RENEW

According to God’s original design for marriage, the general truth is that a spouse is bound to their marriage partner for life. Only death should end the marriage covenant. But as we all know, in this world of broken people—including broken Jesus-followers—God’s design for marriage isn’t always accomplished. God cares about marriage but not simply for marriage’s sake. God cares about marriage bec...

We are challenged to choose to follow the path of the cross by setting aside our own natural inclination to place our self on the throne of our lives and rather, in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and by means of the new life of Christ, to empty ourselves of 'Self' and become a servant of all.

Good and satisfying sexual relations require building a relationship with a marriage partner. Loving sex is the expression of mutual love between two people. And it becomes more loving and more satisfying the more the love grows and deepens between the two people. Pornography, on the other hand, is all about short term, uncommitted, shallow sex. It’s about depicting sexual fantasies in the imagina...

Jesus identifies our imagination as part of reality. He says that what we do in our inner imaginative world is as important as what we do with our bodies in the outer world. What we do with our bodies in this objective world is an expression of what’s going on in our inner world, in our imagination.

We are to be known above all for the way we show the perfect love of God. We are to be known for our willingness to love the unlovable, even our enemies. Our lives are to be so unique that unbelievers, people who don’t know Jesus, would ask: why do you love me and sacrifice for me the way you do?  To which the only answer would be because of the reality of Jesus.

When we consider the constant change in which we live and what God’s plans are for our lives at the start of another new year, we would do well to ask these questions - What are we supposed to retain and renew? What are we supposed let go of and what are we supposed to add on?   But when we ask ourselves these questions, we do it with a different goal in mind because we know we’re heading in...

No matter who you are, and no matter what you have done, God loves you. No matter how much you have resisted God’s will or pursued the way of this world, God still loves you. There is nothing you can do to cause God to stop loving you. That’s because God is love.

The biblical definition of joy says that joy is a feeling of good pleasure and happiness that is dependent on who Jesus is rather than on who we are or what is happening around us. Joy comes from the Holy Spirit, abiding in God's presence and from hope in His word.

Advent is a time where Christians are reminded that the Messiah who came to us on that first Christmas morning will come again. However bad things may get in life, however hopeless a situation seems, however despairing the state of humanity on the earth, Advent reminds us that it will not always be this way.

If we hold on to anger or resentment or bitterness, we give the devil a foothold. And Jesus knows this about us, so he teaches that there is only one right way to respond to anger and that is to get rid of it as soon as possible. He’s saying, "Don’t let this emotion fuel you it's dangerous."

We are different. Jesus calls us “salt and light”. when we make a choice to believe in Jesus, when we surrender our lives to him, Jesus calls us to leave a worldly way of living and join him on a new path. As a kingdom people, as Christians, as people who follow Jesus – we are fundamentally different. We love our enemies. We pray simply. We live simply. We give generously. We don’t judge others. W...

Let your light shine before others! God shines most brightly through us when there is no earthly reason for our responses. When we love our enemies, have peace in anxious times, rejoice in difficulties and give thanks in all circumstances, the power of Jesus becomes evident to all!

Hear testimonies of God's goodness as Renew celebrates its first year as a church community.

Jesus is teaching here about the blessed life. What it means to live the blessed life. Jesus talks about these ideas throughout his ministry. He tells parables about them. He challenges those who don’t live in this way. He gets close to those who do. He himself perfectly embodies this way of life and eventually gives his life as a sacrifice for all of us who fall short of them. And then he gives u...

Jesus is more profoundly in love with us than we could possibly ever imagine. And he knows that a false, self-centered way of living keeps us from true life. To be free from the self that is addicted to the question: What’s in it for me? is to be truly alive and free. It is to enter into the kingdom of God.

Jesus taught a way or path to his followers. He called people to follow him in a way of living. He was very much about life before death. He spoke about alternative paths—the wide path and the narrow path . He talked about seeking and entering the kingdom or reign of God.

The Hebrew word hoy (woe) is used in the Old Testament to express sorrow and grief in the context of lamenting a death. “Woe” is a wailing of sadness. But a pronouncement of woe was also used to predict impending disaster. The Old Testament prophets often uttered the word “Woe” as a part of their prophecy against a nation. It was designed to shake people up, to make changes. It’s worth noting that...

Guilt is important in motivating us to repent; but if left to fester, it can also be a deadly spiritual poison. If it’s not properly dealt with, it can lead to depression, hopelessness, and self-pity. It can destroy your faith! When you are overcome with guilt, it is difficult to fully enjoy life the way God intended. Guilt should be like an alarm bell in our minds, attempting to awaken us to the...

Self-esteem and self-worth are probably not something we actively think about, but these sentiments and attitudes are on display in our lives every day. Our self-esteem and self-worth impact how we relate to the people in our lives. For any follower of Jesus your self-esteem and self-worth has to be rooted in your God-given identity. It lies in knowing and embracing who God says you are.

Can you say that you have in your life a living hope, a certain hope, that you’re not going to give in to despair because of what God has done for you in Jesus Christ? Do you live with the hope of your own resurrection? This life is not all there is.

When we have the written word inside of us the Spirit of God will make use of it. The Holy Spirit will prompt you with it; so, in every situation you can feel confident that you’ve got a compass for heading down the right path.

"Your word is a lamp to my feet”. Read scripture so you can know what is right, so you can know what the best decision might be, so you can know how to take the next step. "Your word is a light to my path". Read scripture so that you can know which path in life God wants you to take, what the next path might be that God wants you to take.

Whats most important is to live for Christ, preach the gospel and deepen your relationship with God.

There is within us a capacity for vision that is beyond our natural eyesight. We must learn to see things as God sees them, not from a shallow, human viewpoint but rather from a divine viewpoint.

John 3:16 is an amazing verse, spoken straight from the mouth of our Lord Jesus Christ. May the truth of this verse stir your spirit afresh as Eugene shares about the greatest gift of love the world has ever seen.