Sundays at Cumberland

The common good is a divine *spiritual* policy. It’s not just a practical social value, or even a political theory - as most people would think of it.

Born in the very heart of God, the eternal longing of love is that ALL would experience the benefit of His goodness. And as His representatives on earth, humanity has been entrusted with “free will” for the sole purpose of executing this policy. Freedom has a purpose - and it is always and ONLY for good! We are meant to use our freedom for the direct blessing of others, and for the ultimate flourishing of all.

The Church is actually the pilot program for this - which means that as believers, we hold a unique responsibility in following Christ’s example to lay down our lives - For the Common Good.

The first message of this series examines Paul’s nudge towards the VERY BEST use of our freedom.

The Holy Spirit can feel mysterious. Like wind, you can’t capture and control it… yet you see the effects of it…

Throughout 2026, we’ve been talking about expressions of the Spirit — the Spirit of the Law, the Spirit of Wisdom, the Spirit of Unity, and the Spirit of Conviction.

How do we see these playing out in the Bible? Join us Sunday, as we take a look at Peter in the book of Acts, to see the work of the Holy Spirit in all of these ways and more…

After the baptism of Jesus, the story immediately takes an interesting turn... And here's the takeaway:

Once we have God’s blessing, it’s important for us to be intentional about holding on to it.

We all want to be blessed. So much so, that we boldly claim God’s goodness in all of our life endeavors. And because our expectations are based on His faithfulness, we assume that no matter where we are, and regardless of what we do, the blessings of the Lord will always remain in our lives.

But scripture offers a different perspective on this, and it urges our intentional cooperation with the goodness of God.

If God is indeed a GIVER, then it actually requires us to become RECEIVERS.

We all need this reminder — and perhaps even training on what it truly means to be blessed. If God is perfect in how He gives, then the only problem that could possibly remain is our ability to receive.

Often, we decide for ourselves what it means to be blessed, and then we expect God to cooperate with our desires. But If we accept His commands as prescriptive, rather than just punitive, then we will position our lives to receive all that God has in mind for us.

Everybody worships SOMETHING. Just because you may not be “religious” doesn’t mean you don’t worship. We all offer our attention, affection, and devotion to something -- or someone -- in one way or another.

For the most part, we expect to hold certain aspects of our lives as a private and personal matter - but true worship is something that can never remain hidden for long.

Eventually, our worship will be put on display for others to see.

Scripture unpacks the remarkable testimony of 3 Hebrew boys, held captive in the Babylonian empire, who were challenged publicly concerning their worship. Their story is a reminder to us that even though it flows from us naturally, we must decide for ourselves who is actually worthy of our worship.

Even our dependence on God can be flawed. Sometimes, we only trust Him to do what makes sense to us.

We’ve seen God move in the past, so we assume we know how He will move in the future. Unfortunately, that thinking turns faith itself into a box of restriction in which we place God.

Nevertheless, the Lord cannot be accurately framed by our mere experiences, and therefore, He is not limited by our expectations. We need the type of faith that leaves room for God to be God.

So, even if we carry confidence from yesterday…

…While still holding some level of uncertainty about tomorrow…

…The real test of our faith is rooted in what we believe God is doing TODAY.

The church is a place where all the wrong people join together in the name of the right person.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church reinforces this reality, and it strikes at the very heart of our struggles with unity. Without the gospel, diversity will only expose our natural tendency to prioritize ourselves over others.

Paul casts a vision for “a new humanity” — one that moves beyond the petty social boundaries that we’ve drawn for ourselves. In this way, the Church is meant to be a witness of God’s love in how we embrace each other, despite our differences.

This learning curve continues in the Church today, and it might be even more critical now. Our responsibility towards unity cannot be understated, as our gospel reach creates a need for it more and more.

Reconciliation is never a call to unity by ignoring what’s wrong. It’s a call to a better relationship - by redeeming what’s wrong.

Any offense, filtered through the powerful lens of the gospel, creates an opportunity to prove to the world that love actually wins.

Unfortunately, our tendency is to resist this.

We look for other responses to try and preserve ourselves, and in doing so, we miss the powerful potential of the gospel.

Paul’s appeal to Philemon is a guide towards a gospel response, and it speaks loudly to our modern circumstances. In it, we find a reason to set aside our own personal preferences, so that we can truly live out the good news, and let love win.

The Apostle Paul was never one to avoid a confrontation, and his letter to Philemon doesn’t disappoint.

But in this case, he doesn’t seem to be fighting against anything as much as he seems to be fighting for something.

Something is important, and everything else must take a backseat.

Interestingly enough, Paul’s concern is with the gospel - even amongst those who have already embraced it. From his charge to Philemon, we learn about the nature of love, the possibility of reconciliation, and the extraordinary power of the gospel.

At times, we may lose sight of our spiritual priorities, elevating our legal rights or social preferences instead. But Paul’s challenge is a clear reminder to us that Something is More Important.

No matter how LONG you’ve been walking with the Lord, and no matter how WELL you’ve been walking with Him, there is always room for growth.

And the way in which we grow is just as important as our willingness to grow at all.

The Gospel is the North Star for all believers, and we must be willing to deepen our understanding of it. Of course, scripture presents the Gospel (the Good News) as the ultimate resolve of our problems, but the Apostle Paul also recommends it as a resolve for our immediate challenges.

And so often, it is the presence of cultural challenges that exposes our need for gospel reconciliation.

Paul writes to Philemon, and urges him to act in a direction that aligns with the gospel.

Beyond his legal right…

Beyond the cultural implications…

Even beyond his personal benefit…

There is a response that best honors the Lord.

And if we can learn to look for that, then no matter what culture throws in our face, we will always be armed with a right response, and a gospel-inspired willingness to Let Love Win.