Your theology of suffering is important. As Pastor Scott takes us through the introduction to 1 Peter in this brand new series, he teaches us the place of grief and trials in our Christian walk. God does not cause sin, but He does let sin run its course in this life. Why? We cannot presume to know all the purposes of God, but one source of encouragement shines brightly for us all: Jesus suffered, and it is through that same suffering we must enter if we hope to know anything about the real Jesus.
Revival of the Local Church: Practice
“You can’t show the world Jesus by yourself.” We are meant to be a vital part of the local church. Without it, we are vulnerable to the deceptions of the world and powerless to make lasting change in the lives around us. In the last part of this series, Pastor Scott gives us a strong exhortation to make the local church the priority in our lives that scripture so clearly models for us. We should never make ourselves so busy as to let ourselves stay on the fringes of God’s great work.
Revival of the Local Church: Portrait
What are the marks of a healthy church? Pastor Scott describes a portrait of the kind of generous, passionate community that we should aspire to become as Renaissance. Our care for the broken must be fueled by a wild, almost barbaric energy for prayer. We have to learn to be sacrificial together, because “the local church is God’s primary instrument on the planet for drawing in lost people.”
Revival of the Local Church: Purpose
What does it mean that God is the designer of Renaissance Church? First, it means that together we are meant to make Christ visible to the world around us. Secondly, it means God has intended us to work together—like pieces of a puzzle, like the parts on a guitar, we cannot truly achieve God’s will for our lives until we’re connected to the larger Body He destined each one of us to grow in.
Easter 2013
If Jesus is risen, His message is true… If He is resurrected, it means we know who God is. We know what God is like—we know He’s good, we know He’s holy, we know He loves us with an everlasting love. We know He wants us. He showed us the heart of God. We know who God is. We’re not in the dark. We will be His people, and He will dwell in the midst of us forever.
Part 7 | New Birth
It seems that a great deal of people in society have come to believe about Jesus, but is that enough? The common feeling is that if we believe about Jesus, attend church and try to be good that we are “on our way to heaven.” But Scripture actually talks about a certain transformation that needs to take place, a rebirth. We must pass from spiritual death to spiritual life.
Part 6 | The Future
We promise others the hope of an eternal future in heaven, and yet what is heaven even supposed to look like? We’ve let our understanding of the future glory of God be influenced by popular media for too long, so this week Scott Yi addresses those faulty assumptions with an eye-opening look at the Biblical reality. When holiness is brought to completion, we will finally know who we are.
Part 5 | The Atonement
"Jesus died for your sins." We are often desensitized to the fact that this is the most powerful, most life-transformative proclamation that has ever been uttered. For what we’ve done, humanity does not deserve saving. Not many would sacrifice themselves for a good person, so who would ever exchange their life for their enemies? God’s love is staggering and beyond human capability. The only appropriate response is worship.
Part 4 | The Incarnation
Everyone has to make a decision about Jesus. In Part 4 of the Gospel Unveiled, Pastor Scott shares why the depiction of Jesus as merely teacher or merely a good man is not enough—in no uncertain terms, Jesus declared to be God. He was responsible for Creation, He had control over the weather, He brought the dead back to life, and He will claim this world as His Kingdom. How should we respond?
Part 3 | The Promise
There are roughly 300 prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament. The probability that only 8 of these prophecies could be fulfilled in one person is 1 in one hundred million billion. Pastor Nate takes us on a journey through the major prophecies about Jesus, showing us that in the grip of God’s plan of redemption, His love has remained forever steadfast.