Traders Point Christian Church (Audio)

Society is constantly shaping our beliefs, determining our perspective, and guiding our decisions about sex. God designed sex as a gift to be enjoyed within boundaries where it will bring blessings and not pain. But because of the sinful nature that exists in all of us, sex has the potential to become one of the greatest problems in a dating or marriage relationship. Sex is a divine design. It isn't just physical; it's spiritual. It isn't just casual; it's purposeful. Wherever and however we've struggled, we can be made clean through the forgiveness and grace Jesus purchased for us on the cross.Aaron Brockett • Significant Other • Genesis 2

One of the things that makes life so rich and rewarding is relationships. And one of the things that makes life so painful and complicated is relationships. God designed us on purpose. He made human beings in His image. What we believe about that will impact how we relate to others and inform how we behave. God is relational and designed us for connection. When we see ourselves as image bearers of a good God, we’ll see others as His image bearers and treat them accordingly. No matter the relationship, our love will be built on friendship.Aaron Brockett • Significant Other • Genesis 1-2

In John 3, Jesus has a conversation with Nicodemus—a man who appears to have it all together from the outside, but Jesus knows what’s going on underneath the surface. We can fool a lot of people, yet all of us are guilty of holding back a portion of ourselves or not revealing all that’s going on inside our hearts. Jesus looks past the exterior to what’s underneath. The only way to have a relationship with Him is to be completely remade, to start over and be born again. Jesus didn’t come to reform; He came to completely transform.Aaron Brockett • Jesus Is • John 3:1-21

Many of us would say we want safety and security, but we often experience the opposite. In John 10, Jesus describes Himself as the Gate. If we want all that God has for us, Jesus is the door that we must go through. When we walk through that door and hear His voice, He promises three things: we will be saved, we will come and go freely and find good pastures, and we will have a rich and satisfying life. A full life means having peace, having joy, having God.Ryan Bramlett • Jesus Is • John 10:1-10

The theme of shepherd and sheep is one that runs throughout the Bible. Jesus came to be the Good Shepherd. He sacrificed it all for us, even His life, and He’s motivated by love. To God, we’re not a number. We’re not what we can do or what we can produce. He calls us by name. How can we hear the voice of the Good Shepherd? We turn down the volume of the world and find silence in God’s presence. He knows us, and He wants a relationship with us.Ryan Bramlett • Jesus Is • John 10:11-18

Jesus concludes His Sermon on the Mount with a parable about foundations. Storms are inevitable, and the best time to prepare for them is before they come. We are all building a life. Our daily decisions, choices, and routines are the hammer and nails, assembling the shape of what our lives will ultimately be. A wise builder understands the cumulative effect of choices, big and small, and applies wisdom frequently to each one. Jesus calls us to build our foundations with wisdom.Aaron Brockett • MasterClass • Matthew 7:24-29

As the Sermon on the Mount nears the end, Jesus warns us about people who pretend to be something they’re not. We not only have to watch out for external threats from false prophets; we have to watch out for the false prophets within ourselves. How do we change our hearts to be real? We face our reality boldly, tell ourselves the brutal truth, and choose to be broken before God and someone else. God wants to know us and be known by us. Aaron Brockett • MasterClass • Matthew 7:15-23

Jesus has preached a message to His disciples on some very heavy topics. As we allow His words to equip and empower us, we come to realize that spiritual growth is often harder than we expected. We have an enemy who wants to tempt and distract us from growing closer to Jesus, and Jesus tells us the answer is prayer. He teaches us to pray for our spiritual lives by continuing to ask, seek, and knock. The Kingdom of God begins in our hearts. Kyle Riley • MasterClass • Matthew 7:7-14

As Jesus teaches His disciples what it looks like to live in the kingdom of God in His famous Sermon on the Mount, He dives straight to our hearts, and His teaching on judging others is no different. Jesus isn’t saying there’s never a time to make a judgment call or to be discerning, but He does challenge us to judge rightly. To do that, we must see ourselves and others clearly, and seeing clearly begins in our hearts. Ryan Bramlett • MasterClass • Matthew 7:1-6

The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus exclaiming to His followers that God has so much more for us than the brokenness so prevalent in our world today. From His teaching on treasure and material possessions, Jesus now digs a little deeper into that topic by showing us how disordered priorities and misguided affections are often the cause of much of the worry we face in this life. Instead of just a command to “stop worrying,” Jesus invites us into a life of freedom and abundance. Aaron Brockett • MasterClass • Matthew 6:25-34

Prayer may be the most universal spiritual discipline practiced across all religions. Even if we don’t believe in God, we probably still pray because something inside of us instinctively recognizes our need for help and cries out for it! In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives His followers the why and how to pray. As we practice this discipline, we learn that prayer is all about deepening our connection with our heavenly Father, something very different from any other religion. We pray not to get something, but to know Someone. Ryan Bramlett • MasterClass • Matthew 6:5-15

Jesus isn’t afraid to address challenging topics because He knows our lives are greatly impacted by them. As He turns His attention to good deeds, money, and material possessions in His Sermon on the Mount, He continues to focus on the motivations of our heart and transformation from the inside out. He teaches the important truth that our hearts will always follow what we treasure, and He challenges us to have spiritual vision and an eternal perspective.   Aaron Brockett • MasterClass • Matthew 6:1-4, 19-24

The Sermon on the Mount is a grand exposition on how to live out the greatest commandment: love God and love people. In it, Jesus walks through case studies to explain what He means, four of which are divorce, dishonesty, revenge, and loving our enemies. Jesus calls us to not just focus on external behavior and image management. He calls us to examine the motives of our hearts. When we follow His example, we reflect the Kingdom of God to the world around us. Aaron Brockett • MasterClass • Matthew 5:31-48

Jesus knew that knowledge wasn’t enough to give meaning and purpose to life. He didn’t come to earth just to heal a few people or to teach a few lessons on morality or good manners. He didn’t even come just to die on a cross so that sinners could go to heaven someday. Jesus came to teach men and women what it means to be fully human. He came to win our hearts and change us from the inside out. Aaron Brockett • MasterClass • Matthew 5:20-30

We live in an age where we have more access to information than any other generation in history. While knowledge isn’t a bad thing, it isn’t enough to fix the massive brokenness of our world and the bankruptcy found within each of our hearts. We need something deeper and more profound. In His most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus described His upside-down kingdom, His way of putting our broken world right-side up. Aaron Brockett • MasterClass • Matthew 5

A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline. Jesus taught the original master class on what it means to be fully human when He gave His famous Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-7. The message of His sermon wasn’t, “Live like this and you’ll be my disciple,” but rather, “Because you are my disciple, live like this.” It’s not about how we ought to live, but how we were meant to live. Let the words of the Sermon on the Mount lead you straight to the Master Himself. Ryan Bramlett • MasterClass • Matthew 5:1-12

The heart of the Christmas story is that God sent His Son to be a Savior for everyone, including the fearful, the shamed, and the guilty.Aaron Brockett • For All the People • Luke 2:10-11

The good news of the Christmas story is that God meets us where we are. In the midst of overwhelming guilt, God provides an answer! Confession to both God and others is the pathway to forgiveness and joy. Let guilt be the vehicle that takes you straight to the grace of God.  Ryan Bramlett • For All the People • Luke 2:8, Psalm 32:1-7

The announcement the angel brought to the shepherds on that first Christmas was a message he said would bring great joy to all people. It wasn’t a message just for the Jew, the Gentile, the religious, the good person, or the worthy person, but for all. If you feel like Mary and Joseph - as if your life has been disrupted, or you feel alone, or you feel shamed - God meets you in all three with His love and grace. Jesus was born from sinners, for sinners. Aaron Brockett • For All the People • Luke 2, Matthew 1

To be afraid is to be human. The command, “Don’t be afraid,” is the most frequent command in the Bible for a reason. Where is God in the midst of our fear? As we look forward to the celebration of God coming to earth as a baby this season, remember that God is always doing something in the midst of our storms. Whatever fear is stealing from you, God wants to replace it with a peace that passes all human understanding.  Ryan Bramlett • For All the People • Luke 2:10, Mark 4:35-41

How can we disagree with brothers and sisters in Christ in a way that honors both God and the other person? Romans 14 and 15 give us guidelines for doing this well. By prioritizing the spiritual health of others over our personal freedoms in Christ, we bring glory to God. Spiritual maturity is not developing convictions based on how much we know. It's learning to show restraint in the weight we give those convictions. In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, love.Aaron Brockett • Recalibrate • Romans 14, 15

While the first 11 chapters of the book of Romans reveal a painstakingly logical explanation of the Gospel message in its entirety, the last five chapters move on to the practical application of it. The Gospel shows us how to rightly see ourselves and revolutionizes our relationships with God, with other Christians, with enemies, and even with our governing authorities.Aaron Brockett • Recalibrate • Romans 12, 13

The book of Romans shows us a church with strong similarities to the church today – a group of people who trusted in their Christian activity rather than actively trusting in Christ, a people consumed with projects for God rather than the promises of God. But a relationship with Jesus is the antidote to religion, regardless of background or ethnicity. Because of His great love, we are sent into the world to also love and to bring the message of this good news.Alex Diaz • Recalibrate • Romans 9, 10

For followers of Jesus, the struggle with sin is a battle we will continue to fight until the day we go to be with God in heaven for all of eternity. Until then, we can rest assured it’s a battle we don’t fight alone. Because of the Holy Spirit living in us, we have a position of right standing with God that cannot be removed, we have a purpose on earth that cannot be ruined, and we have a power to overcome sin that cannot be rivaled.Ryan Bramlett • Recalibrate • Romans 8

We’re all looking for worth and acceptance, but that’s a battle none of us can win. Following Jesus means we’ll face an ongoing war in our minds. Recognizing the victory Jesus won for us changes the way we see the fight. Jesus established our ultimate worth when He suffered on our behalf, so that we would have success over our old selves and would be released from the fight we could never win.Aaron Brockett • Recalibrate • Romans 7

An invitation to follow Jesus is an invitation to war with our personal sin. God tells us in Romans 6 is that being made right in His sight frees us from the power of sin, but it doesn’t mean that we will never be tempted to sin. The process of being made holy is a battle we will fight until the day we go to be with Jesus for eternity, but it’s one we don’t fight alone. Through the power of the Holy Spirit in us, we now have the choice to say “yes” to God and “no” to sin.Aaron Brockett • Recalibrate • Romans 5:20 - 6:23

Pain and trials are inevitable in this life, but the gospel message transforms the way we look at suffering. Jesus came to earth to make the ultimate sacrifice for us. He was familiar with sorrows and acquainted with grief, yet He never sinned. Because of His sacrifice, we can face our trials from a place of peace and joy, looking forward to the day when we will share God’s glory.Aaron Brockett • Recalibrate • Romans 5:1-19

The message of the Bible is that we are saved by faith. We don’t earn a right standing with God because of how hard we work. Righteousness is counted to us because of our faith in God who forgives sinners. Nothing is too hard for Him. This gives us a hope that is greater than how we feel or things appear – a hope that anchors our identity, security, and assurance. We’re welcomed into the family of God, not by what we’ve done but by what Jesus did on our behalf.Ryan Bramlett • Recalibrate • Romans 4

As followers of Jesus, the lens by which we see the world is increasingly at sharp odds with those of our culture. As a result, we are under constant pressure to assimilate and follow the crowd. Each one of us will one day stand before the judgment seat of God. He justifies us freely by His grace, meaning He declares us righteous through the finished work of Jesus. When we put our trust in Him, everything that was ours becomes His (our sin) and everything that was His becomes ours (His righteousness). Aaron Brockett • Recalibrate • Romans 2:17-29, Romans 3:9-26 Religion vs The Gospel Resource

Our modern western culture doesn’t call us to bow down to a gold idol, but it does call us to bow to an ideology. God designed the world to be without pain, disease, war, and hurt, but whatever God creates, Satan counterfeits. The good news is Jesus defeated him on the cross, and He wants to change each of us, beginning with our hearts. God isn’t looking for external conformity to a religion or set of beliefs, but an inward transformation of the heart. Aaron Brockett • Recalibrate • Romans 1:18-32, Romans 2:1-4

There's a difference between magnetic north and true north, and if we follow the ever-changing magnetic pull of culture, we'll never end up at true north. Romans is a book of the Bible that takes aim at casual Christianity and divisive Christianity, calling us back to Jesus in every area of our lives. Jesus loved us at our worst. He rescued us, redeemed us, and made us right with God. When we put Him front and center in our lives, it changes everything. Aaron Brockett • Recalibrate • Romans 1

Our world is suffering from spiritual and emotional dehydration. Everything that has transpired around the world over the past year-and-a-half is contributing to a thirst that we can't satisfy with created things, despite our attempts to do so. Our culture offers things that only dehydrate us more. But Jesus came to be our living water! In Him we can be deeply known, deeply loved, and completely accepted. Aaron Brockett • Dry Fountains • John 4

At some point in our lives nearly all of us land in a spot that causes us to say, “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” Following Jesus will sometimes be a path of pain, but it’s never without purpose. In the story of the Red Sea, God delivers His people in miraculous fashion. We serve that same God today! A God who fights for His people, who delivers them from sin and enemies, and who makes a way for them to be with Him. He deserves our awe, our worship, and all the glory. Ryan Bramlett • Our Next Guest • Exodus 13, 14

We tend to relegate the resurrection to one Sunday every year. But the reality is the resurrection wasn’t supposed to be an annual event that we acknowledge, but a moment in time that affects how we live in every moment in time. Whatever our circumstances, we can follow the example of the three women who encountered Jesus’ empty tomb: keep moving, look up, and respond to Jesus. Kenny Hart • Our Next Guest • Mark 16:1-8

We all have different lenses we see the world through, but no one has ever seen like Jesus. Jesus looked through the eyes of love, and according to God’s Word, love is 3-D. Love is a decision, love is a demonstration, and love is always the difference. We’re called to see what Jesus would see if He were looking through our eyes and respond with a heart of compassion. Mike Breaux • Our Next Guest • Ephesians 3:17-19

All of us have wrestled at some point with failure. The toughest failures to overcome are the ones we pridefully declare would never happen to us. Just as Jesus restored hope to Peter after he denied Him three times, He wants to restore hope in our lives too. When we struggle, we can follow Peter’s example – own our failures, stay connected to community, and dive in and swim toward Jesus. He is a God of second chances who gives us forgiveness, mercy, and hope. Mike Breaux • Our Next Guest • Matthew 26:75

Life is short and happens in a flash, but God is faithful. He has promised a heavenly homeland – a perfect place without a hint of evil, a place where only goodness and love are present, a place where every tongue and tribe and nation will praise Jesus. God calls us to trust Him and believe in His unshakable love until we see Him face to face in heaven. We can believe Him from the beginning to the end of our life here on earth. Mike Breaux • Our Next Guest • Ecclesiastes 12:1-5

The phrase ‘new normal’ is a way to describe a rhythm, way of life, or habit that initially is different, until it becomes common. When we become followers of Jesus, we experience a new normal. Our purpose becomes to know Him and make Him known. Our perspective shifts, and we see circumstances and people through His lens. And we become new people who have been changed by Him. A new normal with Jesus is a life that reflects the fact that we’ve been with Him.Kyle Riley • Our Next Guest • 2 Corinthians 5:11-17, Acts 4:13

We all have potholes in our life stories, and if they go unaddressed, they quickly become sinkholes that create collateral damage. We must get after the thing beneath the thing and get emotionally honest about why we do the things we do. God is relentless in His pursuit of our wholeness. This is His grace – His deep longing to make us whole, holy, and spiritually healthy. Steve Carter • Our Next Guest • Esther 3