What does it mean that we are all "under sin?" It means we are biased toward sin, that we live under its control. We are not under sin in the sense that sin holds us down against our wills, but rather that sin has seeped into our wills, into our good intentions, into our self-images, even into our morality. Sin feels normal and acceptable. And this is true of us all, witho...

We survived Romans 1. But Romans 2 is staring us right in the face. In Romans 2, Paul teaches that when we look down our noses upon someone else and we think to ourselves, "What a sinner, what a loser, what a terrible person," then we have committed the sin of being judgmental. That is what Paul is talking about in these opening verses of chapter 2....

This Sunday we'll investigate some sticky questions. I'm not going to run away from them as much as I might like to. So I'll give you a biblical perspective on these thorny issues. But that's not my primary objective, nor is it the primary objective of Scripture. The primary objective of Scripture is not to protect us from the living God, but to show him to us. ...

Everyone needs to be in church. There are benefits you reap from coming to church that you could never enjoy by staying at home, or by "worshipping God" on the golf course or on the lake. It's something Paul talked about in Romans 1:12 - "mutual encouragement in the faith." ...

Whenever the Book of Romans is proclaimed from the pulpit, studied and revered by God's people, God brings reformation. Why is it that? One reason stands above all others. The book of Romans speaks with clarity and power about the gospel. This is what we need. We need reformation. We need the power of the gospel to continually transform us....

This Sunday we'll focus on the significance of these concluding words as an act of worship. I hope you'll be there as we come to the conclusion of the deeper meaning of the Lord's Prayer....

In the Lord's Prayer, as well as in the story we read, it is clear that our being forgiven is tied closely with our forgiveness of others. If indeed we have received the forgiveness of Christ, we must extend forgiveness to others....

Life is uncertain. Most of us don't have enough savings to get through another month if our income suddenly stopped coming in. You can be doing fine one day and the next day your life can be turned upside down. One reason God lets those things happen is to move us away from self-sufficiency to God-sufficiency....

For the longest time a popular saying could be seen on the rear bumpers of a lot of cars. God is my co-pilot. At first glance it seems to be a noble declaration. God is with me wherever I go. But if God is just the co-pilot, doesn't that make you the pilot?...

The Lord says, when you pray, I want you to focus on the things that are most important to God, not what is most important to you. We are self-centered by nature. We seek the things that matter most to us. But as we have been learning in our study of the Lord's Prayer, prayer doesn't begin with our concerns; prayer begins with God's concerns....