January 31, 2012
"The gospel, applied to our hearts every day, frees us to be brutally honest with ourselves and with God. The assurance of His total forgiveness of our sins through the blood of Christ means we don't have to play defensive games anymore. We don't have to rationalize and excuse our sins. We can say we told a lie instead of saying we exaggerated a bit. We can admit an unforgiving spirit instead of continuing to blame our parents for our emotional distress. We can call sin exactly what it is, regardless of how ugly and shameful it may be, because we know that Jesus bore that sin in His body on the cross. With the assurance of total forgiveness through Christ, we have no reason to hide from our sins anymore."...
January 6, 2012
I'm at a season of life where it seems like it's time to slow down. Nothing is working quite right anymore. I need glasses for aging eyes and anti-inflammtories for aging joints. I forget names and what commonly used household gadgets are called. Solitude invites me to steal away (which I enjoy doing at times!) while a growing family and new church lovingly require me to get even busier than ever. The commercials say Benny and I should be anticipating retirement after all the years of being in the throes of parenting and pastoring. Sometimes I envy those who can....
February 18, 2014 by Jesse Phillips | Category: I am Ananias | Tags: Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, Lake Nona Churches, Idolatry, Idol, lee vista, lee vista church, acts, ananias
What are some of the idols in your heart? What are some good desires that have been twisted by your internal idol factory into a substitute for God? As we identify the ways that we are like Ananias, let's do what Ananias and Sapphira did not do, and refuse to serve them....
Keep ReadingFebruary 16, 2014 by Jesse Phillips | Category: I am Ananias | Tags: propelled, Holy Spirit, acts, ananias, About Us, Redeemer Church, Orlando Church, lee vista church, lee vista, Lake Nona Churches, Lake Nona Church, lake Nona
Soon after the church took Jerusalem by storm - adding thousands of members in its opening sermon - it began to encounter stiff opposition. The gospel will never go unopposed by Satan. One of his initial strategies in Acts was to derail the church's momentum through the trial of moral corruption....
Keep Reading