A Servant's Joy

Jim Leffel
Philippians 1:21-25

Cultivating joy begins with cultivating a heart of gratitude to God for his generous grace toward us. A thankful heart is a joyous heart. In Christian community, when we are servants to one another, we will experience peace with God, delight in the truth, love relationships, and progress in our areas of struggle. The life of joy for a servant of God comes through a calculated decision that to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Others-Centered Life

Conrad Hilario
Galatians 6:1-9

An others-centered life would not be boastful or competitive. It would be humble and willing to gently correct others when needed. It would involve knowing and being known by others. It would involve mutual bearing of each other's burdens even while still bearing one's own burdens. Others-centered life gives sacrificially, but never gives up

Life Together

Chris Hearty
Galatians 6:1-9

To live life together with love in spiritual community with God's people, we must be willing to know and be known by other people. Real Christian community involves being honest about our battles over sin and temptation and gently helping others with their struggles with the same. Imagine what life would be like in a community where people were not boastful but humble, not competitive but willing to help restore people, not bearing just their burdens but each other's burdens and never giving up?

Joys and Pains in Paul's Relationships

Brian Runk
2 Timothy 4:9-22

As Paul is facing the end of his life in prison, he recounts those who have faithfully stuck by him in ministry and those who regretfully, have abandoned or rejected him and the ministry. In spite of the betrayals, Paul remains committed to being invested in people despite the risks and personal costs. He was able to do so because, "The Lord stood with (him) and strengthened (him)..." The love of Jesus sustained him in his effort to love people who sometimes grievously let him down. \r\n\r\nSome keys to his ability to keep loving others were his commitment to live without bitterness, his understanding of the fallenness of human nature, and his staying close to Jesus.

Arguing for Truth (Part 2)

Chris Hearty
Galatians 3:27-4:31

Galatians 3 and 4 form one of the Apostle Paul's greatest arguments for grace by faith in Christ. In Part 2 of this study, we round out the final three arguments Paul makes to show that legalism is incompatible with following Christ.

Arguing for Truth (Part 1)

Chris Hearty
Galatians 3:1-26

Galatians 3 and 4 form one of the Apostle Paul's greatest arguments for grace by faith in Christ. In Part 1 we will look at his first 3 of 6 arguments that he uses to defend the truth.

Galatians: Freedom Manifesto

Dennis McCallum
Galatians 1:1-12

The book of Galatians was Paul's counterattack against the legalists who were trying to ruin new groups in the region of Galatia. It explains the freedom Christians can enjoy if they seek to understand it.

Keeping Deep Connections

Jim Leffel
Romans 12:9-21

With hope and confidence, Romans 12 addresses a very similar situation that our world is confronted with today. The world is isolated and fragmented for different reasons today than it was in Paul's day but the solution is the same; build social bonds with genuine love and without hypocrisy. The Body of Christ is uniquely equipped to offer a powerful solution to the craziness of the present times.

The Deeper Problem

Mike Sullivan
James 4:1-10

The danger all Christians are susceptible to is being driven primarily by our sin nature. Although we were given a new spiritual nature, our sin nature did not go away at conversion. When we fall in love with the 'kosmos' we are operating in Satan's domain. His value system is designed to lure us away from God. When hearts are more in love with the world than we are in love with Jesus, we are giving in to our sin nature. James, in Chapter Four, explains the greater grace God has given us to combat the pleasures that wars within us. It begins with humbling our hearts and drawing near to a gracious God.