What is the church for? We'll remember and consider anew this Sunday Jesus' "Great Commission" for his church. What is our role in Christ's mission, both as individuals and as a church, and how do we accomplish this task we've been given?
We begin our new spring/summer sermon series in the concluding portion of Genesis. We'll recap the overall message of Genesis as we prepare this season to hear and grow from God's word through the story of Joseph.
It can be common to view the church like one of many other non-profit organizations trying to do good in our world. However, Scripture makes clear that the church is wholly different. It's a powerful institution given spiritual authority as an embassy of God's heavenly kingdom. This Sunday we'll consider what kind of authority the church has, and why every Christian should submit to one.
This series is based loosely on the book, Authority by Jonathan Leeman.
The gospel impacts every area of our lives. As we continue in Ephesians this Sunday, the Apostle Paul applies his exhortation to submission in two significant places—our home and our work. We'll see how our union with Christ transforms our relationships with our parents and our bosses.
It's tough to follow Jesus when we're surrounded by people who don't—particularly when it comes to issues concerning sexuality. How can we faithfully live as light in the darkness? That's what our passage is all about this week.
How do people change? How do you change? Make a new year's resolution? Finding a new experience? Turn over a new leaf? In our passage this Sunday, we'll see more specifically how a Christian's union with Jesus Christ transforms our identity and enables us to live together as "members one of another."
What makes a church grow? Is it up to the pastor or a specific music style or a kind of program? We come this Sunday to a significant transition in Ephesians. From "grace in" to "grace out" or generally, from teaching to application. How does our union with Christ work out into unity with one another? And this Sunday, how does our union with Christ grow us in maturity together?
Last week, we saw how the power of God is at work in Christians as individuals, saving us from God's wrath by raising us up through our union with Christ. This week, we'll consider the other area where God's word points us to see his power at work: the church.
What do you pray about most? As we continue in our sermon series in the book of Ephesians, we move from praise (last week) to prayer. The Apostle Paul prays that the church in Ephesus—and Ruggles—would know Jesus better: his hope, our value, and his power.
We continue our sermon series through the book of Zephaniah. In chapter 2, we'll see that even though the Lord may use the nations surrounding Israel as instruments of his judgment, they are still accountable to him for their sin. God's justice falls universally on all people, including us.
It’s possible to claim to be a Christian yet not truly possess saving faith. This was the case in Sardis, the 5th of the 7 churches in Revelation 2-3. So how can we be sure we’re alive and not dead? Jesus says it’s all about the clothes we’re wearing, a metaphor for godly works that prove genuine faith.
Like fish, we're constantly swimming in the waters of our culture all around us. If we're not careful, we may end up like the church of Pergamum--faithful in some ways but compromised in others. This Sunday we'll hear Jesus' remedy for the church that is compromising in both doctrine and life, and we'll consider: Are there areas of our life, our church's life, in which we're compromising our faith?
Most people in Boston don't worship Jesus. Many don't understand and are even hostile to our faith. How do we persevere and not hide or give up in the face of persecution, not to mention the sufferings day-to-day life? Jesus has an encouraging word for the church in Smyrna, and for us.
If you're looking for a perfect church in Boston, you won't find one--Ruggles included, of course. Praise God that Jesus loves imperfect churches! This summer we're going to see how Jesus loves his struggling people through his letters to the 7 churches in Revelation 2-3, through words of commendation and a call to repent. We begin with the church at Ephesus. We'll see that it's possible to have right doctrine but lack love.
