November 19, 2023 • RD McClenagan • Leviticus 14:33–38
This Sunday, RD continues our series on Jesus, the True and Better, and shows how Jesus is the true and better cleanser of the house. God's people are called to be holy, and the book of Leviticus shows His people how they can dwell with a holy God. The standard to be in His presence is purity, and to be pure, we must get to the root of the impurities within us. Christ came not just to examine us but to cleanse us.
Jesus, the True and Better Righteousness of God
November 12, 2023 • Rick Dunn • 1 Corinthians 1:26–31, Zechariah 3:1–5
This Sunday, Rick continues our series on Jesus, the True and Better, and shows how Jesus is the true and better Righteousness of God. He looks at the false hope we have in trying to overcome shame by making ourselves more righteous. Our full hope in overcoming shame is through the righteousness of Christ.
Jesus, the True and Better Stick & Axe
November 5, 2023 • Greg Pinkner • 2 Kings 6
This Sunday, Greg continues our series on Jesus, the True and Better, and shows how Jesus is the true and better Stick and Axe as he looks at the story of Elishah and the iron axe head. Elisha miraculously makes an iron axe head float, symbolizing Christ's sacrifice for sinners, enabling them to rise from their sins and slavery.
Jesus, the True and Better Daughter of Jepthah
October 22, 2023 • Greg Pinkner • Judges 13—16
This Sunday, Greg continues our series on Jesus, the True and Better, and shows how Jesus is the true and better Daughter of Jepthah. In this passage, a man named Jephthah makes a vow to offer a peace offering to the Lord if he returns from battle victorious. When he does return in victory, he realizes that he must fulfill his vow, even though it involves sacrificing his own daughter. His daughter accepts her fate, and in the end, she is sacrificed as a burnt offering, and her death results in her being remembered as a nameless victim. We see the parallels between Jephthah's daughter and the suffering of Jesus, who took on the sins of the world and was sacrificed for the salvation of others, even though he had no descendants of his own.
Jesus, the True and Better Samson
October 22, 2023 • RD McClenagan • Judges 13—16
This Sunday, RD continues our series on Jesus, the True and Better, and shows how Jesus is the true and better Samson. Samson lived a life of compromise instead of consecration, leading to his eventual downfall. RD looks at the cycle of sin and emphasizes the need to desire consecration to God and to be willing to cut out sin and distractions in our lives. Consecration to the Lord and the redemption and forgiveness available through Jesus.
Jesus, the True and Better Kinsman Redeemer
October 8, 2023 • Rick Dunn • Ruth
This Sunday, Rick continues our series on Jesus, the True and Better, and shows how Jesus is the true and better Kinsman Redeemer. In the same way that Boaz redeemed Ruth and Naomi, Christ is our Kinsman Redeemer. When we feel abandoned and forsaken, we need to allow our Redeemer, Christ, to interpret our story and tell us who we are.
Jesus, the True and Better Joshua
October 1, 2023 • Greg Pinkner • Joshua 3
This Sunday, Greg continues our series on Jesus, the True and Better, and shows how Jesus is the true and better Joshua. Joshua taking over leadership of the Israelites signifies the transition from the law, represented by Moses, to the grace and salvation offered by Jesus, symbolized by Joshua. Moses, being emblematic of the law, cannot lead the people into the promised land, emphasizing the need for a perfect savior like Jesus, who can offer forgiveness and salvation through faith and grace.
Jesus, the True and Better Ten Plagues of Egypt
September 24, 2023 • Greg Pinkner • Exodus 7—13
This Sunday, Greg continues our series on Jesus, the True and Better, and shows how Jesus is the true and better Ten Plagues of Egypt. The plagues were God's way of communicating to Egypt that He is the one true God and that their gods are not. He took the reality of what the Egyptians worshipped about their gods and destroyed it, but He also gave a prophecy of what was to come. Egypt's story is a shadow of what God does to us in the Gospel. In order to come to Him, He is going to show us all our false gods and we are going to kill them together. If we won't kill our false gods, we can't come to Him.
Jesus, the True and Better Jacob
September 17, 2023 • JC Neely • Genesis 32:22–29
This Sunday, JC continues our series on Jesus, the True and Better, and shows how Jesus is the true and better Jacob. Like Jacob, we all wear masks to cover and hide the mess that is in our lives. But, it is our masks and our mess that lead us to our Messiah. We wear masks to earn blessing from others, but God will not bless who we are pretending to be. Blessings that come from our identity in Christ bring us freedom.
This Sunday, RD continues our series on Jesus, the True and Better, and shows how Jesus is the true and better Noah. The story of Noah is about God's grace and mercy. About how God remembers His promises and His word. About how God can not do anything but what He has sworn he will do. That even through the nature and effects of sin, God shows grace and mercy.
Jesus, the True and Better Adam
September 3, 2023 • Rick Dunn • Romans 5:6–21
This Sunday, Rick begins our series on Jesus, the True and Better, and showed how Jesus is the true and better Adam. Sin and death came through Adam, but abundant grace came through Jesus. We need to live in the abundance of Christ, not in the scarcity of Adam.
