Pastor Richie points out today that the spirit of the Lord’s Supper is a spirit of sacrificial love. Jesus instructed His followers on taking communion the night before He went to the cross to die for our sins. So, when we take communion, we ought to take it in a way that reflects Jesus’ sacrificial love. If we take it in a way that puts ourselves before others, then we are missing the point and misrepresenting what this observance is all about – just like the church of Corinth in Paul’s first letter.

Today, Pastor Richie reminds us that biblical authority is not like the world’s perception of authority. The world says that the one who is in authority is superior, but the Bible shows that God the Father is the head of Jesus, yet they are equal. In the same way, a husband is the head of his wife, yet they are equal in value and dignity, and they are interdependent on each other. While many in our culture regarding this system of authority as bad, the reality is that marriage is difficult only because of the presence of sin in the world.

Today, Pastor Richie teaches on biblical authority. Authority is something our culture tends to be uncomfortable with – whether it’s authority from the government or the family or the church, we generally don’t like being told what to do. But as Christians, respecting authority is non-negotiable, because we are all under God’s authority. Pastor Richie notes that men are under the direct authority of Christ, meaning we can’t pass the buck for our actions, while wives are under the direct authority of their husbands.

One of the Enemy’s favorite tactics is to convince you that you’re all alone – that you’re the only one who struggles with the sin you struggle with, and that there’s no hope for you. But today, Pastor Richie exposes this lie and reminds us of the truth: all of our struggles are common, and Jesus died for them all! In reality, Christ has freed you from your sin and given you power over it! God won’t let you be tempted beyond what you can handle, and He wants freedom for you even more than you want it!

As Christians, we can easily make the mistake of reading the Old Testament and criticizing Israel’s lack of faith. While we are correct to notice Israel’s failure, we are remiss if we think we are superior. Today, Pastor Richie reminds us that we too fall into faithlessness. Israel’s problem was that they didn’t trust God – they thought they knew better whenever He asked them to do something that didn’t make sense. But we often make the same mistake in our lives, choosing our own way over Jesus’ way.

Sometimes it can be hard to wrap our heads around God’s immense grace. Pastor Richie urges us today to seek Christ instead of seeking evil. But in this, he reminds us that we cannot forget God’s grace. When we hear that voice telling us that we’re a failure or that God could never love us, we can be assured that this voice is not from Christ. God’s goodness is what propels us to live our lives for Him; while we won’t be perfect, we can make progress. And we can decide every day to please God instead of other people.

Today, Pastor Richie reminds us that it’s not always best to defend ourselves against people’s claims – even if we know we’re in the right. While this is extraordinarily countercultural, it’s what Jesus demonstrated for us. He remained silent when Jesus withstood trial and was presented with many false accusations. Just because we can fight back rightly doesn’t make it the most loving thing to do. Our mission isn’t to get everything we think we deserve – it’s to serve Jesus by loving a broken world.

Because of Jesus, we get to experience immense freedom in life! But, as Pastor Richie points out today, sometimes there are things more important than our freedom. Jesus’ example is to lay down freedoms to love others. And in First Corinthians, Paul describes how he is willing to put aside his rights to love his brothers and sisters. To follow this example, we must love those around us and regard them above ourselves, so we are happy to make sacrifices for them.

While the Bible contains many commandments and gives us guidance about morality, its purpose is not to tell us what’s right and wrong in every situation. Today, Pastor Richie explains that there is something greater than knowledge when Christians have disagreements – and that love is more significant. Even though we may know certain activities aren’t wrong, love causes us to recognize that those behaviors could cause a brother or sister to stumble. In these cases, we honor others by laying our freedom down.

Today, Pastor Richie speaks on what the Bible says about marriage. And while marriage is a beautiful thing, the Bible does not shy away from some of the challenges that can come as a result. There are ways that marriage and family can prevent someone from doing what they may feel called to. While we are to obey God, part of that means honoring our spouse. And if God is calling us to something that our spouse isn’t receptive to, then we need to respond by trusting God and remaining patient and loving.