What are the marks of being a genuine believer? What are the signs that we truly love God? We often think in terms of the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22-24), and this would be correct. But there are other, less obvious marks, which are still valid nonetheless. Namely, how do we respond to correction regarding our sin? This is what Paul will be dealing with as he approaches the end of his letter, from 2 Corinthians 13:5-7.

Sometimes it can be difficult dealing with false accusations against us. We can be tempted to fight fire with fire, to take matters into our own hands, rather than simply trust God. Paul was no stranger to false accusations and character assassinations, so what can we learn from him?

What does it mean that Jesus is the Savior? Luke, the gospel writer, is particularly interested in this aspect of Jesus as he uses the words "Savior/save/salvation" far more than any other gospel writer (14x). Thus, Luke is particularly interested in the idea that Jesus is the Savior of the world. But why? What does that mean?

This time of year, much of what we read and hear is about Jesus coming into the world to bring joy, peace, and hope. While all that is certainly true, it's not all. Jesus, the King, was born into the world to rule--to rule over the powers of darkness, to rule the nations, to rule his Church, and to rule in our hearts and lives. Christmas is not just celebrating the birth of the Savior, but the birth of a Ruler!

During the month of December, we will focus on the birth of Christ--the reason for the season! The theme of this year's Advent sermon series is "The King has Come," and each Sunday we will read a different passage surrounding the birth of Christ and will be looking at various implications regarding the coming of the King. This week's reading is from Matthew 1:18-25, and the message is from v.21.

The theme of this year's Advent sermon series is "The King has Come," and each Sunday we will read a different passage surrounding the birth of Christ and will be looking at various implications regarding the birth of the King of kings. The reading for this Advent Sunday is from Luke 1:26-38 with a focus on vv.32-33.

Despite what we struggle with in life, for the believer the glass is always mostly full. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel. As we prepare for Advent, a month of celebrating the greatest gift ever given to humanity, let us rejoice and be thankful for God's amazing grace!

Relationships can be tough. In a throw-away society like the one we currently live in, it can be tempting to just write off a relationship when things aren't going well. But like the apostle Paul, if we truly love God and we truly love others, then writing off relationships will always be the last resort. In this passage Paul provides us with a wonderful example and some wonderful guidelines to follow when struggling with difficult relationships.

Christians are called by God to do all we do for His glory and the blessing of others. Whether we are appreciated or not, recognized or not, should not matter. We know this and yet this can be difficult for many Christians. This was not the apostle Paul. He had an incredible love for people because he had an incredible love for God. This is what we will examine and learn from Paul's deep love for the saints from 2 Corinthians 12:14-18.

The world is in desperate need of pastors who will preach the Word of God without watering it down or messaging the text to ensure no one is offended. However, those who do so run the risk of becoming the target of attacks. Not just from those outside the church, but also from those within the church. These bold preachers can weather the attacks if their church rallies around them. However, many preachers will be driven out of their church for preaching boldly (i.e. Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Jonathan Edwards). The apostle Paul was not immune from this. He left Corinth in the face of withering accusations and will address his ill treatment by the church in Corinth in a very personal manner.