Three "overarching" teachings of Paul to the Corinthians will be addressed in this teaching. (6:20) The need to protect sexual purity has been and remains an important aspect of "ALL IN" Christian Living (For both SIngle and Married individuals). (7:3) Living an "ALL IN" Marriage is to mutually strive to consider and meet the needs of your spouse. (7:35) Singleness is not a mark of a failure to launch into full adulthood but a special blessing to the individual and the Church. The backdrop of the Classic TV Show will serve as a hermeneutical backdrop of the often messy nature of I Corinthians 6-7.

Relationships require sacrifice. Most of the time we want others to sacrifice for us, but are not as apt to sacrifice for them. Our family relationships require us to sacrifice and to move from a "me" to "we" mentality. We have to move from "my desires" to "our needs" in order to make relationships work and honor God. "ALL IN" for God means being "ALL IN" for others. A study of Ruth passages.

God spent a lot of time giving instructions to His children through Moses. At the end of his life, Moses reminds the people of these instructions. He didn't want the people to forget what God had done, is doing, and will do. Moses was trying to help them live All In lives as they prepared to enter the "promised land" because he knew the importance of passing on the Word of God from generation to generation. Is God's Word more easily remembered or easily forgotten in your life?  How are you passing on God's Word to the next generation? Today, let's reexamine our commitment to the truths of scripture and how we are using them to awaken a generation.

In Judges, we find a generation of Israelites who are disobedient to God. Instead of relationship with the LORD being their primary desire, their cultural surroundings and worries consume their desires. Israel's relationship with God becomes so broken that by the end of the book, there are no judges, no kings, and every man did what was right in his own eyes. The results are increasingly catastrophic. This morning we'll wrestle with our own desires to do what's right in our eyes, how to align our decision-making with the LORD, and how to place our hope in God as our Redeemer. We'll see a God ALL IN on us even when we're at our worst.

A study of Roman passages. In writing to the church in Rome, Paul is addressing a church where both Jews and Gentiles worshiped together. This presented both opportunities and challenges. Paul calls this church to--in light of all God has done for them--think, act, and serve differently, in a "holy" manner. To serve differently. To be motivated differently. To love differently. To associate with others differently. To respond to mistreatment differently. To overcome evil differently. And all of this was so that the gospel might be proclaimed powerfully and effectively  This is what it means to be "living sacrifices," holy and pleasing to God. This is a challenging life, that requires us to live in the world but not be of the world. This is what it means to be "all in." 

There are two generations in the book of Numbers - one that was not ALL IN, and one that was. The first generation witnessed the mighty deliverance  events of the Exodus, in which God took on and defeated the world hegemon Egypt. They were there to stand at the foot of the mountain and saw God's hidden presence in the smoke when he gave the law to Moses. But when they were at on the verge of faithfully taking the land, they acted in fear instead. God is faithful, whether we are or not. Big picture, the book is a sifting book that calls on us to ask ourselves, “Do I only have belief that God exists (something I share with Satan), or am I devoted to trusting him and living based on his reality?”

Today, we celebrate the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. We will journey through the different roles Jesus played as King that was and is very foreign to how we understand earthly kings. Jesus was an Unexpected King, a Crucified King, a Risen King, and He is a Coming King. Come celebrate with us Jesus as King of our lives and help us look forward to "The Return of the King!" 

 In writing to the church in Corinth, the apostle Paul says, “14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. . . . .20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors . . . “ (5:14, 20). An ambassador is “an accredited diplomat sent by a country as its official representative to a foreign country.” So what does it mean to be “ALL IN,” serving as an ambassador of Christ the king? What is the foreign country we are living in? What are the challenges and opportunities? And how can we best represent Christ to those around us? These are the questions we will examine today.

There may only be one thing more challenging in our faith journey than going “All In” with Jesus, and that is Staying “All In.”  This morning in our sermon we will look in on a group of once deeply committed people...people who made God the King of their lives. Tragically,  we will see how they lost focus  and decided to put something else on the throne of their hearts.  From their lives we learn important lessons on how to Stay “All In” even after 50 years and beyond.

Have you ever tried to bake a cake from scratch? You know very well it’s essential to follow the recipe to the letter in order to ensure success. One missing ingredient, one ingredient added in the wrong order, a few degrees Fahrenheit high or low, or any other misstep and your best efforts will result in culinary disaster. The Apostle Paul reminds us of the rigid structure of The Law given to the Israelites. But then he describes a way to achieve success apart from that original recipe. Technically, both recipes will work but only one is achievable, given our present condition.