Humans are designed to be dependent. We tend to favor situations, people, or tasks that we can control. But our desire to control our lives moves us away from God. God does not give us complete independence to control our own lives because that would move us away from him. In Mark 4, we hear two parables Jesus tells followed by one miracle Jesus performs. The miracle validates the lesson he teaches his disciples. These three scenes are all about faith. Faith is the opposite of seeking control. It is surrendering control. This faith is characterized by dependence on Jesus. It is our response to the limit of control.
The Limit of Control
May 14, 2023 • Andrew Cullen • Mark 4:26–41
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Limited
The Limit of Marriage
June 18, 2023 • Andrew Cullen • Genesis 2:15–25, Matthew 19:4–6, Ephesians 5:21–27
Marriage is a limit. Marriage is a limit because it prioritizes your spouse over all other relationships. Marriage is a limit because it sets boundaries for sexual intimacy. Marriage is a limit because it replaces individual independence with dependence on one another. Marriage is a limit because God designed marriage as part of being human. Because the story of the Bible begins and ends with a marriage, God is reminding us that He also designed marriage to point to a more intimate, meaningful relationship. God didn’t just create us for one another. God created us for himself. The limit of marriage forms us into the image of Christ and gives us a foretaste of our marriage to Christ.
The Limit of Sexuality (part 2)
June 11, 2023 • Andrew Cullen • John 15:12–13, 1 Thessalonians 4:3–4, Genesis 1:27–28
Embracing the limit of sexuality means we follow and obey Jesus when our desires are strongest and the opposition is fiercest. Surrendering our sexuality to Jesus is one of the most prominent obstacles to following Jesus because we live in a sexualized culture. However, sex is not the greatest expression of love. Sacrificing your life so another may live is the greatest expression of love. The kind of love that Jesus tells us we ought to give is marked by self-denial, sacrifice, and service. It will be difficult for people who love sex as much as the rich man loved money to follow and obey Jesus. Rather than lower the bar and make it easy to follow and obey Jesus, we ought to help people rise to the challenge by walking with them.
The Limit of Sexuality (part 1)
June 4, 2023 • Andrew Cullen • John 14:15–17, Mark 3:1–6, John 8:2–11
In the minds of these Western thinkers, what it means to be human is to be alive, to be free, and to be happy. We can be who we want to be, love who we want to love, and do what we want to do. We are told our identity is self-defined. We are told our destiny is self-determined. Anything is permissible if there is a possibility it will make us happy. God had a design for sexuality and sex when he created us. When we reject the limits of design as image-bearers of God, our identity, purpose, and morals have no anchor. We easily drift into a sea of limitless possibilities. We are lost. But we call it freedom. Embracing the limit of sexuality means we follow and obey Jesus when our desires are strongest and the opposition is fiercest.