December 31, 2017 | Pastor Roger Melson | The Triumphant Display of God's Gracious Covenant | Genesis 9:18-29

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December 31, 2017 | Pastor Roger Melson | The Triumphant Display of God's Gracious Covenant | Genesis 9:18-29

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December 24, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Accepting God's Plan | Matthew 1:18-25

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December 24, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Accepting God's Plan | Matthew 1:18-25


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December 17, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | The Prayers of St. Paul: Fanning the Flame of Your Calling - Part 4:“Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you” | 2 Timothy 1:12b - 14

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December 17, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | The Prayers of St. Paul: Fanning the Flame of Your Calling - Part 4:“Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you” | 2 Timothy 1:12b - 14


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December 10, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Prayers of St. Paul: To Fan the Flame of Your Calling - Part 3 | 2 Timothy 1:9-12

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December 10, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Prayers of St. Paul: To Fan the Flame of Your Calling - Part 3 | 2 Timothy 1:9-12.

December 3, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Prayers of St. Paul: To Fan the Flame of Your Calling - Part 2 | 2 Timothy 1:8-14

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December 3, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Prayers of St. Paul: To Fan the Flame of Your Calling - Part 2 | 2 Timothy 1:8-14

Prayers of St. Paul: To Fan the Flame of Your Calling | Part 2
2 Timothy 1:8-12

As before noted, Paul is writing to Timothy in Ephesus from a Roman prison. The tone from his first letter has changed dramatically. Paul has been in prison for up to 7 years. He has languished for this long time without any dramatic changes in his status. He has become weary and sick. There is trouble in Ephesus. Several of the elders and other preeminent persons have, in Paul’s absences begun to alter the message of the Gospel. This is not a hard thing to understand for the true nature of the Gospel is offensive. The Gospel’s message would be more acceptable if it were not for the need to admit ones utter sinfulness and the need for a Savior. This is highly true even for those who claim to be followers of he Way. From his own context of weakness, Paul draws from the calling he has received to stir up the calling in Timothy. What is the way to correction of error? Preach the Word with clarity and without compromise. Magnificent words for Timothy to hear and magnificent words for us today.

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November 26, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Prayers of St. Paul: To Fan the Flame of Your Calling - Part 1 | 2 Timothy 1:1-7

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November 26, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Prayers of St. Paul: To Fan the Flame of Your Calling - Part 1 | 2 Timothy 1:1-7

This is the last letter that the Apostle Paul will ever write (that has survived). The letters to Titus and Philemon follow the writing of Paul’s first letter to Timothy. Paul is writing to Timothy in Ephesus from a Roman prison. The tone from his first letter has changed dramatically. Paul has been in prison for up to 7 years. He has languished for this long time without any dramatic changes in his status. He has become weary and sick. He recognizes that his time is nearly over on the earth. He is reflective yet determined to finish his life in a firm faith and has tried to affirm, encourage, correct and warn those whom he has left to the work in the churches he established. His last letter is to Timothy shows us the Paul’s – weary, but not broken. This is his last letter to a dear son. What will he say? What will he leave with him? Paul rises to the occasion as he draws not from his current condition, but from his calling. He presses upon Timothy the importance of what resources he already has at his disposal: most critically, his inner calling to the ministry. From here Paul will continue to impress upon his young son in the Lord the foundations of calling to ministry.

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November 19, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Prayers of St. Paul: For a Calling that Overcomes Chains | Acts 26:29

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November 19, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Prayers of St. Paul: For a Calling that Overcomes Chains | Acts 26:29

Prayers of St. Paul: For a Calling that Overcomes Chains
Acts 26:29

What is calling to the ministry of the Word, the Gospel, the Message of Christ? How does it manifest itself in life? When I say, “I am a Christian,” what does that mean and, more importantly what does it call me to do? Today we will look into the last moments of the active ministry of the Apostle Paul. After an incredible journey which started in Macedonia with a small insight, a directive for the Lord, opposition to this instruction by every one who met him, some pleading “in the Holy Spirit” that he would abandon this calling, after being arrested, living under a death sentence, going under illegal scrutiny by a Jewish council and later, enduring a legal examination by kings and governors of Judea, being rescued by a call to be heard by Caesar, getting free passage to Rome (all expense paid), and finally placed in a pre-release supervised home under his own recognizance and awaiting the final verdict on his life. Here in chains he comes for another, perhaps a last opportunity to simply plead for freedom, receiving a verdict of innocent, sentenced to time served, the Apostle Paul makes his final appeal for makes his closing remarks. Today we will examine that last statement and perhaps recognize the we are under the same mandate for our lives.

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November 12, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | The Letters of St. Paul: Thanksgiving for Old Friends | Philippians 1:1-11

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November 12, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | The Letters of St. Paul: Thanksgiving for Old Friends | Philippians 1:1-11

The Letters of St. Paul: Thanksgiving for Old Friends
Philippians 1:1-11

Philippi was named after the father of Alexander the Great, Philip of Macedon and later annexed by Rome. At the time of Paul's second missionary journey Philippi had been transformed into a leading colony of the empire. In Acts 16, Paul, Silas, Timothy (and Luke) came into contact with the people of Philippi on Paul’s second missionary journey. Having been restrained from going into Asia, the missionary band traveled north along the border of Galatia trough Mysia. From there they traveled south to Troas, took a ship and arrived at the port city of Neapolis. From there they took the nine mile walk to Philippi. They stayed in Philippi several days and each morning they went down to the riverside to pray. There the met Lydia and woman from Thatyira. Paul spoke to her and shared the Gospel. The Lord opened her heart and she became the first believer. Many converts came from Paul’s preaching and a large number formed a church in Philippi. They were energetic and generous toward Paul’s person and mission. At the time of this writing, perhaps 27 years later, from a prison cell in Rome, Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians. In the very first lines of the letter, he launches into a beautiful and meaningful prayer for the Philippian church and for us today.

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November 05, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Prayers of St. Paul: For the Joy of the Gospel’s Power | 1 Thessalonians 1:1-3

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November 05, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Prayers of St. Paul: For the Joy of the Gospel’s Power | 1 Thessalonians 1:1-3

Prayers of St. Paul: For the Joy of the Gospel’s Power
1 Thessalonians 1:1-3

The letter to the Thessalonians is among the earliest writings of the Apostle Paul. Likely sent in the early 50's AD, there are some noteworthy historical distinctions in the letter, particularly the absence of Paul’s use of his apostolic title under which he often taught and corrected his audience. This is a unique relationship. Noteworthy is J.B. Phillip’s title for his translation of 1^st & 2^nd Thessalonians: A Letter to Young Churches. Paul’s audience was the product of a day of teaching before he was whisked from their city in the middle of the night. Paul also knew that though the converts in Thessalonica were filled with thanks and joy for their new birth in Christ, they were also discovering that their witness was bringing resistance, persecution and suffering. In these three verses and in the presence of suffering, Paul outlines a summary of the whole of the Christian life.

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October 29, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Reformation Sunday | The Life of Theodore Beza

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October 29, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Reformation Sunday | The Life of Theodore Beza

October 29, 2017
Reformation Sunday
The Life of Theodore Beza

Positioned on the Reformation wall in Geneva, Switzerland to the right side of his mentor, John Calvin, is the marble relief of Theodore Beza. Beza was the protegee of Calvin for the majority of his life and served at Calvin’s side as a teacher, a trusted confidant and remarkably, as a gifted apologist and negotiator. The statement, “We stand on the shoulders of giants” is particularly true of Theodore Beza. Today, in celebration of Reformation Sunday, we will review the life and contributions of this second-generation Father of the French Protestant Reformation.

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October 22, 2017 | Pastor Appreciation Sunday | Roger Melson | Jeremiah: The Prophet with a Burning Heart | Jeremiah 20:9

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October 22, 2017 | Pastor Appreciation Sunday | Roger Melson | Jeremiah: The Prophet with a Burning Heart | Jeremiah 20:9

Jeremiah: The Prophet with a Burning Heart
Jeremiah 20:9

One Sunday each year during the month of October, Twinbrook Community Church sets aside a Sunday to share its appreciation for our Pastor. This year Rev. Roger Melson, a longtime friend of Pastor Bayles, brought the keynote sermon. Today’s sermon highlights the life of the Prophet Jeremiah. Though he was perhaps the greatest prophet of Israel, he was also the least listened to by his audience. Over his forty-year ministry he had zero converts. Though he experienced calamity and persecution experimentally, he was sustained by a burning heart for the message of righteousness God had planted in his life.

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                                                  Roger and Marsha Melson

October 15, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Prayers of St. Paul: Living a Life Worthy of the Calling | 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

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October 15, 2017  | Pastor John Bayles | Prayers of St. Paul: Living a Life Worthy of the Calling | 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

Prayers of St. Paul: Living a Life Worthy of the Calling
2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

The historical context of this letter is Acts 17: Paul’s second missionary Journey; the inclusion of the author, Luke (see the sudden use of the personal pronoun “we” in Act.16, showing the moment Luke joined the team in Macedonia. The four of them visited Philippi and then set out south-west toward Thessalonica. There a huge disturbance started when Paul’s message that Jesus was the Christ enraged some Jews in the synagogue and over the course of a few days left the city at night in fear of being killed. He traveled on to Berea, then Athens and finally Corinth. From Athens Paul sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to find out if his Gospel message had born fruit. Timothy found Paul and Silas (and Luke) in Corinth where he wrote the first letter to the Thessalonians. Because they stayed in Corinth eighteen months, Paul later sent a second letter to Thessalonica specifically explaining why God allows persecution, instructing them that the appearing of Christ would come after the great rebellion Christ declared in Matthew 24; and the coming of the lawless one, the Antichrist; and finally, that they must guard against being idle in the presence of the task of fulfilling Christ command to go into all the world. In this text, the Apostle Paul not only instructs the Thessalonians, but prays for them that they will be a clear reflection not of what they are believing or doing for God, but that they may be a clear reflection of who God is and what he has done for them thorough Christ.

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October 8, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Prayers of St. Paul: For the Israel of God | Romans 10:1-13

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October 8, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Prayers of St. Paul: For the Israel of God | Romans 10:1-13

Prayers of St. Paul: For the Israel of God
Romans 10:1-13

The prayer we will look at today is produced by a lifestyle left behind by the Apostle Paul. That life was once his passion; that life was once his obsession; that life was once his hard taskmaster. Paul is not longing to return to a life of a Pharisee, nor the broader life of Judaism. His longing is for those within these circles who are his family, his kin, yet now foreigners to him and faith in Jesus Christ. Though Paul seems to reminisce about the pleasure of their companionship, he does not drift too far from the realization that they are in two separate worlds and captivated by two covenants. From this new covenant context, Paul prays that his former brethren might be turned from turn their zeal for hypocritical righteousness – “I’m better than you,” to the righteousness of God provided by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Within this prayer is a model for us to follow. May the great Father of Hosts draw as only He can, the hearts of those for whom we too long to come into His marvelous Kingdom light.

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October 1, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Prayers of St. Paul: Praise God for His Work of Redemption |

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October 1, 2017  | Pastor John Bayles | Prayers of St. Paul: Praise God for His Work of Redemption | Romans 11:33-36

Prayers of St. Paul: Praise God for His Work of Redemption
Romans 11:33-36

Throughout the Epistle to the Romans, Paul has spent eleven chapters outlining, illustrating, and defending God's plan of salvation. God has closed a door: it is impossible for any person to please God, have a whole relationship with God or communion with God on the basis of his/her personal righteousness as he proclaimed – "There is none righteous, no not one" (Rom.3:23). God has opened a door: it is possible for a person to please God, have a whole relationship with God, and communion with God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ – "3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit" (Rom.8:3,4). God has ended an Old Covenent relationship: The Jews, though historically God's people, cannot come into a relationship with God by keeping the law, even though they are precious to Him and have a historical relationship to Him, they are hopelessly lost and under God's wrath. Gentiles cannot come into a relationship with God by becoming Jews or keeping the law. They are also hopelessly lost and under God's wrath. God has initiated a New Covenant relationship: Through Christ's atoning death and victorious resurrection, both Jews and Gentiles can come into a righteous relationship to God, but only through belief in the saving work of Christ's death, confessing Him as Lord and expressing belief in His resurrection from the dead. All of these mercies were accomplished before we were even aware that they existed: “1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Rom.2:1-3). This act of grace took place so that God alone might receive the glory for His kindness toward us. Only by grace can we enter. Only through the door, Jesus Christ. Paul now turns to offer a prayer of glorious thanks and praise to God for His work of redemption.

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September 24, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | The Prayers of St. Paul: Asking for Wisdom, Revelation, Calling and Power | Ephesians 1:15-23

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September 24, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | The Prayers of St. Paul: Asking for Wisdom, Revelation, Calling and Power | Ephesians 1:15-23

The Prayers of St. Paul: Asking for Wisdom, Revelation, Calling and Power
Ephesians 1:15-23

In this passage the Apostle Paul is absolutely filled with thanks, wonder and praise. The Gospel is real. It is filled with its own substance, the completed work of Jesus Christ through His utterly righteous life, His deep suffering, His violent death, His powerful resurrection, His glorious ascension, His majestic session and His by dispatching, with the Father, the Holy Spirit into the world to regenerate His redeemed, so that they might preach the Gospel and thereby participate in the full gathering of the elect. What we need is wisdom, revelation, calling, and power. The Apostle knows that only God can provide these powerful tools to the life of the believer. He is both captivated by what God has already done in the lives of his audience (the Ephesians and us) and he is equally motivated to pray that they will finish the course, the calling to which God has set them apart. Let us listen and receive the marvelous treasures of Paul’s prayers today.

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September 17, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Prayers of St. Paul: Experiencing Together the Love of God | Ephesians 3:16-19

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September 17, 2017  | Pastor John Bayles | Prayers of St. Paul: Experiencing Together the Love of God | Ephesians 3:16-19

Prayers of St. Paul: Experiencing Together the Love of GodEphesians 3:16-19

We have all experienced God’s love through emotional, overwhelming feelings of kindness, mercy, and correction. We have read the Word and have been impressed about love. We have experienced the grace God has extended to each of us. We have watched as people who we thought had every right to be angry, unforgiving, and even justified to show revenge, responded with forgiveness and love toward others. Only God’s love could bring about such a reaction. In our lives we have failed to live up to our standards of behavior and known the forgiveness and love of God. Often the thought, “How could God love me?” In this text Paul is praying for us. He is praying that we will come to know the love of God even more fully. Today my hope is that we can all grasp more fully how wide and long and high and deep is the love of God.

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September 10, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | The Calling to Discipleship | Proverbs 2:1-11

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September 10, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | The Calling to Discipleship | Proverbs 2:1-11

The Calling to Discipleship
Proverbs 2:1-11

In this text we will hear the heart of God regarding discipleship. Set in the context of wisdom literature, the hope for this study today is the same as that of the original author – that the man and woman of God will take seriously the task of refining the treasurers of God’s word within their souls so that they might become powerful witnesses of the Gospel to a lost world. My hope is that you will be inspired and energized by the Word of God. May this text fill us with a senses of purpose: to obey the Lord’s command found in Matthew 24: “And he will send his messengers with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other” (Mat.24:31); and Matthew 28: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Mat.28:19, 20). This is the holy calling of the equipped disciple of Christ. As stated in the Romans epistle: “14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Rom.10:14 ,15). May our response be like the ancient cry of Isaiah: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? And I said, Here am I. Send me!” (Isa.6:8).

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August 27, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Contending for Fellowship, Favor and Forgiveness | Philemon 1-25

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August 27, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Contending for Fellowship, Favor and Forgiveness | Philemon 1-25

Contending for Fellowship, Favor and Forgiveness
Philemon 1-25

This letter to Philemon. like Colossians, is another close up look at the process of restoration of relationships. Only here in this first verse Paul describes himself a s prisoner of Christ Jesus. This is an appeal to freedom found in Christ. Paul is pleading with Philemon, a Christian, to receive Onesimus, a Christian as a brother in Christ not as a former slave in chains. We will see in this passage a difficult appeal to literally live in a new covenant context.

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August 20, 2017 | Pastor Roger Melson | Part 2: Off With The Old, On With The New | Genesis 9:1-17

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August 20, 2017 | Pastor Roger Melson | Part 2: Off With The Old, On With The New | Genesis 9:1-17

Part 2: Off With The Old, On With The New
Genesis 9:1-17

This message is Part 2 of last week's message; Off With the Old, On With The New. It deals with the details of the Noahic Covenant covering four main points: 

1. Provision for mandate fulfillment 

2. Provision for sustaining life 

3. Provision in the protection of life 

4. Provision in the covenant ratified/confirmed

                                          

                                                

                                                    Roger and Marsha Melson

August 13, 2017 | Pastor Roger Melson | Part 1: Off With The Old, On With The New | Genesis 8:20-9:17

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August 13, 2017 | Pastor Roger Melson | Part 1: Off With The Old, On With The New | Genesis 8:20-9:17

Part 1: Off With The Old, On With The New
Genesis 8:20-9:17

The text for the sermon today is taken from Genesis 8:20-22. It begins with a review of the times of Noah, the deluge of the flood and Noah's exit from the ark. Verses 20-22 of chapter 8 introduce the covenant God made with Noah, his sons and all flesh.

                                                 

                                                      Roger and Marsha Melson

August 06, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Final Greetings, Instruction and Encouragement | Colossians 4:2-18

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August 06, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Final Greetings, Instruction and Encouragement | Colossians 4:2-18

Final Greetings, Instruction and Encouragement
Col.4:2-18

In these final verses, Paul completes the letter to the Colossians. It was a common custom for a letter in the first century to by closed with a greeting section, however the name of the author was almost never mentioned again after the opening salutation. However here, we see Paul stating that this section was written by the means of his own hand. This of course indicates that Paul had dictated the bulk of the letter. This is not to suggest that the former letter was not the very words of the apostle, this sections makes it clear that Paul was the author of the letter and here, by his own handwriting appearing in the final section underscores this fact. Let us listen as the historical lens context widens here. A lens opens to reveal the familiar faces of his apostolic team at work. The instruction on prayer and witness are perhaps some of the most intimate and helpful in all of Paul’s writings. Let us lean in and listen to the master craftsman’s words of final greetings, instruction, and encouragement.

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July 30, 2017 | Pastor Roger Melson | The Days of Noah: Two Worlds (Not) Apart | Genesis 6:1-15, 18; Luke 17:25-28

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July 30, 2017 | Pastor Roger Melson | The Days of Noah: Two Worlds (Not) Apart | Genesis 6:1-15, 18; Luke 17:25-28

The Days of Noah: Two Worlds (Not) Apart
Genesis 6:1-15, 18; Luke 17:25-28

The sermon today from Genesis 6 and Luke 17 deals with the similarities between the days of Noah and the times in which we live. It addresses the Biblical doctrines that Noah understood and how they mirror what we understand today. The message further speaks to the spiritual decline of Noah's day along with addressing the characteristics of our current society.


                                                
                                                      Roger and Marsha Melson

July 23, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | The Freedom of Kingdom Living | Colossians 3:18-25

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July 23, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | The Freedom of Kingdom Living | Colossians 3:18-25

The Freedom of Kingdom Living
Colossians 3:18-25

Human relationships are impossible to maintain, except in Christ. We must never forget that we are in a redemptive relationship with God through Jesus Christ. This is true now and it will remain so throughout out lives. Ultimately, we will be sustained in heaven, in an this same eternal redemptive relationship (note: Eph.2:7). In the light of our redemption, Paul will make several appeals to those engaged in classic human relationships of his day: wives and husbands, children and parents, slaves and masters. Often the apostle Paul is accused of being a chauvinist and someone stressing the maintenance of a pro-slavery context. As we will discover today, this is far from the truth of what he is emphasizing. The Christian life is a reflective life. Jesus said, “freely you have received, freely give” (Mat.10:8). Paul is viewing human relationship from a new covenant context. We can act, because Christ has acted first. Jesus Christ has placed us into a new kingdom with new standards of acceptance and behavior. As Paul stated early in the letter, “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves” (Col.1:13). As ones living in this new age, we exercise new behavior in human relationship, not determined by the worlds mandates, but by the standards of the Kingdom of God. Today Paul will show us that there is freedom in Christ that can be exercised no matter what the human condition for: "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (Joh.8:36).

July 16, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Reflecting the Original Nature | Colossians 3:10b-17

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July 16, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Reflecting the Original Nature | Colossians 3:10b-17

Reflecting the Original Nature
Col.3:10B-5-17

In today's text, Paul will begin to build upon the same foundation from which he instructed the Colossians to unclothe themselves from the dead sinful practices of their past sinful nature. He presents this argument based upon the result of the work of Christ presented in the first four verses of this chapter: ‘Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Col.3:1-4). He begins his discussion here with the words of v.10 “put on the new self, which "is being renewed....” We see in this not an instruction on how to start acting in a more righteous manner in order to become renewed, but due to the completed, redemptive work of Christ, the Colossian believer, and we, can act in a righteous manner, recognizing and then reflecting the very nature of God in Christ.

July 9, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Putting off the Old Nature | Colossians 3:5-10a

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July 9, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Putting off the Old Nature | Colossians 3:5-10a

Putting off the Old Nature
Colossians 3:5-10a

Paul moves into a discussion about sin and sanctification in this next section. On the one hand, we must put off sin, and on the other hand, we must put on righteousness. The focus is not upon human effort expended in order to rid ourselves of sinful behavior or to add to our being a new force of righteousness. It is not a process of our effort and then God’s response. We are not commanded to do in order to receive. It is not action and then reaction. Paul sets this entire section in the context of what he has so clearly outlined in the first section. At the cross, Jesus Christ overcame and put on display the philosophies and practice of the world which so fully occupied our thoughts and actions. He has fully unmasked their deception and by His death and resurrection, destroyed their wickedness. He has both fully redeemed (bought or purchased) our broken nature, our sin nature, and forgiven us of the sins which have come out of that nature. As stated so powerfully already: “19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace (with) through his blood, shed on the cross. 21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel” (Col.1:19-23). “1And again: Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Col.3:1-4).

Today we will explore how this action takes place– from the indicative act of Christ, we can imperatively act toward our world and ourselves.

July 2, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | The Calling to Death and Life | Colossians 3:1-4

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July 2, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | The Calling to Death and Life | Colossians 3:1-4

The Calling to Death and Life
Col.3:1-4

In this text Paul is signaling a transition from the theological section of the letter to the practical teachings. Much like how he later organizes his letter to the Ephesians, he will build the practical applications from solid theological truths. This is an important principle. So often we seek to live our lives from circumstance to circumstance. It things go well, we feel we are in God’s will. If we enter into struggles or trials, then we sometimes feel we have been abandoned by the Lord. The objective reality is that God has revealed His will through His person and through the person of Jesus Christ. We adjust our life experience to the nature and attributes of God. There is no greater security than in holding fast to God’s view of the dynamics of this world and interpreting them from His divine viewpoint. As the scripture reveals, God is working for our greatest good and His greatest glory (Rom.8:28). Paul looks back on the theological foundations he has set in the first two chapters in order to demonstrate that theology always plays itself out in the relationships of life.

June 25, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Things that Deceive: The Jewish Influence | Colossians 2:16-23

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June 25, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Things that Deceive: The Jewish Influence | Colossians 2:16-23

Things that Deceive: The Jewish Influence
Col.2:16-23

In the previous verse (2:15), Paul comes to the conclusion and confession that in Christ, all the pagan frauds of authority have been exposed and disarmed. This conclusion was used to silence the influence of the pagan Roman philosophies and practices. In this current text, Paul will address the second, yet equally influential syncretistic influence to the Colossian Church: the Jewish influence. He opens his exhortation with a discussion of Jewish legalistic food laws being imposed upon these new believers by the false (non-eschatological, non-new age) Jewish ideology which he found both in Corinthian and Roman churches. His opening “Therefore,” is there for the repudiation of the Jewish legalistic influence based on the same foundation as the previous Roman pagan discussion: Christ is supreme over all philosophies and practices! As Paul concludes: “And (in Him - v.11), having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Col.2:15).

June 18, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | The Unimpeachable Authority of Christ | Colossians 2:9-15

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June 18, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | The Unimpeachable Authority of Christ | Colossians 2:9-15

The Unimpeachable Authority of Christ
Colossians 2:9-15

Today we will see that It is not what the cross did to Jesus, it what Jesus did to sin, our sin by the use of he cross. It is what Jesus did to the pagan practices of this world by the use of the cross. It is what Jesus did to Satan’s fraudulent rulership of the earth (and all those powers who claim the same fraudulent claim to the lives of men and women in every age), using the instrument of the cross. This the work of Christ Jesus our Lord.

June 11, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Things that Deceive: The Pagan Influence | Colossians 2:6-15

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June 11, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | Things that Deceive: The Pagan Influence | Colossians 2:6-15

Things that Deceive: The Pagan Influence
Colossians 2:6-15

In today’s text we have a unique, yet familiar challenge. What was common to the recipients of this letter and to the Apostle Paul is more distant to our contemporary experience. We can bring some historical context to the passage, but in part (or in whole) we are seeking to understand pagan religious language and practice which is largely lost to us today. This dynamic is something we have seen in many portions of our study of the Scriptures. This does not however mean that there is a wealth of application which is maintained which thunders into our present lives.

We will begin with verse 6, which sets the verse we left off with last time. This is because it serves as the conclusion to the earlier passage and also forms the foundation for the verses that follow. In summary, we understand the view that Christ is supreme to all religious forms: those which have substance only in the thinking of the pagan mind (those forms which are imaginations) and those religious forms which touch the human experience on a substantive level - they are real, but wrong; they have form, but are forbidden. They have power and an authority, but have been dominated over by the living Christ at the cross.

June 4, 2017 | Reverend Keith Williams | Sifted Faith | Luke 22:31-34

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June 4, 2017 | Reverend Keith Williams | Sifted Faith | Luke 22:31-34

May 28, 2017 | Roger Melson | Perspectives of Christian Living (Part 2)| Genesis 5:1-5;21-24

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May 28, 2017 | Roger Melson | Perspectives of Christian Living (Part 2)| Genesis 5:1-5;21-24

                                             

                                                   Roger and Marsha Melson

May 21, 2017 | Roger Melson | Perspectives of Christian Living | Genesis 5:1-32

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May 21, 2017 | Roger Melson | Perspectives of Christian Living | Genesis 5:1-32



                                        

                                           Roger and Marsha Melson

May 14, 2017 | Pastor Mike Ibay | The Real Mother | 1 Kings 3:16-28

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May 14, 2017 | Pastor Mike Ibay | The Real Mother | 1 Kings 3:16-28

The Real Mother
1 Kings 3:16-28


                                                    

                                             River of Life Pastors Mike and Grace Ibay

May 7, 2017 | Pastor Bayles | The Wonderful Cross | Colossians 2:6-15

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May 7, 2017 | Pastor Bayles | The Wonderful Cross | Colossians 2:6-15

The Wonderful Cross
Colossians 2:6-15

There is a center to the faith. Something that makes Christianity come into the human experience. The resurrection demonstrates the power and glory of God in redemption. The cross brings us to the very bottom of our depravity. Sin, is the great enemy of our life. And sin is highlighted by the law. Without the moral standard of the law, we could declare ourselves to be good, most of the time, people. But, in the presence of the law, every defect of our fallen nature is revealed. The Apostle Paul lamented, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?”(Rom.7:24). “This body of death,” what is the apostle talking about? It is what we all know about ourselves. We try to hide it, to distract attention to it, to even be deceptive in order to keep others from seeing our dirty secrets. But, it is there in all of us. Depravity. The condition of sin. The rotting, hopeless connection to a nature that is birthed in the sin of our father Adam and has effected every aspect of our thinking and doing lives. Today the Apostle sends us a message of hope. We are not children of Adam any longer, but children of God. And it is because of the cross that this is how we are viewed by God. As a result, we must turn our eyes toward what we know is true. Only the cross makes us whole. We must see our lives and thinking through he prism of the cross where our sins: past, present and future, were nailed and taken away.

April 30, 2017 | Pastor Bayles | The Mystery of Christ's Identity | Colossians 2:1-5

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April 30, 2017 | Pastor Bayles | The Mystery of Christ's Identity | Colossians 2:1-5

The Mystery of Christ’s Identity
Colossians 2:1-5

What is the work of discipleship? The first part is a gathering task. Jesus left his disciples with the task of sharing the Gospel in order to gather His sheep, His own, His elect from “the four winds of the earth” (Mat.24:31). In 2 Corinthians 5 Paul stresses that this task is accomplished by preaching the message of Christ: “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor.5:14-21). The second part of discipleship is is a teaching task. Jesus said, “and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Mat.28:19). In today’s text we will see this part of discipleship in full action. It should not surprise us that at the center of the task of teaching, the subject of the person of Christ is prominent. As we have discovered again and again, the substance of the Christian message is a person, a very unique person, Jesus the Christ. Here Paul emphasizes that the nature of Christ is a mystery, complex, yet a knowable. It is at the forefront of his teaching to the Colossian church and to us today.

April 23, 2017 | Pastor Bayles | The Mystery | Colossians 1:24-29

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April 23, 2017 | Pastor Bayles | The Mystery | Colossians 1:24-29

April 16, 2017 | Pastor Bayles | Resurrection: The Foundation of the Faith | 1 Corinthians 15

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 April 16, 2017 | Pastor Bayles | Resurrection: The Foundation of the Faith | 1 Corinthians 15

April 9, 2017 | Pastor Bayles | Belief: The Proof of Reconciliation | Colossians 1:21-23

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 April 9, 2017 | Pastor Bayles | Belief: The Proof of Reconciliation | Colossians 1:21-23

The Scripture states: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom.5:8). This is perhaps the most astounding statements in the Bible. We would expect to see and we are so comfortable with seeing that rewards follow successful behavior. We fulfill the commandments, then we receive a reward. However, if this principal is the standard, then we all would be eternally condemned, for “There is no one righteous, not even one!” (Rom.3:10). “But God...” has reconciled the lost to Himself through the atonement of Jesus Christ at the cross. This is the message presented in the poem of vv.15-20 and brought to a crescendo in v.19, 20: “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Jesus Chris is the guarantor of reconciliation for God. God’s justice is universally for all the redeemed. This is the judicial, eternally resolved fulfillment of salvation. It is total and complete. Yet another dynamic emerges from this universal reality. That is the unfolding or revealing of this redeemed status. This is the subject of Paul’s message today. The unveiling of justification who, though still sinners, are the recipients of the atonement Christ has purchased at the cross. Today we will see the opening of a gift that has been hidden, but now revealed by faith alone.

April 2, 2017 | Roger Melson | Created in His Image | Genesis 5:1-2

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April 2, 2017 | Roger Melson | Created in His Image | Genesis 5:1-2

March 26, 2017 | Adeline Agbedo | The Joy of Prayer | Matthew 6:5-15

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March 26, 2017 | Adeline Agbedo | The Joy of Prayer | Matthew 6:5-15

March 19, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | The Supremacy of Christ | Colossians 1:15-23

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 March 19, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | The Supremacy of Christ | Colossians 1:15-23

The text today is one of the greatest Christological presentations found in the Scriptures. The inspiration of the Holy Spirit is clearly visible in these lines shaped in the form of a poem. How often the Holy Spirit inspires both the words and the form when bringing forth the beauty and magnificence of Christ. As Psalm 65:8 so beautifully states: “The whole earth is filled with awe at Your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.” Here in this text is a three-fold Psalm of praise for the person and work of Christ. The prophet Jeremiah stated this well: “This is what the Lord says: You say about this place, It is a desolate waste, without people or animals. Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither people nor animals, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord, saying, Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; His love endures forever! For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before, says the Lord” (Jer. 33:10, 11). May these verses take wing and form a living song in our hearts today of the Supremacy of Christ!

March 12, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | The Context of Christian Maturity | Colossians 1:9-14

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March 12, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | The Context of Christian Maturity | Colossians 1:9-14

The Apostle Paul is writing to a church he has never visited and to a person he has never met. Though this may seem quite unusual, it does not reflect the full picture of the relationship. The church is Colossae was founded as a result of Paul’s earlier teaching during the establishment of the Church in Ephesus (Act.19:1-10). Epaphras, mentioned in verse 8, was likely a convert of that campaign and now, after several years, has planted a church in Colossae. Into the ministry has come efforts by false teachers to spin the message of the Gospel to their own ends. There is nothing better to address error than presenting the truth. A mentor of mine years ago said to me, “Don’t preach the problem, preach the truth!” I believe the source of his counsel was the scriptures, for this is consistently the tactic used in the Bible. There is nothing that shuts down error faster than the teaching truth. In today’s text Paul will turn from presenting characteristics of Christian community to characteristics of the individual believer. The goal of this sermon is to reflect upon a proper response to suffering, trials and reversals. We are citizens of God’s Kingdom. As a result, not matter what adversity the world may present, we are equipped to endure them with patience and thanksgiving under the supervision of the Holy Spirit.

March 5, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | The Context of Christian Community | Colossians 1:1-8

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March 5, 2017 | Pastor John Bayles | The Context of Christian Community | Colossians 1:1-8

This letter is sent a troubled church. Troubled by efforts of false teachers to subvert the message of the mission and person of Jesus Christ. We do not know about this error directly, for Paul does not address the problem directly. However, Paul knows that the best means for putting down hearsay is to teach the truth of who Jesus Christ is and for what purpose he came to earth. There is not better antidote for the sickness of error as presenting truth. Today we will look fist at the nature of the relationship Paul had with the audience of this letter. Who was Paul writing to? How well did he know his audience? Second, and even more importantly, if Paul had never met Epaphras, the recipient of his letter nor the people who made up the church in Colossae, does that mean Paul has no relationship to them? The mystery and the beauty of Christian community is that when we are in relationship to Jesus Christ, we are in relationship His people.