Freedom

For many, religious rules are comforting. But the gospel invites us into a radically healthy but utterly paradigm-shifting freedom from old rules and regulations. The church is meant to be the beating heart, the epicenter, of that message of freedom.

Why are we the way we are? Why are we filled with potential, but also profoundly struggle? Why do we have a strong urge for freedom, but also find ourselves sometimes stuck? The famous story of Adam and Eve’s seduction in the garden is the place to go to discover answers to these questions and find hope.

The “Fruit of the Spirit” is not a moral, to-do list, but a pastoral reminder of what life lived with God’s Spirit will look like. Pray these words just as we practice these truths.

As a light bulb finds a current from outside its glass case, we find real power from beyond ourselves. The Spirit of God is the source of all true freedom.

Power can corrupt or cleanse. It can induce fear or freedom. It always, however, reveals. In this fascinating case study of contrasting figures of power, we’ll see these dynamics at work and learn invaluable lessons for our lives today.

It may come as a surprise that the first page of the New Testament–the way Christianity introduces itself to the world–is through a genealogy. But this family tree is anything but boring. Bursting with significance, suspense, even scandal, it sets the stage for the kind of Messiah Jesus would be.