The Fall of the Human Race

Dennis McCallum

Genesis 3:1-17

The discrepancy between original creation and how the world looks today can be explained by the fall of the human race. In the Garden of Eden, Satan questions, distorts, and replaces the Word of God. Adam and Eve decide God cannot be trusted and rebel. This leads to physiological, theological, sociological, and ecological alienation.

David and Bathsheba

Jim Leffel

2 Samuel 11:1-12:13

David and Bathsheba commit adultery. Nathan confronts David about his sin and David has a repentant heart. David finds freedom in God's grace

The Most Deadly Bacillus

Dennis McCallum

Acts 5:1-11

Ananias and Sapphira were deceitful. How God dealt with their hypocrisy, and why, is discussed.

The Death of the Son of God

Scott Risley

Luke 23:1-43

Jesus stood on trial before Pilate and Herod. He then faced excruciating torture and death by crucifixion. This fulfilled the prophecy about the Messiah who was also called the Son of Man. This solved humanity's biggest problem of sin which separates us from God. Jesus died in our place to make us right with God.

Responding to Moral Failure

Conrad Hilario

Luke 22:1-62

Examining Judas and Peter, we contrast two responses to moral failure: regret and repentance. We see both responses are similar in feeling, but in the long run they produce very different outcomes. Our choice of remorse or regret yields ongoing guilt and pushes us away from God. Our choice to repent, on the other hand, leads to freedom from sorrow and leads us towards God. Ongoing regret will lead to death, while ongoing repentance brings forth salvation.

Patience (Part 2) - Patience with Sin

Ajith Fernando

Romans 13:1

Patience is an often sought-after virtue, but it is not achieved in the Christian life without trials. As we encounter sin, we are faced with an opportunity to be refined. Even in times when we have been greatly hurt by others, we can forgive by the power of Christ and learn to endure patiently, without having to take vengeance on our own shoulders. This fruit of patience brings relief and freedom into our lives.

God's Truth About the World's Oldest Oppression

Paul Herbert

Luke 7:36-50

When Jesus interacted with prostitutes, he showed mercy and compassion instead of contempt and judgement. This practice of prostitution still enslaves many women today, and in this workshop Judge Paul M. Herbert provides a different perspective on this practice. We must shift our perspective from drawing a hard line between human trafficking and prostitution, something we are able to do once we examine the stories and statistics behind women who fall into prostitution. This workshop ends with a testimony from one of the very women who found redemption from this lifestyle.

How to Keep Loving in Difficult Relationships

Bev DeLashmutt

2 Timothy 2:24-26

Christ's call for us to love another as he has loved us is not exclusive. He calls us to love even very difficult people, and to do that effectively, we need to bear several things in mind. First we need to gain insight into the lies and sins of difficult people to avoid getting hooked into their relational patterns. We must ensure our motive in responding to people is in line with Christ's love. And finally, we must implement strategies to effectively give both compassion and discipline simultaneously. With these things and the abundant help of the Spirit, we can love in a way that, even if it does not change the other person, it will change us.

Humility and Love

Lee Campbell

Matthew 11:28-30

One of the most common and greatest sins is pride, something that hinders our love for both God and people. As we seek to become more humble believers in Christ, we must first understand the biblical definition of humility, that it is to see ourselves as we are and to think less often about ourselves. It is the freedom from self that inclines us to love others and to love God. Thus, we should seek to humble ourselves before the Lord, cultivating both a hunger for the glory of God and a hunger from God. This, combined with meekness, can truly change the way we love others.