Humble Redemption (Romans 12:3)

The apostle Paul exhorts us to view ourselves with sober judgment.  We are not to think of ourselves as more highly than we ought to think.  Does this mean we deny that we have any gifts?  Does this mean that we do not have dignity?  What is Paul exhorting us to do as God’s children?  How do we evaluate ourselves without becoming arrogant? 

Here is the playlist to Romans 12.

Kingdom Entrance (2) (Matthew 21:23-32)

How does one enter the Lord's kingdom? This is a very important question. We can fall into an American trap and assume that we are worthy because we have done enough to pull ourselves up by our boot straps. This is contrary to what Christ is teaching in his parable. He is teaching us something about the tragedy of Israel’s history that communicates a tragedy about humanity: we do not want God. However, God comes to His people. How does this give us assurance that we can draw near to our God?

Already and Not Yet (Ephesians 1:15-23)

When we talk about the doctrine of eschatology we can think that this is just something that scholars talk about.  So, is there a place where the rubber meets the road?  Is there a place where the events in history that determine our future orientation give us hope today?  Why is Christ’s work in history so important in determining the outcome of history and our power today in Christ? 

Kingdom Entrance (Matthew 21:23-32)

Christ returns to Jerusalem after cleansing the temple and cursing a tree.  He is going to face the leaders of Israel and we can imagine that this is going to be tense.  Christ tells them that it is the prostitutes and the tax collectors who enter into the kingdom of heaven.  Does this mean that in order for us to gain entrance into the temple that we have to be a tax collector or a prostitute?  What is the point of Christ calling this to the leader’s attention?

Seventy Weeks (Daniel 9)

Daniel is in exile and desires to return to the Lord.  He is at the timing for the fulfillment of Jeremiah's 70 year prophecy.  While he is praying he receives a vision from Gabriel regarding 70 weeks.  Do we take these weeks literally or do the weeks communicate a bigger picture?

Living Sacrifice (Romans 12:1)

The apostle Paul exhorts us to live as a “living sacrifice to the Lord.” Does this mean that somehow Christ’s work is unfinished? Are we to sacrifice ourselves in such a way that if we are not martyrs for the cause of the Gospel then our lives are a fraud? Why does Paul exhort us to be Living Sacrifices?

Here is the playlist to Romans 12.

Eschatology: Church and Israel (Genesis 15; Galatians 3: 18-29)

The Lord calls Abraham out of his father’s house while giving a significant promise to Abraham: he would be the father of a multitude. Does the Lord's promise to Abraham apply only to the direct genealogical descendants of Abraham? Is the promise bigger than Abraham's genealogy? Is the church a different promise or is the church living out of the same promise made to Abraham? Who are Abraham’s children?

Kingdom Cleansing (Matthew 21:18-22)

Christ is on his way back to Jerusalem on the dawn of a new day.  The previous day ended with Christ expressing an unfavorable opinion of the holy city, and so has a night of rest changed his perspective?  We notice that Christ curses a fig tree while returning to Jerusalem.  Why would Christ bother to curse a tree and then talk about faith?  What does faith have to do with the fig tree, and why is Christ cursing the fig tree?

Romans 12: Series Introduction

This is the first video in a series where Pastor Paul Lindemulder considers ethics in the Christian life. We can see a tension between being saved by the grace of God, but then we are still called to live as living sacrifices. How does this all fit together? So, we consider Romans 12 as a model for the Apostle Paul to remind us of Christ's work, but then he moves to exhort us to live out of gratitude.

Here is the playlist to Romans 12.

Eschatology: Guaranteed Triumph (Genesis 3:15)

The Lord made very clear to Adam and Eve that if they fail to protect or obey the Lord they will die. We find that they do in fact fail, they do eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but they still walk out of the garden of Eden. Did the Lord make a false threat? What is death and the intention of death? Is the Gospel promised only through the prophets or do we find a Gospel promise earlier in Scripture?

Temple Cleansing (Matthew 21:12-17)

Our Lord arrives in Jerusalem with a remarkable reception.  The people praise him as the Lord he is, they throw down their cloaks, and it seems that Christ is able to take the city by storm.  However, Christ runs through the temple overturning tables, and driving people out of the temple.  Why does Christ react this way?  What does the temple tell us about the state of God’s people in this time?

Concluding Implications

This is our seventh and final part of our series on baptism.  We considering some of the things that we have learned and wrap up this series.  If you have any questions please reach out to me through the contact us section on our webpage http://urcbelgrade.com 

Here is a link to the “Introduction to Baptism” playlist.

Correlation of Baptism and Circumcision

This is our sixth part in our seven part series on baptism.  We consider the issue of whether the sign of baptism and the sign of circumcision have a correlation.  It is clear that the shedding of blood is finished in the Old Testament, but what about consecration?  Is there any significance of death?  Is there significance of being consecrated through death?  

Here is a link to the “Introduction to Baptism” playlist.

Circumcision is Spiritual

This is the fifth part of our seven part series.  Some claim that circumcision is a physical sign, for a physical people, and it designates a people tied to a physical land.  The assumption is that the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit is not necessarily symbolized in this sign.  So, is circumcision symbolizing the work of the Spirit?  Is there a spiritual nature to circumcision?

Here is a link to the “Introduction to Baptism” playlist.