A People for God

We begin a new sermon series, A People for God: Renewing the Mind of the Church.

We are a forgetful people in a land of distractions. Our minds are easily captivated by trivial and temporary inducements. New things quickly become old. In our mind’s eye even glory tends to fade and warnings tend to wane. It is no wonder that we who are invisibly united to Christ and visibly in and not of this world live in constant need of renewal. And what is true for the Christian is true for the church. This is a series that seeks to renew the mind of the church. Not so much by reviewing what she is called to do as much as what she is called. As with the Christian so with church, her God-given identity defines her. We who are the church are a people for God and none other.

Before we return to the book of Romans, we will be looking at the what scripture says about the Church, in its nature, how she expresses herself in song, and how the church cares and equips for its members.

The messages from this series can be found here:

Manny Pereira - October 15, 2023

Christ Justified - Part 2

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The glorious heights of invincible prevailing love in Christ throw into stark relief the shadowy depths of the separation of all without Christ. The emotions continue to run high, but now it is the flipside of grace that finds expression. The intense agony that Paul personally experiences over the condemnation of his Jewish kinsmen who reject Christ is nowhere more powerfully disclosed than here. Yet even this serves a deeper purpose. Like nowhere else, Paul shows Christ to be vindicated in all the fullness of His glory, though despised and rejected by His own people. Romans extols the gospel that presents sinners justified in Christ. And when sinners are not justified, Christ is.
Part one focused on the Heart of Christ manifest in Paul. This second part takes a more concentrated look into the Heritage of Christ and the Height of Christ. It considers the high privileges of Israel as a nation and the depth of her failure. Crowning the whole is the centrality and exaltation of Christ. Christ, though rejected by Israel, is vindicated in all the fullness of deity. Indeed, the first step to understanding Romans 9 is an understanding of the exaltation of Christ.

Scripture References: Romans 9:4-5