No church in the New Testament is more like our modern churches than the Corinthian church.
1 John: Discerning the True Gospel
John wrote his first letter to clarify the differences between the genuine gospel as revealed by Jesus to the apostles and the heretical versions of the gospel spreading in the early church. He gives 2 guiding principles for recognizing genuine believers and false teachers.
2 Peter: How to find life
As his earthly life drew to a close, Peter wrote his second letter to encourage and admonish the churches. What truths did he think were so important that he had to make sure he wrote them down before he died?
Philemon: How to be a Hero
The Epistle to Philemon is a private letter written by the Apostle Paul. Along with the letter, Paul returning Onesimus, a slave who ran away from Philemon. This letter appeals to Philemon to take the right action and free Onesimus, but it speaks volumes to us today about how to live our daily lives.
While philosophers often use this letter to talk about the evils of slavery and condemn Paul for not taking a strong stance against it, I think this letter has much more to say to us as individual believers and how we should live our lives.
Philippians: Choose Life
Paul’s letter to the Philippians is filled expressions of praise, joy and confidence, despite the fact that Paul wrote the letter while he was in prison. The Philippian church, unlike many other churches Paul wrote to, was not facing any particular problem or controversy. Instead their challenges were the kind that plague many churches today. We can learn from Paul how to rejoice and persevere in the mundane, ordinary difficulties of life.
Colossians: Getting the Gospel Right
If pressed could you discern the actual gospel of Jesus Christ from a counterfeit? Especially if the skewed message came from within mainstream evangelicalism?
1 Peter: Living as aliens and strangers
Peter wrote his first letter give his readers perspective on the big picture. The gospel (the big picture) has implications for each of those relationships and that is what this letter is about: how we respond to God and view ourselves in this world; how we respond to other believers who are walking this journey with us and how we respond to those who persecute and hate us.
James: The Gospel in Shoe Leather
If I could sum up James, in one verse, it would be Luke 6:46: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” The central question of the book of James is: Are you living what you claim to believe?
Questions Jesus Asked
Have you ever wondered why Jesus would ask a question, especially one he already knows the answer to? This series looks at the places where Jesus asks a question in the Gospel of Mark.
Dealing with Doubt & Despair: Understanding the Temptations of Jesus
This series examines the Temptations of Jesus with the goal of learning how to face waiting and affliction with hope, trust and endurance.
