We have been asking members of our church—men, women, and students—to participate in the public reading of Scripture. Each week, the reader leads us in a short call and response. Afterward, the reader says, “This is the Word of the Lord” to which the congregation responds, “Thanks be to God.” Most have enthusiastically accepted this while some have wondered why.

As far as I see it, there are three aspects of a Christian. Knowledge, obedience, and affection. And as we are maturing in our walk with Christ, each of those should be growing. We should be deepening our knowledge of Christ, our obedience to Christ, and our affections for Christ. These are not three steps to reach maturity, they are three stages in a cycle of maturity.

A covenant is a promise or vow between two (or more) parties. They can be either conditional (dependent on both parties fulfilling their end of the deal) or unconditional (only dependent on one party fulfilling their end of the deal). In the case of the Abrahamic Covenant, it is an unconditional covenant between God and Abram.

Although Jesus arrived two centuries ago, he is as alive today as he was two million years ago, and two billion years before that, and two trillion years before that. This man named Jesus is not just a man; he is God in the flesh. This is what separates our faith from religions around the world.

Through an examination of Romans 1-8, it is evident that justification, sanctification, and glorification are indispensable marks of the Christian life because Christians are saved, being saved, and will be saved.

The Scriptures are authoritative because they are themselves the very words of God. Not only that, but the content within the pages of Scripture document and testify to the life and ministry of Jesus.