faith – ThrivingBranch

Your Relationship With God (#4)

November 19, 2023November 18, 2023Leave a Comment

Welcome back again to the fourth installment of our series exploring our relationship with God.

We began by looking at the dynamic between Jesus, the scriptures, and the holy spirit.

Then in part two, we saw the pivotal role that Faith plays in our relationship with God, and how coming to him requires not only that we know his character, but we know our status, as redeemed new creations because of his sacrifice.

Then, in the third part, we begin exploring how understanding our relationship and status in Christ affects our perceptions and how we live day-to-day.

Now, we will continue examining how understanding our new nature in Christ changes even how we approach God in prayer, by looking at specific teachings, and examples shown in the scriptures.

Let’s get started.

How To Not Be Taken Captive (#6)

May 7, 2023May 4, 2023Leave a Comment

Welcome again to the sixth and likely final part of our series on How To Not Be Taken Captive. This is now our longest running series on the channel! But I believe that it’s also one of the most important, because I know it has broken a lot of long-lasting religious chains some of us have had. And praise God that He is using these studies to set people free.

Today we will tackle two more common religious ideas that serve to breed fear and keep people in bondage, as we conclude How To Not Be Taken captive, and allow the truth of Jesus to set us free.

How To Not Be Taken Captive (#4)

April 16, 2023April 12, 20232 Comments

Welcome back to the fourth part of our series on how not to be taken captive. This is the segment that I believe most people have been waiting for, because today we will examine the most common captivating ideas in modern Christianity — or what I call the “Holy-Sounding Hogwash,” a term I coined in the previous part of this series.

I’ve compiled a list of the religious rubbish I’ve heard repeatedly throughout the years, and also added the ones which you all sent me via comments and emails, so it’s my wish that today’s study will benefit us all, as we see how the truth of Jesus and His finished work in the New Covenant keeps us from being taken captive by these dangerous doctrines.

How To Not Be Taken Captive (#3)

April 2, 2023April 1, 20232 Comments

In the previous two parts of this series we examined a list of items in Colossians 2:8 of things we should be wary of because they can take us captive.

We saw how the dangerous items in that list, aren’t so much physical but mental; they are deceptive thoughts, arguments, and errant beliefs. While there are many of those which are brazenly obvious today, other are more subtle, even creeping their way inside churches, and into the speech, and minds of Christians.

Today, we will dive into this particular area of subtle captivity, as we continue exploring how to not be taken captive.

Healing, Faith, Facts, and Feelings (#3)

February 19, 2023February 13, 2023Leave a Comment

Welcome to part 3 of Healing, Faith, Facts and Feelings. The last few weeks we’ve explored the foundation of faith, the reason behind why we can trust in God’s healing; and we also saw how God’s facts can and should change our perspective of our circumstances.

Now today we deal with the most destructive feelings of all guilt, shame, and condemnation.

Healing, Faith, Facts, and Feelings (#2)

February 12, 2023February 11, 2023Leave a Comment

Last week we began a new series on healing — specifically regarding the three primary components, faith, facts, and feelings.

We spent a lot of time in part one dealing with the foundation of knowing God’s will, because that’s one of the most common areas of doubt for many believers. I’m not going to go over that again today, so if you haven’t yet seen part one, here’s a link for you to see part one first, and then return here for part two.

Today we’ll continue from last week’s principal of Jesus being the revealed will of God, and discuss how to practically apply that knowledge in daily living.

Healing, Faith, Facts, and Feelings (#1)

January 29, 2023January 23, 20232 Comments

Few Christian ideas stir up emotions, debate, and confusion as healing. Some say that healing died with the last apostle, others believe that healing never really happened at all, and it is just an allegory for spiritual salvation in the Bible. And of-course some, believe that healing continues today.

I believe that healing still exists today, as a gift of God’s grace empowered by His Spirit.

But obviously, each group of people believes that they are correct. So, is there a way to know what’s right? Is there a definitive answer? Let’s explore the answer together.

How to Have the Faith and Belief of Jesus

September 26, 2021August 3, 2021Leave a Comment

For the previous two weeks, we’ve been examining faith and belief, and we’ve seen some powerful truths regarding what faith and belief are, as well some examples of how to apply faith and belief to our daily lives.

Today we are are going to conclude our mini-series on faith and belief by examine one of the most confusing accounts, of healing in the scriptures— the demon possessed boy, to see what it can teach us about faith and belief, and how Jesus helps us overcome a common barrier of faith.

Faith and the Fig Tree (How to Move Your Mountain)

September 19, 2021August 1, 2021Leave a Comment

Last week, we studied about faith and belief. We examined what faith and belief are, and how they work together for tangible results; the kind of results that you can see, feel, experience and enjoy now on this earth. That’s what people need and want, and that’s what Jesus gave during His ministry.

Today, we will continue along this theme, by exploring more about how faith works, by looking at the example of the fig tree, and how Jesus taught us to move our mountains.

One Simple Secret for Unshakable Faith

September 12, 2021July 21, 2021Leave a Comment

Faith is one of those things in Christianity that gets a lot of attention. Many believers are trying to conjure up more and more faith because they think that faith is what’s lacking in their Christian life.

Often, when people speak of faith, they actually mean belief. The idea being that if they could just believe hard enough, that would enable them to receive whatever they are believing for.

As with most elements of the Gospel, human nature tends to complicate what God has made simple. So today I would like to share with you one simple secret to give you unshakable faith and belief.