The Stone the Builders Rejected

Mike Sullivan

Psalms 118

Psalm 118 is a processional psalm that Jewish pilgrims would sing as they walk toward the city of Jerusalem during the Passover Week. Every Jew would have been very familiar with this psalm. When Jesus entered the temple during His final week on earth, He applied this psalm to Himself by identifying Himself as the stone the builders rejected. The Jews knew the stone represented the victorious king of the Jews.

Experimenting with Pleasure

Conrad Hilario

Ecclesiastes 2:24-25

King Solomon decided to do a little experiment where he would not deny himself anything his eye desired. Although King Solomon had all the wealth and sexual pleasures a man could ever want, he realizes it all left him empty. All of it was meaningless, chasing after the wind. A life lived as if there was no God, was utterly meaningless, but a life lived for God is where one finds true meaning under the sun.

Body Building

Dennis McCallum

1 Peter 4:8-11

Peter encourages every believer to use the spiritual gifts God has given them for the building up of the Body of Christ. Every believer has been given at least one special gift. All are gifted differently so don't compare yourself to another. Using our gifting to the best of our ability enhances community and is intensely pleasurable without negative side affects. Our gifting is also a stewardship so that the greater the gifting, the greater the expectation to use the gifting well.

The Secret of Contentment

James Rochford

Philippians 4:10-13

Most people assume good circumstances equals contentment, bad circumstances equals discontent, but Paul tells us we can learn the secret of being content in all circumstances, whether good or bad. The way to contentment involves giving voluntarily to others, receiving from others, making love an ongoing lifestyle, and finding confidence in and from Christ. Paul really, truly believed that Jesus would always love him, never leave him, and will continue to empower him.

The Secret of Contentment

Chris Hearty

Philippians 4:10-20

Contentment can never be achieved by always getting what you want. It must be learned through practice. Paul had learned the secret to contentment regardless of his circumstances, whether good or bad. He learned this through the Holy Spirit who strengthened him. Paul connects the state of contentment with the act of giving. When we are content, with or without, we are not afraid to give generously because we know God will provide for us. Paul calls this trusting generosity worship, a pleasing and fragrant offering to God

Paul's Greatest Secret

Dennis McCallum

Philippians 4:10-20

Paul's greatest secret was having learned to be content in all circumstances. He didn't learn this secret in one momentous moment but it came to him over time, bit by bit. God had to stress his faith in order to make it grow. Growth comes in the areas of life when no one is watching. Your little steps of faith grow over time and you learn to to trust God with the bigger things. When we learn to trust God with our money and start giving it away as a "sweet-smelling offering" God will reimburse us. Just as the Philippians had no idea their simple monetary gift resulted in untold number of people benefitting from the prison epistles Paul wrote, we have no idea how our giving freely may be used by God to bless people we have never met.

Wealth, Anxiety, and the Eternal Perspective

Ryan Lowery

Matthew 6:24-34

It's easy to put things like material possessions above God, thinking that they will make you happy. But Jesus says putting God first, investing His priorities, will allow Him to take care of our needs and will fulfill us more than any other goal we might have. This approach promotes a healthy basis for self-worth and also resolves the problem of anxiety.

Religious Theater or Heartfelt Devotion

Ryan Lowery

Matthew 6:1-13

In this passage Jesus addresses people who have substituted heartfelt devotion to God with religious "theater." He calls on people to not act out of a desire to impress God or others, but to act out of a true appreciation of all God has done for them. One of the clearest ways this expresses itself is how we give financially--do we do it for recognition and influence or to gratefully share as God instructs? He also applies this to prayer.

Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler

Ben Foust

Mark 10:13-31

When Jesus encounters the rich young ruler, he seems to deal with him differently than the others he has interacted with. Here, he seems to be pointing him back to the Law as the way to inherit eternal life. But in reality, he is pointing out to the young man that he is attempting to keep the law by watering down the requirements of the Law. He thinks he has kept them since his youth but Jesus shows him the Law requires perfection and he does not live up to that standard. Instead, he must receive the kingdom of heaven as a child receives a gift, with no expectation of deserving the gift.