9. Out of the Grasp of Grasping

The Branch Church

9. Out of the Grasp of Grasping

May 30, 2021 • Chris Seidman

Of all things, it’s like a virus.

Today we consider another common theme Jesus and the rest of the New Testament writers often addressed in the lives of those who were already following Him and experiencing the “after-life.”

Sometimes you don’t know it’s operational in your life until after you see symptoms of it. Paul acknowledged it as the reason some “wander from the faith” after they’ve had an encounter with Jesus. And yet, both Jesus and Paul give counsel as to how to inoculate ourselves from such a virus. Most of us have probably dealt with it at one time or another. What is it?

10. When You've Hit the Wall

June 6, 2021 • Chris Seidman

In the last message in our “After-Life” series, we'll ask the question: What do you do when you “hit a wall” in your spiritual journey – even after you’ve walked with the Lord for some time? This theme arises often in Scripture. So what do you do when you’ve hit a wall?

8. Handling the I.E.D.

May 23, 2021 • Chris Seidman

Intermittent Explosive Disorder. That’s what some therapists call it. We read of soldiers being injured or worse by IEDs overseas. Some of us have been taken out by a different kind of IED over here. Someone wise once said, “Speak when you’re angry, and you’ll make the best speech you’ll ever regret.” I think a lot of us have been there. Acting in anger can often lead to more regret. Over and over in Scripture, we find the subject of anger being brought up. In fact, it’s a theme in Jesus’ teaching to His disciples and Paul’s writings to believers. This weekend in our “After-Life” series, we’ll consider how to handle anger before it handles us. It’s actually the fruit of something else. To deal with it, we have to get underneath it. Of course, not all anger is wrong. The Scriptures tell us God is slow to anger and we are called to be slow to anger as well. Love isn’t easily angered. But nowhere does it say that God is never angry and that we are never to be angry. But even anger when it’s “right” can quickly go “wrong” when it’s not processed appropriately.

7. Freedom From Approval-Ratings

May 16, 2021 • Chris Seidman

We’ve all had “What was I thinking?” moments in our lives. It’s striking how much Scripture speaks to this trap. Jesus spoke to this often, as did the apostle Paul in the rest of the New Testament. Walking in the freedom found in Christ involves addressing the desire for approval/fear of rejection dynamic in our lives. Walking in freedom doesn’t mean we don’t regard what others are thinking or how they are responding to us. In fact, loving people for their sake and the sake of the gospel involves those very things. But the reasons why we do these things are different. And the “why” is transformed by the “who” – Jesus. John 5:42, John 12:42, 2 Corinthians 5:7-9, and Galatians 1:9-10.