Reality Santa Barbara (audio)

We spend so much of our lives doing things that don’t actually matter. What does matter? More than anything else, what really matters? And what the heck is epignosis anyway?

It doesn’t take any special skills or enabling by the Holy Spirit to see where others are not doing well spiritually. Commendation, rejoicing over, loving and praying for people though is deeply spiritual. Unfortunately, it is all too rare among Christians. Here Pastor Britt urges the whole Body of Christ to practice love and unity for the glory of God and the furtherance of His mission.

The gathering of the church is important. Through Christ it fulfills God’s ancient desire to meet with His people. Therefore, it requires our careful, prayerful, worshipful, active engagement and not mere passive attendance. In this sermon Pastor Britt shares a vision God recently gave him about Reality and what it means for our gathering and scattering as Christ’s church.

So what? After giving attention to the Bible, what difference should it make in my life personally? How can scripture change me? Taken from James (1:21-25), this lesson takes a practical look at scripture reading and meditation.

How am I supposed to read the Bible? Similar to following a road map to reach the end of your journey, this lesson seeks to give you practical tools & guidelines for reading scripture through a proper hermeneutic.

What’s the story about anyway? Although sincere, many people, religious or not, read the bible from an inaccurate vantage point, leaving them disappointed with life & God. Using Luke 24, this lesson focuses on the central theme of scripture and explores how you can read the Bible through a Christocentric lens.

Al Abdulla

Britt Merrick

Culture tries to make Christmas about everything other than Jesus, but it is all about Him! Christ is the Child about whom Isaiah prophesied and called called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Jesus is the One who defeats the enemy and saves the world that we might have great joy instead of deep despair and darkness. This is the hope and joy of Christmas.

The Holy Spirit is the Father’s gift to us who helps, convinces and assures us of the Son’s work for us.

Gerald Torres | Identity Issues | Ephesians 1:12

We spend so much time pursing things we believe will make us happy when, in fact, God has already secured our happiness in Christ. Being united with through faith and repentance Christ we have a glorious inheritance. What is it? God also has a glorious inheritance? What is it?

It is often heard to make sense of the wickedness we see in the world and throughout history. Is there a plan? Is it all heading somewhere? Will all the wrongs ever be made right? Scripture declares that all things are going to be summed in and submitted to Christ. What will that look like? And, in light of that future hope, how do we live now?

God does all things for His glory and His good pleasure. We are merely created, contingent, dependent, subordinate beings. So, how do we live for God’s glory and pleasure? What about our joy and enjoyment? Does it even matter?

God has not only loved us, chosen us, adopted us, redeemed us and lavished His kindness on us, but He has also given us wisdom and understanding. Scripture makes great promises to those who live with wisdom and understanding. How do these change the way we view sin and approach life and how do we experience them?

What does it mean that we have been redeemed? Why did we need to be redeemed? What have we been redeemed from and on what basis? In what ways can we sin less and live better in light of redemption?

One of the most basic human needs is the need to belong. One of the greatest results of sin is that it destroys right places and senses of belonging and creates abandonment. God’s answer to humanity’s broken experience of ultimate belonging is predestination and adoption.

For many of us, experiences of rejection are what mostly shape our sense of identity. Those moments we’ve all had of being skipped over, left out, unwanted and not chosen. These negative episodes not only inform the way we feel about ourselves, but the way we think about God and how we act with and toward others. In this sermon we learn that what is actually most true about us is that we are loved and chosen by God in Christ, and that these glorious truths create for us a new identity and a better way to live toward God and in the world.

Why is it that we seem to have the most difficult time being content? Is everyone like this? Is this the way we are supposed to be? What is the remedy? Ephesians 1:3 helps us learn about our source of contentment and how to think and feel rightly about our identity in Christ.

In this passage Paul wishes us grace and peace. What does it mean for the Christian to have grace and peace when we seem so unworthy and unsettled? Is it right to feel unworthy? What is meant here by peace since conflict is common to life? In this sermon we learn what grace frees us from and enables us to do and how peace is actually wholeness.