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Set Free

In Bible Study, Blog, John on
January 16, 2023

The Bread of Life

I don’t know about you, but I really love bread.

I love all kinds of bread. I eat bagels in the morning for breakfast. I eat buttered toast for an evening snack. My go-to bakery item at Starbucks is banana bread. When I place an order at Panera Bread, I never ask for the chips or the apple—I always go for the baguette. If a restaurant brings breadsticks before the meal, you can bet I’m going to eat one (or two). I’m a believer that consuming chili without cornbread is sacrilegious. And if I suddenly woke up with a gluten allergy and couldn’t eat any kind of bread any more, I think I would die. (Okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic, but I would be very, very sad.)

All of that being said, bread is great, and a lot of people think so. In fact, every country and culture around the world has some form of bread as a basic staple of their diet. The ancient Jews once had a very special kind of bread that they treasured dearly. However, their great affection and desire for this bread made them miss an even greater Bread that was right in front of them.

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In Bible Study, Blog, Exodus on
December 18, 2022

Out of Captivity

Christmas is a truly joyous time of year. Carols are playing on every radio and loudspeaker. Streets and avenues are lit up with twinkling lights. Homes are filled with the delicious scent of gingerbread cookies and the cozy warmth of the fireplace. And families gather to watch classic movies and celebrate this holiday with great cheer.

But Christmastime is not so jolly and wonderful for everyone. Instead, it’s a reminder of a loved one’s devastating passing. It dredges up old memories that we would rather leave forgotten. It can make us feel like we are lost and alone, desperately seeking a way out of our misery.

We’re certainly not the only people in history who have felt these things—lost, alone, forgotten, miserable, grieving, anxious, hopeless. But there is hope—there is always hope. And if anyone can remind us of this truth, it’s a baby born in captivity many centuries ago.

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In Blog, Holy Spirit, Theology on
October 30, 2022

The Holy Ghost

Today is Halloween—the day where it’s all of a sudden acceptable to encourage your kids to stay out after dark and take candy from strangers. I grew up in a conservative, southern Baptist home, so I never really celebrated Halloween. I attended a handful of fall festivals in my childhood years, but I never went trick or treating, or walked through haunted houses, or decorated with spiderwebs and tombstones.

However, I once saw a Halloween decoration that I think my parents could get on board with. It was an outdoor sign made of different pieces of wood that were all painted in a variety of fall colors, and it read, “The only ghost that lives in this house is the Holy Ghost.”

The Holy Ghost, aka the Holy Spirit, can sometimes be a mystery to many believers. Who exactly is the Holy Spirit, and what exactly does He do in the world and in our daily, personal lives? Well, gang, it’s time to hop in the Mystery Machine and grab your Scooby Snacks because we’re about to discover that this Ghost is not as mysterious or daunting as He may seem.

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In Blog, Church, Theology on
August 14, 2022

One Another

Church attendance in America is steadily declining. According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, only thirty-six percent of professing Christians attend a local church at least once a week. Only forty-six percent attend at least once a month. This means that over half of those who claim to be Christian in this country never attend church or only attend a few times a year—probably on Christmas, Easter, and other special occasions.[1]

There are many reasons why someone may have stopped attending church over the past few years. Perhaps after the COVID-19 pandemic, they didn’t see a need to return to an in-person gathering when they can just watch the services online.  Maybe they’ve fallen prey to the deconstruction movement and are rethinking what they believe about God and the Bible. Or it’s possible that the rise of sexual abuse allegations against pastors and other church leaders have convinced them that the church is a broken system that can’t be repaired.

However, the truth is that Christians need the Church. God created human beings for community, and we’re not meant to do life alone (Genesis 2:18). Christians are commanded to gather with a local body of believers because we need the help and encouragement they can provide as we continue in our faith journey (Hebrews 10:24-25). The Church is our community, and as our community, we have a role to play in it. As the Church, we are to welcome one another, grow one another, and serve one another.

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In Bible Study, Blog, Luke on
June 20, 2022

Jesus Draws Near to the Hopeless

For many, many years, anxiety has been my nemesis. It looks and feels different from day to day. Sometimes I get this panicky, jittery feeling in my chest or I have difficulty breathing normally. Sometimes I develop stomach aches or become very scatter-brained when I try to think through what needs to get done for the day. Sometimes I’m much more emotional about something than I might normally be. There are some days when I barely feel any anxiety at all, but they are other days when I am absolutely miserable and wish it could all just go away.

I’ve struggled with anxiety for a long time, and I’ve prayed over and over again that the Lord would take it away from me. But He never has. I know there must be a reason that God has allowed me to wrestle with these feelings and symptoms for so long. I know He is no cruel dictator and that He loves me greatly, far greater than anyone else ever could. However, at times, I just feel hopeless, like there’s no hope of ever being free and at peace.

Perhaps you feel the same way—hopeless, like you have no chance of finding any peace or relief from whatever is your greatest struggle. But these people—those who have lost all hope—are exactly the kind of people Jesus draws near to. And we can see this clearly in Jesus’ encounter with a hopeless woman in Luke 8.

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