Traders Point Christian Church (Audio)

As the Sermon on the Mount nears the end, Jesus warns us about people who pretend to be something they’re not. We not only have to watch out for external threats from false prophets; we have to watch out for the false prophets within ourselves. How do we change our hearts to be real? We face our reality boldly, tell ourselves the brutal truth, and choose to be broken before God and someone else. G...

Jesus has preached a message to His disciples on some very heavy topics. As we allow His words to equip and empower us, we come to realize that spiritual growth is often harder than we expected. We have an enemy who wants to tempt and distract us from growing closer to Jesus, and Jesus tells us the answer is prayer. He teaches us to pray for our spiritual lives by continuing to ask, seek, and knoc...

As Jesus teaches His disciples what it looks like to live in the kingdom of God in His famous Sermon on the Mount, He dives straight to our hearts, and His teaching on judging others is no different. Jesus isn’t saying there’s never a time to make a judgment call or to be discerning, but He does challenge us to judge rightly. To do that, we must see ourselves and others clearly, and seeing clearly...

The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus exclaiming to His followers that God has so much more for us than the brokenness so prevalent in our world today. From His teaching on treasure and material possessions, Jesus now digs a little deeper into that topic by showing us how disordered priorities and misguided affections are often the cause of much of the worry we face in this life. Instead of just a comm...

Prayer may be the most universal spiritual discipline practiced across all religions. Even if we don’t believe in God, we probably still pray because something inside of us instinctively recognizes our need for help and cries out for it! In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives His followers the why and how to pray. As we practice this discipline, we learn that prayer is all about deepening our con...

Jesus isn’t afraid to address challenging topics because He knows our lives are greatly impacted by them. As He turns His attention to good deeds, money, and material possessions in His Sermon on the Mount, He continues to focus on the motivations of our heart and transformation from the inside out. He teaches the important truth that our hearts will always follow what we treasure, and He challeng...

The Sermon on the Mount is a grand exposition on how to live out the greatest commandment: love God and love people. In it, Jesus walks through case studies to explain what He means, four of which are divorce, dishonesty, revenge, and loving our enemies. Jesus calls us to not just focus on external behavior and image management. He calls us to examine the motives of our hearts. When we follow His...

Jesus knew that knowledge wasn’t enough to give meaning and purpose to life. He didn’t come to earth just to heal a few people or to teach a few lessons on morality or good manners. He didn’t even come just to die on a cross so that sinners could go to heaven someday. Jesus came to teach men and women what it means to be fully human. He came to win our hearts and change us from the inside out.
Aar...

We live in an age where we have more access to information than any other generation in history. While knowledge isn’t a bad thing, it isn’t enough to fix the massive brokenness of our world and the bankruptcy found within each of our hearts. We need something deeper and more profound. In His most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus described His upside-down kingdom, His way of putting o...

A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline. Jesus taught the original master class on what it means to be fully human when He gave His famous Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-7. The message of His sermon wasn’t, “Live like this and you’ll be my disciple,” but rather, “Because you are my disciple, live like this.” It’s not about h...

The heart of the Christmas story is that God sent His Son to be a Savior for everyone, including the fearful, the shamed, and the guilty. Aaron Brockett • For All the People • Luke 2:10-11

The good news of the Christmas story is that God meets us where we are. In the midst of overwhelming guilt, God provides an answer! Confession to both God and others is the pathway to forgiveness and joy. Let guilt be the vehicle that takes you straight to the grace of God. 

Ryan Bramlett • For All the People • Luke 2:8, Psalm 32:1-7

The announcement the angel brought to the shepherds on that first Christmas was a message he said would bring great joy to all people. It wasn’t a message just for the Jew, the Gentile, the religious, the good person, or the worthy person, but for all. If you feel like Mary and Joseph - as if your life has been disrupted, or you feel alone, or you feel shamed - God meets you in all three with His...

To be afraid is to be human. The command, “Don’t be afraid,” is the most frequent command in the Bible for a reason. Where is God in the midst of our fear? As we look forward to the celebration of God coming to earth as a baby this season, remember that God is always doing something in the midst of our storms. Whatever fear is stealing from you, God wants to replace it with a peace that passes all...

How can we disagree with brothers and sisters in Christ in a way that honors both God and the other person? Romans 14 and 15 give us guidelines for doing this well. By prioritizing the spiritual health of others over our personal freedoms in Christ, we bring glory to God. Spiritual maturity is not developing convictions based on how much we know. It's learning to show restraint in the weight w...

While the first 11 chapters of the book of Romans reveal a painstakingly logical explanation of the Gospel message in its entirety, the last five chapters move on to the practical application of it. The Gospel shows us how to rightly see ourselves and revolutionizes our relationships with God, with other Christians, with enemies, and even with our governing authorities. Aaron Brockett • Recalibrat...

The book of Romans shows us a church with strong similarities to the church today – a group of people who trusted in their Christian activity rather than actively trusting in Christ, a people consumed with projects for God rather than the promises of God. But a relationship with Jesus is the antidote to religion, regardless of background or ethnicity. Because of His great love, we are sent into th...

For followers of Jesus, the struggle with sin is a battle we will continue to fight until the day we go to be with God in heaven for all of eternity. Until then, we can rest assured it’s a battle we don’t fight alone. Because of the Holy Spirit living in us, we have a position of right standing with God that cannot be removed, we have a purpose on earth that cannot be ruined, and we have a power t...

We’re all looking for worth and acceptance, but that’s a battle none of us can win. Following Jesus means we’ll face an ongoing war in our minds. Recognizing the victory Jesus won for us changes the way we see the fight. Jesus established our ultimate worth when He suffered on our behalf, so that we would have success over our old selves and would be released from the fight we could never win. Aar...

An invitation to follow Jesus is an invitation to war with our personal sin. God tells us in Romans 6 is that being made right in His sight frees us from the power of sin, but it doesn’t mean that we will never be tempted to sin. The process of being made holy is a battle we will fight until the day we go to be with Jesus for eternity, but it’s one we don’t fight alone. Through the power of the Ho...

Pain and trials are inevitable in this life, but the gospel message transforms the way we look at suffering. Jesus came to earth to make the ultimate sacrifice for us. He was familiar with sorrows and acquainted with grief, yet He never sinned. Because of His sacrifice, we can face our trials from a place of peace and joy, looking forward to the day when we will share God’s glory. Aaron Brockett •...

The message of the Bible is that we are saved by faith. We don’t earn a right standing with God because of how hard we work. Righteousness is counted to us because of our faith in God who forgives sinners. Nothing is too hard for Him. This gives us a hope that is greater than how we feel or things appear – a hope that anchors our identity, security, and assurance. We’re welcomed into the family of...

As followers of Jesus, the lens by which we see the world is increasingly at sharp odds with those of our culture. As a result, we are under constant pressure to assimilate and follow the crowd. Each one of us will one day stand before the judgment seat of God. He justifies us freely by His grace, meaning He declares us righteous through the finished work of Jesus. When we put our trust in Him, ev...

Our modern western culture doesn’t call us to bow down to a gold idol, but it does call us to bow to an ideology. God designed the world to be without pain, disease, war, and hurt, but whatever God creates, Satan counterfeits. The good news is Jesus defeated him on the cross, and He wants to change each of us, beginning with our hearts. God isn’t looking for external conformity to a religion or se...