort that is there, the sympathy, the affection. I was beginning to think we might say something like, the Joneses, they're just good people. They're good people. Or you might say the Millers, they're just so nice, just decent people. We might use language like that. Genuinely, we're talking about good things. We're talking about them being respectful, cordial, nice, kind. They're genuinely wonderful good qualities about people and something that we should be. But Paul is trying to drive us into something deeper because remember, he's talking about a life that is worthy of belonging to the gospel of Jesus.I don't think it's enough that we could just be good people. It's not enough for me to just be decent. Even this morning as I'm here and I'm walking and I'm getting to shake all of your hands and meet you, I said, you don't know me. Maybe after you've had an interaction with me, you might think, oh, he's a decent fella. I haven't rubbed the wrong way. I think that's a perfectly fine thing. But I can do that and still be driven as a person by selfish ambition, I can do that and still be a person that is driven by conceit, that I would think more highly of myself, or that I could be a person that is really just mainly concerned with my own interests. So it's not enough. A life worthy of the gospel of Jesus in our mind must go beyond what are good things. We have to drive deeper into the faith that we have been called into. I would be thinking of other people as more important than myself. This is the mind of Christ. This is the mind that Paul wants us to live in as people who belong to Jesus. That word humility there is the perfect summation of what he is getting at, that I would be humble. That's the first category that Paul has for us of living a life worthy of the gospel of Jesus: that we would be of one mind, the one mind of Christ that is humble.Secondly, being of the same love. Paul talks about, he wants them to be of the same love. Pick back up in verse five.Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.As mentioned already that this mind of humility belongs to Christ. Paul is about to explain here the depth of the humility of Jesus. Follow the journey of Christ as Paul has it outlined here. First we see that Jesus was in the form of God. Theologically, Jesus is God the Son, that our God exists as a triune God, he is three persons in one being, that he is God the Father, the Son and the Spirit, and Jesus is God the Son. We could have spent all morning just trying to talk about and tackle and understand what that means, and we still would just barely have scratched the surface of understanding it. But let's focus on what Paul is considering this morning along the lines of humility.Jesus has a claim to be God the man. Jesus who lived 2,000 years ago, a real person like you and I. He has a claim to the name of God that includes all the power, includes all the authority. In other scriptures we see that he's accredited with creation. He's the Creator, he's the Almighty, he's powerful, he's the Name above all names. He has the authority. Yet he, verse seven did not count—sorry, verse six did not count—equality with God, a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men. This is the beginning of the path of humility that Jesus takes. It starts with the mind of Christ here, right? He says, do not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. He does not think of his claim to the name of God as that which should be grabbed with triumphal assertion. As one commentator put it.I have a young son now. He's almost 10 months old and yesterday we got to play together and he has this little screwdriver chew toy thing to help him with teething or whatever. He was just holding on to it. He was just grasping onto it, super excited, super cute, and that's that idea of grasping onto it like it's the spoils of victory of war, that he's got this rubber little chew toy thing. When we think about the idea of Jesus having a claim to the name of God and that he didn't count it as something worth grasping to, what does he do? He put on the likeness of man that the Son of God eternal became like you and I. He had real skin, real bones. He had muscles that grew weary as the day went on. His mind grew hazy as tiredness began to set in, or maybe hunger, a stomach that growled when it was dinner time.I want to be clear here so I don't get myself into trouble when talking about this aspect of Jesus being in two natures, fully God and fully man. When Jesus put on flesh, he didn't in any way lose his status as God. Remember, he has full claim to it. But he still did put on flesh. He still was like you and I, weak. We've gotten to talk with some of you that are much further along in the journey than I am now. I'm sure you understand that, do you not? Body begins to be weak, gets to be harder to do things. Jesus was man, with times experienced weakness. We could have spent all morning just talking about this aspect of Jesus, and still we would have just barely scratched the surface of what it means. Let's continue on along the purpose of what Paul is talking about, outlining the path of Christ's humility.First, being found in human form. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. We have Jesus, who is the Son of God, eternal, creator, almighty, powerful. Then he takes on human frame like you and I, and he experiences life like you and I experience with weakness, with sadness, with tears, with difficulty. He also submits himself to obedience to the Father. We see this throughout the Gospel accounts that Jesus in his ministry submits to the will of God. See this most potently in the Gospel of John. Over and over again Jesus recounts, I do nothing of my own accord, but I do that which the Father has sent me to do. He lives in that way. Not only does he submit himself in obedience, he submits himself to death. Not only does he submit himself to death, but he submits himself to the most humiliating death. It was not honorable for him to hang on that tree. That was cursed man's death. That was the death that he went to go to.Do you see this path of humility? God eternal, Creator, Almighty, and he steps down into human form, and then he steps down into obedience, and then he steps down into death and into the humiliating death on the cross. At this point you might be thinking, did we start off this category by Paul talking about being of the same love? What does this have to do with love? That he whom for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. This is the giving of the Son, that in humility he comes. This is the kind of love that Paul is calling us to live in, the giving completely of oneself. Remember, it starts in the mind, the humility to consider for a moment that somebody might actually be more important than me. Then it shows up in real life and then I actually give of myself to that person, whatever it might be, whoever it might be, in whatever situation it might be. This is the kind of love that we are called into.Think about First Corinthians 13, a very popular passage on love. It's patient, it's kind, doesn't envy, it doesn't boast, it's not proud, it's not arrogant. Selfishness and pride are the opposite side of this kind of love of bringing myself low and considering other people and loving and giving myself for them. This is what it looks like to live as citizens worthy of the gospel of Jesus, that I would love in a way that is giving of myself. Real love takes real sacrifice. It takes real giving. I love my wife and if I were to stand here and tell you not once have I ever had to give anything up for her, I hope you would look at me and say, you don't love your wife because it takes giving of myself—humility—to come low and to consider her interests above my own. If we never give up anything for the sake of our brothers and sisters in Christ, do we love them? Are we of this same love that Paul is talking about here, this love of Christ that gives himself up for the sake of others? This is what it looks like to be people of the same mind and the same love as Jesus, to live as somebody that's worthy of belonging to the gospel.That brings us to our third and final point being one in purpose. Continue on in verse nine.Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.The path of Christ's humility did not end in the grave, but Jesus rose victorious over death and over hell. Now at his name, because of his willingness to be humble and to submit himself to the Father and to submit himself to death, he now is risen and exalted above all things, risen and exalted above all names. So that at his name, every knee—your knee, my knee, the knees of all those who live around you in this area here, the knee of everybody who lives in my area—across the whole globe, across all time, in the grave, living and breathing in the spiritual realm, every knee will bow to the name of Jesus, our King. He is the King of the kingdom of the Gospel, and all will bow to him, and all glory will be due his name.This has everything to do with being of one purpose. This is the one purpose of our God, that all glory would be ascribed to him. Our purpose is to bring glory to him. When we are citizens of the gospel of Jesus, who we are and what we do is to be of that singular purpose and none other. Your glory, not my glory, not the glory of a city, not the glory of this country, of this world. The glory is to him because we are his people. What it looks like for us to live in that way is that we get to follow the same journey and trajectory as Jesus who humbled himself, that when we belong to him, we're called into the same life of coming low.Surely you all have experienced tumbling in your time. In those moments where you have been brought low, maybe it's for a purpose. Maybe it's not just random. Maybe it's not just bad luck. Maybe it's the Father trying to help us participate and join with Jesus so that our life could be worthy of the gospel of Christ. In those moments of weakness and being brought low, there is an opportunity for us to live in this way, to be people who would see others as more important than ourselves, just like Jesus did, to work and to live and to act for the interests of others, to love and to give of ourselves completely, and then ultimately and fully the same exact end result takes place. Glory to Jesus and not to ourselves.I think that the greatest danger for us who live in the time and the space that we do is that we would try to be comfortable and follow Jesus at the same time. We've been called into more than that; we belong to a different kingdom. While our cultural moment is pulling on every thread for us to terminate all things on ourselves, Jesus is calling us into something different and greater. If this morning you belong to him, that is the life that we are called into. A life of surrender to the gospel of Jesus.Maybe this morning you're thinking, yes, absolutely, that's what I want, live in that kind of life. If you think that what it's going to take is for you to walk out the doors and white-knuckle it, you're going to figure it out, you're going to change your mind, you're going to change the way you love, you're going to change the way you live, I would encourage you to look to Christ. The gospel is not about you doing and earning it. You can't. This life that Paul is talking about is not about earning anything. It's about living in what already is true, that Jesus in his humility really has rescued us and set us free from a life of selfishness. Do you know how destructive a life of selfishness is? It's so broken. But we can live into more. The gospel doesn't start at just us being set free, but his Spirit, the Spirit of the Almighty, the Spirit of the humble, comes to live within us and indwell us and empower us to live in this way. This is what it looks like for us to participate in this. As we sang earlier, how sweet it is to trust in Jesus, to trust him in this. Not to trust in our ability to execute this perfectly, but to trust in him and to come low into living this way.Let's pray, Father. We confess that we are too often drawn into a life of selfish ambition, where the things that flood our minds are the things that terminate on us. There's a possibility that we could live this life by just trying to be respectful or cordial or nice, decent. But you're calling us into something more and we want to participate in that. Father, would you fill us with your Spirit to live as people that are worthy of the gospel of Jesus and that our minds would be changed, we would look up and see other people and consider their interests, that we would think of them as more important than ourselves. Then that would call us even deeper into loving them, giving ourselves up for those that are around us, those that are sitting in this room, and that ultimately that would draw us into the purpose, the ultimate purpose of all glory being given to Jesus, of our life bowing down our knees coming low to worship Christ as king of the kingdom to which we belong. In Jesus name, amen.

After reading Psalm 45 we meditated on what makes a person handsome. As the Psalm proceeds it becomes evident that several verses are prophetical of our Lord.  Verses 6 & 7 are quoted in Hebrews 1 v.8,9.  In the Psalm they read, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever: the sceptre of your kingdom is a sceptre of uprightness; you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.  Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions” This puts the relationship between the Almighty and his Son in its true perspective. But are verses 2 & 3 also prophetical of Jesus?  “You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever. Gird your sword on your thigh O mighty one, in your splendour and majesty.”This is in contrast to Isaiah 53 which is so evidently prophetical of the Lord, that “he has no form or majesty that we should look to him, and no beauty that we should desire him.” [v.2] The solution to this contrast is two-fold, the words that follow in the Psalm, “you are the most handsome” are – “grace is poured upon your lips therefore God has …” This reminds us of Peter's words, “let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a meek and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.” [1 Pet. 3 v.4]  God will reward this kind of beauty.We read yesterday how – because “Joseph was handsome in form and appearance” [Gen 39 v.6] it proved to be to his disadvantage – but today we saw a contrast when “they quickly brought him out of the pit.” [41 v14] and when he had shaved and had new clothes he was brought before Pharaoh.Exalted to a position of honour before Pharaoh, did not these developments foreshadow in type, first the humiliation and then the exaltation of Christ. They also foreshadow the experience of true believers who, especially in certain parts of the world, struggle with opposition against the true way of life in Christ. This opposition is spreading as, even in this country, the Government is more inclined to pass permissive laws and seek to punish those who ignore them and even speak against them. Paul's words to the Romans should be engraved on our minds: “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 …”  [12 v.2]  Our daily reading of God's word enables us to properly perform the “testing” and become “handsome” in mind and be ready for the time when our Lord will “gird (his) sword”..

Over the coming months and through our study of the book of Hebrews, we aim to meditate frequently on the glory of Jesus Christ. May our souls be revived by a constant view of his glory - in this book which invites us to consider Christ Jesus, the exalted Savior of weary pilgrims like us. This week we look to Hebrews 12:18-29.1. The New Covenant Place is a City“But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” Hebrews 11:16“…behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb...” Revelation 14:1“…the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Revelation 21:22. The New Covenant Place is a Gathering3. The New Covenant Place is a Reunion“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” Revelation 21:34. The New Covenant Place is Unshakeable “…I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” Revelation 21:1“No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” Revelation 22:3-5Life Group Discussion Questions: lifechurchnc.com/hebrewsLife Church exists to glorify God by making disciples who treasure Christ, grow together, and live on mission. Salisbury, NCFollow us online:lifechurchnc.comFacebookInstagramYouTubeTwitter

Philippians 2:9-11 New King James Version   9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:5-11 New King James Version   5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

8By faithAbraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a placethat he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.9By faith he went to live inthe land of promise, as in a foreign land,living in tentswith Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.10For he was looking forward tothe city that hasfoundations,whose designer and builder is God.11By faithSarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she consideredhim faithful who had promised.12Therefore from one man, andhim as good as dead, were born descendantsas many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. 13These all died in faith,not having received the things promised, buthaving seen them and greeted them from afar, andhaving acknowledged that they werestrangers and exiles on the earth.14For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.15If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out,they would have had opportunity to return.16But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamedto be called their God, forhe has prepared for them a city.

Philippians 2:1-11So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:4-11 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.   Zechariah 9:9,16 9  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 16 On that day the Lord their God will save them,  as the flock of his people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land. Psalm 20: 6-9 6  Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven    with the saving might of his right hand.  7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.  8 They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright. 9 O Lord, save the king! May he answer us when we call. Revelation 5:9-10,13-14 9  And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals,for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”  13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,  “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Jesus did something we often overlook when He came to earth.He emptied Himself.He emptied Himself of all the rights and privileges of being the Son of God, seated at the right hand of Majesty in Heaven.He remained fully God and fully man, but emptied Himself of the glory of BEING God as He walked the earth.Philippians 2:7-11 tells us that He “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”Jesus' emptying Himself has a HUGE impact on what is happening in your life and mine, right now, at this very moment, because of what Jesus is doing on our behalf in Heaven right now, at this moment!  Did you know that Jesus is in Heaven right now, interceding for you? He is also preparing a place for you, right now!  And that's not all…Join me for this lagniappe edition as we learn to follow Jesus' example, the glory of being empty to be full this season!(RAR2025EP52)

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”~C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe “Human beings are not self-referential. You don't make yourself feel loved by telling yourself ‘I love you.' We are relational beings, and so we need something outside of ourselves to tell us we have value and worth.”~Dr. John Ashley Null, Humboldt University (Berlin) and Anglican Bishop of North Africa “But where, say some, is the King of America? I'll tell you, friend, he reigns above….”~Thomas Paine (1737-1809) in “Common Sense” (pub. January 10, 1776) “There has not been a ‘when' when the Father was not in existence. This, then, is true of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Put another question and I will answer it.Since when has the Son been begotten? Since as long as the Father has not been begotten.Since when has the Spirit been proceeding? Since as long as the Son has not been proceeding but being begotten in a non-temporal way that transcends explanation.”~Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 329-390) in “On the Son” orations 29, chapter 3 “We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible. “And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, the only-begotten; that is of the essence of the Father, God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; by whom all things were made both in heaven and on earth. Who for us men and for our salvation came down and was incarnate and was made man; he suffered and the third day he rose again, and he ascended into heaven; from then he shall come to judge the living and the dead. “And in the Holy Spirit. “But those who say: ‘There was a time when he was not;' and ‘he was not before he was made;' and ‘he was made out of nothing,' or ‘he is of another substance' or ‘essence,' or ‘The Son of God is created,' or ‘changeable,' or ‘alterable'—they are condemned by the holy catholic and apostolic Church.”~The Nicene Creed (325 AD) “…we are not entitled to such license, I mean that of affirming what we please; we make the Holy Scriptures the rule and the measure of every tenet…”~Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335-c. 394), church leader from ancient Cappadocia; key participant in the Council of Constantinople (381AD), that confirmed and expanded the Nicene Creed (325 AD). SERMON PASSAGEselected passages (ESV)John 5 19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. 22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. 25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. Philippians 24 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Psalm 21 Why do the nations rage  and the peoples plot in vain?2 The kings of the earth set themselves,  and the rulers take counsel together,  against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,3  “Let us burst their bonds apart  and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;  the Lord holds them in derision.5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,  and terrify them in his fury, saying,6 “As for me, I have set my King  on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree:  The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;  today I have begotten you.8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,  and the ends of the earth your possession.9 You shall break them with a rod of iron  and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;  be warned, O rulers of the earth.11 Serve the Lord with fear,  and rejoice with trembling.12 Kiss the Son,  lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,  for his wrath is quickly kindled.  Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Philippians 2:5-11 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.     Isaiah 9:1-7 1  But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.  2 The people who walked in darkness  have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. 3 You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. 4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.  5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom,     to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.   Galatians 4:4-7 4  But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Christ Our King: The Word Enthroned 12.14.25 Pastor Tony Felich   2 Samuel 7:12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. [13] He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.[16] And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.'”   Psalm 2:6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” [7] I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. [8] Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.   Micah 5:2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.   Matthew 2:1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, [2] saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”   Philippians 2:9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, [10] so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.   Revelation 19:11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. [12] His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. [13] He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. [14] And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. [15] From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. [16] On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.   WLC 45 Q. How doth Christ execute the office of a king? A. Christ executeth the office of a king, in calling out of the world a people to himself, and giving them officers, laws, and censures, by which he visibly governs them; in bestowing saving grace upon his elect, rewarding their obedience, and correcting them for their sins, preserving and supporting them under all their temptations and sufferings, restraining and overcoming all their enemies, and powerfully ordering all things for his own glory and their good; and also in taking vengeance on the rest, who know not God and obey not the gospel.”

Study session scripture: Romans 1:18-32For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.Study session topics:God's wrath against sinners: the unrighteousness of the gentilesWhat does the wrath of God look like? Thumos versus orgeGo'd wrath against unrighteousness is revealed in the downward trajectory of an ungodly worldRefusal to honor GodTurning to worship idolsSexual sinFurther depravityStudy session audio:

Philippians 2:1-11 1  1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.   Hebrews 12:1-2   1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Message Take Aways:1. Paul reminds of the preeminence of Jesus Christ who is greater than all things being God the Son, Lord of lords, and King of kings—“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth” Philippians 2:9-102. Paul recalls the selfless and willing sacrifice of Jesus Christ which generates peace between God and man—“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” 1 Timothy 2:5-63. Paul recognized his mission as preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all men, a charge likewise entrusted to every believer—“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” Romans 10:14

We have so much to be grateful for, and most of all we can give thanks for Christ Jesus leaving the heights of heaven and coming to dwell among us, taking our sin, destroying death and making eternity in heaven possible to thise who call upon His name. Chad meditates on this most wonderful hymn from Paul's letter to the Phillipians and calls us to be ever grateful for the finished work of our Saviour. Jeff Anderson sings "You Took the Way Down". Hidden Streams: Show Notes: Support 1517 Podcast Network 1517 Podcasts 1517 on Youtube 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts 1517 Events Schedule 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education What's New from 1517: Coming Home for Christmas: 1517 Advent Devotional Face to Face: A Novel of the Reformation by Amy Mantravadi Untamed Prayers: 365 Daily Devotions on Christ in the Book of Psalms by Chad Bird Remembering Your Baptism: A 40-Day Devotional by Kathryn Morales Sinner Saint by Luke Kjolhaug More from the hosts: Chad Bird We have the mind of Christ We have the mind of Christ    Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be exploited,  but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,  so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Salvation's story You took the way down The Lord of glory You took the way down You came down to earth So we can enter Your rest And wait for the day Every knee shall bow Every tongue confess That Jesus is Lord We have the mind of Christ We have the mind of Christ

Happy Thanksgiving! As you gather with family and friends today, we hope your hearts are filled with gratitude to God for His many blessings. While Thanksgiving is a treasured tradition for us, its roots stretch back more than 4 centuries. Who gathered at that first feast in 1621? Why were they there? And what exactly were they giving thanks for?Let's take a closer look at the remarkable story of the Pilgrims—one of enduring faith, sacrifice, and God's gracious provision.Who Were the Pilgrims?Most of us learned in grade school that the Plymouth Colony—located in present-day Massachusetts—was founded in 1620 by a group we know as the Pilgrims. These settlers, also called Separatists, longed to break away entirely from the Church of England, believing it had drifted from biblical teaching. Their commitment to worship according to Scripture set them on a courageous journey toward religious freedom.Nearby, the Puritans would establish the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. While they shared many beliefs with the Pilgrims, their approach differed. The Puritans remained within the Church of England, seeking to reform it from within. Though their strategies diverged, the stories of these two groups are deeply intertwined in the early chapters of American history.The Pilgrims faced significant persecution in England for worshiping outside the established church. Holding fast to the Bible as their ultimate authority made them targets. In 1609, seeking refuge, they fled to Leiden, Holland. Yet even there, challenges persisted—some were arrested, and the freedom they sought still felt out of reach.Recognizing Europe would not offer the spiritual liberty they longed for, they made a bold and costly decision: to sail to the New World. About 120 men, women, and children boarded the Mayflower. While some passengers—known as “adventurers”—joined the voyage for economic opportunity, the Pilgrims' primary aim was clear: to worship freely and build a life rooted firmly in their faith.Hardship Upon ArrivalTheir journey across the Atlantic was long and brutal. Delays meant they arrived in November—not summer—leaving no time to plant crops. That first winter, remembered as “the starving time,” was devastating. Nearly half the group died from disease and lack of food.Still, in God's providence, the Pilgrims formed a gracious relationship with local Native Americans. A Native American named Squanto—who had learned English years earlier—became a critical ally. He taught them how to plant corn, where to fish, and how to survive in an unfamiliar land. His guidance helped bring the colony through that difficult first year.With Squanto's help, the Pilgrims planted crops in the spring of 1621 and harvested enough that fall to sustain their small community. To honor God for His provision, they invited their Native American neighbors to join them in a feast of thanksgiving.By that point, only 22 men, four married women, and 25 teenagers and children remained from the original group. Their guests nearly doubled the gathering, bringing food and friendship—resulting in what may have been America's first potluck meal. Together, they celebrated survival, provision, and the kindness of God expressed through unexpected relationships.A Legacy of FaithYears later, Plymouth's longtime governor, William Bradford, reflected on their experience in Of Plymouth Plantation, quoting Hebrews 11:13–16 to describe the Pilgrims' faith:“All these people were still living by faith when they died… They were looking for a country of their own… longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.”For the Pilgrims, this passage captured the heart of their journey. They understood that their true home was not a piece of land or a colony—they belonged to God. Their courage, perseverance, and gratitude were expressions of that eternal hope.As we celebrate Thanksgiving today, may we remember this story of faith under pressure, resilience in hardship, and gratitude rooted in God's unwavering provision. The freedoms we enjoy—especially the freedom to worship—come through the sacrifices of those who came before us.From all of us at FaithFi, we wish you a warm, joyful, and grace-filled Thanksgiving. May your day be filled with gratitude for God's goodness and confidence in His faithful care.On Today's Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions:My question is about the so-called ‘Dollar 2.0' and the new S.1582 bill. How might this impact our currency? I'm retired and concerned about my savings.My dad recently passed away and left me and my siblings money in an IRA. We're being told we need to set up inherited IRAs to receive it. What exactly is an inherited IRA, and is that our only—or best—option?I run a construction company and also helped start a nonprofit. Can I legally pay myself a salary from the nonprofit? And can the nonprofit hire my construction company for its projects?Resources Mentioned:Faithful Steward: FaithFi's Quarterly Magazine (Become a FaithFi Partner)Sound Mind Investing (SMI)Wisdom Over Wealth: 12 Lessons from Ecclesiastes on MoneyLook At The Sparrows: A 21-Day Devotional on Financial Fear and AnxietyRich Toward God: A Study on the Parable of the Rich FoolFind a Certified Kingdom Advisor (CKA)FaithFi App Remember, you can call in to ask your questions every workday at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. You can also visit FaithFi.com to connect with our online community and partner with us as we help more people live as faithful stewards of God's resources. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Romans 1:20-2520 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

Philippians 2:6-11 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,  10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.   Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,   21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.   Proverbs 11:24-25 One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. 25 A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.   Above and Beyond   God has gone above and beyond by going low.   God became one of us (Incarnation), died for us (Atonement), rose for us (Resurrection), reigns for us (Intercession), and put His Spirit in us (Indwelling). God is the first and greatest giver. Generosity is a response, not an initiation. God calls us to go above and beyond. Mission:  to help people follow Jesus. Vision: to see God do immeasurably more in and through you. Generosity is an act of faith that moves us beyond theory to trust. Generosity goes above and beyond yourself.   5G Strategy:  Gatherings, Growth, Generations, Good Works, Global Discipleship   Generosity is participation in transformation.  

Today, we're tackling some tough listener questions. We're joined by Tara Buchanan, good friend and cohost of the Behind Our Smiles podcast. Sponsor It's here! Order the Sexual Desire Differences Masterclass and get the video, a resource list, and an invitation to participate in tonight's (Thursday, November 13, 2025) Live Q&A session with Bonny and J at 7:00pm eastern! Masterclass: Sexual Desire Differences - Sex Chat for Christian Wives. From the Bible The mandrakes send out their fragrance, and at our door is every delicacy, both new and old, that I have stored up for you, my beloved. Song of Songs 7:13 I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers. Thus I have become in his eyes like one bringing contentment. Song of Songs 8:10 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:17 And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die." Genesis 2:16–17 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4–7 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened....Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another....Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. Romans 1:21,24, 26–27 Resources Behind Our Smiles Podcast, with Tara & Joe Buchanan Struggling with Sex in Marriage? Here's What To Do First. - Hot, Holy & Humorous Sensate Focus Therapy | Cornell Health Everything You Need to Know About Sensate Focus Touch by Linda Weiner, LCSW | YouTube The Back Door (my take on anal sex) • Bonny's Oysterbed7 Why I Took My Breast Implants Out - Hot, Holy & Humorous Are Breast Implants Bad for You? - Hot, Holy & Humorous Should Christians Get Plastic Surgery? - Hot, Holy & Humorous Episode 111: Accepting Your Body - Sex Chat for Christian Wives Is Anal Sex Okay? - Hot, Holy & Humorous Episode 31: Listener Questions - Sex Chat for Christian Wives (including anal sex) Q&A with J: Pegging. Is It Okay? - Hot, Holy & Humorous Finger Cots | Amazon Episode 235: Helping Your Husband Heal, with Tara Buchanan Episode 216: When She Wants Sex More - Sex Chat for Christian Wives (w/Tara Buchanan) Thanks for joining us at the virtual kitchen table for another great chat! If you could, leave a rating and/or review so that others can find the show. Please also check out our website and webinars at forchristianwives.com. And visit our individual ministry pages for more resources as well: Strong Wives - Bonny Burns Honeycomb & Spice - Chris Taylor Hot, Holy & Humorous - J. Parker

Thursday, 6 November 2025   For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. Matthew 14:3   “For Herod, having seized John, he bound him, and he placed in prison for Herodias, his brother Phillip's wife” (CG).   In the previous verse, Herod exclaimed his belief that John the Immerser had risen from the dead, which is why he had the miracle powers working in him. The narrative will now explain what led to John's imprisonment. That begins with the words, “For Herod, having seized John.”   Herod himself was behind the arrest of John. One can already sense that his conscience was nagging at him as the narrative begins. Something about John's death came about because of Herod. Understanding this, the narrative continues, saying, “he bound him, and he placed in prison.”   Cambridge notes the location of this prison –   “At Machærus, in Peræa, on the eastern side of the Dead Sea, near the southern frontier of the tetrarchy. Here Antipas had a palace and a prison under one roof, as was common in the East. Cp. Nehemiah 3:25, ‘The tower which lieth out from the king's high house that was by the court of the prison.' It was the ordinary arrangement in feudal castles.”   The reason Herod put him in prison is stated as, “for Herodias, his brother Phillip's wife.”   To understand the abbreviated thought, and in anticipation of the words of the next verse, Albert Barnes states –   This Herodias was a granddaughter of Herod the Great. She was first married to Herod Philip, by whom she had a daughter, Salome, probably the one that danced and pleased Herod. Josephus says that this marriage of Herod Antipas with Herodias took place while he was on a journey to Rome. He stopped at his brother's; fell in love with his wife; agreed to put away his own wife, the daughter of Aretas, King of Petraea; and Herodias agreed to leave her own husband and live with him. They were living, therefore, in adultery; and John, in faithfulness, though at the risk of his life, had reproved them for their crimes. Herod was guilty of two crimes in this act:   Of “adultery,” since she was the wife of another man.   Of “incest,” since she was a near relation, and such marriages were expressly forbidden, Leviticus 18:16.   John was the last prophet under the Law of Moses. His duty was to call the people to repentance in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. Instead of the king turning and accepting his wrongdoing like David, he doubled down in his sin like so many of the biblical kings under the law had done.   And like so many of those kings, he acted against the Lord's prophet, attempting to silence him from publicly exposing his deeds.   Life application: Under the New Covenant, there is no Law of Moses for believers to condemn people with by living it out for them to see. However, there is the truth, like during the time of Noah, that the world is accountable to God for its actions.   Paul says, “because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression” Romans 4:15. And yet, he speaks elsewhere about the law of conscience –   “...for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) 16 in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.” Romans 2:14-16   Because of conscience, especially since the coming of Christ and His fulfillment of the Law of Moses, it is still right for believers to call out wrongdoing in others, particularly those in positions of authority.   In the world, this has been a dicey thing to do at times. It is becoming that way again in much of the world. Like in the times of Noah, the whole world is marching towards ungodliness and actively pursuing wickedness. Despite this, believers need to stand fast on what is wholesome and morally proper.   Numerous denominations and churches have caved to the inappropriate and ungodly mores of fallen humanity. This only makes it more important for Christians to be ready to speak out concerning what is proper.   Not only are we tasked to evangelize the masses within society, but we need to do so with those who are supposedly members of the church. Let us continue to be beacons of light, even if the whole world is clamoring to be rid of us. This is right and proper, and it is what the ancients are remembered for –   “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” Hebrews 11:13-16   Lord God, despite the trouble it is bound to bring us, help us to stand firm on Your word, openly living out what is expected of us for others to see. When the chance comes for us to defend Your word or to speak against the immorality around us, may we boldly do so, knowing that there is a reward ahead for the stand we take. Amen.  

QUOTES FOR REFECTION “Intuitions come first, strategic reasoning second…. Our moral thinking is much more like a politician searching for votes than a scientist searching for truth.”~Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion “What the heart loves, the will chooses, and the mind justifies.”~John Ashley Null, Thomas Cranmer's Doctrine of Repentance: Renewing the Power to Love “The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of.”~Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pensées “Such is the grasping tendency of the human heart, that it must have a something to lay hold of and which, if wrested away without the substitution of another something in its place, would leave a void and a vacancy as painful to the mind, as hunger is to the natural system.”~Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847), Scottish minister, professor, and social reformer “Here's a thought for my revolutionary heartTake a deeper look at history, it's there to pick apart.See the people at the top, they get to do just what they want,‘Til after while the people at the bottom finally get smart.Then they start to holla revolution, tired of living here, destitution…See, if we destroy the system that means we'll have less of greed. But see, it's not that simple.I got to thinking ‘bout the history of human nature…Look at the power, but you know what power does to man.Corruption always leads us to the same…again.So when you talk about revolution dawg, I hear just what you saying.What good is taking over, when we know what you gon' do?The only real revolution happens right inside of you.”~J. Cole, rapper and record producer in “High for Hours” “The redeemed have all their objective good in God. God himself is the great good which they are brought to the possession and enjoyment of by redemption. He is the highest good, and the sum of all that good which Christ purchased. God is the inheritance of the saints; he is the portion of their souls. God is their wealth and treasure, their food, their Life, their dwelling-place, their ornament and diadem, and their everlasting honor and glory. …In these things the redeemed have communion with God; that is, they partake with him and of him.”~Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) in “God Glorified in Man's Dependence”SERMON PASSAGESProverbs 423 Keep your heart with all vigilance,   for from it flow the springs of life. Deuteronomy 10 12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” Mark 7 6 And [Jesus] said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,  ‘This people honors me with their lips,  but their heart is far from me; 7 in vain do they worship me,  teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'…” 14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.… 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Matthew 22 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment.” Romans 1 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

17 For in [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.1Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.1.     Can you think of modern examples of a culture's distorted worship distorting their humanity?2.     Where/when does your humanity get distorted? Is there any idol worship behind that?3.     Is it surprising, or convicting, that Paul says the people who judge and condemn are also without excuse?4.     Have you considered that when you judge you are taking the place of God, distorting worship? How does judging keep you from experiencing the gospel?5.     How does all of this apply to issues of sexuality in our culture?6.     The gospel saves us from both self-righteous judgment and self-centered indulgence. Where are you seeing that in your life, and where do you need to see it more?

Impact Video Ministries explains to us how we can know that god is real, and they are mostly length based reasons.Cards:Fact-Checking James Tour's Embarrassing Debate Performance:www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAm2W99Qm0oGod's "Perfect" Word has a LOT of Imperfections…:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TVKrUWbvXQDesigns Need Designers, so EVERYTHING Is Designed!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPDm77oAXXUOriginal Video: https://tinyurl.com/2cyaq6djSources:Neutrino detector: https://tinyurl.com/hwlcvcqAbiogenesis through gradual evolution of autocatalysis into template-based replication: https://tinyurl.com/2359v3qaIdentifying the wide diversity of extraterrestrial purine and pyrimidine nucleobases in carbonaceous meteorites: https://tinyurl.com/yyqbrajwLife as a manifestation of the second law of thermodynamics: https://tinyurl.com/29fqxpgsOrganic Synthesis via Irradiation and Warming of Ice Grains in the Solar Nebula: https://tinyurl.com/262ln3vyOrigin and evolution of the genetic code: the universal enigma: https://tinyurl.com/28fp5xu4Spontaneous formation and base pairing of plausible prebiotic nucleotides in water: https://tinyurl.com/2c2n655rSpontaneous network formation among cooperative RNA replicators: https://tinyurl.com/ycwk6s3rThe Genetics of Vitamin C Loss in Vertebrates: https://tinyurl.com/224hum2aWhere did bone come from? An overview of its evolution: https://tinyurl.com/24w9azexThe human cell count and size distribution: https://tinyurl.com/2d2qsq3lWhat is the Most Recent Manuscript Count for the New Testament?: https://tinyurl.com/28kcvamgAll my various links can be found here:http://links.vicedrhino.comThis content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.orgBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/viced-rhino-the-podcast--4623273/support.

Philippians 2 is called the “hinge of history.” Jesus, though in very nature God, humbled Himself to death on a cross. Therefore God exalted Him, giving Him the name above every name. John calls this the greatest strategy for life: double down on the cross. True greatness and true life flow from self-giving love, and the simple but ultimate confession: Jesus Christ is Lord.00:00 — What is the greatest strategy for life?00:22 — What is the most important phrase Christians can say?01:16 — Philippians 2: the oldest words about Jesus01:57 — Jesus humbled Himself to death on a cross02:31 — Why “as a consequence, therefore” matters03:17 — The hinge of history explained04:03 — Why humility always leads to exaltation05:06 — What does it mean to double down on the cross?06:33 — What name is above every name?07:19 — Why “Jesus Christ is Lord” seemed ludicrous then08:19 — Why Jesus, not Caesar, defines history09:25 — How calendars themselves point to Christ10:23 — Why love, not power, defines reality11:05 — What it means to double down in daily life11:55 — How to shine by serving othersBecome New is here to help you grow spiritually one day at a time.TEXT US at 855-888-0444EMAIL US at connect@becomenew.comGET OUR WEEKDAY EMAILS WITH EXTRA GOODIES at becomenew.com/subscribeGET A TEXT REMINDER FOR NEW VIDEOS: text BECOME to 855-888-0444SEND US PRAYER REQUESTS: via text or email; we'll send you a written prayer from our team