NP Berean Sermons Podcast

In the early years after Jesus' earthly ministry, his followers faced huge challenges to their faith. Rampant persecution. Widespread confusion and even conflict about how this diverse family of believers (Jew/Gentile, slave/ free, male/female) should relate to the Jewish roots of their faith. Paul wrote to the churches of Galatia to remind them of the one true gospel: being right with God is through faith alone in Christ alone. He celebrated the beauty of this good news and the freedom it brings - freedom with a purpose! Today we, too, need to remind ourselves that Jesus + anything = a false gospel. Join in as we delight in the beauty of the True Gospel and experience the freedom and transformation it brings.

There is frankly a LOT of discussion about the relationship of the "Law" to believers in Jesus Christ. To muddy the waters more, there is a question about which law we're talking about - the Mosaic law (given to Jews at Mount Sinai) which has both ritual and moral laws, the books of the law (Genesis to Deuteronomy), the law that is the whole of the OT, the law of Christ (coming in chapter 6!), or the royal law (James 2:8). Paul will help us understand the purpose and beauty of the law as we continue in chapter 3 this week.

Paul continues to remind the Galatians (and us as we eavesdrop) that the gospel and the Holy Spirit are only received by faith. We can be confident that the curse of sin no longer lands on us because, by faith, Jesus has become cursed in our place. We no longer fear the doom and sting of sin, but can delight in the Spirit's presence in our lives! Truly, we don't DO anything to earn this, but rather Jesus has DONE this on our behalf.

This week we'll discover what could be considered a key verse in Galatians as Paul explains, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (2:20). What does it mean to be crucified with Christ? How are we no longer living, but Christ is living in us? What does it look like to live by faith? We'll tackle this and other truths as we continue our journey through Galatians!

As we launch into chapter 2, Paul continues to vehemently contend for the gospel of grace alone through faith alone, in Christ alone. We'll see how he highlights the beauty of the gospel and then explore the incredible implications for the times when we have absolutely blown it through our sin and disobedience. For those times of sorrow and regret, the gospel of grace gives us the right to pass out of darkness and live in the light!

To begin this letter, Paul has been addressing the distortion of the gospel. As he continues, he'll be highlighting the true gospel's divine origin and power to change a life (his own, for instance). We'll have the opportunity to hear Paul's own story about how the gospel radically transformed his life and how that transformation brought God much glory!

In the early years after Jesus' earthly ministry, his followers faced huge challenges to their faith. Rampant persecution. Widespread confusion and even conflict about how this diverse family of believers (Jew/Gentile, slave/free, male/female) should relate to the Jewish roots of their faith. Paul wrote to the churches of Galatia to remind them of the one true gospel: being right with God is through faith alone in Christ alone. He celebrated the beauty of this good news and the freedom it brings – freedom with a purpose! Today we, too, need to remind ourselves that Jesus + anything = a false gospel. Join in as we delight in the beauty of the True Gospel and experience the freedom and transformation it brings.

In John 17 we get a glimpse into the heart of Jesus as he prays to the Father for us. What does he pray? What does it tell us about God? How can it change us?

As we continue our brief year-opening series called "Back to Basics," we'll seek to open our eyes to an insidious threat to every person and group of people. It's the original threat to humanity and it plays itself out practically in a myriad of ways each and every day. Join us as we identify it and seek to bring it under the rule of Jesus Christ!

It's a wise practice in the shifting of time to reflect on where we've been (as we did last week with God Stories at the end of 2025) and set our minds and hearts on how we'd like to grow. At the beginning of this new year, we're taking three weeks to remind ourselves of truths that can help us seek and set our minds on things above - not on earthly things. These are three messages that seem significant for us at NP Berean as we seek to faithfully follow Jesus in 2026.

As we conclude 2025 with our final Sunday Gathering, we'll be first looking at Psalm 96 which calls us to Declare/Ascribe/Tell of God's greatness. After being reminded of that truth, we'll open the microphone for the body to testify to God's greatness through "God Stories."

For most of us, the Christmas story isn't new. In fact, we've likely heard it so many times that it’s easy to forget how good this news truly is. Luke 2 isn’t just a historical account, it’s life-changing news for anyone, anywhere! As we revisit this passage, in preparation for Christmas, may God give us fresh eyes to see how truly great this news really is, and what that means for our lives today.

As we conclude our study of Zechariah, we do well to heed Martin Luther's assessment: "Here, in this chapter, I give up. For I am not sure what the prophet is talking about!" So, with great humility we'll come to this end and recognize that we might not completely understand what is going on. But while we might not comprehend everything perfectly, we'll apply the "doctrine of least meanings." It asserts that we may not know exactly what this means, but we know it "at least means...." Once again, we'll get to delight in images of the Coming King!

We've seen the concept of the shepherd introduced in chapter 10, and chapter 11 will detail a "sign-act" where God calls Zechariah to literally become a shepherd so that Israel might see a tangible picture both of how God longed to shepherd his people and how his sheep refused his shepherding. In the process, we'll consider how well our own "under-shepherding" of others reflects the Good Shepherd as well as pondering how we're doing at following the Good Shepherd ourselves.

Where do we turn in our moment of need? When we realize we've got a problem or things look really dark - what is our first play? Really, we've only got two options, and that choice determines the course of our lives.

When we're desperate, beaten down, and broken…that's when we long for a hero to come to our rescue, restore what's been taken from us, and protect us from future harm. The true King is exactly that kind of hero, and he is coming!

The exiles are coming from 70 years of fasting and mourning. They've been practicing all the external behaviors of mourning for their sin, and they're wondering if their return to the Promised Land means they can finally put away their mourning and sorrow. But has their fasting really been about mourning their sin? Are they truly repentant for breaking their covenant with God? If we only read chapter 7, we'd see the Lord questioning and challenging his people. Praise God for chapter 8 which highlights that God, in his kindness and mercy, would turn their fasting into feasting!

We've finished the night visions of Zechariah and will be entering into the next part of the letter. When we need hope, where do we look? When our world threatens to dissolve into despair and anxiety, where do we turn? In the second half of the book of Zechariah, we'll see how God uses signs – symbols, actions, and his very words – to point the way for his people. Symbols like crowns, shepherds, fasting, and the temple offer hopeful messages of a coming King, a future feast, a generous God, and a caring Good Shepherd. Join in as we explore how these ancient prophecies serve as Signs of Hope for us still today.

As we explore Zechariah's final vision (corresponding to the first vision of God's reconnaissance riders among the myrtle trees), we once again have the curtain pulled back to see the heavenly realm. While there are similarities between the two visions, there are also several distinct contrasts between them. And those contrasts actually give us a better sense of what is going on in the original context as well as how this applies to us in 2025!