Teaching
on God, Christianity, and Culture
Our past might be filled with scars from wounds self-inflicted or inflicted by others. The scars may be physical and more often they are deeply emotional, memorable, and spiritual. Smells, sights, or sounds can quickly trigger the wounds as if they were being inflicted again from the past into the present. How does one get rid of the scars, wounds, or the triggers? Is there anyway to diminish or reduce their impact on your living today?
Coming this Spring 2020 is a new series on “The Most Important Thing in Life!” We will take you through history and the Bible, specifically in the Bible’s New Testament books (also ‘letters’ or ‘epistles’) of 1 and 2 Corinthians. These two books are written by the Christian apostle, Paul, who originally was a Jewish leader of the Pharisees group and later transformed to follow Jesus.
These two books he writes include a vast amount of topics, themes, life issues, doctrines, personal history, theology, etc. but he summarizes everything into one important thing. The one important thing in life affects, aims, and aligns our life to it. By this one important thing in life, he lived and died. Paul found his greatest joy, worst sufferings, and ongoing purpose in the most important thing in life. Paul also instructs, teaches, guides, counsels, rebukes, corrects, influences, and engages people because of the most important thing in life.
Sometimes we may have believed and behaved as Paul did in his past, trying to question God and live however we want to — whether that’s legalistically (what we think is right) or licentiously (what we want to do regardless). We may be inquisitive or even antagonistic to God and ask questions like the following:
Is the world during the Bible days really different from our world?
Is the Bible out-dated, irrelevant, unhelpful, and only for museums?
Why can’t I just live the way I want to in this life?
Since I am born a certain way and pre-disposed to do whatever I want, then what’s wrong with that?
Since other people are not doing what God wants, then why should I care?
These questions and statements seem to be ever increasing and endless. Like every generation, there’s a tsunami wave of questions always bearing down on the culture in order to seemingly excuse one’s self to live however by attempting to dismiss and disprove God. And instead of seeking truth and doing what’s loving, we try to use, twist, and cover up truth and labeling it “loving.”
No matter the questions, God answers, hence why Paul wrote these two books of the Bible to the Corinthians. Paul addresses countless topics like:
God
People worship
False teachings
Deception
Temptation and mockery
Incest
Sexual morality and immorality
Marriage and singleness
Food and restaurants
Lord’s Supper, communion
Skills, talents, and gifting
Love
Jesus and the gospel
Churches, fellowship, and specific people
Afflictions, suffering and pain
History, Roman empire, Corinth, Greece, Macedonia and other regions
Financial generosity
People involved and being Christian in real life
The most important thing in life
And God is good and he remains steadfast throughout every generation revealing himself that brings people to be “inspired by truth and love to make life, disciples, and churches all about Jesus” — as Paul says:
“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
(1 Corinthians 2:2 ESV)
We are starting our Sunday sermon series in Revelation, which is the Bible’s last book.
We are:
completing the “Relationships: Inspired by truth and love” series by February and
then digging into 1 and 2 Corinthians to answer, “What is the most important thing in life?”
Read more on “What should I expect on a Sunday gathering?”
We will take time during Sunday gatherings to go through:
How to teach kids (on Sundays and in the rest of life)
Hebrews (in the Bible's New Testament)
Relationships (family, friends, dating, engagement, marriage, divorce, re-marriage, death)
In the Spring of 2019 after our current teaching through the Bible’s Luke and Acts about Christ and Christianity, we will be going through another New Testament book of Hebrews. Hebrews quotes a lot from the Old Testament and a book that helps people understand the connection between Christ and salvation (i.e. being a Christian) as well as Christ and the Old Testament (i.e. was Jesus ever mentioned before he came to the earth?).
Watch 1 of several T4G recorded testimonies of people unashamed of the gospel and convicted to love those around them in order that they would come to know and trust Christ Jesus. As some of the videos reveal, not all respond in faith, but we continue to love regardless of their response because God continued to call us to believe in him.
Watch 1 of several T4G recorded testimonies of people unashamed of the gospel and convicted to love those around them in order that they would come to know and trust Christ Jesus. As some of the videos reveal, not all respond in faith, but we continue to love regardless of their response because God continued to call us to believe in him.
Watch 1 of several T4G recorded testimonies of people unashamed of the gospel and convicted to love those around them in order that they would come to know and trust Christ Jesus. As some of the videos reveal, not all respond in faith, but we continue to love regardless of their response because God continued to call us to believe in him.
Watch 1 of several T4G recorded testimonies of people unashamed of the gospel and convicted to love those around them in order that they would come to know and trust Christ Jesus. As some of the videos reveal, not all respond in faith, but we continue to love regardless of their response because God continued to call us to believe in him.
Watch 1 of several T4G recorded testimonies of people unashamed of the gospel and convicted to love those around them in order that they would come to know and trust Christ Jesus. As some of the videos reveal, not all respond in faith, but we continue to love regardless of their response because God continued to call us to believe in him.
Willian and Danica are brother and sister, growing up in a Christian home, later walk through the death of their brother and the pain of missing him. They grew up with parents that "were dedicated to the Lord and taught us who Christ was" and in a "Christian high school and Christian college and going to church." William shares about how he "mentally agreeing to the idea of God ... all those things led me to believe that I was a Christian."
Watch 1 of several T4G recorded testimonies of people unashamed of the gospel and convicted to love those around them in order that they would come to know and trust Christ Jesus. As some of the videos reveal, not all respond in faith, but we continue to love regardless of their response because God continued to call us to believe in him.
Caleb meets Billy in a college philosophy class, as Billy had been looking for more than mere knowledge to get a degree but searching for knowledge that affects real life. Billy searched Plato's Republic among other historical philosophers and literature looking for the answer to, "What is the highest good in life?"
Watch 1 of several T4G recorded testimonies of people unashamed of the gospel and convicted to love those around them in order that they would come to know and trust Christ Jesus. As some of the videos reveal, not all respond in faith, but we continue to love regardless of their response because God continued to call us to believe in him.
The above video features Michael having been in a tutoring situation to Steven, and how the gospel humbles us to love beyond barriers like ethnicity and language. Michael became unashamed of the gospel and was transformed to love because of God's gracious work in him to consider asking Steven if he would like read and study the Bible. Steven replied yes and wondered about the stories. More time seemed to focus on explaining the language, but that still did not stop Steven from learning about the Bible, history, God, and the gospel of Christ.
I Am Second interviews Jim Munroe, one who had a developed skepticism of God knowing that sometimes things are fake and used as a show since he's a magician. Jim Munroe's skepticism turned to trust in God, and Munroe uses the life story of the blood transplant he endured to cure his cancer. The life story truly is a natural way to describe the spiritual truth of how Christ Jesus becomes our eternal substitute for salvation in reconciling us to God through the cross and resurrection.
Nothing is like Christianity because of what's at the center, Christ Jesus, and we believe that's good news (gospel).
If something else takes the center of Christianity, Christianity then falls apart. The strength, power and life of Christianity is the rock solid truth of God in three persons - the Father, Son Jesus, and Holy Spirit. Within the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, God spoke the world into existence. Therefore, Christians believe in the only, true, breath-taking creator of the world.
Without him, we have nothing. Disbelieve him and Christianity becomes charitable organizations of brainwashed people wondering aimlessly through the world speaking and believing gibberish. Even in self-less acts of kindness exists the self, known more as self-centeredness.
A great song capturing the turning from and turning to. We turn from sin and our sinful state to God the one who's drawing our faith to be in him. This is repentance, a turning and transformation, for God's purposes and will.
C.S. Lewis said that our desires for things that harm us are not too strong, but our desires for God are too weak. That is what this song means to us. We want god to awaken us deeply, and remind us that He is worth waking for.
Christian musician artists, Zimmerman Band, brings the truth and love of God via the gospel to bear on our hearts, realizing the reality of the world and ourselves that we are broken with him as our hope. Therefore, we are not hopeless in life; rather, filled with great hope -- him.
I feel thorns where my crown was
(I be weak but I'm alive)
From the dusk until dawn yeah
(I'll survive 'cause I got) sweet victory
Nobody can take it from me sweet victory
'Cause I got (sweet victory) yeah
Featured set songs:
Featured set songs:
