The church of Christ on McDermott Road

One of the most beautiful, and paradigm-shifting passages, in the Bible is Mary’s “Magnificat.” Mary rejoices that the coming of the Lord will scatter the proud, bring down the mighty, and send the rich away empty. The humble, however, are those who are prepared for the Day of the Lord. The humble will be exalted when he arrives. The book of Luke reveals how the humble were ready for Jesus’ first arrival and it will be the humble who are prepared for his second arrival as well. (Scripture: Luke 1:46-55)

One of the greatest gifts God has given us is the Holy Spirit. He dwells within us to strengthen us in our inner being, so that Christ can dwell in our hearts through faith. So that, being rooted and grounded in love, we may have strength to comprehend the love of Christ and be filled with all the fullness of God. That is our reality, but we should also pray for that, as Paul prays for it on behalf of the Ephesian church. Believing these truths about Jesus, believing that we really belong to God, is hard to fully accept. As strange as it may seem, we must diligently apply ourselves to accepting this truth. (Scripture: Ephesians 3:14-21)

Prior to the fall, human beings were at peace with God and with one another. When sin entered the world, humanity was exiled from God and we all began to experience hostility with one another. The Gospel is all about reconciliation and peace. Because of Jesus, Jews and Gentiles have been reconciled to God, but also reconciled to one another. God is making peace through the cross. We don’t have to create this new reality of peace and reconciliation, we just have to accept that it is ours in Christ. (Scripture: Ephesians 2:11-22)

“You were dead…but God…made us alive.” What an amazing way to understand the Gospel. We did not earn this resurrection from the dead. We were given life as an unmerited gift, because of who God is and what he has done for us through Christ. The concepts of God’s grace, mercy, and love should be the foundation of our theology and practice. It is grace that should motivate us to do the good works God has prepared for us to do. (Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10)

There is so much “meat” packed into the opening verses of Ephesians. In this short passage, Paul speaks of being blessed, chosen, holy, blameless, predestined, adopted, redeemed, and forgiven. We will talk about what these terms mean, how they should fill us with overwhelming sense of gratitude, and how they should shape the way we think about God and ourselves. If we really take these matters to heart, they will change our entire outlook on life. (Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14)

Guilt and shame can eat us alive. It can be very easy to fall into that rut of guilt and shame, but very difficult to break free from it. When we do something wrong, how can we avoid internalizing guilt and shame. And once we have fallen into this rut, how can we get out? In this lesson we will explore how the  Psalms can help us acknowledge, confess, and repent of our sins in a healthy and renewing way. (Scripture: Psalm 32:1-11)

Christians are called to engage in faith-filled conversations. John 15 tells us that we are to “Abide in Jesus.” The image in this passage is of a vine and its branches… How does this image relate to our discipleship making efforts? A disciple's relationship with Jesus is the essential catalyst for engaging with others in faith-filled conversations.  (Scripture: John 15:14-17)

In his book, Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools, Tyler Staton said, “A maturing community is a confessing community - not a church without sin, but a church without secrets.” In order to be renewed, not only do we need to reflect on our lives, we need to verbally confess the sins we find there. We need to confess our sins to God, but also to one another. In this lesson we will explore James 5:13-18 and discuss how we can be more honest with one another about our sins. (Scripture: James 5:13-18)

(Scripture: Romans 5:1-8)

Around the time of Nehemiah, the Jewish people had been back in Jerusalem for over 140 years. The temple had been rebuilt decades earlier. Worship ceremonies, rituals, and routines had been reestablished. But God was sick and tired of it all. The worship and the sacrifices that were being offered were an insult and disgrace. As we consider our own worship, what sort of sacrifices are we offering to him? Do we give him our very best, our whole self, everyday of the week; or are we just giving him the leftovers, after we’ve given ourselves to everything else? What will it take for us to wake up and reflect soberly on what we are offering to the Lord? (Scripture: Malachi 1:10-14)