Own Your Faith

God is not just God, he is a just God. This series we comb through Scripture to develop or build upon a theology of justice. Christianity is not just about proselytizing and getting people saved, but also about standing for the vulnerable among us against ideology, practices, and systems of injustice. God makes it clear that the central theme in the biblical narrative is justice. Genesis 18:18-19 | Isaiah 61:8 | James 1:26-27

Drawing from Matthew 23:23 where Jesus is rebuking the Pharisees for their hypocrisy by paraphrasing Micah 6:8, we learn that to identify as a Christian is not just about having the name and showing it on the outside, but its about what's in the inside. Just like makeup intended to cover up flaws on our faces in order to beautify us, the nation collectively has put on the Christian "makeup" of deeds language, but deep down our laws, policies, and practices have undermined that label. We must clean the inside of the US American "cup" so that the outside is as authentically beautiful as the Lord desires for us to be.

Many have claimed that the U.S. is a Christian nation. Historically, we have never truly lived up to that label with injustices persisting for hundreds of years oppressing various groups of people. We are certainly not a theocracy, but even our laws, policies, practices, and attitudes have proven to challenge any idea that this is a Christian nation. The prophet Micah and Jesus give us three characteristics that we must have individually and collectively that would reflect God's character back to God and project God's character out to others. This would bring us more in line with being a Christian nation.

When we think about the good news we often reference salvation. But salvation began with the birth of the Messiah. The good news begins with the proclamation that God is with us. We ought to see ourselves in the biblical narrative and see our story in Jesus' story. We ought to also learn from the characters in the story. Let's learn how we ought to respond to the proclamation, but also to being in the presence of the God-man. Matthew 2 | Luke 2

Monique Robinson shares her powerful testimony of how God restored her health when doctors thought she may not have made it. Her experiences lead her to radically change her lifestyle to making and living with healthier choices. She takes us through a biblical journey that underscores God desire for us to be healthy in our minds and bodies. She challenges us to fight for your life BEFORE you have to fight for your life. 1 Corinthians 6:19 | Ecclesiastes 7:16-17 | Deuteronomy 30:11-20

God cares about your emotions. God cares about your mental health. With all that causes us to live fast-paced and ultimately stressful lives that wreak havoc on our health God offers an alternative to the anxiety. Rejoice in the Lord continually, pray with thanksgiving and the peace of God will guard your heart and mind. We do not have to manufacture peace, it belongs to God and we can access it. Philippians 4:4-9

We all want to walk in our God-ordained calling whether we are conscious of it or not. It gives life meaning and purpose. But we aren't all caring for ourselves enough to be able to serve others and fulfill our God-given purpose. Arguably, the first place to begin is with keeping the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a gift given to us so that we have a time renewal and restoration as we reflect on what God has done the previous six days and prepare for what God is going to do in the next six days. Even the land needs to rest so that it can produce the way God intended it to. Genesis 2:2-3 | Mark 2:27

Chris Robbins closes out our series on what it looks like to maintain a posture and attitude of service in the context of marriage. He walks us through a theology of marriage challenging both cultural and secular views of marriage and how easily we can make marriage an idol or how easily we can violate its institutions. This amazing message teaches us what it means to remain kingdom-minded in serving within the family and the community while being a wife or a husband, a mom or a dad, etc. 1 Corinthians 7

Sometimes the most difficult thing to practice is service when a person is single. Many are preoccupied, or "THIRSTY," with finding a spouse that they aren't focused on serving the kingdom. Camille shares from the story of the woman at the well as well as her own story of singleness and serving. Her transparency is compelling. Her storytelling ability is unmatched. Listen for the insights and encouragement about maintaining a life of service while in a season of singleness.

The Christian life of service begins at the cross, not the resurrection. Jesus said, "Whoever desires to come after me must deny him/herself, take up his/her cross and follow me" (Luke 9:23). This is central to the Christian life. It's imitating the servant life of Jesus. Just as he came not to be served, but to serve, so should we. Matthew 20:25-28