How do we understand violence and God in the Bible? Some Old Testament passages where God commands violence and genocide stand in stark contrast to Jesus new command to “Love one another as I have loved you.” Dr. Mark Foster is joined this week by three members of Acts 2 who are exemplary Christian military officers to make sense of violence in the Bible, in our world, and how we respond.
The Word of God is Jesus Christ, and the words of the Bible tell us about that Word. So what do we do when we don’t understand portions of the Bible? What do we do when we do understand and are appalled? Dr. Mark Foster helps us learn how to read and NOT read the Bible in Week 1 of our September Sermon Series, “Making Sense of the Bible."
In a world of “soundbites,” “headlines,” and “memes,” it can be difficult to get to the truth of what someone is saying. In this sermon, Dr. Mark summarizes the Sermon on the Mount covering the highlights of Matthew chapters five, six, and seven to allow us to hear the sermon as a whole. Jesus is not giving us advice or another set of restrictive rules. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is teaching us that it is possible to become like Him in this life and live with him forever in the next!
One of the primary hinderances to our ability to connect with God is the desire for the approval of others. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shares how to overcome this challenge and teaches us to live beyond the opinion of others.
Who is really well off? What is the good life? Dr. Mark Foster explores these questions in the first installment of our new series on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, "The Best Teaching You'll Ever Hear."
We can go out in Jesus' protection and power because all authority on heaven and earth are his. He is Christ Pantocrator, Ruler of All. Be not afraid. We are in the wonderful and loving reign of Jesus the Christ.
We're often tempted to take the easy way out, but when we do so, we're like workers who build on a foundation of sand. Jesus shows us a better way, and when we build on the foundation of his teaching, we build a life that can endure.
When we head into uncharted territory, we need a community around us if we are to reach our goal. When the church was born, the disciples had to learn a new way of living together, and God used their new community to transform the world.
After he ascended into heaven, Jesus gave the disciples a task that was beyond their ability. But at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit filled them and gave them power to do things they previously could only have dreamt of. And the same Holy Spirit promises to fill, empower, and guide us today.
