Church

When Jesus is asked to identify the greatest commandment in the Law, he chooses Deuteronomy 6:5 – the command to love God first and foremost. As a church, we are calling our members to love God before anything or anyone else. God himself says, “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols” (Isaiah 42:8). When we love anything or anyone before God, we are robbing him of his rightful glory. As the Westminster Shorter Catechism says, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”Watch more videos at the Mountainview YouTube channel. Need a Speaker or Presenter? Interested in having me speak for your church, conference, or organization? Follow this link to learn more. Looking for a Speaking Coach? The most successful people are not always the smartest people. But they have one thing in…

To live in the Spirit is to be led by the Spirit. One of the practical manifestations of being led by the Spirit is not living in fear. Instead, we have been adopted into God’s family with the full rights and privileges that come with being his sons and daughters. Being led by the Spirit also includes sharing in the sufferings of Jesus, since we are now co-heirs with Jesus of God’s inheritance.Watch more videos at the Mountainview YouTube channel. Need a Speaker or Presenter? Interested in having me speak for your church, conference, or organization? Follow this link to learn more. Looking for a Speaking Coach? The most successful people are not always the smartest people. But they have one thing in common: they communicate well. I'd love to help you become a better communicator. Click here.

One of the most common challenges Christians face is this: focusing on our condition rather than our position. What conditions might you be facing? It might be a health problem or a financial burden. It could be a struggle with your teenager. Maybe it’s a persistent habit that keeps flaring up. What is the problem with focusing on your condition? Your condition is always changing. If you are in Christ, however, your position with God never changes. As we’ll see in today’s passage, there’s even more to it than that: If you are in Christ, the Holy Spirit is in you. Being led by the Spirit transforms how you relate to God. This month we are in Romans 8. So far, we’ve discussed two aspects of living under new management – living without condemnation and living by the power of the Holy Spirit. Today we’re going to look at how being led by…

Part of the transformation that comes to people who are “in Christ” is the active presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. This passage compares and contrasts life in the Spirit with life in the flesh – which is characterized by death and hostility towards God. When we live apart from the Spirit, it is impossible to please God because of our disobedience. To live in the Holy Spirit is to seek the things the Spirit desires.Watch more videos at the Mountainview YouTube channel. Need a Speaker or Presenter? Interested in having me speak for your church, conference, or organization? Follow this link to learn more. Looking for a Speaking Coach? The most successful people are not always the smartest people. But they have one thing in common: they communicate well. I'd love to help you become a better communicator. Click here.

Most people want a life that is meaningful and fulfilling. This is especially true of Christians. Yet many people are frustrated in their Christian experience. Their spiritual life seems like a bunch of false starts and hard stops. Unfortunately, it often feels like a constant struggle - more burden than blessing. Here’s what I’ve observed over the years: The more we try to live the Christian life by our own power and effort, the more we fail at it. This only leads to self-condemnation, hopelessness, and exhaustion. A healthy Christian life cannot be lived apart from the control and influence of the Holy Spirit. Our passage for this month is Romans 8. It’s about how to move beyond a performance-based relationship with God to one that is guided by the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul will describe two basic ways of looking at life. 5 Those who live according to the flesh…