The Art of Holiness
Holy Rhythms: The balance between law and grace.
Here's the big idea this week: entire sanctification is by grace through faith, not works. That is great news! So yes, there are pitfalls of attempting to live a holy life — namely, the temptation to lean on legalism and black-and-white thinking. And that can so easily stir up unholy judgmentalism. But the great news is that we are saved by grace through faith, not works ... so we don't have to be right about everything, and we don't have to worry about whether everyone around us has it all down exactly right. Here's the wisdom of Kevin Watson: “Seek entire sanctification by faith. And because we receive entire sanctification by faith, we seek it as we are, not after we think we have sufficiently gotten our acts together.” Amen, all by myself!
Topics: Law and Grace
Embodying Holiness
These days we are learning who we are inside the holiness of God. In these conversations, we're learning that holiness is not slavery. It is freedom! It is God calling us toward our created purpose. And we're learning that Christ’s freedom is not freedom FROM but freedom TO (make a note of that ... we'll come back to it in a series on freedom in August!). Doing "holy" was never meant to be just sin management. It is freedom to explore the glories and habits of the Kingdom of God. This week, we'll go deeper still into this idea of living a Kingdom life as we explore holiness as an embodied experience. What does holiness require of us, physically? And how does holiness manifest in our worship?
Topics: Bodies, Holiness, Perfect Love, Pleasing God
Growing in Holiness
As we go deeper into the Art of Holiness, we want to consider our influences. Last week we discussed the unholy trinity of the world, the flesh, and the devil. This week we will look at how God’s character, real Christian community, and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit can grow us in dynamic ways. In many ways, these are the three key influencers that mold us more deeply into the love and holiness of God. So join us as we come to know who God is and experience His grace through His people and His Holy Spirit.
Topics: Community, God's Love, Holiness, Holy Spirit
Holiness of Mind
How can we be made perfect in love? In so many ways, this is the question of the Art of Holiness. This week we will look specifically at how to love God with all of our mind. The Church has long taught that the enemies of wholeness and holiness is the unholy trinity of the world, the flesh, and the devil. This week we will learn how to fight the battle for the mind with divine power so that we can walk in peace and freedom. See you Sunday!
Topics: Holiness, Take Every Thought Captive, The Battle in the Mind
Be Made Perfect In Love
Unfortunately, due to technical issues the April 23 sermon audio and video is not available for publication. We sincerely apologize for the gap in providing the service, and for any disappointment and frustration this has caused. Thank you for your grace as we work thorough learning new applications and equipment attached to our technical upgrades. We deeply appreciate your faithfulness in following our series of messages so closely. We appreciate you so much!
Topics: Christian Perfection
The Grand Depositum
Isn’t the very idea of holiness offensive in a 21st-century, no-holds-barred world? Shouldn’t that term be reserved for angry church ladies who want to suck all the fun out of life? Isn’t it for the few, the angry … them?
For us who live in a post-modern, highly educated world, the very idea of it raises suspicion. But what if we've got it wrong? This spring, we'll spend time talking about the biblical call to holiness and we'll discover that its not what we've been told. As it turns out, holiness is not an engineered life that keeps us from sinning, but the art of living fully. It is the good life! It is the pathway to joy and the ultimate form of freedom that calls out the best in us and causes us – when we live it well – to glorify God.
Topics: Holiness, Sanctification, The Good Life
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