During this third week of our Illuminate series, we focus on what it means for us to be People of Light. Jesus tells us in the book of Matthew that, together, we are the light of the world. We don’t have to work to become that, he has made his people to be a light. […]

At times, life seems dominated by darkness, chaos, and brokenness. And we appear bound to walk in it. But Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) Following him, Paul claims that we’re all feeling our way toward […]

People feel more secure and active in the light. Darkness lessens our energy and activity. Moreover, things that “go bump in the night” always seem scarier. It seems like this kind of rhythm is baked into us, which is what we might expect if we take Genesis 1 seriously. The ancient world associated light with […]

Ordinary people matter to God. They did when Paul wrote Romans — in fact, the apostle mentions dozens of them in chapter 16 — and ordinary people matter to God now as well. He knows their names and their stories. He works in and through them to invite others into his Kingdom. And, he expects […]

Echoing Jesus’ teaching, the Apostle Paul instructs us to go beyond bearing with one another’s weaknesses and actively seek to build one another up. Pastor Alex offers us some practical advice throughout this encouraging message, beginning with: be formed by the Scriptures even as Jesus was.  In the course of our spiritual formation, we lean […]

This week, our series continues with a deep dive into a crucial five-verse passage that is dense and challenging. We look at how one can be strong in faith. There are practical considerations for how Christians of strong, and weaker, faith are supposed to live with their brothers and sisters in ways consistent with God’s […]

This week, we continue our series in the first half of Romans 14. This passage contains some hard truths about what should happen when Christians disagree. Paul acknowledges that there are many actions and behaviors that are not inherently sinful or wrong, but might be sinful or wrong for some people in certain circumstances. He […]

During the last two weeks of this series, we’ve looked at the first two sections of Romans 12. This week, we look at the last section and some very practical instructions that Paul gives to the Roman church.  Even though thousands of years separate us from the people in the church at Rome, Paul’s instructions […]

Paul specifies how Christians should live within a vibrant faith community. His main areas of focus?  Faith, unity, and a clear sense of self. Paul is adamant that we all are part of an organic whole, which he describes as Christ’s body. That body has one head, the Lord Jesus, but many members — all […]

Pastor Brad, unpacks the implications of Romans 12:1-2 in this stirring message, beginning with a question: What does it really mean to be a Christian? If Jesus is who the Gospels depict him to be, then that’s a really important question. Paul thought so, and he spends 11 chapters of his letter to the Romans […]