The Living Truth Fellowship

The letter to the Colossians is a powerful reminder of the completed work of our savior Jesus Christ. It shows us that we do not have to add anything to what Jesus accomplished in order to be saved and stand as the righteousness of God. Paul wrote this letter in response to those who were teaching that something else was needed to be complete in Christ. Colossians corrects this false concept and s...

Jesus said that those who made the decision to follow him would experience suffering for having made that decision. The early church soon found out the truth of those words and Peter’s first epistle addresses that development head on. When he wrote it the pressure and suffering had already begun and he said it would get even worse. Of course, he didn’t just warn the church and let it go at that. I...

First John is a book of the Bible that speaks of the assurance of God’s love and the importance of living a life of obedience and faithfulness to Him. It is a powerful and inspiring reminder to stand strong in the faith and be faithful in our love for God and for one another. It calls us to keep our eyes on Jesus, to guard our hearts and minds, to live in fellowship with one another, and to remain...

First John is a book of the Bible that speaks of the assurance of God’s love and the importance of living a life of obedience and faithfulness to Him. It is a powerful and inspiring reminder to stand strong in the faith and be faithful in our love for God and for one another. It calls us to keep our eyes on Jesus, to guard our hearts and minds, to live in fellowship with one another, and to remain...

As we face the mounting opposition and oppression in our lives, it is important to remember the spiritual reality of our redemption. Our redemption is an eternal spiritual victory in the face of any adversity. When we face the challenges of life, it is easy to forget this spiritual reality and instead focus on the immediate physical conditions we face. We may feel overwhelmed and discouraged. But,...

Since the late 1980s we have all seen tee-shirts and placards displaying the phrase “No Fear”. While this popular mantra may give some degree of encouragement, it can also be misleading. While it may seem sensible to eliminate fear from our lives, not all fear is bad. It is a good thing to fear a sow Grizzly bear with cubs. It is also wise to fear a nearby raging wildfire while camping in the wood...

A common thought about Christian fellowship is that it should produce comfort and encouragement. But how many of us look at fellowship as a source of godly fear? Yet, that is precisely what the first Christians experienced immediately following the Day of Pentecost. Acts 2 informs us that they followed a specific pattern of behavior, but the outcome wasn’t what we normally expect. The outcome was...

Our world is spinning out of control. The most fundamental realities of life are under assault, and it seems most of earth’s human inhabitants are either ignorant, numbed or jaded about the inevitable outcome if we remain on the sidelines. What should Christ’s followers do? Do we march in the streets? Should we write letters of protest to our elected officials? Or perhaps we can raise public aware...

As Christian’s, should we be following our hearts? There are many calls to “follow your heart” in movies, novels, slogans, blogs, and memes. Related pieces of advice are “trust yourself” and “follow your instincts.” A corollary dictum is “your heart will never lead you astray.” The problem is that none of these quips are biblically supportable. Rather than trust our hearts, we are to commit our he...

Fellowship in our current Western culture has become a broadly used word to describe everything from government programs to civic organizations. Is fellowship just another way of describing a collective group or community or does it imply more? The Bible offers a much more nuanced picture of fellowship; one which will thrill the heart to perceive and practice. In this sermon, Gary Lee Corns presen...

The purpose of the written Word is to reveal the Living Word (Jesus) who directs us to its source, God. Without pursuing a personal relationship with Jesus, the study of God’s Word falls into pointless and powerless academic pursuit. Scriptures continually point us to a living Savior who makes known our Heavenly Father that desires to have a deep relationship with us. Join us for this heartfelt sh...

To lament is to express deep regret, grief, or sorrow. We can lament through words or actions. Lamenting is a common theme in the Bible. Which is why there is an Old Testament book named Lamentations. In it we see that God has given us an entire book of the Bible that teaches us how to navigate the valley of sorrow and loss. The book of Lamentations is a house for sorrow and a school for compassio...

When the Christian is saved, he or she is filled with holy spirit. At that time, the person becomes a unique creation of God in Christ. No longer is he reliant on the external law but now has the inner witness of Christ within. But, while being God’s new child, the person at the same time retains the old fallen nature of Adam. This is the believer’s struggle; two natures - the old nature, the fles...

Galatians 5 and 6 succinctly defines the walk of the spirit in love. The early church at Galatia was beset by the religionists of the day, the Judaizers. Perfecting the flesh – the strictures of a works-based religion – was their false doctrine. At it’s center was their creed – “You must DO to be approved.” Paul confronts this and says, “No, it’s faith which works by love.” It’s in the walk of fai...

God doesn’t want much – He just wants all of you. It’s true. God wants your heart. Your whole heart. This isn’t selfishness on God’s part, since He is love. God wants our devotion, our commitment, our faithful loyalty, because God knows that when we enthrone him in our hearts, we are raised out of our mere human existence into the intimate relationship with him of love and light. Love God, and lov...

Our wonderful Heavenly Father places a great opportunity before us continually; that of listening. We were created to hear His voice above all others and with the precious gift of holy spirit we are truly endowed with the ability to listen and hear his voice. Adam was the first to be given this opportunity to listen to the Creator, but sadly he chose not to. History is littered with those who have...

One of the greatest types of giving is forgiving. When we think of the character of God, forgiveness is an extension of His mercy. He “forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases.” We simply cannot walk in intimate fellowship with Him without forgiveness. The fact is, unforgiveness arrests our spiritual development. It keeps us from being strong in grace and anchors us to our past. In this te...

God desires us to be strong in His Grace, which is something we need from Him every day. It’s not just a word to be used in our Christian circles. Grace is the lifeblood of the believer. Ephesians 1:8 tells us that God lavished the riches of this Grace upon us through his son, Jesus Christ. By God’s Grace, He began a good work in us, and He promises to perform it until Jesus’s return. That spirit...

The Christmas story is important because the birth of Christ is important. The traditional story of His birth contains many errors, and presents a cold, hard, and lonely picture about the circumstances of his birth. This expository teaching explores and reveals a deeper, more accurate understanding of the customs, time and place, and other details that truly make the birth of Christ an inspiring a...

As Christians, we understand that we are involved in spiritual warfare. What we say takes on a significant role in how well we compete in this contest, for “life and death are in the power of the tongue.” In today’s teaching, we examine what scripture considers wholesome and honest communication, and what it considers destructive and misleading. We learn that, as much as we would like, no one is a...

This is part 3 of a series by Mike Tomberlin on Sanctification: Principles Of Walking In The Spirit – the hows of making a constant, conscious, and personal relationship with Jesus Christ a reality in your life. We should be profoundly thankful we have holy spirit from God and can understand spiritual matters. God gave us new life through Jesus His son in the new birth (John 3:6), and we must cont...

God’s Word tells us of Jesus, who as a servant humbled himself to God’s will, was crucified, buried, resurrected and seated with God at his right hand, far above all principalities, power, mights and dominions. He was given a name which is above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, both in heaven and on earth and under the earth. In this study we look at Jesus, seated at the...

We live in a culture that is driven by discontent instead of thankfulness. Being thankful illuminates God’s blessings in our lives and allows us to be strong in the Lord. Just as the Lord did for the Apostle Paul during his conversion, our Lord Jesus Christ is opening our eyes and turning us from darkness into light, from the power of Satan to the power of God. As we embrace God, we are to put off...

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (John 15:1-2) It is God’s desire that we bear much fruit. In fact, our fruitful walk glorifies him. But to do this, we must recognize that, as a branch cannot bear fruit of itself when separated from the vi...

“Mercy triumphs over judgment.” As Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Go, learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’” God’s judgment is tempered by his mercy, the withholding of merited judgment. This was especially exemplified in the life of Jesus. In a culture full of criticism and accusation, mercy is a quality that God cultivates in his people.