If it is truly "more blessed to give than to receive," as Jesus is credited with saying, then why do so many people count themselves "more blessed" when they receive more things. It may be because we typically think of blessings in terms of what we get more than we give. Well the truth is, both are true. The economy of God's grace says the more generous we are, the more blessed we are. And that generosity is not calculated so much in terms of amount as it is in terms of attitude. It is not so about how much, but how you give that leads to the abundant blessing of God's grace.

Imagine for a moment a world where people lived as if the degree of God’s blessing toward them was directly proportional to the amount of material possessions that they had accumulated. In this world, people would spend more time in the pursuit of accumulation than in the pursuit of godliness. In this world, people would measure their own personal worth by the value of their stuff than by the value of the image of God that resides in them. And in this world, people would equate their happiness with their own personal fulfillment rather than their own spiritual contentment. But the reality is, we don’t have to imagine this world at all – we actually live in it. How can we best cast off the temptation toward self-indulgent materialism and embrace how truly blessed it is to be one who spiritually flourishes - one who “trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord?”

It’s often quite difficult to maintain a proper perspective on life. The various needs that we encounter, pressures that we face, and joys that we experience on a daily basis often cause us to keep our eyes fixed only on the here and now. And as our perspective becomes increasingly focused on the temporal and earthly things of life, it can lead us to misappropriate and even misunderstand God’s abundant blessings to us as His children. Here we consider how the Biblically blessed life is one that strives to maintain an eternal perspective in light of all that we experience, enjoy, and endure here on this earth.

At Easter we consider and celebrate that Jesus died, was buried and rose again from the grave. That event stands at the epicenter of history and it is the good news of the Gospel of God, the power of salvation for all who believe. But do we really consider and celebrate what that event and salvation mean for those who believe? God's word tells us that by faith, we are united with Christ in his death and his resurrection. In other words, when Christ died, we died with him, and likewise, we are raised with him to new life. We continue our study in Romans and consider the reality of dying and rising with Jesus. (We apologize for the technical difficulties - only the first half of the message recorded properly.)

up world. The question is how did it get this way? God's word gives a clear answer. Adam's sin messed everything up. Through Adam sin and death entered the world and we've all managed to keep it that way. But because of the action of another man there is hope. Through Jesus' obedience and gift of grace, righteousness and life now reign for all who believe. Here we look at the actions of these two men and the impact they have on all of us.

There is a significant difference in the flow of water that comes from the faucet on the side of your house and that which comes from the fire hydrant out next to the street. The forceful gush from a fire hydrant is enough to knock a person over. At the beginning of Romans 5, the apostle Paul opens up a fire-hydrant of blessings that flow from the gospel; blessings that gush forth with such force that we can't help but be overwhelmed by God's amazing grace, love and hope in Jesus. Here we look at many reasons to rejoice in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

God's promises in his word often seem totally contrary to reality of our current circumstances. Can we trust his provision when we've lost everything? Can we look to his protection when danger surrounds us? Can we know his presence when it seems we are totally alone? Can he really bring life from that which is dead? The life and faith of Abraham, our father in the faith, gives us the answer. We continue in our study of Romans and look at the faith of Abraham as a model for our own faith in the God who raised Jesus from the dead.

The good news of the gospel --that God has provided a righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe-- is not new news. In fact, it is the same good news that was believed by Abraham centuries before Jesus appeared and resulted in God's crediting it to him as righteousness by faith. Yes, Abraham was justified by faith in the gospel. How can that be? Here Paul points to the Old Testament faith of Abraham and the words of David as witnesses to the good news of the gospel.

We live in a performance-based culture where hard work and achievement are rewarded and we're told nothing comes freely. Thus we present a resume of our skills to compete for jobs, we offer a transcript of our grades to get into schools, we present a list of accomplishments to try to win awards. But when we stand before God, even our best efforts and good works fall short of his perfect standard of righteousness. As we've seen in our study of Romans, no one is righteous. So what can we do? Nothing! We need a righteousness that is not our own, but comes from God, an alien righteousness that is given freely by faith in Jesus. That is the heart of the gospel, the good news of God, and it is available to all who believe.

As Christians, we are called to tell other people about the gospel of Jesus Christ. And as we do, we are likely to meet those who think that they have no need for the gospel at all. But are they right? If not, how would you help them see past their own convictions and self-assurances? We continue in our study of the Book of Romans and see how Paul, in his dialogue with the religious people of his day, uses Scriptural truth and persuasion to address false securities and presumptuous views about God to point others to the hope that every person needs – the hope found in the gospel of Jesus Christ.