Leesburg Grace Teachings

In this episode, Pastor Tim explores the development of the doctrine of the Trinity by the early church. He considers five early controversies, two early creeds, and three heresies that continue today when our favorite analogies for describing the Trinity break down. For a humourous version of this, see St. Patrick's Bad Analogies . Other resources for this session, include Historical Theology (Ch...

The Father, Son, and Spirit have enjoyed an eternal conversation. The Trinity experiences perfect communion. Those in the early centuries of the church put language to this, calling it the perichoresis. In this session, we describe this divine dance and dialogue between Father, Son, and Spirit using Scripture and insights from theologians. Pastor Tim also talks about the ramifications of this doct...

In our opening session, we discuss how the Trinity is a pardoxical and unique doctrine in the Christian faith. God is three-in-one: Father, Spirit, and Son. Although the term Trinity does not show up in Scripture, it is implicitly described and progressively revealed. This session explains tendencies in Trinity studies to focus on the economic Trinity and essential Trinity. Moreover, it stresses h...

Author and professor Dr. Brent Sandy features key insights from his book Hear Ye the Word of the Lord before leading the class in an exercise on performing Scripture. This was a stand alone class for the Leesburg Grace Church Engaging Hour. You will hear people from class interacting with questions. Key insights: Engagment with Bible reading has decreased by 21% in the USA in recent years. God spo...

This material did not make it into the Healthy Emotions sermon, but provides interesting insights about emotions from science. From Darwin's study of faces to affective neurology, we have an increased understanding of how the body, brain, emotions, and relationships tie together. Emotions protect and connect us. They process and predict. You can find a video of this on YouTube. For the full sermon...

Sabbath finds its origin in the creation account (Gen. 2:1-3). God rested and made the seventh day part of a good rhythm of rest. This teaching, originally shared at Leesburg Grace's 2024 Deeper with God weekend, provides a biblical survey of sabbath, five purposes of sabbath, and instruction on making sabbath a regular practice.

Fasting is an ancient practice taught by Jesus and observed throughout church history. This workshop focuses on the rationale behind fasting as a spiritual discipline and ways to integrate into your Christian life.

This is the second meditation at Leesburg Grace's 2024 Deeper with God weekend. The audio quality is a bit buzzy. The content is solid. Tim Sprankle describes what it takes to imitate Jesus in everyday life. He draws on his experience in theater, where he iterated lines, stepped into character, and learned to improvise. Click here for the slides that go along with the talk.

This is the first reflection in the Deeper with God weekend at Leesburg Grace. Dr. Christy Hill speaks about Jesus's gracious invitation to be with him from Revelation 3:21. She helps us identify where we are located and what at blocks us from receiving God's love. In the end, she references several Bible passages about God's love, encouraging us to personalize them.

Theology matters. Good theology guards us from deviation, speculation, ignorance, and ambition. Moreover, good theology connects us to God and other likeminded believers. In this bonus episode, Pastor Tim summarizes the Evangelical Core shared by Leesburg Grace Church and other Charis Fellowship churches. It includes 10 beliefs and relevant biblical references. Click here for latest PDF of the Cha...

Securing and strengthening our freedom in Christ requires that we win the battle of the mind. Each of us can take our thoughts captive or walk through Anderson's Steps to Freedom on our own. However, victory in Jesus is also part of our life together. We stand firm together. Thus, we will consider another model of deliverance ministry that involves spiritual community using diverse spiritual gifts...

Jesus's victory frees us. He has overcome. We will overcome. He has defeated Satan. We can stand firm against Satan's lies, schemes, and accusations. To experience freedom in Christ, we must win the battle of the mind. We'll overview Neil Anderson's approach to freedom in Christ. It is our first deliverance model.

Satan is doomed. He knows it and will not go down without a fight. He will leverage his hoard of demons, political leaders, ideology, technology, and two mysterious beasts. Fortunately, Jesus will finish the job, sending him into the Lake of Fire. John writes about the final chapter of this raging spiritual battle in the book of Revelation.

Despite no recorded exorcisms, John's gospel reverberates with spiritual warfare imagery. Tensions fill the book: light and darkness, life and death, community and isolation, truth and lies. Ruling over the realm of darkness and deceiving the world is the devil—the Father of lies. Not only does Jesus expose the devil in John's gospel but also overthrows him through his life, death, and resurrectio...

The authors of the General Letters were alert to spiritual warfare. They warned against the destructive power of false teaching, threat of persecution, and demonic ploy of sowing fear. In these letters, the devil is depicted as a roaring lion, aggressive enemy, and death-dealer whom God's people can resist.

Paul recognizes the devil's tactics and deceptions, but he is undaunted. He knows the devil and his powers are defeated foes. They cannot overturn Jesus's work on the Cross. They cannot overcome Jesus's people. Indeed, the church stands firm together in this battle, strengthened by God and empowered by his Spirit.

The devil wants to disrupt God's work and destroy his people. He is a master tactician. Deception may be his primary scheme, but he employs other methods and traps to trip us up. To stand firm in spiritual battle, believers must know their enemy and his ways.

Jesus overcame sin, death, and Satan. Then he ascended into heaven. His departure paved the way for the Holy Spirit to dwell among the disciples. The Spirit came with power, gifts, and conviction to help the church witness to Jesus and withstand Satan's attacks. The church remains Jesus's empowered people.

Jesus's atonement had cosmic outcomes. He defeated God's ancient foe, Satan. He overcame the plague of sin and plight of death. New Testament authors regularly reflect on Jesus's triumph. Theologians call this theory of atonement Christus Victor. In Christ, eternal victory is available.

Jesus worked many wonders. He healed the sick, calmed storms, raised the dead, and produced miracle bread. These acts demonstrated his spiritual authority. Among these great works, exorcisms—silencing demons and sending them out of their hosts—signaled the kingdom of God overthrowing Satan's rule. This episode looks at three cases studies of exorcisms and the physical, mental, spiritual, and relat...

At his baptism, the heavens tore open, the Spirit descended, and God the Father commissioned his beloved Son into ministry. However, before going public, the Spirit sent Jesus into the wilderness. It was time of fasting, testing, and spiritual victory. Jesus denied the Devil's temptations, showing gritty resolve and proving he was the Son of God.

At the proper time, Jesus entered the world (Gal. 4:4). God sent him. His arrival was heralded by angels but humble in nature. A virgin named Mary conceived him by the Holy Spirit and gave birth to him in Bethlehem. He was the promised seed of Abraham and the Serpent-crusher God promised Eve. The birth of Jesus started God's plan to overthrow the kingdom of darkness and worldly influence of Satan.

Following the Babylonian exile and during the Persian empire, Israel became more interested in the world of angels and demons. They developed a more detailed taxonomy of spiritual beings, evident in the Intertestamental writings: Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, and Dead Sea Scrolls. While this literature is not inspired, it does give insight into how Jewish people viewed angels, demons, and Satan in Je...

Tim interviews pastor Lee Compson about 1 and 2 Kings, Elijah and Elisha, spiritual authority figures, and how to read Old Testament narrative. Lee co-authored the 1&2 Kings commentary in the Kerux series and leads at Milford First Brethren Church. The is bonus material for the Outstanding Faith series at Leesburg Grace Church in Fall 2023.

Despite few references to Satan in the Old Testament, spiritual warfare abounds in Israel's story. Angels and demons typically work behind the scenes; however, sometimes they appear bearing messages, bringing accusations, or fighting battles. Demonic forces show preference for certain locations, occult practices, and graven images. These ancient opponents remain a threat to spiritual flourishing i...