What does God give to Christians caught in the midst of difficult situations & obstacles? A good life. Pastor Nate preaches through 1 Peter 3:8-12 showing some of the essential characteristics needed in order to stand in the midst of suffering, trials, and hardships. Christians need to be of one mind, realizing we engage with the world around us by standing together. We need to bless when cursed, guard our tongues and have a posture of repentance before God each and every day.
In Case of Fire: God's Design for Marriage
How are wives to submit to their husbands? How are husbands to be the head of the wife? Is this idea of husbands being the head and wives submitting outdated? What is God's design for marriage? What about the historic abuse of women by men? These and other questions are tackled by Pastor Scott Axtmann as he preaches from 1 Peter 3:1-7.
In Case of Fire: The Call to Honor
There is rebellion in the water. Our natural reaction to unjust authorities and forces is rebellion and dishonor, to overcome evil by any means necessary. In 1 Peter 2:13-25 we see God's desire for us to overcome unjust authorities through honor & submission. As Christians do good in the face of evil it puts to silence the foolishness of ignorant people. In God's hands it is an instrument used to change wicked hearts & minds. We worship and serve God in this way, knowing it is a gracious thing in God's sight.
In Case of Fire: God is Building a People Like Jesus
Pastor Scott Axtmann reminds us that God is building a people like Jesus. Jesus is our message, our role model, our obsession. Everything we do is about him, we are fanatics. As his people, we seek not to proclaim our goodness, but His goodness. Just as Jesus was despised and mocked, we take that mantle upon ourselves when we become his followers. We are sustained not by human approval, but by the God of the universe who has poured out his love upon us. We fight against the passions of the flesh not in our strength but in his strength.
In Case of Fire: God's Superkids
Elder Easton Dickson exhorts us to truly be the countercultural movement that God calls us to be. Our goal is nothing less than to live the perfect life. That means trusting God like babies, totally dependent on the milk of His Word for our entire sustenance. We can give no middle ground to sin as we radically break away from the world and run toward the better life.
In Case of Fire: Born to Love
Is your life marked by the presence of the Holy Spirit? Pastor Scott lets us know that true conversion is "not a mere mental ascent to a creed," but a heart transformation that begins with repentance. We've cheapened God's work of regeneration with formulas and tidy prayers. Unless we come to the end of our self-righteousness and admit our own sin, God's Spirit cannot truly dwell inside of us.
In Case of Fire: Motivations to Be Holy
"There is a battle for the occupation of your mind." We need to truly deal with our lifestyles, in the everyday details, if we hope for the holiness of Christ to shine through our lives. It's arrogant of us to think that we can grow spiritually if we feed ourselves on the inputs of the world, and then merely give the scraps of our time over to the Word. Our motivations to be genuine followers of Jesus need to far outweigh our motivations for a comfortable lifestyle.
In Case of Fire: Joy in Trials
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.”