Freedom and Grace often go together in our minds. But Grace in Christ does not mean we are free to sin! But how do we live in a Christ-centered freedom?

Galatians 4:6-7 6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

By faith Christians follow a person, trusting in his character and deeds, not a Law which served only to show how inadequate we are as human beings to follow any Law, be it administered by Kings or angels.

Galatians 3:28-29

In my experience one of the most underappreciated aspects of Christianity is the nuance of works and faith. While the scripture makes it clear that we cannot earn our salvation through self-improvement or good works. However, our relationship with the Holy Spirit is to so affect our lives that we are, indeed, characterized by good works. How do works and faith work together?

Sunday Sermon by Christopher Uchegbuo

Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent. The theme we are looking at today is “Love”. What does it mean that God loves us? How does the incarnation show us God’s love?

Today is the Third Sunday of Advent. The theme is “Rejoice”. The verse used in the more liturgical churches is Philippians 4:4: "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" What’s interesting is that this is said in the context of conflict. The hope within the rejoicing and conflict is that there is the promise that the Lord is near.

The second Sunday of Advent has the theme of “Peace”. Peace is not just the hiatus between conflicts. The scripture tells us that there will always be wars and rumors of war, at least so long as sin is present in the world. So, peace has to mean something more than just the space between conflicts. This even goes for personal relationships. It is not really all that “peaceful” to be in between conflicts when you know sooner or later, another fight, argument, or whatever is coming.

So, peace is not the time between conflicts. In the Bible peace is associated with the presence of God.

The first Sunday of Advent has the theme of “Hope”. The first candle is called the “prophet’s candle” because it represents the Old Testament expectation of the coming Messiah. Hope is more than wishful thinking, it is living with expectation. As Christians, we are to be people of Hope because we have the risen Christ to assure us of our own victory over sin and death.

Today we are looking at an argument Paul had with Peter regarding Peter’s relationship with non-Jewish believers.

Paul retells the story of this conflict in order to illustrate the point to the Galatians that they are making a mistake by placing themselves back under the law of Moses.

In the letter to the Galatians, the old belief which is having a hard time dying was the necessity for a person to become first a Jew, men by circumcision, women by baptism, before then becoming Christians.

It was essentially placing oneself under the Old Testament Law, and then, somehow, fitting in Jesus and his sacrifice for our sins. It was trying to have both of these religious beliefs somehow live together.

The problem is, they cannot.