Pastor Andy brings the message, “Grace for 2023” from John 1:16-18. What do we want to focus on as a church and as individuals this coming year? What will define us? This year, let's be defined by Grace.
Pastor Nate brings the message, "Jesus Above All." In Mark 9:1-13, we see the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain and a voice from heaven declaring Him to be the Beloved Son. Clearly, Jesus' exalted status is being proclaimed, but it's Peter who unknowingly says that Jesus is on par with Elijah and Moses. How often do we fail to see Jesus' glory and then place Him right alongside (or below) other good things?
Pastor Andy brings the message, "Identity and Mission" from Mark 8:27-9:1. Mark 8:29 is the watershed moment of the gospel: Peter confesses Jesus is the Messiah. The disciples finally understand Jesus' identity. Immediately, Jesus begins to reveal his mission. With the disciples, we will begin to see Jesus' identity and mission as inseparable. And his identity and mission have ramifications on the cost of discipleship.
Pastor Luke brings the message, "The Power of the Church" from Acts 12. There are times when it seems like the church will be snuffed out like a struggling flame, or that the oppression and persecution will grow to a point when the darkness will overcome it. Yet, we are reminded in Acts 12 that the power of the church does not rest in the people of the church, but in the object of their faith.
Pastor Andy brings the message, "Glorious Weakness" from 2 Corinthians 12:1-10. God has designed a fool proof plan for each of us to bring Him glory. He sees our self-sufficiency, self-reliance, and self-adulation and gives us a gift: weakness. His gift places our accomplishments in their proper perspective by displaying His glory through a gift tailor-made for each of us.
Pastor Nate brings the message, "God is Good.” Do you ever get in a tailspin when you focus on the prosperity of the wicked? Well, join the Asaph-party of Psalm 73. It’s a psalm that presents the envious motives of our souls and the frustrations that follow. But then Asaph shares his personal testimony of how God brought him back into line.
Pastor Nate brings the message, "Boasting in the Cross” from Galatians 6:11-18. As Paul concludes his letter to the Galatians, the one testimonial he leaves is his readiness to boast in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. That begs the question: “What are Christians and local churches known for?” As a church family, LBC must be known as a group of people who “gather and scatter” with a message that boasts only in the cross of Christ.
Pastor Nate brings the message, "Who is This?" That's the question people asked when Jesus came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Is he a prophet? A king? Just a good man in the history books? As we anticipate the arrival of Resurrection Sunday, we first need to know who Jesus is. And Matthew answers that question by using the prophecies of the Old Testament to show that He's the Savior whom everyone needs.
Rich Kolmus brings the message, "Comfort, Comfort My People.” If you've lived long enough, you know that life isn't always easy. At one point or another, we will all wrestle with suffering or sickness simply because we are part of Adam's fallen race. Other times, we face sorrows and pains that are the direct result of sin - our own or someone else's. Often, the adage "God won't give us more than we can handle" will ring completely hollow as we face difficulties that are well beyond our capacity.
When you are at the end of yourself, is God still there? Does He remember you? Does He care? Can He help? Isaiah 40 reminds God's people that the answer is... Yes!
Pastor Nate brings the message, "Sow to the Spirit.” In Galatians 6:6-10, Paul completes his theology of Spirit-led relationships with a picture of sowing and reaping. Our role within the context of relationships can be compared to the planting of seeds. Each seed being a selfless act of love under the authority of the Spirit or a self-seeking act carried out in the flesh. The passage urges us to answer, "Are we living by the Spirit or the flesh?"
Pastor Nate brings the message, "Keep In Step with the Spirit" from Galatians 5. What does a church family look like that is "keeping in step with the Spirit"? A church that is governed by the Spirit will treat others, especially those who have fallen into sin, with a certain kind of care and gentleness. A Spirit-led congregation is also made up of individuals who are worshiping the Lord through their own personal obedience to Him.
"Walk By The Spirit" from Galatians 5:13-21. Every day we face a crucial decision: will we follow the Spirit of God or our flesh? In Galatians 5, God's Word commands us to walk by the Spirit and in doing so we will not gratify or fulfill the desires of the flesh. What would it be like if we followed the Spirit into every aspect of life?
Dr. Thomas Schreiner brings the message, "Making It By Faith" from Hebrews 11. Tom is a NT scholar who teaches at Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY. He also pastored for 14 years at Clifton Heights Baptist Church. Schreiner has written many books and commentaries and has a unique gift of being able to make complex truths in Scripture very understandable.
Pastor Nate brings the message, "Freedom to Love” from Galatians 5:7-15. When you think of personal freedom, you might think of it as someone who gets whatever he or she wants. However, that's not freedom, but slavery to impulse and desire. Paul shows us that freedom is a Spirit-empowered ability to genuinely love and serve others.
Pastor Nate brings the message, "Stand Firm.” You’ve seen people slip on the ice. Maybe it was you that recently felt the pain. In a spiritual sense, it’s easy to “slip.” We slip into wrong thinking and eventually slavery to sin. However, in Galatians 5 we are instructed to stand firm and given practical help to do so.
Pastor Nate brings the message, "Son of Hagar…or Sarah?” When God promised the aging Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son, and when the timing of their coming son seemed to be too far gone, Abe and Sarah took matters into their own hands with another woman named Hagar. The outcome was disastrous. The lesson is that either we believe God will fulfill His saving promises in His strength, or we foolishly think that we can become the primary acting agent. One path is freedom for the soul, the other is slavery to a task we can never complete.
Pastor Nate brings the message, "Loving Those Who Are Erring” from Galatians 4:9-20. How can we respond to those who have gone off (or are in danger of going off) the “tracks?” In this section of Galatians, Paul’s example is practical and helpful for us. His goal for these dear friends is God-honoring and his appeal is grounded in Christian love.
Pastor Nate brings the message, "You’re a Son, Not a Slave.” Galatians 4:7 - “You are no longer a slave, but a son…” Why would a freed slave ever return to his life of bondage? It makes no sense, yet that’s what many Christians do. We trust in Christ for salvation (we are free from the law), but then we revert back to a mentality of using our own works to try to secure our relationship with God. Through Christ our relationship with God is secure and we are His sons…forever.
Rich Kolmus brings the message, "Our All-Sufficient Christ." Do we need some new things for the New Year? New Year, New You! Every year millions of people make New Year's resolutions in an attempt to improve their lives. As we reflect on 2023 and think to the new year ahead, what will we need to love God like we ought? Paul, writing to the Colossians and Laodiceans, shares exactly what we all need. Read Colossians 2 and join us on Sunday to learn Paul's "not so secret" formula (hint: there is only one ingredient... and his name is Jesus).
Pastor Nate brings the message, "Great Expectations" from Isaiah 11:1-5. Two thousand years ago the people of God desperately longed for the Messiah to come. His arrival would mark the beginning of a new era characterized by freedom and peace. Today, the advent season not only reminds us of Christ's first coming, but also causes us to desperately long for (and expect) His second coming. Oh, how we will be set free!
