Direction Out of Chaos

Dennis McCallum

1 Samuel 3:1-4:18

Hannah is barren and earnestly prays for a son, vowing to dedicate the baby to the Lord if her request is granted. The Lord allows her to conceive and she gives birth to Samuel, whom she sends to live and serve at the temple under Eli the priest. Eli's failure to discipline his evil sons, Hophni and Phinehas, results in the Lord declaring judgment on all three of them. Samuel is called by God to be a prophet and the spiritual leader of Israel. The Philistines defeat the Israelites and capture the ark of the covenant, killing Hophni and Phinehas, who had irreverently carried the ark into battle. When Eli hears the news about the ark, he falls over, breaks his neck, and dies.\r\n

Three Events During Jesus' Crucifixion

Gary DeLashmutt

Daniel 12:1-2

Three unique events occurred during Jesus' crucifixion. The first event was darkness falling over the land for three hours during the middle of the day. During this three hours of darkness Jesus was experiencing God's wrath and judgment for humanities sins. The second event that occurred was the curtain hanging in the Temple was torn in two. This curtain symbolized that God is Holy and we are unable to have access to Him. God tore the Temple curtain in two after Jesus' death because we now can have access to God through Jesus' perfect and final sacrifice. The third event was a powerful earthquake that revealed empty tombs. This event showed that Jesus being God had conquered the power of death for all who put their faith in Him.\r\n

Why the Gospel (Part 2)

Jim Leffel

Romans 2:17-23

There are three common responses to the moral guilt we have before God. The first is to reject the standard for moral guilt, resulting in hypocrisy. The second option includes self-righteousness that sees guilt as others problems, not our own. The last option is to repent and understand that our moral guilt can be solved through God's grace through Jesus Christ. Repentance through grace allows for genuine healing, true humility, and honest transparency with our shortcomings.

God's Judgment

Dennis McCallum

2 Peter 2:1-22

False teachers draw people away from God with their lies, and for that God will judge them. People often have contempt for the idea of a God that judges, but that is often a self-serving notion; God is perfectly loving and perfectly just.

The Final Judgment

Gary DeLashmutt

Revelation 20:11-15

All people without a relationship with God will stand before His Great White Throne to face judgment for their rebellion. At face value, most people understandably find this event horrifying, but God's righteousness and goodness are actually demonstrated in His willingness to judge evil. God doesn't force Himself on anyone, but rather allows people a choice. If you've chosen to accept Jesus's free gift of forgiveness, you can take comfort in the fact that you are completely safe from this judgment!

The Most Deadly Bacillus

Dennis McCallum

Matthew 23:5

A study of the lives of Ananias and Sapphira reveals the importance of addressing hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is damaging to the church and its reputation. What are the characteristics of a self-righteous hypocrite? The Bible teaches that hypocrisy can take a hold of a group and destroy authentic Christian community. It is critical that it is identified and rooted out. A testimony from Courtney is included.

The Great Tribulation: God's Judgmental and Redemptive Activity

Gary DeLashmutt

Revelation 6-16

John describes what we can expect in the end times: God's judgmental and redemptive acts. God allows humanity to rebel against Him, but one day He will reluctantly alienate those who do not accept His leadership. His desire, however, is for people to turn toward Him. So, while in the final days He will act as judge, He will also reach out to people in extraordinary ways to reveal the path to salvation.

The Cross

Dennis McCallum

John 18:33-19:30

After his betrayal, Jesus is beaten, flogged, mocked and led to the cross for his crucifixion. He endures physical torment, psychological torment, and spiritual torment, taking on the full wrath of God for the sake of humanity. Christ's perfect life made him able to atone for all of human sin for all time. We learn that Christ accepted this brutal and excruciating death to make human reconciliation with God possible, by faith.

The Last Passover

Jim Leffel

Mark 14:22-25

During Jesus' last days he teaches his disciples during the Passover dinner - a significant ritual celebrating God's judgment passing over the Israelites due to an innocent lamb's sacrifice. Looking deep into the Passover we see the reminder of man's failure and God's solution. The Passover was a picture of Christ's ultimate sacrifice and payment for sin.