Tag: Sermon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:29 — 16.8MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 3:1-5

Galatians
Freedom’s Spirit
Galatians 3:1-5

The question is: How do we live the Christian life without crashing? How do we maintain a dynamic spiritual vitality without burning out?

That’s how we got started in the Christian life. We began with a simple faith in Christ who loved us and died for us.

If you want God’s Holy Spirit within, then stop trying to chase after Him; stop working so hard to get Him. Instead, simply receive Him by resting quietly in Christ.

All we need to do is trust our Coach. All we need to do is trust God’s Holy Spirit as He leads us through life.

In other words, don’t give up the fight yet! Keep on living your life by faith in Christ, not somebody’s religious system.

But that’s exactly how God supplies His Spirit to those of us who believe. He supplies His Holy Spirit with great, extravagant abundance!

He supplies His Spirit as a life-long companion and close friend, as One who walks with us through every step of our lives.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:23 — 22.9MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 2:11-21

Galatians
Freedom’s Power
Galatians 2:11-21

The rules are good, but they don’t make us better people, do they? If anything, they just make us feel guilty when we don’t follow through.

When we try to make ourselves look good by following a list of rules, then we divide ourselves from one another.

When we try to make ourselves look good by following a list of rules, then we divide ourselves from one another and it causes a lot of hurt.

Trying to abide by any external standard does nothing to change us on the inside.

We don’t make ourselves better people by trying to follow a list of rules. In fact, we make ourselves worse! We divide ourselves. We deceive ourselves. And we deny the gospel.

So if you truly want to become a better person, don’t trust a law; Trust the Lord! Put your faith in Christ.
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If you want to find true righteousness before God, if you want to hit a homerun with Him, if you truly want to be a better person, then don’t depend on a list of rules; instead depend on the Lord.
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:00 — 19.2MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 2:1-10

Galatians
Freedom’s Threats
Galatians 2:1-10

The door to freedom scares a lot of people. They prefer the comfort of the known, even if it means death, to the uncertainty of the unknown.

Paul would teach the Gentiles that freedom from sin is gained simply through faith in Christ.

They all agreed that our salvation is by God’s grace alone through faith in God’s Son alone without any additional requirements.

We must labor with each other to proclaim and live out the Gospel.

They agreed not only to proclaim it together. They agreed to live it out together as well.

When our legalistic standards keep us from helping people in need, then we need to dump those standards, especially those of us who preach the good news of God’s unconditional love.

We must come together in the truth. And we must work together for the truth if we’re going to be all that God has called us to be as a church.

When we come together as the church here in Richmond, let’s remember “It’s not about the food; it’s about the family.” It’s not about the music; it’s about the memories we make together.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:16 — 18.7MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 1:11-24

Galatians
Freedom’s Influence
Galatians 1:11-24

Jesus calls us, His followers, “the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13), but salt that stays on the shelf doesn’t do any good at all.

Paul makes the point that he didn’t get his ideas from any man. He got them directly from Jesus Christ Himself in Arabia.

We gain the right to be heard, because we have spent time with the Master Himself, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Oh, that God would open our eyes to love and appreciate the supreme treasure that we have in His Word.

If we’re going to speak with any authority in our world, then we must know Jesus personally.

God has set apart each and every one of us believers for a special purpose.

God was glorified because of the change in Paul’s life. And God is glorified when we allow Christ to change our lives, as well.

We can change our world for the better! All we have to do is commune with Christ and allow Him to change us from the inside out.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:47 — 19.8MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 1:6-12

Galatians
The Good News of Freedom
Galatians 1:6-12

In people’s sincere efforts to translate the gospel into something we can understand, sometimes things get lost in the translation.

You see, false teachers were coming after the Apostle Paul and claiming to preach the same Gospel he did. But Paul makes it very clear, “They are preaching a different gospel.”

We are all part of the problem, but there is only one man who is the solution. His name is Jesus.

False teachers distort the good news. They twist the truth, and it confuses people.

Any time anybody adds anything to faith as a requirement for God’s acceptance, then all kinds of red flags should go up.

As people engage in practices and embrace ideas that are spiritually poisonous, they think it is making them more spiritual.

All we have to do is trust Christ. All we have to do is commit our lives to Him.

Faith, and faith alone, sets us free.

Christ died for our sins. Christ rose again. All we need to do is trust Him. That’s the simple Gospel that comes from God Himself.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:20 — 20.1MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 1:1-5

Galatians
Breaking Free!
Galatians 1:1-5

What will it take for us to really break free from the habits and attitudes that keep us grounded?

We better listen very carefully to His words, because they are not his words; they are God’s Words.

If you and I want to be truly free, then we too must wake up and listen!

God doesn’t base His decision to release us because of something we did.

We aren’t even looking for the freedom God provides. Instead, God has to come looking for us.

Christ has purchased our freedom, but we want to hang on to the little trinkets of this world; and we prefer the familiarity of our bondage over the unsettling prospects of freedom.

You see, we’re not just talking about a ticket to heaven in the future here. We’re talking about the way to a life of goodness and holiness today, in the present.

If you want to be truly free, then simply listen to God’s Word, and believe it when he tells you, “I am setting you free!”