Sermon by Jon Ludovina on November 24, 2024.
Before wrapping up our Year of Biblical Literacy with a series on the book of Revelation, this week we zoom out and look at our reasons for doing this initiative, and the fruit we pray comes as a result. We will see that in the midst of our chaotic lives and the many distractions of modern life, God’s Word offers us a beautiful invitation.
Sermon by Jake Blair on November 10, 2024.
The book of Hebrews concludes by pulling on one final Old Testament thread: the Kingdom of God. Through Jesus, His church is called to embody Heaven on Earth as we live in this already-not-yet tension. So, what does that look like for us? How can we experience more of His Kingdom in our lives, in our community, and in our world?
In response to this week’s sermon, here are some practical next steps:
Sermon by Jon Ludovina on November 3, 2024.
How would you define "faith"? That word is so foundational to following Jesus that it can easily sound like white noise, losing its power and meaning. This week, we look at Hebrews 11 to clarify what that means and how it enables us to endure whatever we face.
This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative.
Sermon by Jon Ludovina on October 27, 2024.
Last week, we taught that Jesus is our perfect priest, tabernacle, and sacrifice. In light of that, this week in Hebrews 10, the author says how to put that into practice. How do we help each other persevere and keep one another from falling away?
This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative.
Sermon by Jake Blair on October 20, 2024.
This week, we look at one of the most foundational concepts in the Old Testament: the temple, the priests, and the sacrifice. While these might sound strange and foreign in our present-day culture, we'll learn why they matter to us and what they tell us about following Jesus.
This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative.
Sermon by Jon Ludovina on October 13, 2024.
This week, we look at Hebrews 3:7-19 which includes a repeated call from an Old Testament story: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." What is the nature of that rebellion, and how is hardening your heart spiritually dangerous? How can we guard our hearts from the deceitfulness of sin?
This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative.
Sermon by Jake Blair on October 6, 2024.
This week, we look at Hebrews 3. In this chapter, the author focuses on one of the most towering figures of the Old Testament, Moses, and how, as great as he is, he ultimately falls short. So how is Jesus better than Moses, and what does this mean for us as followers of Jesus?
This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative.
Sermon by Jake Blair on September 29, 2024.
We began our new series last week discussing how Hebrews cites hundreds of Old Testament stories, characters, and ideas that all culminate in the person of Jesus. This week, as we look at Hebrews 1-2, the author cites an Old Testament concept that, although it may be foreign to us, is profoundly significant to understanding who Jesus is.
This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative.
Sermon by Jake Blair on September 22, 2024.
Near the tail end of our Year of Biblical Literacy, we come to the rich, dense book of Hebrews. It’s full of callbacks and history, threads pulled from all across the Old Testament. The author assumes intimate knowledge of the old covenant –the sacrificial system, the tabernacle, the promised land–and then shows that they were incomplete, only “copies and shadows.”
Each is an arrow pointing to Christ, who himself becomes the mediator of the new covenant–the perfect high priest, the meeting place between God and man, the source of eternal rest for those united to him.
This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative.
Sermon by Jon Ludovina on September 15, 2024.
This week, we look at Mark 9:33-37 and how Jesus redefines greatness for his disciples. So, what does being great in the kingdom of God look like, and how can we experience that now?
This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative.
Sermon by Jon Ludovina on September 8, 2024.
This week focuses on the story of the rich young ruler from Luke 18:18-29 and how he, though he had nearly everything in this life, couldn’t experience Jesus’ kingdom. So what might be keeping you from experiencing Jesus’ kingdom? What idols might have their hold on you?
This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative.
Sermon by Jake Blair on September 1, 2024.
Jesus’ teaching ministry is summed up in one word: repentance. This week, we look at how this applies to our church family. For example, what happens when people following Jesus sin against each other? What does repentance look like, then? How can we, as part of God’s kingdom, move forward if we’re stuck in bitterness and resentment?
This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative.
Sermon by Adam Gibson on August 25, 2024.
Last week, we talked about repentance. In many ways, repentance opens the door to becoming the beautiful person you ought to be because repentance makes us right with God and allows these words spoken over Jesus to be spoken over us: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative.
Sermon by Adam Gibson on August 18, 2024.
How would you summarize Jesus’ teachings? Depending on who you ask, you’re likely to get different answers. However, Jesus’ summary statement is actually one of his first statements in the Gospels: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
In other words, Jesus’ life and teachings are all about ushering in God’s loving rule and reign on Earth as it is in Heaven. So what might His kingdom look like in our city, and how do we faithfully follow Him in our time and place?
Join us for five weeks as we examine Jesus’ teachings and consider how we can experience more of His kingdom in Columbia as it is in Heaven.
This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative.
Sermon by Jon Ludovina on August 11, 2024.
On our last week in the Psalms, we’re going to look at a Psalm that brings many of the other Psalms together and shows us how to build a rock-solid identity on God. It’s a Psalm that helps us see how to become the kind of people we want to become—the kind of people who know who we are in a way that cannot be shaken.
This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative.
Sermon by Jon Ludovina on August 4, 2024.
No matter what the headlines say, Psalm 146 shows us how to have hope that lies beyond our current political landscape—a hope that empowers stable, faithful, and joy-filled living in unstable times.
This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative.
Sermon by Adam Gibson on July 28, 2024.
In our time, there are many competing ideas regarding how we think of children. And yet, Psalm 127 cuts through the noise to offer a vision for thinking about the next generation.
This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative.
Sermon by Ryan Rike on July 21, 2024.
This week, we hear from our care pastor, Ryan Rike, as we examine Psalms 42-43 and learn how to deal with difficult emotions.
This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative.
Sermon by Jake Blair on July 14, 2024.
Good stories captivate and change us, and the Bible does this on a much bigger scale. This week, we’ll explore Psalm 1 and the power Scripture has to transform us.
This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative.
Sermon by Jake Blair on July 7, 2024.
The Psalms are a unique collection in the Old Testament: 150 poems, songs, and prayers covering approximately 1,000 years of Israel’s history. The writers cover everything from hatred to pure joy and nearly everything in between. Some of the language and honesty in the Psalms are shocking–even uncomfortable to hear–because of how unfiltered they come across.
Amidst the raw emotions, the Psalms offer a beacon of hope. They guide us to understand what’s going on in our hearts and how to realign ourselves with reality, offering a path to transformation and spiritual growth.
In this series, we’ll spend six weeks looking at specific chapters as we ask how God wants us to shape us as His people.
This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative.