fruit of the Spirit – ThrivingBranch

How Jesus Conquered Your Sin (#1) — The Nature of Sin

May 2, 2021March 13, 2021Leave a Comment

When discussing Grace, the topic of sin usually follows closely behind. It is difficult people to comprehend their new life in Christ, when sinful behaviors are prominently in view. This struggle leads many to embark on a war against sin; with the primary markers being:

– Focusing on sin and behavior
– Feelings of fear, doubt, and condemnation
– Often consumed with guilt and unworthiness

Those of you that are familiar with my testimony, know that I lived that way for many years. I was focused so greatly on my sin that I kept a daily record of each sinful action. Every day I felt worse, more condemned, and further away from God. And the more I tried to conquer sin, the more I failed, and deeper into the pit I went.

So what does this all mean? Is sin an unconquerable foe? Not at all! What I want to share with you today is a different perspective, on how sin can be conquered, and has been conquered in Christ.

Pictures of Jesus in the Beatitudes (part 6)

January 19, 2020September 17, 2019Leave a Comment

Welcome again to part 6 of our study on seeing pictures of Jesus – different aspects of Him and His finished work for us – in the Beatitudes.

Now we are nearing the end, and we have been purposefully taking this slowly and with great care, because specifically the Beatitudes are very often mis-used as a legalistic barrier, a veil that keeps us from seeing or fully-embracing our new identity in Christ Jesus; and He never intended the Beatitudes (or any of His teaching) to be used in that fashion. That’s part of what the Pharisees were doing with the Old Covenant Law, and Jesus always corrected them strongly for it.

So today we continue looking at pictures of Jesus in the Beatitudes, as we pick-up where we last left off in part 5.

Pictures of Jesus in the Beatitudes (part 2)

December 22, 2019August 3, 2019Leave a Comment

Last week we began a new series looking at the first part of the Sermon on the Mount, commonly known as the Beatitudes. And as I mentioned before, this teaching of Jesus is often seen from the perspective of goals to strive for, and while that may not seem too dangerous at first, it can very easily lead a person down the road of self-works and a performance-mindset which can be quite damaging and deadly in the end.

So in this series we have been looking at the Beatitudes, but not with the typical self-focused lenses. Instead we have been looking at the Beatitudes, from the perspective of seeing Jesus, and already we have seen some amazing details.

Today we will be continuing from where we paused last week, as we look at more pictures of Jesus in the Beatitudes.

A Branch That is Thriving

December 9, 2018December 9, 2018Leave a Comment

I have been asked a number of times, about the name ThrivingBranch. What exactly does it mean, anyway? And while I have explained it before, It occurs to me that I have not shared an actual study on it in quite a while.

So in light of that, what I want to share with you today, is not merely the explanation of the name (that wouldn’t really constitute a Bible study by itself), but the words of Jesus from where the name ThrivingBranch comes from, and the amazing truth contained in it. And as we look at this today, we are going to see some aspects of our identity in Christ that will have a profound effect, even in our daily life.