Encounter Podcast

God says through the prophet Isaiah that Jesus will be called Everlasting Father. Pastor Dave teaches the meaning of that phrase in the hopes that you will never again look at a manager scene without appreciating the wonder of the person who was lying in it.

God says through the prophet Isaiah that Jesus will be called Wonderful Counselor. Pastor Mike teaches the meaning of that phrase in the hopes that you will never again look at a manager scene without appreciating the wonder of the person who was lying in it.

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped. – Rev 5:11-14

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. (Mathew 6: 19-24)

The church is the vehicle through which we are sanctified through and through which God has chosen to reach the lost. To the disciples, Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:9) The local church is a community of believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. In obedience to Scripture, they organize under qualified leadership, gather regularly for preaching and worship, observe the biblical sacraments of baptism and communion, are unified by the Spirit, are disciplined for holiness, and scatter to fulfill the great commandment and the great commission as missionaries to the world for God’s glory and their joy.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live . . .” (John 11:25) The validity of our faith and the legitimacy of our hope are dependent on the reality of the resurrection of Jesus. Paul states, “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” Simply put, if Christ did not rise, we are still condemned.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Rom 5:6-11)

The Incarnation can be understood as the turning point for redemptive history. The point where God crashes the party by humbling Himself to become one of us. This Sunday we will discuss what this historic moment means for the redemption of mankind and for each of our lives.

Throughout the history of mankind, we see God perusing man in order to redeem him from the consequences of his sin. We see this clearly played out in the covenants that God enters into with Adam to David that are ultimately fulfilled in the New Covenant in Jesus and the church. As we study the Covenants of God, consider the motivation of God to pursue his creation. Hesed is God's loving-kindness —the consistent, ever-faithful, relentless, constantly-pursuing, lavish, extravagant, unrestrained, one-way love of God. It is often translated as covenant love, loving-kindness, mercy, steadfast love, loyal love, devotion, commitment, or reliability.

Up to this point, our study has been rightly focused on who God is, what He has revealed, and done, and it has all been good. Today we will discuss the contribution of man and we see the mess begin. It is essential that we have a right view of sin because it is the foundation for our view of man’s relationship with God, redemption, and ultimately salvation itself.

Then God said “Let us make man in our image...”(Gen 1:26) This declaration by God has profound implications for the dignity, value, and worth for all of mankind. Sadly, however, our culture continues to deny this truth and seek for meaning outside of God’s design for man. Even more disturbing is that many of us who belong to Christ do not experience the joy and freedom that comes from knowing and living out this truth.

The God of the Bible is a God who communicates with His creation to reveals Himself in two primary ways. Generally through all that He has created and Specially as He reveals Himself, His Son, His Spirit, His Word, and His plan of redemption, supernaturally to Christians.

We begin our study of what we believe, not with what God has done, but with who God is, for the simple reason that before God did anything, He was. So we consider who God is as He has revealed Himself in Scripture, as the one true, living, and Trinitarian God. God is for us the highest ideal and the greatest example. If we have a faulty view of God we will absolutely suffer in every way because we lack a correct understanding of what God is like, and subsequently, what we are to be like. That’s because we were made in His image and in His likeness. So as we approach what we believe about the Trinity it is exceedingly important that you know that we are talking about who God is, in his very essence and nature. Because everything is connected to our understanding of God.

Pastor Dave answers your question from a Biblical perspective.

Tim Gilman answers this important question from a Biblical perspective.