The Pharisee, the Tax Collector, and the Children

Dennis McCallum

Luke 18:9-17

Jesus confronts the Pharisees' self-righteous attitude with a parable of a tax collector and a Pharisee who went to the temple to pray. Jesus condemns the prideful Pharisee who boasted to God about his own good works and praises the humble tax collector who begged God for mercy. Then Jesus explains to His disciples that people must receive the kingdom of God like a child to enter it. God wants us to approach Him in childlike humility and to reject the Pharisees' comparative and judgmental attitude.

Knowing Christ

Mike Sullivan

John 12:23-24

As people who have been made right with God through faith in Jesus Christ, Christians are now capable of growing in their personal relationship with Him. This growth is a privilege, and even though it should be a passion for all believers, it is easy to devalue the importance and joy that comes from knowing Jesus personally. To grow in our relationship with God involves admitting that: we have not arrived at a perfect knowledge of Christ yet, sharing in Christ's sufferings, and realizing we have not yet arrived at perfect knowledge and will not do so in this life.

The Last Supper

Jim Leffel

Exodus 12:1-23

The narrative of the Last Supper begins with the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. The original Passover narrative is recorded in Exodus 12. The Passover lamb foreshadows the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Jesus introduces Communion at this Passover feast. The purpose of the communion tradition is to remember Christ's sacrifice and to bring the Christian community together.

Peace with God

Ben Foust

1 John 4:10

What does it mean (and look like) to have peace with God? Paul describes us as utterly helpless because of our moral guilt before God, and we deserve God's condemnation. But God moved towards us and showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. The peace with God we have available to us starts with the foundation of Christ's redemption and is cultivated in our hearts as we move closer to God.

Christians & Sin

Gary DeLashmutt

1 John 3:4-10

Once someone comes into a personal relationship with God, he is fully forgiven from his sins. But does that mean that Christians no longer sin? John answers this question by stating that those who claim to be Christians but continue to practice and advocate for a lifestyle of sin are not genuine followers of Christ. Moreover, he proclaims two important truths about Christians and their relationship to sin: 1) no Christian is sin-free but all Christians are forgiven, and 2) Christians cannot continue pursuing a lifestyle of sin without the Holy Spirit convicting their consciences. \r\n

Transfiguration

Jim Leffel

Luke 9:28-36

The transfiguration emphasized Jesus as the fulfillment of salvation motifs throughout the Bible. Motifs about the Messiah include Jesus as the: 1) redeemer - purchasing humanity from slavery; 2) creator - bringing life out of chaos; and 3) king - reigning over all. Every book of the Old Testament develops at least one of these three motifs until they are fulfilled in the the New Testament by the person and work of Jesus.

The Level Playing Field

Ryan Lowery

Ephesians 2:11-22

The Author Paul gives the first command so far in the book of Ephesians - that the people would remember who they were before their relationship with God. It was God's intention to unite all people by first showing the world who he was through the nation of Israel. Now God intends to show the world who he is through the love of his people. When believers go out into our world we too need to remember our lives before we knew God.

Once for All

Chris Hearty

1 Peter 2:5-9

Most people experience guilt at some point in their lives, and their experience leads them to a variety of responses: denying their wrongdoing, shifting the blame to others, or attempting to do more good deeds to outweigh the bad. Christians, however, can realize that Christ's once-for-all sacrifice has cleansed us from all of our sin and made us right in God's eyes. Jesus' death has made the Old Testament rituals obsolete, and to return to them is to deny the sufficiency of the cross.

Questions About Faith

Mike Sullivan

Galatians 3:6-25

The passage explores two main questions about faith: 1) Is salvation by faith alone enough in the Old Testament? and 2) Why were we given the Law in the first place? Paul contends that salvation has always been through faith in God and explains the Law's proper role as a testament against self-righteousness.\r\n\r\n