When you read the Bible, there are many verses that stand out for a variety of reasons. There are a handful that get our attention because they are particularly terrifying. Perhaps none as terrifying as the idea that there might be a sin that is outside the reach of God’s forgiveness. Is there an unforgivable sin? If so, what is it and how do we make sure we don’t commit it? Or is that even the right question?
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Working on a Sunday? Mowing your yard? Eating at a good fast food restaurant? The Sabbath is an issue that has been debated since Jesus’s day. Just what did Jesus have to say about it? His answer is less about the details of our Sundays (or Saturdays) and more about the gospel itself.
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The pursuit of a dream is a core part of who we are. Sometimes that dream can become something bigger than life. When our dreams and the pursuit of those dreams begin to define us, we must stop and consider where we find our true identity. Nick Reveiz shares a a part of his own story and how God changed his path along the way. Through Nick’s story we can learn a lot about our own hearts and our own battles.
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Part of faith is knowing how to wrestle with the questions that will inevitably come. Sometimes they are a nudge and sometimes they can overwhelm us. What do you do when there seems to be no answers? When life has taken you to a place you didn’t expect? In those times, there is no magic formula to erase our doubt. Instead, we have to move our focus from ourselves and our questions and instead latch on to the Gospel- the good news that is the heart of the Christian faith. In the midst of a world full of questions, the anchor of the Gospel will hold.
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John the Baptist is about as radically committed to the cause of Jesus as you’ll find anywhere in history. Yet even he had moments where he just wasn’t sure. What does that mean for us? What does it look like to struggle with doubt and fight for faith? We spend a couple of weeks looking at the ideas of doubt, faith, and the mystery in between the two.
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As 2016 begins, Providence sits in a crucial position in our history. Where will we go? What will we do? Scripture gives us compelling pictures of what a church can do in a community. We want to be a church that loves our community and is loved by our community. This Sunday we launch our #LoveJeffCo initiative, built around making our community a better place to live and ultimately for the spread of God’s kingdom. Listen to the vision and come be a part.
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Whether you think New Year’s resolutions are cliche or not, it’s hard to deny the power of an empty calendar. 2016 sits before us waiting to be lived. One year from now you’ll be looking back on those empty days. What will you see? Will those days matter at all? Will you make those days count for progress? Will those days stretch into eternity? At Providence, we want 2016 to be the year that changed everything- both now and forever…and we want you to be a part.
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You can find some amazing things at yard sales. Every now and then you can get something extremely valuable for next to nothing. Can you imaging the regret if you were the one that let something valuable go, for next to nothing? If you were to ask some OT saints, I’m afraid they might say we’ve already done that with Christmas. Do we really understand the value of what we have in Christmas?
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The Christmas story is beautiful, but it’s a whole lot bigger than our manger scene. Unfotunately, Christians often forget the grand drama that plays out at Christmas time. The incarnation is evidence that we are a part of a story that began in eternity and will stretch into eternity, and we should be captivated by the beauty of that story.
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Jesus’s words in Matthew 10 are clear and our mission is laid out before us. These words have remarkable bearing on us today as we consider the world around us. How are Christians to respond (note: not our country) to this crisis and the evil that has caused it? We can’t ignore the clear instructions Jesus gives his disciples.
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When Jesus sends his disciples out, he doesn’t give them the most encouraging message. Full of warnings and promises of persecution and suffering, Jesus is honest about the mission that lies ahead of his disciples. However he ends with a note of encouragement that is intended to make them look beyond the things this world offers to the reward that awaits them. Far from filthy rags, our deeds are both noticed and rewarded.
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Sometimes the Bible can be confusing. As Christmas approaches, we’ll hear of the Prince of Peace and Peace on Earth. Yet Jesus proclaims in Matthew 10 that he didn’t come to bring peace at all. Have we gotten Jesus all wrong or is there more to this message? It all depends on how you define “peace.” If it looks like a sleeping baby, then you’ve missed the true peace that Jesus really came to bring.
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Fear is a reality for every one of us. No matter how much we try to run from it or hide it- we all have fears that hold sway over our lives. How do we fight those fears? Jesus had disciples that would have been rightly afraid, but he knew how to fight those fears. You fight your fears, with an even greater fear.
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Jesus continues to rally his team, but his message isn’t really the inspiration you’d expect. Instead he tells them that things are going to be hard on this journey, and it may cost them everything. How can a man call anyone to a mission that may cost them their life? It only makes sense if there is something bigger at stake than our life.
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The pregame speech is a Friday night staple all across America. A good coach can use a carefully crafted pregame speech to motivate and inspire his team to play at their best ability. In Matthew 10 Jesus gives something of a pregame speech to his disciples. As he sends them out, he preps them for what awaits. But it’s not quite what you’d expect out of a coach.
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