bpchurch Sermons

Perhaps a friend has extended the invitation, "Let's workout." Yeah, you say to yourself, that would be good, but there's lots of reasons for you to not be in a hurry to nail down a day: "That's not really my idea of fun. I'm not sure I can keep up with others. I'll have more time to focus on that next year." But what if someone really fit and famous, like Katie Ledecky or Tyler Lockett, invited you to workout? Yeah, you're still busy and you still couldn't keep up, but you wouldn't let busyness or weakness get in the way, because of who's inviting you. You know where I'm going, God Himself is saying to you, "Let's workout." It's in Philippians 2:12-18

There is a guy's backpacking trip coming up (see below for more info). That got me thinking over previous trips and some of the extra weight guys carried, which made a steep trail even harder. In our walk with the Spirit as those devoted to God, Hebrews 12:1-14 applies an analogy from running (or hiking), which poses some questions for us. In pursuing sanctification, what are you carrying that slows you down? What sin are you allowing to trip you up? How might you be resisting your Father's training?

As we continue to talk about our devotion to God, our sanctification, we recognize that this spiritual life is about growing closer to Christ. But we also know that the fruit of that relationship is living a righteous life. But how do we know what a righteous life is? This is where the law comes in, but most of us probably have a complicated relationship with the law, we often find ourselves thinking that the law and obedience are bad words, aren't we just supposed to focus on grace and love? Join us this week as we discover what Jesus taught about the law, and what the law does - and doesn't - do for us.

The promise of new life by the Spirit is so encouraging, except when it collides with the reality of my failures. If I continue to sin even though the Spirit dwells within, where and when is victory to be found? The answer is, potentially, in each choice I make, yet not in every choice I make. Christians are imperfectly and yet inescapably devoted to God. This is the messy reality. And therefore, the glorious reality is each and every choice is a new opportunity to live out worship and devotion to God, no matter how the last choice went.

In our Corban series we have seen that we have a new purpose in life: devoted to God as holy. We have a new kind of life: Christ's life in us. We have a new perspective on life: living sacrifices with renewed minds. We have a new lease on life: freed from sin to live new. This week we will focus on how we now live in a new way by following a new leader. We'll talk about how we practically follow the leading of the Spirit, from the nursery, the parade field or the dance floor, into everyday life.

Have you ever had someone ask you, “If God will always forgive me because of Jesus, then why does it matter if I sin? Why not do whatever I want since God will forgive anyway?” How would you answer them? More importantly, how do you answer that same question, when it comes up in some form, in your head? Is that a valid question? Is God’s grace that big?

Galatians 2:20 is the jewel of that book. It is a foundational verse that many of us have memorized. It's also a verse that is worth unpacking and examining closely because this truth is essential to living a life devoted to God. In fact, without the truths of this one verse, living holy, living devoted to God, would be impossible. Begin today to memorize this verse, write it, re-write it, and recite it, so it will be rooted in your mind and heart when we talk about it Sunday.

Devotion is a strong word. But what does it look like to be devoted to something? You have to imagine that you would spend a lot of your time, energy, and effort on whatever it is that you are devoted to. What would others say that you are devoted to in your life? How would they know what you are devoted to? Are you devoted to God? This week we will be digging deep into this idea of being devoted to God and although being wholly devoted to God may seem like an impossible task, Romans 12:1-2 shows us how God works in us to be devoted to Him. This passage has transformed my life, I encourage you to join us on Sunday to see what God will do in yours.

This week we start a new series that actually has links to our 2023 men's Rock Tumbler retreat. Each man who attended was given a book, Devoted to God: Blueprints for Sanctification, by Sinclair Ferguson. Like most guys, my copy sat around for a while before I started reading it. But when I did read it, I said, "This is really good stuff!" The book goes through important truth which is worth emphasizing and rehearsing. So, for all who weren't at Rock Tumbler, for those who didn't read the book, and for those who did, this summer we are going to rehearse some of those precious principles. To be sure, we will be preaching the Bible, not the book, using some of the same passages and some different ones, but our goal is to rehearse together what must be clear to all of us - how it is that we can live holy lives, devoted to God. I hope you join us, maybe in the book, but surely in the Bible. We'll get started this Sunday in 1 Peter 1.

The letter to Philemon is a brief personal note concerning a runaway slave who has come to faith in Christ. The letter reveals some beautiful glimpses of the gospel of Jesus as the need for reconciliation between the two main characters unfolds. But do the circumstances of a returning runaway slave have much to do with us today? I'm adding this cameo to the end of our Colossians series because this is one of the issues in play when the Colossian letter is delivered. In this brief letter Paul seeks to save Onesimus and us.