Resurrection

Without the historic and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have no hope. The Bible contends that without the veracity of this single event recorded in the four biographies of Christ, we’d be wise to walk away from this entire movement we call Christianity. In the New Testament we are told that if we have no proof of Christ being the forerunner of our own life after death, then we certainly shouldn’t be submitting our lives to his directives.  Instead, we ought to “live it up” (1Cor.15:32), do what we want and perhaps begin looking for some other “lord” for our lives who hasn’t lied to us. If the Jesus the Bible posits as the King of Life, the One we are to trust as we face our own mortality­, if he himself is a permanent victim of the grave then he does not deserve our allegiance, our obedience, or even our attention. Remember when the critics pressed in on the fledgling church, those who preached a risen Christ continued to point to the facts. They reminded the skeptics that all these events, most notably the bodily resurrection of Christ ­ wasn’t some surreptitious story foisted on members of a clandestine club (2Pt.1:16). The events were out in the open, witnessed by multitudes. The accounts could be researched and verified. They were events that “were not done in a corner” (Ac.26:26). And because that young church knew for certain that Christ rose from the dead, verifying his message and validating his promises, they were not only ready to live for him, but they were willing to risk their own lives to get that message out!  As we celebrate his resurrection, I pray that we are ready to do the same!

- Pastor Mike

For more devotionals sermons and resources go to http://www.focalpointministries.org/

Christian Life

Some have tried to avoid the concept of “Christ’s life for me and my life for Christ” depicted in the gospel exchange (cf. 2Cor.5:15; Mt.13:44-46; Lk.14:28-33; Mt.10:37-39; et al.) by imagining a dichotomy in the Christian life.  They suggest that there are two alternatives when signing up for eternal life.  They claim that you can choose to be “an average Christian” (i.e., someone with a “simple trust” in Christ which delivers them from the penalty of hell) or you can choose to be “a sold-out disciple” (i.e., someone who is committed to following Christ on a day-to-day basis). This supposed dichotomy does not exist in the pages of the New Testament.  It is a creation of modern churchgoers to explain away the “all in” call of the gospel. Some say it is necessary to avoid the addition of “works” to the gospel equation. But clearly the Bible is not contradicting itself when it tells us that eternal life is a “gift of God” (Rom.6:23) and that the impact of the gospel will necessarily result in us becoming “slaves of God” who pursue “holiness” (Rom.6:22). The biblical gospel freely offers Christ’s life for us and demands my life for his.

Pastor Mike

For more devotionals sermons and resources go to http://www.focalpointministries.org/

The Gospel

Rightly understanding and properly responding to the gospel is of paramount importance. Nothing could have broader or more profound consequences than being right or wrong about the content and demands of the message that determines our placement in eternity. While that seems self-evident, it is amazing how many people have taken little or no time to seriously consider or diligently research what God has or has not said about heaven and hell. It makes no sense that our knowledge of this topic would be limited to the paltry concepts and limited explanations acquired from a few three-page tracts or a short set of extra-biblical phrases picked up in Sunday School or summer camp. We must all commit ourselves to assiduously studying the biblical gospel and not simply traffic in the findings of others. Like “good Bereans” (Ac.17:11), we must read God’s word with care to make sure that what the preachers preach on this topic is actually what the Bible says. We must never be satisfied with trite, shallow or superficial explanations when it comes to the gospel. The message is too important and eternity is at stake. Give this study your all and be sure about your findings!

-- Pastor Mike

For more devotionals sermons and resources go to http://www.focalpointministries.org/

Our Sin

The Bible says we are all born with a built in double standard – the one we apply to those around us and the other we apply to ourselves. We are innately proficient in detecting the sins and transgressions of others, but we are inept in perceiving our own. Consider the freeway foibles we encounter from time to time. When someone abruptly cuts into our lane, we are quick to assign a slew of incompetencies to the character and intelligence of the careless driver, but when we are the one edging into someone else’s lane we are quick to rationalize and defend our “mistake”. Note how quick we are to assign blame when we are wronged, and how rarely we apply the same standard to ourselves when we wrong others. God draws some sobering conclusions about our keen sense of discernment regarding the sins of others. He tells us in the book of Romans that “at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things” (2:1). God’s Spirit has been sent to fix this double standard. His job is to get us to see our sin the same way we tend to see the sins of others – as utterly sinful! This is a critical step in understanding the gospel. We cannot be cleansed of our sin until we clearly see it. Don’t miss this critical step. It is foundational to salvation.

-Pastor Mike

For more devotionals sermons and resources go to http://www.focalpointministries.org/