Podcasts about yet paul

Series: Encouragement for Pilgrims on the WayScripture: 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13Speaker: Pastor David HallettHave you ever been separated from someone you love deeply—maybe a child, a close friend, or a fellow believer—and found yourself anxiously wondering how they're doing? That's the kind of love Paul expresses for the Thessalonian believers in today's passage. His heart is like that of a parent torn away from a beloved child. He longs to see them, worries about their spiritual well-being, and even fears that his ministry among them might have been in vain. But then comes the good news: Timothy returns with a joyful report of their steadfast faith and love. Paul's anxious heart overflows with thanksgiving and relief. Yet Paul doesn't stop there. He prays earnestly that their love for one another would increase, and that their holiness would deepen—so they would be ready to stand blameless before Jesus at His return. This is love that longs, rejoices, and grows. We, too, need to ask God to shape our hearts with the same Christlike love for one another, to be ready for the day Jesus comes again.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul writes to those who had been heavily influenced by Greek thought and culture. Yet Paul taught that as Christians, it is the character of Jesus that influences and transforms us into the likeness of Christ. As we hunger and thirst for God and grow in His purposes, we can be led by the Holy Spirit and receive true freedom.   Speaker: Pastor Chris Manginelli Scripture: Galatians 5:13-26 Series: Guest Speakers   For more information visit www.BenDixon.org

You may have heard of Timothy but not know much about him. Epaphroditus is even less known. Yet Paul tells the Philippians to esteem them highly for their service to the Lord through their service to Paul and the church. They are faithful men who put the needs of others above their own agendas. And … Continue reading Faithful to Serve →

Paul Taylor just had open-heart surgery. It was addressing a genetic (not a self-induced lifestyle) issue but nonetheless, not everything went smoothly for Mr. ‘hard-as-a-cat's-head’ and as you'll learn in this chat, things got a little intense, serious and excruciating for a bit. This was an interesting chat where we managed to open the philosophical, psychological, physiological, medical, stoicism and psychedelic doors (all the biggies). Enjoy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An Indiana school teacher suggested her students write notes of encouragement and inspiration for their peers in “random acts of kindness.” Days later, when a school tragedy occurred in a different part of the country, their plans took on even more meaning; their notes became a means of buoying the spirits of their fellow students as they dealt with the resulting fear and pain that something could happen to them too. Many of the 5,100 students so cherished the note that they’ve left it taped to their locker as a reminder of the kindness shown. Encouragement and mutual concern were on Paul’s mind too when he wrote the people at Thessalonica. They had lost friends and Paul instructed them to hope in Jesus’s eventual return to bring their loved ones to life again (1 Thessalonians 4:14). While they didn’t know when that would occur, he reminded them that as believers they needn’t wait in fear of God’s judgment when He returned (5:9). Instead, he suggested they wait with confidence in their future life with Him. And in the meantime, they could “encourage one another and build each other up” (v. 11). When we experience painful losses or senseless tragedies, it’s easy to be overcome with fear and sadness. Yet Paul’s words are helpful to us today, just as they were two thousand years ago. Let’s wait in hopeful expectation that Jesus will restore all things. And in the meantime, let’s encourage each other—with written notes, spoken words, acts of service, or a simple hug.

Pastor Mitch Peacock shares from our "Going Global" series from the book of Acts with "Plans, Chance, but God's Purpose". Our plans often go awry. Even in dangerous seas Paul holds onto his faith. Paul finally made it to Rome, yet not how he had planned. God's plan was somewhat different. Yet Paul obeyed and saved many, he waited on the Lord. The Lord is with us, in the midst of the storm.Click to view this week's passages: Acts 27, 28, Ps 27: 14, Phil 4: 6-7, Us 41: 10, James 1: 2-4, Matt 11: 28-30Date: 01.12.24Please send prayer requests to prayer@bridgeman.org.au or on our website: www.bridgeman.org.au/prayer/To contact Bridgeman Baptist Community Church please email hello@bridgeman.org.auIf you would like to give at Bridgeman Baptist Community Church please go to www.bridgeman.org.au/giving/Please view our Sermon List if you would like to order from our back catalogue, please email bridgemedia@bridgeman.org.au 

In this Bible Story, Paul is saved from certain death by the judge of Jerusalem. The jews spit and spite Paul, planning to take his life. Yet Paul remains protected by God through the Roman legal system. This story is inspired by Acts 22:30-23:35. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is Acts 23:3 from the King James Version.Episode 238: As Paul stood before the judge and a council of Pharisees, Sadducees, and Elders, he saw his opportunity to shift the attention from himself. He addressed the crowd in a loud voice saying that it was because of the hope of the resurrection from the dead that he was on trial. And at that, the crowd became divided, the Pharisees and Sadducees broke out into an argument so fierce that once again the judge had to send men to rescue Paul. While there in prison once again he received a word from God that He was sending him to Rome.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd HaberkornSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all know that Thanksgiving is a holiday to give thanks - but give thanks to whom? Why do we give thanks at all? The journey and the first winter the Pilgrims experienced was fraught with danger, uncertainty, and calamity, yet they responded with gratitude and praise. When Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians, he was in prison, faced suffering and great need. Yet Paul rejoiced! How can this be? How can we rejoice in all circumstances, be content in all situations, and be grateful despite hardships?

After Paul's trial in Acts 24:22-27, Governor Felix delays his decision, leaving Paul in a frustrating state of limbo. Yet Paul uses this time to disciple and share Christ's message of righteousness, self-control, and judgment with those around him. Dr. John unpacks how setbacks can be transformed into opportunities to advance God's purposes.The Gospel Goes to Prison: Join us this week in our series through the book of Acts, “The Gospel goes to Prison.” We will see that despite Paul's imprisonment, God's truth is not held behind bars. Persecution cannot suppress the power of the Gospel. For most, imprisonment for the sake of the gospel is not a fear. But, we can face pressure to conform and hostility meant to silence us. May the lessons of Acts 21-24 make us bold as we carry His Gospel today.

In this Bible Story, Paul is nearly stoned to death by Jewish Christians who seek to control Gentiles by the law. They are dangerous and controlling. Yet Paul does not let the stones stop him. This story is inspired by Acts 14. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is Acts 14:19 from the King James Version.Episode 229: As Paul and Barnabas entered Iconium to preach, both Jews and Gentiles were receptive and restored by the message of love and mercy in Jesus that they brought. But not everyone in the city was happy about this change. Certain men of influence added poison to these teachings and stirred the people against Paul and Barnabas. So they fled to Lystra where they healed a man and were called gods by the men of the city. Just as Paul and Barnabas convinced the crowd that they were mere men, the elders of Antioch came and captured Paul, bringing him out to the city to be stoned. But because of what God did for him, Paul went right back to the city the next day to continue preaching the good news of Jesus.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd HaberkornSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. — Ephesians 5:3 One major difficulty for many believers is to try to live up to the Bible's high standard for purity. The morals of the societies we live in—along with the internet and other media—do not make it easy to live God's way. In Africa, many of my fellow believers are first-generation Christians in our families. We are often the children of our father's second or third wife. My own father, for example, married nearly ten wives, and my mother was his second wife. As you can see, the way sexuality was treated in my family is extremely different from what I read in the Bible. Yet Paul says that Christians must not have even a hint of sexual immorality, other impurity, or greed. Here Paul is addressing the desires of our hearts. What drives you? What is most important to you? What is your greatest desire? Does it match with what God's Word calls you to be? Our view of sexuality, and of desires in general, must be constantly renewed in a personal relationship with the Lord and his Word. This is true for all Christians, no matter where we live. The apostle reminds us that we are holy through our union with Christ. And, as a result, we are called to new life that is marked with a deep desire for God's kingdom. Dear Father, thank you for making us holy through your Son, Jesus Christ. Help us to live for you in the choices we make, following the instructions in your Word. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Send us a textFinishing up this batch of Profiles In Courage episodes, we are looking at Paul.  In Acts 16:16-40, Paul and Silas have an encounter in Philippi that leads to them being beaten and thrown into prison.  As we observe the reasoning behind their imprisonment, we can easily see why this was unfair and unjust.  Yet Paul praised God while he was in jail.  During that time at midnight, God sends an earthquake and the prison doors fly open.  Long story short, Paul's obedience to the Lord leads to the conversion of the jailer and his entire family.  Through this passage, we learn that sometimes tough things come even we are obedient to the Lord.  But through those circumstances we must and should still praise.  As we do, we see God is faithful and walks with us through the trials we face.  I hope you will be blessed with this episode and encouraged to go back and listen to this entire series from these past few weeks.  Feel free to reach out:  info@derekcharlesjohnson.com 

I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. — 1 Corinthians 2:3 When I was a seminary student, our training included opportunities to preach at nearby churches, and students like me would preach and then receive feedback on our sermons. Sometimes the reviews were kind and helpful. Sometimes, not so much. One of my classmates received this response from a reviewer who was asked to comment on the main points of the sermon: “I don't know; I fell asleep.” Ouch! What a humbling reminder to him and the rest of us that we had a long way to go before we spoke with wise or persuasive words. How remarkable, then, to read Paul's testimony that he did not speak with deep wisdom or persuasive arguments. Yet Paul is considered to be one of the greatest evangelists in church history. What was his secret? Paul explained that his message came “with a demonstration of the Spirit's power,” which meant that Paul did not feel the need to put Paul on display. He put God first and shared the good news about Jesus and how he came to save us. What a great reminder that while words are important, they are not everything. And it doesn't matter if we are preachers or if we are just sharing our faith with another person—the main thing is that we help people encounter the living God and experience his love and forgiveness. May others see and sense the Spirit's power at work in us. Lord, thank you for the gift of your Spirit. Open our hearts so that you can work through us to help others experience your love. Amen.

When we pray the Lord's Prayer, we pray, "Forgive us our tresspasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." Did Paul need to pray that prayer? Is it true that, "we daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment?" Such was the conviction of Martin Luther. Paul would write of himself, "O wretched man that I am..." (Romans 7:24). Yet Paul says that he "always takes pains to have a clear conscience toward God and man." The only way that is possible is through the forgiveness of Christ and the gracious attitude of men.

In this week's episode, we're discussing Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians. Last week, we saw how questions about Christ's return had been spreading in Thessalonica.  In his second letter, Paul returns to the topic and expands the conversation in his discussion of the lawless one. Yet Paul will see the truths of Christ's come as the source of real hope and an opportunity for the Thessalonians to stand strong in their faith. 

2 Timothy 1:12 — In this sermon on 2 Timothy 1:12 titled “Alive to the Soul,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones draws encouragement from Paul's life and resilience in the midst of difficult circumstances and takes the listener through how he or she can be at rest in the midst of difficult times. Paul underwent countless sufferings, and yet he was content and at rest in God. What accounts for Paul's attitude? First, he had recognized the supreme value of the soul. It is a recognition that the soul will last forever and that there is an eternal reality. Second, he lived his life in view of what he called “that day,” the coming day of judgment. Third, above all, Paul had a personal knowledge of Christ and the love of God. He knew that God loved him and would keep His promises to grow Paul in his Christ-likeness, even if that meant difficult circumstances on earth. Yet Paul was at peace with that because he knew it was for his ultimate good. Christians have this same confidence — they have nothing to fear, not even death.

2 Timothy 1:12 — In this sermon on 2 Timothy 1:12 titled “Alive to the Soul,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones draws encouragement from Paul's life and resilience in the midst of difficult circumstances and takes the listener through how he or she can be at rest in the midst of difficult times. Paul underwent countless sufferings, and yet he was content and at rest in God. What accounts for Paul's attitude? First, he had recognized the supreme value of the soul. It is a recognition that the soul will last forever and that there is an eternal reality. Second, he lived his life in view of what he called “that day,” the coming day of judgment. Third, above all, Paul had a personal knowledge of Christ and the love of God. He knew that God loved him and would keep His promises to grow Paul in his Christ-likeness, even if that meant difficult circumstances on earth. Yet Paul was at peace with that because he knew it was for his ultimate good. Christians have this same confidence — they have nothing to fear, not even death. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/603/29

Web Description: This is a second podcast dealing with supersessionism and replacement theology, which are foundational to the problem of anti-Semitism within the Church. We have already seen through the Holocaust what anti-Semitism can lead to, and we agree with the cry, “Never again!” It is imperative therefore that we remove these doctrines of anti-Semitism from the Church so that the Church can be a force to remove anti-Semitism from the world.   Show Notes: Replacement theology and supersessionism twist the writings of Paul to suggest that Christians have replaced the Jews as God's people. Yet Paul wrote in Romans 11:1, “God has not rejected His people, has He?” Then he made that as emphatic as possible by stating, “May it never be!” That means it will never happen. God will never reject the Jewish people. Yet Christians continue to misinterpret verses from Paul's Epistles to support their supersessionist doctrines.   A belief in these doctrines requires picking a few verses and twisting them in such a way that makes them appear as meaning something they do not. But a comprehensive reading of Paul's Epistles clearly shows that the new covenant enables Gentiles to be included; it does not exclude the Jews. Through Christ who is the natural seed of Abraham through Israel, Gentiles who are not the natural seed can participate with the descendants of Israel in God's promises to Abraham.   As Gentile Christians we are wild branches grafted into the same tree in which the Jews are natural branches. And Paul warns us not to be arrogant toward the natural branches because if God can cut them off, He can do the same to us. Yet replacement theology and supersessionism express arrogance toward the Jews. This is deception that we need to be delivered from because it works against the truth that God's unilateral covenant with Abraham, expressed through Christ and ratified by Him on the cross, brings Christians and Jews to a point of oneness in our faith in God and in His Word.   Key Verses:   •       Jeremiah 31:31–33. “I will put My law within them and on their heart.” •       Jeremiah 31:34. “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” •       Jeremiah 31:35–37. “If this fixed order departs, … then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel.” •       Galatians 3:16. “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed.” •       Galatians 3:17–21. “If a law … was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law.” •       Galatians 3:22–23. “The Scripture has shut up everyone under sin.” •       Galatians 3:26–29. “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants [seed].” •       Romans 4:1–7. “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” •       Romans 4:9–12. “He received the sign of circumcision … so that he might be the father of all who believe.” •       Romans 11:1. “God has not rejected His people.” •       Romans 11:13–16. “If the root is holy, the branches are too.” •       Romans 11:17–22. “Do not be arrogant; … it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.” •       Romans 11:25–27. “THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.” •       Romans 11:30–33. “God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.”   Quotes:   •       “The Jewish people down through the generations have been a blessing to every nation, being those who agreed to the teaching, to the Law and what it stands for—what it means—bringing a moral code into existence to humanity and culture.” •       “The new covenant was not canceling out the covenant with Abraham. In fact, it was being fulfilled by Christ who was promised to Abraham in that unilateral covenant.” •       “I pray that people take this and study it; study these Scriptures carefully until they are delivered from every root of anti-Semitism, every root of supersessionism, every root of replacement theology.”   Takeaways:   1.    The Gentile world has full access to share in the new covenant by having the faith of Abraham. There is no need and no possibility, in truth, to eliminate the Jewish people from this covenant. 2.    Yeshua (Jesus) was not the single seed of Abraham who replaced all the Jews by enacting the new covenant. But rather, Yeshua coming forth from the seed of Abraham—the lineage of the Jewish people—instituted the new covenant as the fulfillment of the promises that were given to Abraham that through him all the nations of the world would be blessed. 3.    The Scriptures have shut up everyone, Jews and Gentiles, under sin so that the righteousness that is imparted by faith in accordance with grace might be guaranteed to all the descendants—that is the seed of Abraham—both Jews and Gentiles. 4.     Supersessionism and replacement theology are an expression of arrogance toward God's people that Paul warned against in Romans 11.

Web Description: In this day we need the power of God to be moving in us and through us. Yet we are often so conditioned by our past experiences that we do not believe in that power or, at the very least, lose the edge of our faith. The Passover shows us that God does deliver His people, and He does move in power. By thanking God for the lessons of the past, forgiving others, and moving into the love of Christ, we can move into God's fullness and the knowledge of His power that works within us.   Show Notes: When Moses came to them, the children of Israel had spent four hundred years in bondage to the Egyptians. Then they suddenly had to believe in the miracle power of God. Their conditioning made it very difficult for them to trust in God's concern for them, let alone believe that He would deliver them from bondage and give them their own land. We too, as people who have walked with God, have been conditioned by what we have gone through in the past.   We may have been led by God to pray for certain things or to be involved with certain people. Then after years of never seeing answers to our prayers or of having problems in relationships, we find that past experiences have worn away at our own ability to believe that we will see the power of God working in our lives. But the Passover is a reminder that God moves in power, and an aspect of the Passover was God moving to deliver the children of Israel from their past.   We need this aspect of Passover to work deeply in our lives to free us from the conditionings of the past. And a key to being free from the past is forgiveness. As probably every Christian knows, forgiving others is one of the most difficult things we must do in our walk with God. Yet Paul tells us to know the love of Christ that is beyond knowledge. Clearly this divine love requires a divine enabling, but it is available to us in Christ. And we loose ourselves to appropriate it until we are filled up to all the fullness of God and are able to know the power of God that is above and beyond anything we can ask or think.   Key Verses:   •       Isaiah 43:19. “Behold, I will do something new …; will you not be aware of it?” •       Exodus 5:20–21. “They met Moses. … ‘May the Lord … judge you.'” •       Genesis 50:20. “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” •       Psalm 105:19. “Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him.” •       Hebrews 5:8–9. “He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.” •       Ephesians 3:14–19. “Know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge.” •       Ephesians 3:20–21. “To Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think.” •       Hebrews 12:26–27 “Those things which cannot be shaken may remain.” •       Ephesians 1:19–20. “His power toward us who believe … when He raised Him from the dead.” •       Philippians 3:13–14. “… forgetting what lies behind.” •       Isaiah 55:6. “Seek the LORD while He may be found.”   Quotes:   •       “I want Him not just to forgive me; I want Him to forget those things. We look for that thoroughness in our relationship with Him. But it means we've got to be that thorough in our relationship with others.” •       “We not only want to be aware of the new day; we want to be free in our spirits to walk in the new day.” •       “When we know the love of Christ, we will be filled up to all the fullness of God.”   Takeaways:   1.    If after being led by the Lord, circumstances happen to you that seem like a bondage to you, it does not mean that God did that. But God allowed it for the ongoing perfection of your heart and spirit before Him. 2.    We all stand before God as individuals. We can choose to be one in our hearts with others and walk with God together, but that only works because each of us walks with Him individually. 3.    We are in a new day, and we must be able to walk with Him in the new things He is doing. And so we want to be freed from all our conditionings and paradigms from the past. We must be totally free in our spirits from any judgment, any criticism, any lack of forgiveness and come into the love of Christ. 4.    We reach in to know the love of Christ that is beyond understanding, whereby God can fill us up to all the fullness of God. We must know that God can do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think and that His unlimited power, which is continually beamed toward us, will work in us and through us to accomplish His will.  

Galatians 6:7-8 Who would dare to deny that actions have consequences? Yet Paul wrote, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked.” The truth is, we may give verbal assent to the Law of Sowing and Reaping but continue to excuse ourselves from its ramifications. Everyone sows seed, what is produced is determined by the kind of seed. Paul says there are only two kinds-no exceptions! You can't sow seeds of rebellion, immorality, lies…and pray for crop failure! Remember: Today is the father of tomorrow. The Law of Sowing and Reaping is unalterable, and it affects everyone in every area of life, family, career and pleasure. Deception is the root cause of sinful, indulgent lifestyles. Remember: 2 Corinthians 5:10 “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” Three aspects of the Law of Sowing and Reaping: 1. We reap what we sow. Galatians 6:8 Remember: Sin takes you further than you wanted to go, Keeps you longer than you wanted to stay, and Costs you more than you wanted to pay. 2. We reap more than we sow. Matthew 13:23 Hosea 8:7 A small decision to do either good or bad, reaps a bigger crop for either joy or sorrow. 3. We reap later than we sow. Galatians 6:9 Some crops we reap quickly; others take a long time. But do not be deceived—their season will come. Every action, big or small, good or evil, is a seed. Jeremiah 17:10 “The Lord will give to every man the fruit of his doings.” When we stand before God Almighty for judgment, we shall give an account not only of our own acts, but also of the influence of our acts upon each successive generation. What will your influence be? What will be your harvest? That depends on the seeds you are sowing today.

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 3:10 CALL OUT: Shout out to Resolute, all my current Board Members, and those who've journeyed with us over the past decade. Today marks our tenth anniversary since our inception. Looking ahead to the next decade, I'm eager to expand our reach, deepen discipleship, and offer even more valuable resources and support to men within the church. I want each of you to be integral to this journey. For those of you who listen daily to these devotionals, I want you to know I'm committed to delivering them until I've covered the entire Bible. I will continue to provide great studies through the Bible. And to every generous donor who has supported our mission, a heartfelt thank you. Your contributions make all of this possible. With your assistance, we're impacting millions of men each year. So, this text has some super interesting history that Paul is hinting at here. The curse he referenced is spoken about in Deuteronomy 27-28. This Scripture is the account of Israel's inaugural entry into the promised land. Moses instructed the people on how vital it was to keep the Law of God as they entered this new season. He ordered men to build a legal monument on two separate mountains: one in the Desert and one in the Promised Land (i.e., Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal). Then, a long list of curses is shouted from the leaders on each mountain to the people below. The list of curses is found in Deuteronomy 27:15-26. The point of doing this was to forever embed in their hearts, minds, and souls the importance of obedience to God's Law and the curses upon them if they were disobedient. It's worth a read if you have not read it before because the words and scenes are chilling. Paul, without a doubt, had these curses memorized. History tells us that he endured five severe floggings, each time receiving "39 lashes" from synagogue leaders (2 Corinthians 11:24). During these lashings, it was mandated that the curses from Deuteronomy 27:15-26 be recited. This means Paul had these curses ingrained in his mind and beaten into his body multiple times. Also, before his conversion, he justified the lashing of others. So, better than most, Paul understood the curse he referenced here. Yet Paul also understood that we are all cursed. The Law of God curses all men because only one man was obedient to the whole Law—Jesus Christ, which brings us to the ultimate point. Relying on our work is to live cursed but relying on Jesus's work is to live blessed. Today, consciously shift your reliance from your works to the finished work accomplished by Jesus on Mount Calvary's Cross. Embrace the blessing that he shouts down to you that the curse of the Law no longer binds you but you are a recipient of all God's grace. #GraceOverWorks #CursedNoMore #ChristFinishedWork #FromCurseToBlessing #EmbracingGodsGrace ASK THIS: Reflect on a time when you found yourself striving to earn God's favor through your own works. How did this mindset affect your relationship with God and others? What changes can you make today to shift your reliance onto Christ's finished work? In what areas of your life do you still struggle to fully trust in God's grace rather than your own efforts? How can you intentionally remind yourself of the freedom and blessing found in Christ's redemption, especially when facing challenges or temptations? DO THIS: Shift reliance from your work to His work. PRAY THIS: Father, I humbly surrender my striving and efforts, choosing to trust fully in the grace and finished work of your Son, Jesus Christ. Renew my mind daily to live in the freedom and blessing of your redemption, and empower me to extend this grace to others. Amen. PLAY THIS: God Help Me.

I want to talk with you awhile today about a message that was preached back in the 4th century AD by a man named Ephraem the Syrian of Nisibis. I have never read his full sermon, only the title, which I have taken for my message today. Why is this important? It's important because we live in a day and age where the Bible doctrine of the Pretribulation Rapture of the Church is unknown to many Christians, disbelieved and disparaged in the churches, and endlessly fought over on social media. Yet Paul tells us that we are to comfort one another with this crucial teaching of the Lord coming back to get us as He has promised to do. What is the reason for this ignorance? Paul tells us in multiple places that in the last days there will be something called ‘the falling away', and it is a falling away from preaching and teaching Bible doctrine rightly divided. Today I bring you a message that will reignite your spiritual ‘pilot light' and get you back on fire for Jesus Christ in these last times as the world prepares itself to receive Antichrist.

In this Bible Story, Paul is saved from certain death by the judge of Jerusalem. The jews spit and spite Paul, planning to take his life. Yet Paul remains protected by God through the Roman legal system. This story is inspired by Acts 22:30-23:35. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is Acts 23:3 from the King James Version.Episode 238: As Paul stood before the judge and a council of Pharisees, Sadducees, and Elders, he saw his opportunity to shift the attention from himself. He addressed the crowd in a loud voice saying that it was because of the hope of the resurrection from the dead that he was on trial. And at that, the crowd became divided, the Pharisees and Sadducees broke out into an argument so fierce that once again the judge had to send men to rescue Paul. While there in prison once again he received a word from God that He was sending him to Rome.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.This episode is sponsored by Medi-Share, an innovative health care solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd HaberkornSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this Bible Story, Paul is nearly stoned to death by Jewish Christians who seek to control Gentiles by the law. They are dangerous and controlling. Yet Paul does not let the stones stop him. This story is inspired by Acts 14. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is Acts 14:19 from the King James Version.Episode 229: As Paul and Barnabas entered Iconium to preach, both Jews and Gentiles were receptive and restored by the message of love and mercy in Jesus that they brought. But not everyone in the city was happy about this change. Certain men of influence added poison to these teachings and stirred the people against Paul and Barnabas. So they fled to Lystra where they healed a man and were called gods by the men of the city. Just as Paul and Barnabas convinced the crowd that they were mere men, the elders of Antioch came and captured Paul, bringing him out to the city to be stoned. But because of what God did for him, Paul went right back to the city the next day to continue preaching the good news of Jesus.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.This episode is sponsored by Medi-Share, an innovative health care solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd HaberkornSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are We Hungry Yet? - Paul Burden - Sunday, December 10, 2023 by Tuscaloosa First Assembly

Today, we start a new study looking at Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian congregation. This was a congregation built out of new converts, ignorant of many of the right and good practices of God before Paul came, and slow to move in the right direction at times. They were split into factions, had immoral sexual practices, seeking honor and power in the world. Yet Paul is so certain of their right standing in the Lord. Why is this so? Let us take a look at his argument throughout this book today.

One BaptismBy Tammy Lacock“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” (Roman's 6:3)This week, Warren Litzman focuses on Romans chapter 6 as the foundational chapter for the Apostle Paul's gospel of grace. In verse 3, when Paul says “know ye not,” he's asking believers if we know exactly what happened to us at the Cross, by Christ's death, burial, and resurrection? Here he's telling us something happened to us and asking, ‘don't you know about it?' As believers, when Christ died on the cross, we were baptized, fully immersed, into His death. By His death, we died too, to our old lives, cursed by the sin of Adam by Satan. By sacrificing His life, we as believers, have now been made free of the law and sin and blameless and holy before God (Ephesians 1:4). The Holy Spirit baptized each and every believer into Christ, and we are now one body in Him. There's nothing left of our old selves, our old lives. Christ in us is our new life. The outworking of this is in our different expressions. But the incoming is singular, we are all baptized into one Spirit, that is Christ. One faith, one final baptism. Not by water but by the Holy Spirit. “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:13)We see a glimpse of our baptism into Christ's death in the Garden of Gethsemane. After three years of coming to Jerusalem on that Passover night, Christ fulfills God's plan and drinks of the cup of all of our transgressions, pouring into Him our old lives. And as a result, we are fully immersed in Him unto His death. Yet Paul tells us, we share also in His resurrection, arising to a brand-new life in Him (Romans 6:5; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Warren then takes us into Matthew 26:31, “Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.”Here Jesus explains that it is going to be hurtful and very hard for His disciples to understand His death. In fact, many will deny Him on the eve of His death because they will not understand. Making the transition from being with them in the flesh to being in spirit will take time and understanding, which only the Holy Spirit can provide.By the Holy Spirit, Paul's epistles help us understand our new life in Christ. By God's Grace through His Son's death on the cross, no longer are we held bondage to the law and our own sins. This is God's Grace now being poured out unto us. May we not be offended by His death but greatly rejoice knowing there is now only one baptism. We have all been baptized into Christ by His death, making us one body, one in Him. He is now our Peace, our Strength, our Joy, the very Life within us. Only the cross makes this possible. There is no greater gift.

We Are Three Parts, Made In His ImageBy Tammy Lacock This week, Warren Litzman dives into the depths of the Apostle Paul's gospel of grace by helping us understand the revelation knowledge that Paul received directly from Christ. In 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul shares this new knowledge, which consists of an understanding of how God made us as human beings so we can understand our new life in Christ. In Genesis 1:27, we know God created us in His own image and likeness. And we know our God is a triune God made up of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.Paul tells us on several occasions as well as in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 that we, too, are made up of three parts: the body, soul, and spirit. We know we have bodies. Paul tells us in Hebrews 4:12 and 2 Timothy 2:15 that we also have two invisible parts: our souls and spirits. Because of the Cross, God can now change us innately by joining Christ's Spirit to us, making us one in Him (1 Corinthians 6:17), brand-new creations. Before the Cross, we operated by self, Satan's nature, passed down by the curse of Satan through Adam's disobedience, making us ignorant to Christ. Now, as believers, Paul reveals that Christ is our new operator. The Cross and Christ living in us as our new life go hand in hand. There is not one without the other. This is Paul's gospel of God's amazing grace, that we are saved by Christ's very life within us and not by anything we do. The only change God made within us when we believed in Christ was in our spirits. We were created by God to have Christ complete us; and in our spirits, we are complete, saved, and going to heaven. By His life within our spirits, we are clothed in His righteousness; therefore, we stand before God blameless. This was in God's plan before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4):“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.”Yet Paul tells us that our souls are not complete, the part of us where our minds, free will, and emotions reside. We have yet to undergo in our mindsets the same death and new life that took place within our spirits. Our spirits underwent death to our sin-natures as Christ became our new life in us. This is what it means to be rebirthed or born again. The incorruptible Seed of Christ has been literally and permanently planted within our spirits and, Paul tells us, it's now time to water and nurture His seed within us by undergoing a continual mind-change in our souls. The only way God deals with us now is on the basis of Christ within us. By the help of the Holy Spirit in our minds, Paul's hope is that we come to know Christ in this way. Christianity isn't just a visit with Christ. It is a journey of getting to know Him and knowing Him as our new life, the very breath within us. By getting to know Him in us and reciprocating His love, we can now live out exactly who God created us to be in our entire being, all three parts of us: body, soul, and spirit!

In this Bible Story, Paul is saved from certain death by the judge of Jerusalem. The jews spit and spite Paul, planning to take his life. Yet Paul remains protected by God through the Roman legal system. This story is inspired by Acts 22:30-23:35. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is Acts 23:3 from the King James Version.Episode 238: As Paul stood before the judge and a council of Pharisees, Sadducees, and Elders, he saw his opportunity to shift the attention from himself. He addressed the crowd in a loud voice saying that it was because of the hope of the resurrection from the dead that he was on trial. And at that, the crowd became divided, the Pharisees and Sadducees broke out into an argument so fierce that once again the judge had to send men to rescue Paul. While there in prison once again he received a word from God that He was sending him to Rome.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.This episode is sponsored by Medi-Share, an innovative health care solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd HaberkornSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Web Description: We are largely unaware that the heart is an instrument capable of receiving what God is striving to impart to us by His Word and by the power of His Spirit. He wants to impart the fruit of the Spirit, the emotions that should be living in and expressed from our hearts. Yet this age is continually working on us to be closed off, fearful, and unable to love. This pattern must be broken, and we must truly open our hearts to the Lord if we are to manifest His gifts.   Show Notes: How do you receive the wisdom, revelation, and understanding to know the great provision that God, by His Spirit, is directing toward us as believers? According to the book of Ephesians, the eyes of your heart need to be enlightened. In other words, your heart must become an instrument of understanding, wisdom, and revelation. Our education as Christians, however, makes us reluctant to think of the heart in this way.   The heart is the seat of emotion, and Christians have been taught to be wary of emotions, primarily because of what is seen as the misuse of emotional expression in worship. Yet Paul tells us to put on a heart of compassion. Compassion is an emotion. Kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness are emotions. Forgiveness is the foundation of our salvation, and it is something you feel with your heart and not just understand with your head.   It is very necessary for us to open our hearts to these emotions from God, but we find it difficult to do so. The Corinthians were unable to experience what God had for them because their hearts were not open to Paul. Why? They were restrained in their own emotions. We also cannot receive the power of God's emotions if our hearts are closed by the fear and hatred of this age and by the abounding iniquity that makes our love grow cold. Let us reverse this trend in our own lives and make our hearts the instruments of revelation and impartation that God intends.   Key Verses:   •       Ephesians 1:16–21. “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.” •       2 Corinthians 6:11–13. “Our heart is opened wide. You are not restrained by us … open wide to us also.” •       2 Corinthians 7:2–3. “Make room for us in your hearts.” •       Colossians 3:12–17. “Put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” •       Matthew 24:6–13. “Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold.” •       Galatians 5:22–23. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” •       Romans 12:2. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”   Quotes:   •       “I think that we have to open up in a way to the emotion of our heart. We need this prayer to be answered that Paul prayed for the church that the eyes of our heart be enlightened.” •       “Thankfulness is one of the greatest emotions next to love that we can have that opens us up to receive what God has for us.” •       “The enemy's desire is that the heart of the believer would be that which closes up and restrains itself. And if it does, we are not able to receive from God, nor are we able to minister out from God.”   Takeaways:   1.    There will not be the manifestation of gifts of the Spirit if there are not first the manifestation of the emotions from our heart that come by the infilling of the Holy Spirit. The chief of these is love. Next to that is joy and then peace. If we are led by the Spirit, that means we are being led by emotions. What emotions? The emotions that are the fruit of the Spirit. 2.    We should not be conformed to the emotions and feelings that are coming out of the hearts of the people of this age. We should be transformed. As believers, we are to put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 3.    When we grow in God, when we mature, we should be manifesting the fruit of the Spirit. These are all emotional feelings that enable us to both receive what God is imparting to us and to impart and minister to others. Therefore, let us open our hearts as Paul encouraged the Corinthians. Let us not be restrained in our own emotions, but rather let us open up to the emotions that come as the fruit of the Spirit imparted to us by God that we may walk in the Spirit.  

In this Bible Story, Paul is nearly stoned to death by Jewish Christians who seek to control Gentiles by the law. They are dangerous and controlling. Yet Paul does not let the stones stop him. This story is inspired by Acts 14. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is Acts 14:19 from the King James Version.Episode 229: As Paul and Barnabas entered Iconium to preach, both Jews and Gentiles were receptive and restored by the message of love and mercy in Jesus that they brought. But not everyone in the city was happy about this change. Certain men of influence added poison to these teachings and stirred the people against Paul and Barnabas. So they fled to Lystra where they healed a man and were called gods by the men of the city. Just as Paul and Barnabas convinced the crowd that they were mere men, the elders of Antioch came and captured Paul, bringing him out to the city to be stoned. But because of what God did for him, Paul went right back to the city the next day to continue preaching the good news of Jesus.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.This episode is sponsored by Medi-Share, an innovative health care solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd HaberkornSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ads and commercials for diet supplements and exercise equipment sometimes include “before” and “after” pictures of those who use the product. A famous ad from the 1920s for the training regimen developed by bodybuilder Charles Atlas boasted that it had enabled him to go from being a 97-pound weakling to “the world’s most perfectly developed person.” Paul paints an even more striking before-and-after picture of his readers in Ephesians 2:1–13. The “before” describes sinners as spiritually dead, but that does not mean they aren’t active. They follow “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” (v. 2). This is Satan, who led humanity into sin. Satan is not a metaphor but an evil spiritual being with other evil spirits who serve him. Satan is a fallen angel (Luke 10:18). He was the first to tempt humanity, but he is not the only source of temptation we face. Because Adam sinned, we are both guilty of and inclined to sin. Everyone who is tempted is “dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed” (James 1:14). This sin problem affects “all of us” because we are sinners “by nature” who are “deserving of wrath” (v. 3). Yet Paul’s main point is not the sin of his readers but the radical change outlined in verses 4–6. This change was not brought about by personal willpower or a training regimen of spiritual exercises, but by God who was motivated by love and mercy. We are changed from spiritual death to life in Christ (v. 5). The fact that those who experienced this change were dead in sin makes it clear that the change did not come through their own efforts but had its origin in the grace of God. This is God’s handiwork. >> God’s gracious work produced a new community that joined Gentiles and Jewish believers in Christ. Both are united by “the blood of Christ” to form the new community we know as the church.

When Martin Luther King Jr. penned his Letter From a Birmingham City Jail in April 1963, he joined a long tradition of Christians who wrote letters and books while in jail, including John Bunyan, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and most notably, the apostle Paul. This month we will be studying Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon, all letters the apostle wrote as a prisoner in Rome. At that time, people were sent to prison not as punishment, but to await trial and possible execution. When Paul wrote these letters, he was most likely serving a two-year “house arrest” (Acts 28:30). This meant he was able to live in a rented residence, though in chains and guarded. This was not Paul’s first arrest. Imprisonment was so much a part of Paul’s Christian experience that he included it on his resume. In 2 Corinthians 11:5 he began his defense by claiming that he was not inferior to those whom others may view as “super-apostles” or perhaps better translated as “eminent” or “chief apostles.” To support this assertion, Paul reluctantly listed some of his accomplishments (vv. 22–29), including his frequent imprisonment. We tend to look at a church’s size and budget as evidence of God at work. The apostle Paul recognized that God works through weakness. For this reason, Paul wrote, “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness” (v. 30). You may be surprised to find that the letters we will be studying this month are some of Paul’s most joyful. Yet Paul wrote them while under house arrest in Rome. Instead of curtailing his ministry, this imprisonment allowed Paul to articulate some of the deepest theology in the New Testament. >> What appears to us to be a setback is often an open door. We do not need a large platform to make an impact on those around us. As we make ourselves available, God will work through us even in the most confining circumstances.

2023 - 0730 - It Wasn't Fair Yet Paul Persevered

2023 - 0730 - It Wasn't Fair Yet Paul Persevered

Rightly Divide Truth By Tammy LacockIn this final week study of Jesus and Paul, Warren Litzman takes us right to the heart of Paul's gospel of grace by helping us understand two very important scriptures. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)Paul tells us in these two verses that we need to rightly divide scripture if we are to understand his gospel. Otherwise, then we don't have the truth. Warren explains that the Bible is divided between prophecy and mystery. Four-fifths of the Bible reveals law and prophecy and is directed toward Israel. The other one-fifth reveals the mystery of Paul's gospel of grace and is directed to the born-again believer. Paul tells us we must rightly divide this truth, taking it further by dividing soul and spirit. The Old Testament, directed toward Israel, was based on soul salvation by outer works. Yet Paul tells us we are saved in our spirits. As born-again believers, we are no longer saved by our outer works, but by the miracle of Christ joining us to Him in spirit, making us one with Him. A Christian is one in whom Christ lives. We no longer are to know Him outside of us. No longer is our righteousness gained through obedience (Israel). In the New Testament, under Paul's gospel of grace for us now, our righteousness is a person, and that person is Christ, His incorruptible seed birthed within us as believers. Now that our outer works are no longer required for salvation, we can finally rest in our new life in Christ. In fact, in Galatians 2:20, Paul makes it very clear that our old lives are dead, crucified with Christ. We have moved from a soul/law mindset to a spirit/grace mindset. From law to grace, from law to Christ. The more we can see that our old selves, including our old mindsets, are dead, the more we can rest in the fullness of our new life in Christ and finally live who God created us to be.“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

Anchor Passage: Philippians 1:12-20When we face challenges, it's rarely our first impulse to respond with joy. Yet Paul joyfully trusted God to use his hardships for the glory of Christ. Join us as we discover how we can find joy in glorifying Christ with our lives, even in the midst of challenges! 

We read in Ecclesiastes that there is no new thing under the sun. Yet Paul said in 2 Corinthians that he who is in Christ is a new creation. How can these seemingly contradictory statements be reconciled? Well, one was made from the viewpoint of a man living under the S-U-N and the other from a man living under the S-O-N.

We Are Complete In ChristBy Tammy LacockIn this week's podcast of Jesus and Paul, Part 2, Warren Litzman helps us rightly divide the Scriptures to distinguish and understand the one true gospel for believers today. First, we must take a look at the gospel of Jesus of Nazareth and define His gospel before we can understand Paul's gospel. Before His death, burial, and resurrection, Christ preached the Kingdom message, that God's Kingdom is at hand. For the Jews, this meant heaven on earth. Being under the Judaic law, He preached works as a condition of being pleasing to God. He was obligated by God not to destroy the law but to fulfill the law and prophecy. Jesus wasn't obligated to bring the message of grace, yet He was grace personified by His unrelenting forgiveness of sins and keeping the company of sinners. He could not yet preach grace because He had not yet died as a sacrifice, as an atonement for our sins and the sin of Adam passed down to us. When the Jews rejected Christ as their Messiah, the kingdom message was postponed. In obedience to His Father in heaven, Christ's knew His death was imminent and needed to fulfill God's plan for humanity. Paul's gospel is that of pure grace, of new life, and completion in Christ. Christ's death and resurrection ushered in grace and now there was nothing we could do or not do (no more works) to be saved. Christ did the work on the cross and by His blood, by His grace, we are saved. Christ raised up only Paul to bring this message of grace and new life to humanity. By just believing, we are saved. Yet Paul doesn't stop there. He reveals to us a message of completion. He calls it the “revelation of the mystery” which is the literal planting of Christ's seed, the incorruptible seed, in every believer. This is what it means to be born again, to have new life. We are brand new creations by the completion of Christ in us, literally and not figuratively. On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit planted the seed of Christ in the spirit of every believer, making us one Spirit in Christ (1 Corinthians 6:17).“At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.” (John 14:20)However, it wasn't until Christ raised up Paul, and only Paul, that we would know exactly what happened on that Day of Pentecost. Paul calls it the mystery hidden from us through the ages yet planned by God before the foundation of the world (1 Corinthians 2:7).“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.” (Ephesians 1:4)Paul's gospel of grace and new life fulfills what Jesus said in John 12:24: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”Only by Christ's death and resurrection can we be born again, having a new life and even more so, an abundant life. The abundant life is Christ living in each of us, completing us, and bearing His fruit through us. We no longer live for our own glory but for Christ to be glorified through us. God no longer sees our works as pleasing to Him; He sees Christ. By Christ we are now His bona fide children, born into His family. We are complete by Christ, through Christ, and in Christ. Paul's gospel of grace, Christ in us, is a message of the fulfillment of Christ's death and resurrection, which is our completion in Him.“Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:26-27)“And ye are complete

One Body In Christ By Tammy Lacock This week begins a new study which Warren Litzman calls Jesus and Paul. Warren focuses on the Apostle Paul as having an intricate role in God's plan as the only man raised up by Christ Himself to bring to humanity a new and final gospel, the gospel of grace, which tells us where Christ is now and who we are now in God's plan.In Christianity today, we have a church that brings us a confused Christ, putting Him into two different categories but meshing them together. In one category, we try to live like Christ, which only makes us frustrated and ultimately defeated because this isn't and has never been God's plan for us. In the other category, Paul tells us that by God's grace, Christ is our very life. We are not to live like Him but rather our old selves have “been crucified with Christ,” and our new life is Him living within us. We are no longer to know Him as Jesus of Nazareth but now as the one who lives in us and through us, our Lord of glory (Colossians 1:27). Christ is no longer an outer person; He lives within us being joined to our spirits making us one spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17).The problem is that we commingle these two gospels not realizing that Paul's gospel is the one true and final gospel for today. That is, Paul's message of Christ living in every believer through God's grace. Paul's gospel of Christ moves us out of salvation by law and into salvation by grace, that is by Christ's death and resurrection. We are now brand-new creations in Him. God no longer sees us; He sees Christ. This was God's plan before the foundation of the world.“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love." (Ephesians 1:4 KJV)In His last words on the cross, Christ said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46) and “It is finished” (John 19:30). At the cross, Christ's ministry in the body of Jesus of Nazareth was finished, allowing God's plan of Christ's spirit living in every believer to be fulfilled. Finally, Jesus is vibrantly alive the way He wants to be…not in the body manufactured by Mary but as a gift of life to every believer. Jesus became the utter fulfillment of who He was to be in God's plan. He went from living in one body, Jesus of Nazareth, to living out His eternal life in another body, the Church, the one Body of Christ. God put the incorruptible seed of Christ in every believer, His spirit joined to ours. However, we didn't know what had happened when this radical change took place. The only way we would know is through the Apostle Paul. Paul's conversion on the way to Damascus was the beginning of Christ raising up only one man to deliver this new gospel. When it was revealed to him that Christ was His very life, living in him (Gal. 1:15-17), Paul shared it with the world. He underwent a radical mind change, and his mind continually renewed in his new life in Christ. Yet it was hard for the world to take hold of this new gospel because Christianity was and still is holding onto the outer Christ in Jesus of Nazareth. This commingling of gospels has gotten us to a place where we don't know who we are. Yet Paul tells us who we are. We must follow Paul as he follows Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1) to understand our new life and who we are now in Christ. We are bona fide children of God by the very life of Christ now living within us. We are one body in Christ. This was God's plan from the beginning. We (humans) were chosen to be in Him, and giving thanks to Paul, this final gospel has been revealed to us! “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.” (1 Corinthians 12:12 KJV)

Old Things Must Pass AwayBy Tammy Lacock “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV)Throughout Apostle Paul's epistles, he consistently tells about the importance of renewing our minds as we live our new life in Christ. Paul proclaimed a new gospel to believers, that by Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, our sin-nature—which passed down by the curse of Satan through Adam—has been literally uprooted and replaced with the incorruptible Seed, Christ, making us now brand-new creations. When Christ died, our old lives died, too. We were freed from the bondage of sin and Satan. When Christ arose, we arose as well, to a brand-new life in Him!Paul tells us an integral component to renewing our minds to our new life in Christ is to understand that, although our pasts can never go away, by the help of the Holy Spirit, we can learn to let go of our old identities, no matter what they were.In this week's podcast, Warren Litzman boils it down to letting go of anything and everything that made us who we thought we were before coming to Christ, even down to our first birthing. As new creations in Christ, we must understand that we have been rebirthed and are babes in Christ now. We now have no past in our brand-new life. Yet Paul tells us that our minds have been so deeply rooted in our old identities that we need a constant mind renewal to who we are now in Christ, if we are ever to fully live who God created us to be. Our pasts keep our minds from learning and growing in Him. We must learn to let go of our pasts and old mindsets so that we can allow the new knowledge of Christ living in us to take hold. Paul wanted nothing more than to let go of his old identities (his upbringing, his status, his education etc.); yet he suffered these losses every day as the Holy Spirit renewed his mind to the knowledge of his new life in Christ. He says it plainly yet ever so passionately in Philippians 3:8:“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.”Paul's gospel of Christ living in us ushered in what Christ is now doing in our inner being, as opposed to the outer works, he performed while he was here on earth.As brand-new creations in Him, God no longer sees the “old man” and no longer sees what we do or don't do (our outer works) to be saved. He sees Christ in us. He is our righteousness, our only hope of glory!May we undergo this radical mind-change by letting go of our pasts and living our new identity in Christ, allowing Him to come through us now.“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.” (Galatians 6:15 KJV)

Keith was feeling down as he trudged through the produce aisle. His hands trembled from the first signs of Parkinson’s disease. How long before his quality of life began to slide? What would this mean for his wife and children? Keith’s gloom was shattered by laughter. Over by the potatoes, a man pushed a giggling boy in a wheelchair. The man leaned over and whispered to his son, who couldn’t stop grinning. He was noticeably worse off than Keith, yet he and his dad were finding joy where they could. Writing from prison or under house arrest as he awaited the outcome of his trial, the apostle Paul seemingly had no right to be joyful (Philippians 1:12–13). The emperor was Nero, a wicked man who would soon paint Christians with tar and set them on fire, so Paul had reason to be concerned. He also knew there were preachers who were taking advantage of his absence to gain glory for themselves. They thought they could “stir up trouble” for the apostle while he was imprisoned (v. 17). Yet Paul chose to rejoice (vv. 18–21), and he told the Philippians to follow his example. “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (4:4). Our situation might seem bleak, yet Jesus is with us now, and He’s guaranteed our glorious future. The Lord who walked out of His tomb will return to raise His followers to live with Him. As we begin this new year, may we rejoice!

Paul faced much weakness and suffering in his life and ministry. Yet Paul saw these as occasions to show off God's power. It is this balance of our weakness as clay pots and God's resurrection power that fuels the Christian life. Instead of being discouraged by being weak we should find encouragement in God's strength. You can watch the message here.

At first, the gospel of Jesus Christ may seem like a radical departure from Israel’s experience of salvation. Yet Paul affirms in Romans 10 that the gospel, in fact, fulfills and continues God’s dealings with his people. In this session, we’ll explore how the Christian experience of salvation by grace through faith exists in harmony with Israel.

Paul praised and valued female leadership in the church. Yet Paul also put restrictions on women in some of his letters. What do we make of the disparity? Does God call women to lead and teach the people of God? When it comes to male and female, what would an outpost of the Kingdom of Heaven look like in our society? Bringing heaven to earth in regards to male and female implies that woman and men serve and lead together, celebrating, appreciating, and bridging their differences.

It can be unnerving when your boss unexpectedly asks to meet with you. In the same way, a student gets nervous when called into the principal’s office, and children know what it means when their parent warns, “Wait until your father (or mother) gets home!” Maybe you feel the same way as we read about the inevitability of God’s judgment in verse 10. For Paul, this reminder motivated him to keep proclaiming the gospel. According to verse 11, it is an awareness of “what it is to fear the Lord.” Paul had a first- hand encounter with this fear when Jesus appeared to Him on the road to Damascus in a blaze of light and spoke with a voice like thunder (Acts 9:3–6). Yet Paul’s primary motivation was not guilt or even fear of failure in his efforts to persuade others to believe the gospel. He was so moved by the love Christ demonstrated by giving His life. Paul did not see this sacrifice as a moral example but something far more powerful. He was “convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died” (2 Cor. 5:14). Jesus’ death fundamentally changes those who believe in a way that makes it possible to “no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again” (v. 15). As a result of Christ’s sacrifice, the believer becomes “a new creation” (v. 17). The old order with its bondage to sin has passed away. A new order has begun in which those who were once God’s enemies are now reconciled and are eager to share the message of reconciliation. >> What is the message of reconciliation? It is the gospel: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (v. 21). Once we have exchanged our sin for the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ, we do not need to be afraid of judgment.

It is far to easy in the modern church to presume that we are safe and secure from any threat of sin or idolatry. Yet Paul reminds the Corinthians that they too must beware lest they fall like the Israelites of old. In this message, Nathan explores Paul's exhortation in 1 Corinthians 10:12 and shows that we, like the Corinthians, must continually be on guard against pride and presumption—standing fast to the reality of Jesus Christ and His humbling work in our lives. For more information about Daily Thunder and the ministry of Ellerslie Mission Society, please visit: https://ellerslie.com/ (https://ellerslie.com/). If you have been blessed by Ellerslie, consider partnering with the ministry by donating at: https://ellerslie.com/donate/ (https://ellerslie.com/donate/)

Kelly was battling brain cancer when the COVID-19 crisis hit. Then fluid developed around her heart and lungs and she had to be hospitalized again. Her family couldn’t visit because of the pandemic. Her husband, Dave, vowed to do something. Gathering loved ones together, Dave asked them to make large signs with messages. They did. Wearing masks, twenty people stood on the street outside the hospital holding signs: “BEST MOM!” “LOVE YOU.” “WE ARE WITH U.” With the help of a nurse, Kelly made her way to a fourth-floor window. “All we could see was a facemask and a waving hand,” her husband posted on social media, “but it was a beautiful facemask and waving hand.” Late in his life, the apostle Paul felt alone as he languished in a Roman prison. He wrote to Timothy, “Do your best to get here before winter” (2 Timothy 4:21). Yet Paul wasn’t totally alone. “The Lord stood at my side and gave me strength,” he said (v. 17). And it’s also apparent that he had some encouraging contact with other believers. “Eubulus greets you,” he said to Timothy, “and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers and sisters” (v. 21). We’re created for community, and we feel that most keenly when we’re in crisis. What might you do for someone who may feel entirely alone today?

Rev. AJ Espinosa, pastor at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Irvine, CA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Acts 26:1-32. King Agrippa's background in Judaism makes him the perfect candidate to listen to Paul's testimony, for which the apostle is grateful. Paul recounts his history in Judaism. He was raised as a Pharisee, zealous for the faith that he shared with all Israel, which included the hope for the resurrection of the dead. In fact, Paul's zeal took him too far; he persecuted the saints of God until the Lord Jesus came to him at Damascus. Jesus appointed Paul as His servant and witness to go to both Jews and Gentiles in order to turn them from darkness to light through faith in Jesus. Paul concludes his testimony before Agrippa by stating that he has preached the same thing as the prophets, that the Christ has suffered and died to bring light and life. Festus thinks that Paul has gone crazy, and Agrippa is not so quickly persuaded. Yet Paul desires that all would share in the faith that he has been given. To that end, his appeal to Caesar will send Paul to Rome, where he will continue to give witness to the resurrection of Jesus. “To the End of the Earth” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Acts. In his second volume, St. Luke records all the things that Jesus continued to do through the ministry of His Church. By the end of the book, the proclamation of the Lord's Word that began in Jerusalem grows all the way to Rome. By God's grace, even now, that same Word is proclaimed to us.