forgiveness – Page 2 – ThrivingBranch

You Are Completely Clean in Christ

November 27, 2016November 27, 2016Leave a Comment

How clean are you? This question is often posed to congregations of believers in an attempt to motivate them to good works. However I am posing this question to you today for an entirely different reason… Not to expose your perceived failings or shortcomings, but instead to show you how completely clean you are in Christ Jesus today. You see, many believers are living life with the belief that they are clean one-moment (when they think they are behaving well) and then dirty the next moment (when they fail), so they are on some sort of spiritual teeter-totter – up one moment and down the next moment.

This however is not how God wants us to live. This shifting-sand, roller-coaster mentality is not the abundant life which Christ died to give us. So today we will be examining the truth of how completely clean you are in Christ (in every way) and how by seeing this truth, you will be on the unshakable foundation of Jesus Christ, instead of the shifting sand of emotions, feelings and your own performance.

Grace is the Cure for Carnality

July 31, 2016July 29, 2016Leave a Comment

All across the world, good and honest believers have this idea that they must work at “doing good”. They must struggle and strive to “do the right thing”, to make God happy or to prove their love for Him, or whatever the underlying motivation may be; it leads to the same place: a merit-centered, man-centered mentality which is not focused on God, but is focused on self-performance and behavior.

Many believers think that if they themselves or their fellow brother or sister in Christ is failing in a particular area of behavior, that it is due to some sin in their life, or that they are just being lazy and they need to try harder. But is this what the scriptures actually say?

In this study today, we will be taking a look at what God has to say on this very subject, and how God’s diagnosis of the problem of wrong behaviors is not what we might expect. As you see this truth, it will give you a new mindset regarding this issue, and a new confidence in your relationship with God as well.

Jesus: the Way, the Truth and the Life

September 13, 2015July 4, 2015Leave a Comment

In John 14:6, Jesus makes a statement to Thomas that was quite profound and controversial – especially for His primarily Jewish audience at the time. His proclamation that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life is still controversial today, but there is more meaning to what our LORD has said, than only declaring that He alone gives us access to the Father.

So today we will be examining the totality of this statement made by Jesus, to see all of what He meant when He made this bold declaration, and how His statement applies for us as believers.

The Enduring Word of God’s Grace

August 30, 2015June 25, 20151 Comment

You probably have heard it shouted from pulpit’s before “The grass withers, the flower fades, but God’s word is forever” – and while that proclamation is absolutely true, the manner in which it is typically spoken, is not. It is usually uttered in a negative way and with the implication of God’s judgment. It may surprise you to learn then that the context in which these words were spoken in the Bible was not the judgment of God, but His promises of redemption and blessing. The enduring word of God is not one of condemnation, but words of restoration and salvation.

In this study today, we will see that what is truly center focus in the Bible is actually a desire of God to redeem and restore that which sin has so utterly corrupted. It is sin that God must judge, not necessarily man. God’s true desire is to punish the sin but spare the sinner… just as our desire is to destroy a cancerous tumor, but spare the one that the cancer is destroying. So if you have been struggling with a wrong idea or belief about the nature and the character of God, then this study will give you a fresh revelation of His grace today.

Comparing Covenants: Law vs. Grace

February 1, 2015January 18, 20161 Comment

Are you under law or under grace today? Ask this question to a group of believers, and you would get a mixed-bag of answers. There is an impressive amount of confusion regarding such a fundamental part of our Christian walk, and God does not want us to be in confusion.

Today we will be studying the covenants which so many are confused about, and through the truth of scripture, we will answer the question of what covenant God has placed us under today, and we will not be in confusion any longer.