Jesus' Baptism

Gary DeLashmutt

Matthew 3:1-17

In Mathew's gospel, John the Baptist speaks of four different kinds of baptisms, each one concerning a different truth about salvation. The first is John's water baptism of the Jews and Gentiles, which signifies that we are ALL guilty before God and need His forgiveness. The second is baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is about the gift of salvation. The third is baptism by fire, something we only experience if we do not repent before God. The last is John's baptism of Jesus, which demonstrates that it is God who provides salvation through Jesus' identification with us sinners.

From Guilt to Justification

Jim Leffel

Romans 3:21-31

The only way to resolve our moral guilt before God is through being justified by faith through Jesus Christ. God decided to pay for our moral debt by sending Jesus to pay for the sin we had before God. By receiving Christ's forgiveness, our guilt has been paid for through Jesus' death on the cross and we are redeemed from our enslavement to sin. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the greatest news in human history and allows for real humility and transformation as we understand the lengths of Christ's sacrifice.

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.

Why the Gospel (Part 1)

Jim Leffel

Romans 1:16-32

All of humanity is intuitively aware of our moral guilt before God and can understand God through what has been made observable. Despite this, humanity has thrown God's direction and pursued gratifying our own agendas and pleasures. God allows for us to pursue our own course of action, but makes it possible to reconcile our relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. The gospel is the logical conclusion when we understand how far we fall short of God and are incapable of resolving the moral guilt we have because of our actions. This teaching includes a movie clip describing the complexity of life.

What is Wrong with Humans?

Dennis McCallum

Ephesians 2

All humans are born alienated from God because of their imperfections and live in rebellion against His loving leadership. However, God's love was demonstrated through sending Jesus Christ to pay for the sins of humanity. Through faith, all people can enter a free relationship with God through Christ on the basis of His grace, apart from anything we have to do.

Becoming Who We Are (Part 1)

Dennis McCallum

Ephesians 1

Paul's letter to the Ephesians begins with an emphasis on the new identity given to those who put their faith in Christ. This is a central message across Paul's letters and deeply impacts how we relate to God and others. Understanding and living out of our new identity is the key to real, lasting change in our lives. As Christians, we can rest in our adoption into God's family, the redemption we have through Jesus Christ, and the forgiveness Jesus provided at the cross.

Becoming Who We Are (Part 1)

Dennis McCallum

Ephesians 1:3-10

Paul's letter to the Ephesians begins with an emphasis on the new identity given to those who put their faith in Christ. This is a central message across Paul's letters and deeply impacts how we relate to God and others. Understanding and living out of our new identity is the key to real, lasting change in our lives. As Christians, we can rest in our adoption into God's family, the redemption we have through Jesus Christ, and the forgiveness Jesus provided at the cross.

Lifestyle Evangelism

John Rue

Connie Rue

Matthew 28:18-20

Jesus told believers to go and tell other people about him and the relationship God wants to have with them. One way the early church fulfilled this command was by the way they lived their lives, Day to day, they lived in a way that made others interested in God. It was effective and we are called to do the same. By the way we live our lives, we are either confirming the truthfulness of God or denying it. Find out what lifestyle evangelism looks like, why it works, and practical ideas on how we can incorporate it.\r\n

Making the Transition, Traditional to Home Group Centered Ministry

Gilbert Lennox

Matthew 28:18-20

How can a church make a change from a traditional church model to a home group centered model? Hear from Gilbert Lennox whose church did just that! He outlines what they, as a church, had learned so far in ten points for making the transition. Which includes pointing out the biggest challenges they faced: conceptual--figuring out and understanding what the New Testament vision of a church is--and leadership for the home groups.