The Apostle Paul has been inspecting the troops at Corinth. Now he is now ready to give his final marching orders. These are particularly relevant to our lives. They are not options or mere suggestions. These are the commands of a five-star general in the army of the early church. The recovery to spiritual health in the Christian community in Corinth will require extraordinary attentiveness, stability, courage, endurance, and love.

We need these qualities today if we are to be ‘steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord’. Now thanks be to God who gives us this victorious life to experience moment by moment!

Join us this Sunday as Pastor MacAdam continues to unpack the final chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.

It is important to regularly check possible blind spots in the area of our human sexuality.

The catchphrases of our day need to be questioned: “My body, My choice”. “If it feels good, do it.” “Trust your heart.”

“All things are lawful for me” was a popular saying among church members in first century Corinth. However, it was easily misunderstood and needed clarification. The Word of God gives us clear boundaries about the use of our bodies. And not everything permissible within the bounds of God’s law is beneficial for us and for others. God’s good gifts can be abused. Appreciation for good things can lead to the blasphemies and bondages of idolatry and addiction.

Paul gives us an important reminder: The body is designed to be the instrument for accomplishing God’s purposes in the world. In the process of backing up this claim, he exposes common blind spots in our thinking about human sexuality and our physical bodies.

The Son of God by taking on a human body in the Incarnation and retaining a physical human body in the resurrection and ascension, has dignified the body for eternity. God expects us to treat our bodies as Christ treated His. Our resurrected bodies will have an important function in the age to come. What we do with our bodies today matters.

Join us this Sunday as Pastor MacAdam unpacks this important teaching from 1 Corinthians Chapter 6: “You are not Your Own”.

The marriage rate in the United States is now at an all-time low. It is reported that millennials are the first generation in our nation’s history where a majority remain unmarried (56%). Certainly, it is not always by choice. However, many young women are choosing sterilization rather than hoping for motherhood. Of those women who do choose to bear children, many postpone starting a family until a ‘convenient time’ when children can ‘complement their preferred lifestyle'. Children are considered a ‘nuisance’ until they qualify as ‘educated’, ‘useful’, and perhaps can give their parents sufficient bragging rights at soccer games and the like.

Today, in 25 States, the death rate exceeds the birth rate. Ironically, some of the loudest political voices advocating government sponsored childcare don’t have children.

Children were not highly esteemed in Jesus’ day either. The disciples were annoyed when young children were being brought to Jesus so He could pray for them. Jesus became indignant and rebuked his disciples. He insisted that children be valued. He saw each child, no matter what their age, as a living soul made in His image. Like all humans, every child desperately needs salvation. They need to repent of their sins and believe the gospel. But unlike many adults, young children give no pretension of being able to acquire salvation by themselves. They need a Savior.

Join us this Sunday as we explore the indispensable quality that is required in order to receive the kingdom of God.

Mark 10:15 15  "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all."

We will be hosting a time of dedicatory prayer for young families, commending parents and children to the gracious care of our Lord and to the Scriptures so they can know the way of salvation. We also pray that our New Life Community will be a supportive influence in the lives of the young ones among us.
 

Are you given to the deluding influences of the world, or the clarifying, mind-renewing and transformative influences of God’s Word?

Are you ready to secure and maintain a sanctified tradition that is inspired by the Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit Who gives the believer a love for the truth?

In 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2, the Apostle Paul reminds the New Testament church that there is a tradition that safeguards believers from being swept downstream by an ungodly culture. There is a practical defense that shields the mind from the deceptive ‘lies’ and ‘lying wonders’ of this world. What is this sanctified tradition?  It is the tradition of continuing to feed on the Word of God and live according to its revelation.
Because human nature is prone to believe lies and resist truth, it is imperative that believers develop a sanctified tradition, energized by the Holy Spirit, of holding fast to what is written in God’s Word.

When the Apostle Paul exhorts the Thessalonians to “Stand firm and hold to the traditions which they were taught”, he is not referring to man-made traditions that compete with or contradict God’s Word. The word ‘tradition’ simply means that which is handed down from one person to another. Paul is speaking of the importance of holding firmly to what the designated authors of the Bible were inspired to communicate of revelation of God’s self-revelation. Here the tradition Paul is speaking of refers to the ‘apostles' doctrine’ or ‘the faith that was once and for all handed down to the saints’, the inspired Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments (2 Thessalonians 2:15; Acts 2:42; 2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Peter 3:16)

Join us this Sunday as we encourage one another to hold fast to that which we know to be true. Join us for Part 3 of the Apostle Paul’s message designed to “Stabilize the Shaken”, our continuing study of 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2.

• Pastor David MacAdam  

I am excited about the ‘take home’ value of the Lord Jesus’ letters to the seven churches found in the Book of Revelation. In these letters, the Lord Jesus Himself is giving us the keys to living in revival.  I’ve titled Sunday’s message, “The Danger of Living in A Dream State” (Revelation 3:1-6).  In Revelation Chapters 2 and 3, all the churches are called to be fully awake to the One who is in their midst.

The first chapters of the Book of Revelation focus on the privileges of our new life in Christ.  His life is the Overcoming Life!  He offers us what it takes to live a life that is well-pleasing to Himself and brings benefit to others.  Through fresh obedience to Christ we can overcome difficulties, discouragement, complacency, distractions, compromises with worldliness, deceptions of false teachings and false practices, and the kind of leniency that permits the enemy of our souls to extinguish our potential from bringing the glories of Christ to light in our part of the world.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”

Pastor David