Southside Community Church - Sermons

We, like Israel, try to come up with our own solutions instead of repenting and turning back to God. Are we diligently pursuing God today?

The Israelites trusted in their idols for security which caused them to become desensitized to the wrath of God. What do our hearts prize above God?

When we stand before God on Judgment Day, our only plea before such a holy God is that Christ died for our sins, and therefore his righteousness is ours. The only thing that we contribute to our salvation is the sin that made it necessary.

The root of Israel's problem was that they did not know God. How hard are we working to know God, and to guard our hearts?

The Bible uses the analogy that we are spiritual prostitutes to shock us because we struggle to understand the magnitude of our idolatry.

When we love something more than God, we commit spiritual adultery. Despite our spiritual adultery, Jesus paid the price for us in full so that we would be his bride.

God frustrates His people as they chase after false gods in order to turn His people back to himself. No matter our circumstances, God is capable of restoring them.

Hosea is a picture of our own hearts - we commit spiritual adultery against God every time we break the First Commandment.

Paul found his identity as a bondservant to Christ. Where do we find ours? If our identity is found in anything other than Christ, we're headed in a bad direction.

God's grace is always greater than our sin, no matter how many time we go to Him seeking forgiveness.

Do we keep in step with the Spirit? We cannot sow bad seeds and expect to bear good fruit.

Paul exhorts the Galatians to walk in the Spirit, loving others as Christ loves us.

The primary way the Spirit is manifested in the lives of believers is through love - love for God, and love for one another. Can we see this fruit in our lives?

The flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit - so what are acts of flesh, and how do we fight sin in our lives so that we can walk in the Spirit?

Paul instructs us to walk by the Spirit, because it's in serving Christ that we find true joy and true freedom.

Christ defines freedom as not having to earn salvation, but being free to serve others and love Christ.

God saves us not so that we can be religious, but so that we can glorify Him and love others. The mark of the Kingdom of God is not any outward activity or ritual that we perform. The mark of the Kingdom of God is love.

The law gives us no power to change - it just tells us relentlessly that we are not good enough before God. Christ is good enough to fulfill the law, so we cling to Him for salvation. What are you trusting in? Are you trusting in Christ alone for salvation?

God brings forth life from death so that we will know that He is Lord. Do we truly believe that God can breathe life into death in our lives?

Paul uses the story of Ishmael, the son of a slave, and Isaac, a son of the Promise, to illustrate the argument that he has made repeatedly in the first four chapters of Galatians - that salvation comes through Christ alone. Sons of God are born again by the free gift of the Holy Spirit, and when we try to contribute to our salvation, we return to the slavery of sin.

When Paul established the church in Galatia, the Galatians left the weak and worthless principles of pagan idolatry and turned to saving faith in Christ alone. False teachers quickly infiltrated the church and taught that it was Christ plus their works that would save them. In these verses, Paul reminds the Galatians that they are no longer slaves to the law, but are free in Christ.

Our usefulness as believers is dependent on our communion with Christ. We find our joy and our purpose in Christ as we commune with him. Do we know Christ and love Christ so much that it flows out of us?

Paul reminds the Galatians that they were once slaves, but now they have been adopted as sons. He implores them to embrace their status as sons and heirs of the Kingdom instead of returning to the slavery of false teachings.

Paul addresses the topics of gender and ethnic identity in the New Covenant. As Christians under the New Covenant, do we find our identity in Christ alone, or in things of this world?

When we think about the assurance of our salvation, we typically ask ourselves, "Have I done enough?", but the right question to ask is, "Has Jesus done enough for me?". The answer is a resounding yes - Christ fulfilled the Covenant of Works for us through His finished work on the cross.