Calvary: the Hill Sermons

How is God's Spirit made manifest in the church? Through the gifts God has given the body. For the sake of the whole church we should seek to discover and utilize our gifts, and earnestly desire the best gifts so that each part of the body does its part and the whole body grows in love.

What resources do we have available to fight against the spiritual forces at work in our lives and world? God has given us everything we need in Jesus Christ to stand against the schemes of the devil. Learning to employ them in our lives and others will lead to victory and peace.

What is spiritual warfare? How should we think about the devil and demons? What are Satan's primary tactics? We need to embrace the biblical worldview of the spiritual realm and understand the ordinary forms of spiritual warfare through temptation, deception and accusation.

One of the ways that the Christian life is supernatural is through prayer. Prayer maintains our relationship with God and puts us in touch with the God of the universe. Growing in prayer means growing in relationship with God and growing in his power an presence in our life.

Jesus identifies himself to Martha, in the midst of her mourning, as the resurrection and the life. Understanding the resurrection as present and personal changes our own difficulties, transforming them through the very life of God.

Paul makes his final push to stick with Christ and not fall for the foolishness of self-salvation. The cross of Christ has changed his perspective on the worth of all things, and when it becomes our boast it will change ours as well.

Christians are called to respond to the goodness of the gift of Christ with a life of goodness and giving. When we do so we can be confident that all that we sow to the Spirit will be productive, bearing eternal fruit.

The Christian life isn't made better with people; it's made possible. Paul here calls us to live as a new family that is filled with the spirit, committed to restoration and humble. When we do this we become the community that Jesus promised to use to bring others to his kingdom.

So Christian's are called to freedom from sin but how does that work? Paul here reminds the Galatians (and us!) that God has given us his Holy Spirit and that gives us new desires and ability to obey God and overcome the flesh. The gospel doesn't end with forgiveness, but continues on to the practical making of righteous disciples.

Jesus Christ has set us free from the law. But here in Galatians Paul calls us to the proper use of that freedom: to love and serve one another. In doing this we reflect Jesus' own love for us and the world and live as the community God desires us to be.

What does it look like to grow in Christ? Paul is adamant that it doesn't come through circumcision and the law. It is not anything in addition to Christ at all that we need for growth. Instead, we grow through faith in Christ, by the Spirit as we produce more and more love in our lives.

Why is our world simultaneously defined by deception, lies and falsehoods and at the same time a world full of people who claim that they are committed to the truth? Underlying all the deception is our human ability of self deception. If we are going to be a people of the truth, we have to confront our own hearts.

We all know the story of Jonah, but reading it closely can give us a fresh appreciation for the deep literary features that make the story compelling and even moving. Reading it rightly helps us to see ourselves in Jonah (or see Jonah in ourselves) and rediscover the God of abundant Grace.

In an age of continuous outrage and animosity. Jesus' words to his followers are convicting and fresh. We like Jesus, must leave behind hate and love even our enemies. In this way we reflect God's character, and proclaim our own salvation as the forgiven enemies of God.

Both Obadiah and Nahum focus on impending judgment for foreign nations. Although the idea of God's judgment can be unpalatable to us today, both books are presented as good news and comfort to those who have been mistreated and oppressed by those nations. The truth is, we need a just God and should rejoice in the fact that one day there will be no more injustice, Jesus has brought about his kingdo...

Freedom is not only a keyword in American politics, its also a keyword in Christianity. But how does American freedom differ from the Christian version? Christian freedom is deeper gives us the ability to be subject to every governing authority. Intrigued?

The final chapters of Amos are full of visions. Some that God relented from, some that have come to pass, and some that will one day be fulfilled. At the center of them is the plan of God that culminates in Jesus Christ, the savior not just of the Jews but of the whole world.

The first root we need to remove from Christianity is the will to power. Although coercion is a good aspect of government, it has grown primary in our political engagement and is not the way the kingdom will be brought or protected. It's time to dethrone and demythologize politics and pursue human flourishing with God's help instead.

The people of Israel in Amos' day were not just prosperous but very religious. However, Amos comes to warn them that their religion won't save them. Although they worship at the places of their forefathers, they do not worship as their forefathers did; theirs was a worship without change, without humility, without truth and therefore without hope.

What is the primary mark of being part of God's Family? Paul in his conclusion walks through the contours of the Old Testament to show the nature of God's family is the same as it has always been: through faith in the promises of God and his miraculous work.

Amos lays a trap for his audience by beginning with their closest neighbors (and biggest enemies!) before centering his sights on Israel. He calls them out for their injustice and the false religious veneer that keeps them from facing their impending fate. True, they are God's special people, but that doesn't make them untouchable, it makes them accountable.

For us to grow in our relationship in Christ, we need the help of teachers and parents in the Lord, but how can we make sure those we follow will lead us rightly? Paul here presents an example of what Christian leadership looks like and calls us to follow him as he follows Jesus.

Joel's big topic is the Day of the Lord, which he connects with the recent judgment of locust, the impending judgment of Babylon and the final deliverance of God's people. As we travel through time with him our understanding of God's character is transformed and we learn, as John does in Revelation to say "Even so, come Lord Jesus."

Because we have already been adopted to go back to the Old Testament way of relating to God is just like going back to idolatry. Although the law was God-given, it was given temporarily to a people awaiting God to work in the Messiah. Now that Jesus has come, we are no longer waiting but can enjoy our relationship with God in Jesus.

Since we as Christians are united to Christ we are the sons of God. Our status is complete and full in Christ, and we need not add to it in any way. This also means that there is no justification for division within the Church, because we are all sons.