Summary of the Message
Even as our dark night experiences are emotionally straining, by his word Christ shows us that our weakness has an important theological purpose: to showcase his strength in our weakness. When we internalize this word from Christ, our souls are not only healed in our troubles, but we are brought to praise. Our lament is transformed into hymns of rejoicing.

Key Sermon Points
1. Spiritual growth brings with it spiritual risk (context preceding v.7)
Because he experienced “surpassingly great revelations” from God Paul was at risk of spiritual pride. God takes notice and works to ensure that he does not wreck his faith because of the special favor God gave him. Our redeemed souls have the capacity to drift away from God even when everything is going extremely well spiritually.

2. The Lord is radically committed to his purposes in our lives even when they dramatically clash with our good expectations (v.7)
God gave Paul a very difficult experience, knowing that experience would both wound him deeply and draw him close. These experiences are very hurtful, and though they are truly “evil” in themselves, they are gifts of grace from the Lord.

3. God has a surprising liberating word for our desperate struggle (v.8-9a)
Even as Paul shows us how much the thorn hurt him deeply, Christ reveals his purposes beyond Paul’s circumstances. Further, Jesus’ words shows us that since the strength he provides is ground in our weakness, our circumstance may not change. But his presence and power sustains us there.

4. We are now able to sing, not because of circumstantial healing, but spiritual healing (v.9b-10)
Paul has an emotional response to Jesus’ words that indicate the healing of his soul and the freedom he now enjoys because of this greater grace in Christ. This points us to our calling as healed witnesses in a broken world.

Summary of the Message
If dark nights of sin and suffering are truly grace in disguise, how do we find hope in the midst of seasons of tremendous hardship that can feel unbearable and seem meaningless?

Key Sermon Points
1. Suffering in this life is inevitable for the obedient Christ follower. Paul says that our outer self is wasting away (2 Cor. 4:16). Over time our bodies will break down, our bones will become more brittle, our strength will wane, new viruses will mutate and we will experience hardships, setbacks, and weaknesses of many different kinds.

Question: Why do so many of us today feel shocked and unprepared when suffering hits us directly? How would it be helpful for us to share in Paul's more expectant view that such hardships are likely to come our way?

2. Paul’s opponents in Corinth (whom he patronizingly called ‘super apostles’) were creating division by claiming that the many hardships and weaknesses of the apostle Paul must surely invalidate his spiritual authority. And for a while many believers in Corinth were persuaded by this false teaching.

Question: What misguided attitudes and beliefs about suffering seem to infiltrate our culture today and how might they harm our spiritual growth if we allow ourselves to be influenced by them?

3. Our hope. Paul says that while our suffering is very real indeed, it is actually ‘light and momentary’ compared to the ‘eternal weight of glory’ that it is producing for us when we focus daily on ‘the things that are unseen’ instead of ‘the things that are seen’. The sufferings that we experience now will actually enhance and intensify the glory that we will experience in the new heavens and the new earth. At that time when Jesus makes all things new, things will not only be as good as they were in the original garden, they will be better.

Question: How does looking to the things that are unseen help us grow closer to the Lord during dark nights of sickness and suffering?

Summary of the Message
Sin is a subject that we often want to avoid. Ignoring it may be just as big of a problem as committing it. There is great danger in ignoring sin in our lives but there is unsurpassed joy to be found in repentance.

Key Sermon Points
1. Our natural/fleshly response to sin has always been to attempt to cover it up which results in hiding from God's presence (Gen. 3:7-8)

2. We deceive ourselves by thinking that we will be better off by hiding, ignoring, and secretly managing our sin. Ignoring sin makes us miserable - it damages our horizontal relationships with others in this world and it distances our vertical relationship with our heavenly Father (Psalm 32:3-4)

3. Because God loves us, he wants good for us and he provides us with a better way of dealing with our sin. In Psalm 51, God shows us this better way through King David's prayer of repentance which demonstrates the following three-part penitential prayer:
- Lord, forgive me
- Lord, change me
- Lord, use me

Summary of the Message
In response to our dark night experience, Christ does not simply promise to eradicate those difficulties, but instead invites us to himself to learn from him and acquire his character in an apprentice relationship. This is an invitation to discipleship, where we take on the humble character of Christ.

Key Sermon Points
1. All of us are broken so Christ invites us all (v.28)
There are many forms of weariness and different kinds of burdens in the world, and Christ wants his people to proclaim his invitation to all those who need it. But we must not lose sight of the fact that at the center of that invitation too, Christ is calling each of us to the rest that is relief to all of our toiling. He aims to lift the weight from our shoulders. But we must remember, he’s not mainly addressing circumstances but the climate of our hearts, where the stress and strain of problems actually reside.

2. Coming to Jesus is more than a new attitude, it is a new kind of life (v.28-29)
The yoke that Jesus offers us is not a yoke of slavery or control, but a yoke of guidance. It speaks to our leaving an old way of living to take on his new way of living. He says we should “learn from him,” which is his way of inviting us into a discipleship relationship. He emphasizes his own gentleness and humility, which assures us that he is not coming to condemn us but to receive us. He wants us to experience his character so we can become like him.

3. Rest does not mean no cross (v.30)
How do we reconcile Jesus’ words in v.30 with his other teaching about the cross- centered nature of discipleship which does not seem “easy and light?” Christ shows us that the change he brings in our hearts shifts the experience of our difficulties so that there is an easiness and lightness that we take on, though the emotional toll is heavy.

Summary of the Message
Our difficult and challenging experiences are often referred to as a "dark night" when the effect of them leads to discouragement and places our faith at risk. Even though there is real spiritual peril in the dark night experience, we are usually led into them by God for our spiritual growth. So then, dark nights are actually grace in disguise, and God's word exhorts us to rejoice in the spiritual benefit that difficulty produces in us.

Key Sermon Points
1. Gospel Principle #1: Weak vessels are necessary for divine strength (v.7)
We have the treasure of the gospel, which is the knowledge of God we have gained in Christ, in what Paul calls "jars of clay." The great life we have in our salvation is actually lived within human weakness and trying circumstances, which are often referred to as the dark night. but that dark night is the environment needed for receiving divine power. That weakness is proof that our enduring faith is not because of our strength, but God's.

2. Gospel Principle #2: There is real danger in the wilderness (v.8-9)
Our weakness exposes us to real danger, and in scripture, the wilderness is described as a dangerous place that God leads us into for our testing and growth. In the wilderness, we discover our need for God and we recognize that unless God delivers us, we will die in the wilderness. Yet, God's aim is to spiritually strengthen us there, he teaches us to rely utterly on him, and we come through it with a greater intimacy with him.

3. Our Gospel Take-Away: Don't regret, resent, or retreat in the dark night, but rejoice!
Because of God's purpose in the dark night, in the wilderness, we arrive at a place where we can rejoice. Not because of the pain, but because of the promise of what God is doing through it. And we know the Spirit of God is committed to bringing us to this new level of maturity and rejoicing in Christ.

Summary of the Message
God’s economy is not based on human effort but is instead entirely fueled by divine
grace. In the provocative Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, Jesus shows God
gracious generosity to those who need him and respond to his call to the kingdom. This
is particularly encouraging for those who feel that God’s grace has passed them by.
Jesus makes clear that far from that, grace is for those who most don’t deserve it &
think they have missed it. Grace is sweetest when it surprises those who think there is
no hope.

Key Sermon Points
1. Meet the Landowner
The Landowner in the parable represents the character and posture of God toward
those who need his generosity. The landowner takes the initiative in offering himself
to address the workers’ needs. He demonstrates to us the sovereignty of God but
also shows that God’s sovereignty is governed by his goodness, especially to the
needy.

2. Meet the early, proactive, and gifted workers
These represent those who are responsible and responsive. They are ready and
hard workers who demonstrate true human virtue. They are understandably proud of
their gritty character, but it also has caused them to think themselves deserving &
worthy, and to look down on those who have not worked as hard or as well as they
did.

3. Meet the late workers
These are the “last to be hired and first to be fired” type workers. They were
obviously unimpressive because no one had hired them, and yet even when he
could not get the most value from them, they were hired by the Landowner. It’s
important to note that their problem is not their laziness, if anything it is simply their
weakness. In them, Jesus is saying don’t worry about what has been lost, and that
conviction over the past is not meant to trigger regret, only a response.

4. Everybody all together
The Landowner’s generosity extends beyond hiring the late workers, but paying
them the same as all the workers, including the first hired. This does not devalue
early response, but in God’s economy, it places the value on a genuine response to
God’s call whenever it occurs. This underscores that God is less concerned about
quantity but values the quality of committed faith. This is confusing to those who are
early and eager responders, but if we all saw our true need and that all we have is of
grace, we would rejoice in the Lord’s generosity in all its expressions.

5. Application

• The Lord is no longer concerned about what I have not done for him and his

kingdom “to date.” He is now concerned about what we do now. So, we should
not feel inadequate due to past inaction or even failure but embrace God’s call
before us today.

• The parable is not meant for our motivation in serving the kingdom, though it can

be applied that way. It is really about the nature of saving faith, and how God’s
grace is always available to those who need it. If we have failed to trust Christ, all
of that can change right now. Today is the day of God’s salvation, choose to
follow Christ today.

Summary of the Message
God’s vision for the church is grounded in his calling her to be a theological statement about his own glory and wisdom. Indeed, the power of the gospel is seen most keenly in the character of the church. Because of this grand purpose, Christ himself supplies his church with the resources to change the saints into servants with hearts like his so they can serve one another, helping the church to grow into unity and a greater experience of himself.

Key Sermon Points
1. Christ does not intend for the church to be a collection of free agents (Eph. 4:11)
Though Paul does not take time to explicitly define what these word-based leadership ministers do, it is clear their roles are distinct and, most importantly, they are necessary for growing the spiritual health of the church. These roles all proclaim the gospel salvation and the lordship of Jesus Christ, and as such it is assumed that the church is sitting under and being affected by their ministry.

2. Christ wants to make you spiritually strong for spiritual labor for spiritual formation (Eph. 4:12)
The intended effect of the ministries previously listed is the equipping or transformation of the saints so they will have the appropriate character to the work of gospel ministry. The word-based ministry that shapes them includes correction, rebuke, and encouragement (2Tim4:2), resulting in the kind of character that serves the body of Christ faithfully.

3. Christ wants a church united in spiritual conviction and his active church (Eph. 4:13)
There is much confusion about what unity means, e.g., is it conformity or submission to things you don’t like, but for the sake of unity, you conform or submit to leadership or the majority? But when we consider passages like Acts 4:32, 1 Corinthians 1:10, and Philippians 2:2, unity clearly is rooted in a shared conviction. Of course, that conviction is on the priority of the gospel and living it out faithfully. That unity also includes the shared experience of practically submitting to Christ’s Lordship. The result? Maturity and experiencing the full measure of the fullness of Christ!

Summary of the Message
The Scriptures are the single most important literary resource for the Christian. Yet statistically, many seem to only experience the sacred words of God in an unmethodical way. In a world of constant devices gnawing at our spirit man/woman, we see that the greatest antidote is not based on a set of rules or practices but on how the scriptures help bolster the Christian into true human flourishing. This flourishing does not come without risk, tension, and even loss (at times). We see vividly in our text, "All Scripture is God Breathed," which not only supports the authenticity of God's voice in history but also the power to speak authoritatively in such a way that you and I can experience true redemption both in this life and in the eschaton (end times).

Key Sermon Points
1. The Sacredness of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16a)
When people think of sacred, we often think of it as some relic or maybe significant artifact or material possession, which can be applied to the notion of sacred. In this passage, we use the term sacred not as a means to describe the Bible's credibility historically throughout antiquity but as a distinction among other written/oral forms of literature that have recorded significant historical events throughout our time. The Bible, or the Scriptures, is not only seen as situated within major historical events but is often noted as one of the most complex pieces of literature historically; given its breadth of literary devices to philosophical disciplines recorded throughout the Bible and its main characters.

The Word of God breathed to us has historically been noted as "inspiration," which is the English equivalent of the Greek word Theopnuestos. Undergirding all the recording and transcribing by the 40 different authors, one constant theme remains, and that is that the voice of God can be traced, identified, and corroborated from the earliest of writers to beyond the establishment of the early first-century church.

2. The Usefulness of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16b)
Scripture is often regarded as our ruler or our teacher. It may seem rather strange or even unbefitting for us to see the Scriptures this way. The reality is that today we have constructed systems and particular ways of thinking that either aren't found in scripture or cheapen the reality of how the Bible ought to be handled. The Bible says of itself that it is sufficient for all of life and that life and godliness can be found through the written word of God. Though the Bible doesn't mention contemporary issues like social media usage or which political candidate you should vote for, it does speak to the nature of our hearts and the clear condition of sin that has havocked humanity. The Bible is a clear vision and statement of God's plan for humanity and His church.

3. The Effect of Scripture on our Lives (2 Timothy 3:17)
"The Scriptures are the furnace for transformation” Henri Nouwen writes in one of his books, and he's right! The scriptures are not only a transcript of the mind of God articulated through human agency but also a clear picture of how His standard of righteousness would be conveyed to humanity spanning over thousands of years. Listen to Calvin in his small book on the Christian Life; he states, "The goal of God's work in us is to bring our lives into harmony and agreement with His righteousness." The effects of scripture on our lives bring about not only deep formational satisfaction but a true sense of who we are meant to be, wholly. Scripture that has metabolized in the life of the Christian becomes the key to sustained satisfaction that never runs dry

Summary of the Message
Sacred spaces and practices, such as temples or churches, and the ways we serve God there, help us to both encounter and understand the distinctive holiness of God. Sacred spaces enable us to approach God properly, and more than that, as embodied human beings they provide us with concrete ways to experience and worship him.

Key Sermon Points
1. Sacred spaces and practices are essential for how God and his people relate to each other
Biblically, sacred spaces are places that are made significant through our relationship encounter with God. We experience God in those places as he manifests himself and speaks to us there in various ways. Often these experiences are themselves redemptive and are milestones in our personal & corporate deliverance and growth. They are sacred along both the vertical dimension with God and the horizontal dimension with others in the covenant community. Mainly, sacred spaces concretely convey the accessibility & availability of God & intimate fellowship with him.

2. God's heart about sacred spaces (2 Chronicles 7:15-16)

1. I will be attentive to sacred spaces (7:15)
   God is intentionally looking and actively listening to the prayers and worship of his people in sacred spaces.
2. I have chosen sacred spaces (7:16a)
   Chosen = special, which tells us that sacred spaces are important to God. He leans into meeting his people there.
3. I will be there in sacred spaces (7:16b)
   God is manifestly present in sacred spaces, and his Name, i.e., his authority and power are encountered there.

3. God' translates his vision for sacred spaces to his vision for our lives and the church
The local church, what the Bible refers to as the ecclesia, is a primary and necessary sacred space for encountering and worshipping the Lord. It is the place he has chosen for himself for his people to corporately come before him, to hear from him, to pray to him. That does not in any way set aside our personal lives in Christ, which are also made sacred. But our relationship with God is incomplete without the sacred life in the temple of the Spirit, the church, where we practice the word, worship, and prayer together.

Summary of the Message
When we encounter the loss of fruitfulness and the experience of grace due to God’s discipline, if we humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face, and repent, he promises to forgive and spiritually restore us. We should be mindful of this during both spiritual success & lows.

Key Sermon Points
1. Humility
Humility is about subduing one’s pride in self-denying loyalty to God & his will. It possesses a modest opinion of one’s own importance or rank, and it is opposite to pride with its high opinion of one’s own goodness or superiority. Humility sees one’s own vulnerability and depends on God for everything. God gives grace to the humble!

2. Pray
In this passage, prayer is about the earnest and even desperate confession of sin to God. Spiritual humility leads to prayerful confession and the request of God for mercy so that sin does not have the last word in one’s life and community.

3. Seek God's Face
An urgent longing for God’s face is a prec0ndition for God’s presence. God positively responds to those who earnestly seek him. When they seek him, he promises to be found by them (Deut.4:29-31). If you want spiritual restoration, earnestly seek God!

4. Turn from Wicked Ways
Repentance is a genuine “about face” in behavior that is not pleasing to the Lord. As Christians, we are not meant to be bound by besetting sins; Christ intends to free us from them through the grace of our authentic repentance. Bondage to sin is a blockade to God’s grace in our lives, compromising spiritual flourishing.

Summary of the Message
2 Chronicles 16:9 tells us that the Lord relentlessly searches the earth to give His strength to those who are fully committed to Him. What does it look like to be one of those who the Lord will find to be whole-heartedly committed? The 41 year reign of King Asa recorded in 2 Chronicles 14-16 helps answer that question by providing helpful examples of both faithfulness and failure that are worth examining.

Key Sermon Points
1. Act 1 of King Asa's Reign (2 Chronicles 14:1-8)

• He REMOVED foreign altars, high places, pillars and Asherim dedicated to idols and foreign dieties.
• He COMMANDED Judah to seek the Lord and follow His commandments.
• He BUILT fortifications throughout Judah to keep his people safe.
• GOD PROVIDED Rest and Peace for 10 years.

2. Act 2 of King Asa's Reign (2 Chronicles 14:9-15)
An enormously superior army wages war against Judah. King Asa’s immediate response is not to come up with a plan or to panic, his instinctive response is to pray. With a proper perspective of Judah’s humble deficiencies and of God’s matchless strength, he cries to the Lord for help and God delivers the enemy into their hands.

3. Act 3 of King Asa's Reign (2 Chronicles 15:1-19)
After a miraculous military victory, God sends the prophet Azariah to tell Asa that much like God just acted on their behalf in battle, God will always be with them while they are with Him and will always be found when they seek Him. Asa responds with even greater earnestness and initiates further reforms. Judah worships together at the Temple with huge sacrifices and Asa demonstrates God’s heart for showing no partiality by expelling his own grandmother for idol worship.

4. Act 4 of King Asa's Reign (2 Chronicles 16)
After 35 years of blessing from the Lord, Asa responds foolishly in his final season as king. Instead of seeking the Lord, 1) he bribes the king of Syria for military help, 2) he rejects an opportunity to repent offered by the seer Hanani who he jails instead, and 3) he seeks physicians to cure his foot disease instead of asking God for help. 

Summary of the Message
In Romans 12:1, Paul exhorts his readers to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice to the Lord as the only reasonable response to the rich mercy he has lavished on us. Romans 12:2 shows us that we are able to do such an extreme act by having our minds renewed and becoming like the mind of Christ.

Key Sermon Points
1. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed
Paul’s point to his readers is not that their behavior simply needs to be changed, but that their hearts, desires, and wants need to shift from a worldly set of values to a kingdom set of values. We should recognize that a kingdom mind is not merely confirmation of doctrinal views, but convictions and motivations that align with the kingdom.

2. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind
In order to enter the kind of metamorphosis Paul is stirring us into, we need to understand what he means by mind and how our minds are changed or converted to be like Christ's
- Our minds consist of thoughts and feelings
- Thoughts are comprised of:

•  Ideas or narratives - these are statements that summarize and capture what we think is most true about the world and ourselves, e.g. non-sinful, worldly ideas would include "individual freedom is the most important thing for all of us," or "it's vital that everyone looks inside first to assess their passions before deciding what to do with their lives." Kingdom ideas would include "live for eternity not the present," or "sacrificially serve others."
• Images are the symbols or icons that convey those ideas, e.g., the American flag or the cross of Christ
• Information is the data that supports those ideas and images. It could be the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights as a worldly example, and scripture as a kingdom example.

- Feelings are our emotions, attractions/repellants, and values. In our contemporary time, feelings usually govern our decisions, but we should know two things:

• Feelings are meant to be managed by self-control, as led by kingdom thoughts
• Feelings are meant to be influenced by kingdom thoughts, e.g. Romans 5:1-5, James 1:2-4, and Philippians 1:12,21

The transformation of thoughts and feelings is primarily achieved within gospel-centered congregations where thoughts are shaped by gospel teaching and the presence of the Spirit among his people. The result of all this is that personally and corporately we can practice and experience the beauty and goodness of God's will.

Summary of the Message
God has been abundantly merciful to us through the grace he has extended to us by his Son. That mercy includes his justifying us when we were guilty, empowering us to be freed from bondage when we were sinful, and promising us that he will use all things in our lives as expressions of those abundant mercies. Therefore, let us consecrate our lives fully to him.

Key Sermon Points
1. Christians live within the mercies of God
God is rich in mercy. And God’s mercy has been lavished on his children in abundant ways. First, “he made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions.” Though we are completely guilty in our sin, we have been saved from the consequences and the power of sin because of God’s love. Though we often think about this doctrinally, it is important that we embrace God’s mercy personally. He has forgiven and saved me from my many sins, and I live my life experiencing the many mercies that flow out of his love for me.

2. Because of these mercies, Christians surrender themselves fully to God
The Bible shows us that it is important for those who have experienced the mercies of God and have been saved by his grace, to live lives worthy of that grace (Eph4:1, Col1:10). In Romans 12:1, Paul shows that our total surrender to God is what balances out the abundant mercies God has bestowed upon us. So, we willfully offer ourselves totally to God, even as recognize that such a living sacrifice will often prove costly to us. But because it pleases God, as his children, we are eager to do it. This sacrifice is how we see that our hearts are “logically” aligned with God’s hearts, such that is our true worship.
3. The scope of spiritual discernment is wide as the world
Since the Spirit searches all things, in our text Paul explains that "the person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things." In other words, the scope of spiritual discernment is not limited to what some would consider "spiritual things," but discernment interprets all things spiritually.

Summary of the Message
The reality of the judgment is something every Christian should be mindful of, and all of
Christian ministry is intended to prepare us for that day. In our passage, Paul prays for his Philippian readers to be ready for that by developing discernment or the ability to practically approve spiritual excellence.

Key Sermon Points
1. Paul prays for abundant love
We should recall that God is love (1 John 4:8) and therefore he has poured his love into our hearts by his Spirit. So, Paul is describing a total culture of love in the church, where each person overflows increasingly with love toward all the others. This is seen through prioritizing the needs of others and not being focused on self-issues.  

2. Paul prays for abundant love to be harnessed by knowledge and sight
The abundant love Paul is praying for is also meant to be channeled or harnessed by their knowledge of God and his moral character. Though this includes knowing what God says about himself in his word, it is mainly the experience that God’s people have with his faithfulness and reliability.

3. The aim of Paul's prayer: hearts that approve of spiritual excellence
This gets to the very definition of discernment, which is approving of what is spiritually excellent. The key to a fruitful Christian life is a heart that values all that God values in this world.

4. The profile of a good Christian judgment: personal and relational integrity  
Paul’s ultimate aim is that we be found “pure and blameless” on the day of the Lord. He is not talking about justification here, but personal and relational integrity, which is one of the fundamental ways we will be judged, i.e., how have we treated others?

Summary of the Message
Despite the good faculties God has given human beings as his image bearers, human giftedness and wisdom are not sufficient faculties for understanding God's values and aims in this world. We can only adequately understand the gospel and its implications for us through the enlightening and teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Key Sermon Points
1. The gospel and spiritual truth are only communicated by the Spirit, not by good human insight and intelligence
Not only are good human faculties insufficient to grasp the gospel and spiritual truths, sometimes they seem in conflict, e.g., what we would naturally consider helpful and wise may conflict with the dynamics of discipleship. An example of that is Christ's call to self-denial. However, the words the Spirit gives connects us to rich realities of grace such as the love of God, his mercies, and the empowering presence of his Spirit.

2. Discernment is about developing a holy taste and preference for the things of the Spirit
Gospel truths make no sense at all to those who lack the Holy Spirit. So, is discernment simply the ability to see spiritual things rightly? It's more than that. Discernment is the proper spiritual valuation of things. Finding the things of the Spirit to be immensely valuable and attractive. So, discernment is having the right spiritual appetite which then determines what we value and how we interpret everything and everyone we encounter.

3. The scope of spiritual discernment is wide as the world
Since the Spirit searches all things, in our text Paul explains that "the person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things." In other words, the scope of spiritual discernment is not limited to what some would consider "spiritual things," but discernment interprets all things spiritually.

Summary of the Message
The key to being a transformational church is having a gospel culture that is grounded in the priority of peace that leads to expressions of praise and gratitude. This requires decisive work, but when the church fruitfully pursues peace and allows the gospel to set the agenda for its fellowship, it will be a light that leads people to Jesus and their trusting in him.

Key Sermon Points
1. Let the peace of Christ dwell in your hearts
The Lord is exhorting us to let peace be the decisive factor in all of our interactions and relationships within the church. We are tempted to make this a rule we must follow, but Paul explains that the location of peace's rule is in our hearts, so we must have an inclination toward peace and desire it with all of our brothers and sisters in the church.

2. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly
The message of Christ is simply a way of referring to the gospel, so Paul is telling us that the reality of the gospel, its redemptive message and meaning, is to be the cultural heartbeat of our church. What does this mean, you ask? It means that we should be reminded of our own spiritual desperation which helps us to be merciful and patient with others. It also makes us a very hospitable place for those who do not yet know Jesus and are experiencing the destructive force of sin in their lives. We are called to be gospel people!

Summary of the Message
Despite the common experience of Christians struggling with sin, we are assured by God's word that we can practically defeat sin. That doesn't mean that we will be sinless, but by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, sin can be weakened and utterly put to death in the life of the Christian.

Key Sermon Points
1. My being raised with Christ does not eradicate my earthly nature
Both our personal experience as well as the witness of scripture remind us Christians struggle with sin in their lives. But we must be reminded that even with the reality of sin, God still has a vision for the holiness of every Christian; we are saved not only from God's wrath, but also unto holiness and sanctification.

2. Sin is unacceptable in your life, so you must kill it
Sin does not go away on its own and grace does not remove it without our active participation. We are responsible to take decisive action to kill and remove sin from our lives. However, we should not think this is old-fashioned willpower. Sin is slain in the Christian's life as we yield to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, following his ways in every aspect of our lives. As we yield to him, we are changed by him. Our aim at Living Faith is to create an environment that encourages people to make changes in their habits, such as social media, that enables the Spirit's influence to increase in our lives.

3. God has placed you in a new culture of holiness and unity
The changes we make are more than external behaviors, but reflect that we are living in a new realm: the realm of the kingdom. Our behavior reflects a new kind of dress for the kingdom, which leads to our being renewed to look more like our Savior.

Summary of the Message
If we are going to move beyond spiritual mediocrity, we must take the essential step of "cleaning house" in our lives, those things which detract from the Lord's preeminent place. As we make those necessary changes, we begin to experience spiritual flourishing.

Key Sermon Points
Preliminary Point:  Spiritual mediocrity is normal, but it is not normative

1. God's word disrupts the normal
Even as we are settled into patterns of life that don't look the way God intends, the Lord has not given up on us. He signals that there is hope, often by small glimpses and signs of grace and his presence.

2. God is looking for people who can hear his word when it confronts the normal
The changes God calls us to is often difficult; we must have a moldable heart. There are three character traits that indicate we have a heart ready to be changed by God's word:
- Proximity - When we are where God wants us to be and near where he resides, which is seen in how and where we spend our time
- Humility - We have a teachable spirit which is seen in how we relate to people who have authority over us
- Availability - Our readiness to respond to what the Lord shows us is the precondition for God speaking meaningfully and personally to us

3. Community and experience are essential to discern and respond to the voice of God
We need the unique and distinctive experiences of each person and cultural legacy in the church to discern God's voice in a way that is relevant, since we often are blind to what we don't know

4. Genuine spiritual formation is not reform; it is radical renewal
Spiritual formation and growth are grounded in holiness, and we typically need to make sweeping changes to grow in godliness.

Summary of the Message
Though spiritual community and relationships are essential to our spiritual growth, we need to cultivate our direct and personal reliance on the Lord through the practice of solitude. God is calling us into a quiet and restful relationship with him, which is how we gain increased confidence in his ability to deliver us from the many things that threaten our faith and our lives. Practicing sacred solitude helps us to feel that keenly and genuinely.

Key Sermon Points
1. God is speaking
Since God speaks, we need to put ourselves in a posture that allows us to properly hear him. That posture includes confidence in that he longs to act graciously toward us. The Lord wants us to know his deliverance and saving attitude toward us.
2. A relationship with God means returning to God
There is potent, spiritual power in moving closer to God in relationship. IN fact, our becoming increasingly closer to the Lord causes the devil to pull back away from us. Our returning to him is an active thing for us as we takes care to purify ourselves before him. Coming into close proximity to God results in a quieter posture before him as we gain increasing confidence in him and his promises to us.
3. A relationship with God means resting in God
Resting in God is not a passive thing, it is actively trustinghim. Anexample of active trust is waiting for him to act on our behalf, praying in anticipation of his deliverance.

Practicing solitude deepens our dependence on God because it trains us through spending alone time with him without distractions, learning to discern his voice and acting on what he says to us. Don't think of solitude as simply alone time with God, but see it as running into the tower of his protection.

Summary of the Message
Fasting is a spiritual discipline characterized by self-denial and serious God-centered devotion. When seeking God, it is either 1) used to cultivate humility or 2) performed organically out of an inner state of lowliness and/or godly sorrow. It is, all at once, a tool, a response, and a sign, that reinforces our ongoing reliance on God.

Key Sermon Points
1. Fasting is a form of serious and intentional devotion to God
Consider the following passages: Zechariah 7:3-6; Isaiah 58; Matthew 6:16-18
Often times the religious practices we take part in are mere rituals and not truly spiritual. God is not moved by empty religious practices. We see this in the principle that obedience is better than making animal sacrifices (1 Samuel 15:22). Fasting that is acceptable to God is characterized by serious and intentional devotion to God and his will for our lives, not our own vices, pleasures, or the praise/acceptance of others.
2. Fasting humbles the soul by afflicting the body
Consider the following passages: Deuteronomy 8:1-3; Leviticus 23:26-28; Ezra 8:21-23; Lamentations 3:19-20; Psalm 199:67, 71, 75
God, in his faithfulness, often uses affliction to get his people back on the right track. There are times when he calls on his people to fast, a form of self-denial/affliction, in times where godly sorrow and humility must be cultivated. Sometimes affliction is needed to turn our pride/arrogance into lowliness and humble us into understanding and submission. Fasting can only be used by his people to humble themselves.
3. Fasting is a type of sign
Consider the following passages: Exodus 31:16-17; Ezekiel 20:12; Leviticus 23:26-28; Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:1-4
God often uses signs to remind us of promises, covenants, or what he does/has done for us. God has called for fasts and we've also seen him use hunger to remind his people that their reliance should be on him and his word. It is possible that the hunger experienced during fasting is meant to be a sign for us, a reminder, that although basic necessities are important, we don't live of those things alone.
4. God draws near to those who submit to him and humble themselves before him
Consider this passage: James 4:6-10

Summary of the Message
Spiritual Disciplines are not about creating a lot of do’s and don’ts. In our text, we explore the space that speaks to the mental stream or thought life of the believer. God enables the Christian not only to flourish, but to be an actionable witness to the world. Let us consider the exhortation of Paul from our passage as a reminder and encouragement that when we set our minds on the things not of this world, we experience the vast beauty stored for all of God’s people in this life and in the next.

Key Sermon Points
1. Managing the Mind
The mind of the believer must be managed in a way that differentiates the mind of those around us. The things we think and constantly feed our minds must match the desired outcomes we aspire to.
2. Seek Things Above
The things of this world only provide counterfeit, artificial temporary means that only further some of our inner sin challenges as Christians. Seeking the things above requires much more than compiling a statement of truths or theological frameworks but rather intentional and actionable decisions made towards the aim of Christ himself.
3. Seeking the things above is not a matter of pursuing what feels good to us or what can emotionally intrigue us. Seeking the things above indeed speaks to our salvific positioning in Christ but that ultimately, we receive and experience more of our intimate relationship with him! Christ promises us that when we seek him and the things above that we ultimately live a life that is of the Kingdom and not of this world.

Summary of the Message
Despite having ample evidence and knowledge of the power of prayer available to us as believers, why do so many of us fall short of the prayer life that God wants to have with us? David's declaration in Psalm 27:4 can be instructive here when he reveals that there is one thing that he desires above everything else: to dwell in the house of the Lord forever, gazing upon his beauty, and inquiring within his temple. Might our prayer lives flourish, too, if the one thing we desired above all else was to be in the presence of God?

Key Sermon Points
1. Prayer is a gift from God that is replete with benefits
But maybe the biggest blessing of all in prayer isn't what we get to receive from it, but who we get to be with in it. David seems to express this sentiment in Psalm 27:4.
2. David's ultimate desire is profound
David's ultimate desire to seek and experience the presence of the Lord above all is profound. Even more striking is the narrative we see running through the bible, Genesis to Revelation, of God's ongoing intention to make his home with us!
3. How do we cultivate this kind of desire?
First, as Augustine says, "You must account yourself 'desolate' in this world, however greate the prosperity of your lot may be." Jesus calls this being poor in spirit in the Beatitudes. You know and affirm that you have not lived the life to which God has called you, and that without him, you cannot do so now. Spurgeon describes it this way: "Not what I have, but what I have not, is the first point of contact between myself and God."
Second, we must come to understand God as Father. Only when we learn to see him as Father can we start to yearn for him like a child. As Tim Keller says, "The only person who dares wake up a king at 3 a.m. for a glass of water is a child. We have that kind of access."

Summary of the Message
It is normal for followers of Christ to find themselves in difficult circumstances, but it is also normal for God to deliver them out of those circumstances. Biblically we see this is one of the ways he proves his commitment to his people. Earnest prayer is his prescribed way of unleashing his deliverance presence and power.

Key Sermon Points
The church that earnestly prayers will see God's deliverance power!
1. Being "stuck" is not a problem for God
Peter's prison situation presents a "stuck problem" from which God will deliver him.
2. The church is the environment for the greatest moves of God
The church is where God's people most commonly encounter his manifest power. This points us to the importance of corporate prayer and the fact that it needs to be a priority in its own right in our gathering rhythms, not merely an attachment to praising and preaching.
3. The kind of prayer that moves God is heart-felt and earnest
One of the ways we express our earnestness in prayer is by persistence, even when we don't feel we are getting the answer from God immediately.
4. We should pray boldly and directly
We should pray boldly and directly about what we need deliverance from, or for the person who needs deliverance, or for whatever is the daunting situation confronting us.
5. We are reminded that God's presence and power is usually preceded by earnest prayer
Earnest prayer strengthens our witness of Christ to those around us who don't know him

Summary of the Message
Though anxiety is a common problem, it is also a soul-threatening problem. The Lord does not intend for us to be bound up in excessive and debilitating worry. His prescription for anxiety is prayer. Prayer in anticipation of our being heard and answered - prayer that is a spiritual balm to the heart and mind.

Key Sermon Points
1. Jesus is calling you out of worry:
Since anxiety is a fear of prospective harm or misfortune, it is fundamentally incompatible with faith. It's not that we will never experience it, but when we do, faith drives it away. Why? Because we are confident of God's commitment to providing for our needs.
2. Problems are providential pathways to power-encountering prayer:
The problems we face are real. God never suggests we should see them as minor. In fact, it's the exact opposite because our trials are indeed very major, we should urgently bring them to theLord, expressing petitions and requests for him to address them, yet we are to do this with a spirit of gratitude. We know that God's invitation to pray is grounded in the person and work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
3. Urgent situational prayer strengthens our souls:
What makes prayer powerful is not just that we do it, but we do it in real life. It creates the occasion for God to move into our lives and impact things very practically. When we pray like that and experience God's presence in the wake of praying, it brings a peace to our hearts and minds that is not explainable, but very experienceable.

Summary of the Message
The power of God's word to change us into Christlikeness is only unleashed when we live by his word, and that will only happen when we are motivated by a genuine love for God which then leads to our meditating on his word, soaking it into our souls. But it is not enough to know this in principle; we must also have a plan for practicing it in our daily lives.

Key Sermon Points
1. Preliminary point:
For those who are truly in Christ, it is not enough for them to know that they are saved - they also want to live holy and pure lives that pleases their Lord.
2. We need the right understanding: Living it is the key to being it
The human heart is a spiritual learning machine, so we need to train it in righteousness. We do that by surrounding ourselves with a righteous community, filling our minds with righteous thoughts, but one of the main things we do is practice the word of God to develop righteous habits.
3. We need the right motivation: A heart for God is a heart for his word
It is important for us to remind ourselves that a love for God is a love for his word, so we want to develop our love for God as we reflect on his love for us. Simply opening his word will move us closer in that direction.
4. We need the right action: Meditation lead to actualization
God's word does not work its way into our hearts simply by reading it; we need to meditate on it, meaning we need to sit over it slowly, reflect on it, ponder it, allow it to work its way into and then begin to change our very hearts. We need a regular practice for this. Everyone should have a plan for a "daily liturgy" where they make space for God's voice.