GRINDIT podcast

This is the last epistle Paul would write and he has encouraged Timothy to take the baton and keep going. He has warned him of the challenges he faces and he has exhorted him to continue even in the face of persecution. He gives some final thoughts and gives some greetings to some coworkers including Priscilla and Aquila. These two people started the church at Ephesus which is where Timothy is when he receives this letter. But as he closes his letter, Paul has one request for Timothy...he tells him to get there before Winter. Why? Because he...

Paul tells Timothy his life has been poured out as an offering to God. What is he talking about? In the Old Testament, Jacob made an offering to God and with it, he poured out a drink with his offering. In Exodus, God commanded the priests to offer a drink offering along with the sacrifices that they make in the morning and the evening. Jesus was partaking the Passover with his disciples when he tells them, “This is the blood of the new covenant that is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive many people of their sins.” Paul gave...

This is the last chapter, of the last epistle, that will be coming from Paul as he is about to meet death when Nero has him beheaded. It is absolutely packed with some dynamic teaching as Paul urges Timothy to keep the fight going for Jesus, the gospel, and the kingdom of God. In the very first verse, we are challenged with some rich thoughts that Paul is writing in the very presence of God and Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead when Jesus comes to set up the kingdom of God. Is the kingdom of...

This is the last chapter, of the last epistle, that will be coming from Paul as he is about to meet death when Nero has him beheaded. It is absolutely packed with some dynamic teaching as Paul urges Timothy to keep the fight going for Jesus, the gospel, and the kingdom of God. In the very first verse, we are challenged with some rich thoughts that Paul is writing in the very presence of God and Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead when Jesus comes to set up the kingdom of God. Is the kingdom of...

Mary and I spoke at Authentic Church on 12-14-25. We are sharing the sermon with you this week since it is Christmas week and we will get back to 2 Timothy 4 next week! We hope your Christmas was wonderful!

Mary and I spoke at Authentic Church on 12-14-25. We are sharing the sermon with you this week since it is Christmas week and we will get back to 2 Timothy 4 next week! Merry Christmas!

2 Timothy 3 is basically Paul warning Timothy to stay away from teachers who don’t teach truth. Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to correct false teachers who have come in wreaking havoc in the church there. They have taught doctrines that sound truthful but when someone falls for it, they realize they have been deceived and they are left picking up the pieces from the destruction. Paul tells Timothy the word of God, (he is referring to the Old Testament) is God breathed and will teach people the truth and how to live a life pleasing to God. Paul tells Ti...

Looking back in your early years of life, how many of your friends that you were so close to, are still a part of your life? Probably not many, if I had to guess. Sure, they may be a friend on social media, but you haven’t heard from them in years. Paul has poured so much into the kingdom of God, traveling over the known world and preaching the gospel, being chased, beaten, stoned, persecuted in many ways, and now he is in chains, awaiting his death. Many of his coworkers have deserted him, deceivers have come in be...

Paul says in the last days people are going to be so evil and not care. It seems as if he is describing the world in 2025! He gives a long description of people and how empty their hearts are. Paul calls out deceitful men who prey on vulnerable women, gaining their confidence, only to take advantage of them in the end. He mentions two men by name that aren’t found in scripture, Jannes and Jambres. These two men, according to the Talmud and tradition, are the two magicians that stood against Moses before pharaoh. They were able to re...

Paul warns Timothy of what is coming the near future: counterfeit believers. His description of these counterfeit believers sounds as if he is looking into our world today in 2025, but he isn't. He is speaking about people in his day and time that have turned against the truth and they are deceiving others, in particular, vulnerable women who give these deceiving men time and attention. Paul warns Timothy to stay away from such people...why? Because he doesn't want Timothy to be corrupted by their deception!

Elvis sang a song that said, “I’m caught in a trap...I can’t walk out...” He was talking about love. He loved someone and no matter what, he couldn’t walk away from the relationship because he loved that person. Paul talks about a different trap that people get caught in and that trap is set by Satan himself. He says these people are being held captive by Satan and doing whatever he desires. The sad thing is, they don’t even realized it. They think they are living life to the fullest and doing whatever they want, not ca...

There are many men and women way smarter than I will ever be but that doesn’t make their teaching right. I want to challenge you to read the bible for yourself and not study another man’s teaching and take it as gospel. Since the 1500s, man has fought and divided over teachings that are not from God, they are simply man’s ideas. Hundreds of denominations have formed from these teachings but before these teachings there was one church with one message. Paul said there is one foundation, Jesus, and we are to be careful on how we bui...

How many times have you heard something like this, “You don’t have to do anything to be saved. Only believe.” I agree one hundred percent salvation is through faith in Christ given to us by his marvelous grace, but I am not sold on the “you don’t have to do anything” bit because if you are believing, you are doing something and Paul tells Timothy many things in chapter 2 that he must do in order to remain strong in his faith in Christ. In vs15 Paul tells Timothy to “work hard” and “be a good worker” so that he will “receiv...

When I was a young man in my late teens, I played drums at a big church in West Tennessee where Sam Austin was pastoring. He now pastors somewhere in Arkansas now and is an evangelist. He would sometimes say, “You can clean up a pig and win first prize at the county fair but as soon as you get that clean pig home, it’s running straight for the mud! Because that is what pigs do!” Paul tells Timothy, “Teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others...” Some people just aren’...

Due to sickness, we can't record this week so here is part 2 of Randy's sermon from November 9 on David and Goliath. We will return to 2 Timothy next week! God bless and thank you for watching, listening, and sharing the GRINDIT Podcast!

Due to sickness, we can't record this week so here is part 1 of Randy's sermon from November 9 on David and Goliath. We will return to 2 Timothy next week! God bless and thank you for watching, listening, and sharing the GRINDIT Podcast!

Onesiphorus is only mentioned a couple of times in Paul’s second letter to Timothy but he made a huge impact on Paul. Why? Because, when Paul was imprisoned a second time in Rome and new he was about to face death eye to eye, everybody left him, except Luke. He felt what it was like to be abandoned by his closest friends and coworkers which is why he reaches out to Timothy telling him he was eager to see him. Onesiphorus searched all over Rome until he found Paul, and after finding him in prison chained like a cr...

Paul is in a prison in Rome and will soon be killed by the Emperor Nero. The only person with him is Luke, the author of the gospel of Luke and Acts. Paul begins to write Timothy, his son in the faith, to tell him he misses him and would love to see him one more time. He tells Timothy to not be ashamed of his chains like the other guys and he explains how they all left him alone, but he also tells Timothy, "You too, will suffer like me so keep in mind that God did not...

We take a break from our regular study to share with you some things about our Spain trip and some lessons we learned. We will start 2 Timothy next week!

Here is a link to a short video you can watch to see some pictures. There are other videos on my personal YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/em6-YSdOC88

We take a break from our regular study to share with you some things about our Spain trip and some lessons we learned. We will start 2 Timothy next week!

Here is a link to a short video you can watch to see some pictures. There are other videos on my personal YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/em6-YSdOC88

Did you ever watch Animal Planet or one of those animal videos that show a lion or some type of predator watching a herd of animals just waiting for one to leave the herd? The predator literally lays in wait just biding time until one of those unsuspecting animals walks away from the herd just enough to be vulnerable, and as soon as they get away from the protection of the herd, the predator attacks. This is what Paul is warning Timothy about and he tells him, “Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you.”

THIS IS OUR 500TH EPISODE!!!! Paul tells Timothy these false teachers have come in and wreaked havoc on the church ion Ephesus. He leaves Timothy there to help get things get back on track and in chapter 6, Paul is going to finalize his instructions. In them he says these false teachers have one main motive—money. They want to get rich and Peter says something similar in his letters to the church. Paul says real wealth comes from two things: godliness and contentment. How do we get those two things? By trusting God to meet our needs...

Paul leaves Timothy behind in Ephesus to help a struggling church get back on track. One of the many issues is widows. Who is supposed to be taking care of the widows and what constitutes a widow that can be helped? Are their stipulations? What does Paul have to say about the younger widows? What about the widow who decides she isn’t going to be devoted to God and just wants to liver her life the way she sees fit? We dive into all of this and more in this podcast!

In today’s podcast, we start to cover 1 Timothy 5 where Paul is writing Timothy to give him instructions for the church in Ephesus. In chapter 5, Paul deals with widows and how they are to be taken care of. Is it the church’s responsibility to take care of widows? We go back to the Old Testament and see what God had to say about widows back then and the laws He gave to the people through Moses and some examples of how God used widows to usher in the Messiah!

I was taught spiritual gifts could only be passed to others by the apostles and when the apostles died, so did the spiritual gifts. This is clearly false because Paul tells Timothy to use the spiritual gift that was given him when the elders at the church in Ephesus laid their hands on him! He will tell him again in his second letter to Timothy to fan into flames the spiritual gift given to him when Paul laid his hands on Timothy. This tells me Timothy was not using his spiritual gifts as he should. Why not? What was...

The early church didn’t have multiple copies of the bible to pick up and read but they did have the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, as Jesus said in John 14, leads to all truth. In other words, the Holy Spirit comes from God, who is truth, and therefore will lead us in truth. Jesus said he is the truth in John 14:6. Some people in the church at Ephesus were following truth but at some point, they quit and started following demons. Paul is writing to Timothy, a young man, to stay in Ephesus and fight the enemy that is...

We are on vacation/ mission trip to Spain so here is Mary's sermon we presented at Authentic Church as a part of pastor James' series about Hope from the book of Philippians. We will return to 1 Timothy next week. Muchisimas Gracias!

We are on a mission trip to Spain this week so we are giving you the sermon Mary and I preached a few weeks ago at Authentic Church from Philippians 4. We will be back to 1 Timothy next week! Good bless...

Paul says these false teachers have seared their conscience with a hot iron. This practice goes way back to the Egyptians who would take something, stick it in a fire, get it super-hot, then stick that hot object to a wound which would seal it up, kill infection, and it would heal faster. It is the same idea today of branding an animal. These false teachers have sealed themselves from the truth of God and are teaching false doctrine that Paul says comes from demons and they are leading people astray from Jesus! He sends Timothy in the heat...

Paul makes a strong statement in chapter 4 saying that some people have quit following truth and started following these false teachers whose teachings come from demons! Yikes! This means there were men and women who had given their life to Jesus, they were filled with the Holy Spirit who leads people into all truth, they were operating in the gifts of the Spirit, yet, after giving time and attention to these false teachers, they deliberately turned from Jesus to follow demons. It is easy for us to say we would never do such a thing but...watch out! You...

Paul gives Timothy instructions to choose church leaders, in particular elders and deacons, for the church in Ephesus. We breakdown the qualifications for both in today's podcast and discuss how the American church doesn't follow these instructions very well. We tend to choose people who have money or who is from a prominent family in the she congregation and forget the qualifications...AND the Bible is clear these positions are plural, not singular! There should never be one, what we call "pastor" with a bunch of deacons under him, these positions were always plural in every church!

Since we have covered a lot of things just in chapters 1 and 2, we decided to review those two chapters...Actually Randy got long winded and took too long with the review so we made two separate podcasts for chapter 3. This is part 1 and awe will cover church leaders--elders and deacons, in the next podcast. Thanks for listening and sharing the GRINDIT Podcast! God bless you!!!

We are tackling one of the most difficult passages in the Bible that comes from 1 Timothy 2 about women keeping silent and not being able to teach a man. It has been a hot topic and debated for centuries! What does Paul say? What does he mean by what he says? Is there a contradiction here? Does Paul contradict his very own thoughts? We’re going to dissect it and give our input in this podcast. This is part 2.

We are tackling one of the most difficult passages in the Bible that comes from 1 Timothy 2 about women keeping silent and not being able to teach a man. It has been a hot topic and debated for centuries! What does Paul say? What does he mean by what he says? Is there a contradiction here? Does Paul contradict his very own thoughts? We’re going to dissect it and give our input in this podcast. There is a part 1 and a part 2.

Paul leaves Timothy in Ephesus so he could help the elders and the church in Ephesus to fight against false teachers and help them get back on track with the will of God. In chapter 2, Paul begins giving Timothy some instructions that will help him fight the battles and keep his conscience clear. In today’s podcast, we break down two of the four things that Paul instructs Timothy to do on behalf of all men and women, kings, and all of those who are in authority. He tells Timothy these four things are also pleasing to God. The ch...

Paul leaves Timothy in Ephesus so he could help the elders and the church in Ephesus to fight against false teachers and help them get back on track with the will of God. In chapter 2, Paul begins giving Timothy some instructions that will help him fight the battles and keep his conscience clear. In today’s podcast, we break down two of the four things that Paul instructs Timothy to do on behalf of all men and women, kings, and all of those who are in authority. He tells Timothy these four things are also pleasing to God. The ch...

What does Paul mean when he says there are some that have shipwrecked their faith and have violated their conscience? What were the consequences of the actions of Hymenaeus, Alexander, and in chapter 2, Philetus? Paul says he threw them out and turned them over to Satan! What does that mean? How can someone who is saved by Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, belong to Satan? Are they still saved? Can one be led by their flesh and not the Spirit and still make it to heaven and be with Jesus for eternity?

Paul tells Timothy to cling to his faith and keep a clear conscience. This tells me that there was something Timothy had to do which is contrary to teaching that is happening in many churches today that say, “There is nothing you to be saved. It is beyond your control.” If that is the case, why would Paul command Timothy these things? And not only that, Paul gives examples of men whom he threw out of the church in Ephesus because they violated their conscience and taught false doctrine! Do you have a clean conscience?

Paul goes into a testimony of how Jesus changed his life. He talks about his past and tells Timothy that he was the worst of sinners. This was triggered because he was talking about these people who think they know the law but really have no idea what they are talking about. As he was talking, he starts going through the ten commandments and he must have started reflecting back on how, even though he knew the law well as a Pharisee and had a zeal for God, was a sinner and needed the grace and mercy of God...

Have you ever listened to someone who sounds smart yet they have no idea what they are talking about? If you ever watch a “Reel” on social media, then you have listened to these people we call “Influencers.” They do these little, short videos, little snippets, sound bites, that sound amazing but once you get hooked and “Reeled” in, you find out they really have no idea what they are talking about and they lead people astray from the truth with their false teaching. Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to deal with people like this. People who sounded smart by telling m...

Paul leaves Timothy in Ephesus to deal with some issues in the church at Ephesus. He is a young man who is timid so Paul will tell him not to let that be a deterrent to what he is called to do. Before diving in to what instructions Paul gives Timothy for the church at Ephesus, we take a deep dive into the book of Ephesians to explore what some issues the church had, along with what Jesus had to say about the church in Revelation 2. There isn’t a perfect church because there aren’t any perfect people, so t...

Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to confront some issues the church was having and we dig into all of these issues looking at what we know about the church given to us in scripture. Timothy was a young man that Paul had converted to Jesus and he had traveled with Paul on his journeys as he started new churches and visited churches he established in the past. Timothy would be a little intimidated by what he was given to do and Paul offers him these three things: grace, mercy, and peace. Three things that are much needed today as...

Paul writes a letter to a young man that he pointed to Jesus and after accepting him as his Lord and Savior, Timothy joins Paul in his travels as he starts churches and visits the ones he had already established. The point of Paul writing this letter is because there are issues beginning to crop up with the Gentile church in Ephesus and Paul is going to leave Timothy in Ephesus to confront the issues. The transformation that Jesus makes in people when they dedicate their lives to him is amazing! Just look at the one who is writing...

Paul writes a letter to a young man that he pointed to Jesus and after accepting him as his Lord and Savior, Timothy joins Paul in his travels as he starts churches and visits the ones he had already established. The point of Paul writing this letter is because there are issues beginning to crop up with the Gentile church in Ephesus and Paul is going to leave Timothy in Ephesus to confront the issues. The transformation that Jesus makes in people when they dedicate their lives to him is amazing! Just look at the one who is writing...

Paul ends his letter like he started it, by telling the church, “May the God of grace give you peace...at all times...in every situation. The church at Thessalonica has gone through severe persecution since it started and they have lost loved ones because of it. They have to wonder what is coming next...Will they make it through the next day? Will they make it through the night? Are they going to get beaten before they get home from work or while they are out shopping? We may not be undergoing persecution like the church at Thessalonica, bu...

Paul is going to give some final thoughts to the church at Thessalonica as he wraps up this short letter in chapter 3. He tells them to avoid any brother or sister in Jesus who doesn’t live according to his rules and the example that he set before them. What rules? What example did he set? He tells them he could have eaten their food for free but they all worked hard day and night and paid for everything they received. Paul says if there is a brother or sister that wants to be a freeloader and not work, ma...

God’s grace allows us the opportunity to hear the gospel and believe the gospel. God’s grace gives us time to accept Jesus and live for him, even while people reject Jesus, doing their own thing, every second they live they are given grace because they have breath in their lungs and have the capability to accept Jesus and the sacrifice he made on the cross for our sins. But someday, that grace is going to turn into vengeance when Jesus returns. All of those who rejected Jesus will separated from God for eternity, never having another opportunity to r...

The church at Thessalonica has another concern about the return of Jesus so Paul writes a second letter to help them understand but in this letter, he causes confusion for us today! How? Because of what he says to them about the man of lawlessness and him being revealed some day; how this man will even sit in the temple of God! How can this happen when the Temple was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70 and no longer exists?!?! Did we miss the return of Jesus? Who is this man that will one day be revealed? Who will...

God’s grace allows us the opportunity to hear the gospel and believe the gospel. God’s grace gives us time to accept Jesus and live for him, even while people reject Jesus, doing their own thing, every second they live they are given grace because they have breath in their lungs and have the capability to accept Jesus and the sacrifice he made on the cross for our sins. But someday, that grace is going to turn into vengeance when Jesus returns. All of those who rejected Jesus will separated from God for eternity, never having another opportunity to r...

Can we fully know and understand what grace is and what grace brings us. I’ve heard it said grace is God’s Redemption At Christ’s Expense as well as, grace is God’s unmerited favor. What does that mean? How do we explain what grace is? I’m not sure we can fully but we try our best in this podcast. Paul starts out chapter one with grace and he ends it with grace. There’s a lot of things sandwiched in between that may help explain what grace is and does. One thing for sure, without God’s grace...

After discussing Jesus’ return with the church at Thessalonia, Paul offers some final thoughts for them, encouraging them to stick it out with Jesus and follow the Spirit’s leading. In these thoughts, he gives another “This is God’s will for you...” He tells them to be thankful in ALL circumstances...could you imagine being persecuted, seeing your loved ones die for following Jesus, and then a man comes along and tells you to be thankful?!?! Jesus did the same thing in Matthew 5 when he was giving the Sermon on the Mount! But there is more to Paul’s final thou...

After discussing Jesus’ return with the church at Thessalonica, Paul offers some final thoughts for them, encouraging them to stick it out with Jesus and follow the Spirit’s leading. In these thoughts, he gives another “This is God’s will for you...” He tells them to be thankful in ALL circumstances...could you imagine being persecuted, seeing your loved ones die for following Jesus, and then a man comes along and tells you to be thankful?!?! Jesus did the same thing in Matthew 5 when he was giving the Sermon on the Mount! But there is more to Paul’s final thou...

There has been person after person trying to predict when Jesus is coming back. They have sold books, made videos, movies, tv programs, etc talking about Jesus’ return. We talk about it in this podcast because Paul talks about it to the church in Thessalonica. He does so because he wants them to be encourage by it. They had lost loved ones to persecution and they thought they would never see them again, so Paul comforts them by telling them, “Jesus is coming back and when he does, your loved ones that were following him, they’re coming with him...

Sex sells and it’s everywhere. The enemy has taken something God designed between a husband and wife to enjoy, to procreate, and has twisted into something evil, sinful, that separates us from a Holy God. Even people who claim to follow Jesus have been duped by his deceitful scheme and, like a spider web, they have become entangled and wrapped up so tight they can’t escape. But they can if they are willing to do what Paul says and live a holy life that can only be found in Jesus. Those who have turned sex into an evil...

Paul says God’s will for us is to live holy lives and stay away from all sexual sin. The podcast was so long for this part, we made it into two podcasts because we talk in depth about what it means to be holy and how we are made holy by our faith in Jesus. We are to be different from the world around us, we have been called out and filled with the Holy Spirit! God lives inside of us, changing us from the inside, therefore, people should see that change taking place from the outside! In tu...

A question every follower of Jesus asks is, “What is God’s will for my life?” Well, you don’t have to wonder what God’s will for you is any longer because Paul reveals it in chapter 4! He says, “God’s will is for you to be holy...” Wow! Just be holy and you are doing God’s will but what does that mean? We talk about it in today’s podcast as well as the next two. It was a long discussion so we split this one up!

Paul tells the church at Thessalonica, “And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows.” The motivating factor for serving Jesus is and should always be “love.” Jesus told his disciples the people would know we belong to him because the love we have for one another. Paul says his love overflows for the church at Thessalonica but also he brags on their love for one another and their love for others in their community...and that is despite of persecution that the outsiders are brin...

Paul sends Timothy back to Thessalonica to check on them. He wanted to know if their faith was still strong or if the tempter had gotten the best of them and they had quit following Jesus. By the way, Timothy, a fairly new convert to Jesus, would be going alone. Is there any fear in Timothy? If so, he didn’t let him stop him from doing what Paul asked! He went to Thessalonica, he met with the believers there, and he came back to Corinth and reported to Paul about what he discovered from his visit. As a fo...

Could you imagine being a church that was being persecuted, you’re seeing your loved ones tortured, even killed for following Jesus, and the man who brought the gospel to you writes a letter of encouragement and during his letter, he says this, “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory and joy.” Paul reminds them to keep walking with the Lord because he will come to the rescue soon, and he says the church at The...

One thing the early church had as a part of its DNA was persecution. Jesus told his disciples they would face it, he faced it, and after Acts 2, they faced it. Jesus even warned Paul he would be persecuted as he travels around taking the gospel to the Gentiles...and he was the very one who led the charge when it comes to persecution! He was there at the stoning of Stephen and he says he gave his approval when it happened. Now, this man and his colleagues, are getting beaten with rods, whipped, flogged, and even stoned! But...

When we look at what Paul says about the church at Thessalonica, it puts the American church to shame. This church was facing severe persecution yet they worked hard and did loving deeds. The Greek word for “deeds” is kopos and it means they toiled and labored, even against opposition, to the point of exhaustion. They made such an impact for the kingdom that Paul said everywhere they go, people are talking about the church in Thessalonica. In America, we have turned “church” into big buildings with air conditioning, we come in and sing a few songs then listen to a pre...

The church at Thessalonica started in Acts 17. Paul and Silas made their way there after getting run out of Philippi. Luke says Paul reasoned with the Jews at the synagogue for three Sabbaths while most historians say Paul stayed there for about three months. He was run out of Thessalonica as well and went to Berea. However, that three month period made a huge impact there! The men and women who chose to obey the gospel took it to heart and wanted others to know about Jesus too! They were known in the region around them as people who...

This is a concept I have heard all of my life and it has been completely out of context. What does Paul mean when he says, “You reap what you sow?” Is he saying like these ministries today, “If you sow money into my ministry and make me rich, you will receive a big ole blessing from God later.”? 100% no! That is not what he is saying at all! He is telling the church at Galatia to quit being conceited and selfish, to sow into the lives of others and help pull them out of sin. He is saying we are t...

Every child dreams of becoming someone, something great, especially boys. We have a drive to hunt and conquer, to rescue the damsel in distress! We set out on a quest to become a hero, to win that battle! We set goals, we discipline ourselves and work hard to conquer them. Unfortunately, too many times we get so caught up in the quest and forget about the people around us. In fact, far too often, we use them to get a step higher on the ladder or to get us closer to the goal! Paul calls it being conceited, selfish...

We were asked to speak at Authentic Church during the Joel series. This is part 2 of a 2 part sermon.

We were asked to speak at Authentic Church during the Joel series. This is part 1 of a 2 part sermon.

While talking about freedom and that freedom coming from Jesus, Paul issues a warning to the church at Galatia, “Don’t use your freedom to gratify the flesh and its desires. He then posts a list of sins that gratify the flesh and in that list he says, “Those who do these and things similar, will not inherit the kingdom of God.” In the next breath, he lists the fruit of the Spirit and he says, “You’re free to do these things as much as you want.” Why? Because they bring glory to God. When God is holding our leash, and...

Paul says to the church at Galatia, “Christ has set you free” and “You have been called to live in freedom.” Over ten times in this letter, Paul uses some form of the word “freedom”. What does Paul mean by “freedom”? If we only have true freedom in Jesus, then what about those who are outside of Christ? They are in bondage, but so are those who are trying to follow the law or work their way to salvation. Why would anybody choose bondage after being set free?

Paul tells the church at Galatia, “Yall were running the race with all you had, exerting all the effort you could, but something happened and it has hindered your running.” What happened? Circumcision. It’s hard to run when you’ve had a knife cut into private part! That is a lot of pain and it takes a little while to heal up! Paul uses two words in the Greek to explain what he means by “hinder” but we don’t fully grasp it in the English translations. Check out this podcast to see what Paul means and ask. Yourself this...

Paul says to the church at Galatia, “So Christ has truly set us free.” What did Jesus set us free from? What put us in bondage to begin with? And the answer to that question is found in Paul’s letter to them, “The Law,” and in particular, they have listened to false teachers and have been convinced they, as Gentiles, need to be circumcised and follow the law. Paul makes it clear, if they follow the law, Christ is no effect to them, and they have been cut off from Christ. If you’re cut off from something, you have bee...

Paul calls the church at Galatia his “Dear Children” and then he says he feels as if he is going through labor pains over them again. Why would he say this? A man can’t have labor pains because a man cannot have children. What did Jesus say to Nicodemus in John 3? “Unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Paul has labored, his life threatened everywhere he went as he travels around spreading the gospel, telling people how be saved. Those that hear the gospel and are obedient, Paul calls them his “Children” because their...

Paul tells the church at Galatia, who is made up of Gentiles, “Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist.” Think back to early in the Old Testament when God came to Abraham and said “Leave Ur and go to a land I will show you.” Abraham was in a pagan land where people didn’t worship Yahweh...they worshipped gods that didn’t exist! Where did they learn of these gods? It all starts in the Garden of Eden, the fall of man, and man being kicked out. It wasn’t until Seth h...

We hear people say, “Salvation is free” or “Salvation is a free gift from God and all you have to do is receive it.” That is true in a way but our salvation wasn’t free...it cost Jesus everything. He willingly gave his life as a ransom, a payment, for our sin so that we could go free. Paul says he was born under the law, which made him subject to it, but he chose not to sin, yet he became sin when he hung on the cross. He was persecuted, hated, despised, rejected, beaten, crucified, buried, and came out a...

Paul is explaining to the church at Galatia that they cannot have a relationship with God through following the law because the law puts them in bondage. He says, “As a child, we are under the elements of this world” meaning we grow up hearing the alphabet. The letters of the alphabet make certain sounds and that’s the way it is. You cannot change the alphabet or the sounds. You are in bondage to it, and just like us, Jesus came in bondage to the law meaning he had the choice to sin but he didn’t! He never si...

The law was good because it showed us what sin is however, it also held us captive because there wasn’t any way to be set free from the bondage of sin...that is...until the way of faith came. That way of faith has a name, Paul says, and his name is Jesus, or Yeshua which means, “God is Salvation.” When Jesus came, he came with the authority from God and he would say, “You have heard it said (the law), but I say to you...” and the people were amazed at his teaching and hius authority. Paul tells the...

In the same way....that’s how Paul put’s it to the church at Galatia. What is he talking about? In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” Abraham believed God just like you did...by faith. He didn’t receive anything in his own effort. In fact, Abraham struggled when he didn’t trust God! He was fearful of dying when he was traveling through foreign land so he lied and said Sarah was his sister. Abraham was willing to let his wife be taken by another man just so he c...

Paul is upset with the church in Galatia because they have believed a false gospel. They have taken the faith they have put in God, in what Jesus has done for them on the cross, and put it in themselves, in their own works, their own righteousness because they are trying to win God’s approval by following the law. Paul says, “You already had God’s approval! How else do you think you were filled with the Holy Spirit? How do you think you were performing miracles?” It is because they had put their faith in God…just like Abrah

The word Bewitched means someone has used something that is artificial, something fake to trick, to deceive…like a magician tricking our eyes and making us believe what they are doing is real. That’s exactly what has happened to the church at Galatia. Paul says, “I came to you and painted a clear picture of Jesus and what he did on the cross, yet you have believed a fake.” It may look real and it may sound real, but it’s 100% fake! I brought you the real deal because I got it from the mouth of Jesus himself and yet, y...

Paul confronts Peter because of his sin, his choosing to not fellowship with the uncircumcised Gentiles when the circumcised Jews came into the room. Paul lets Peter know that he is in sin and his sin has led others astray as well! We take a deep dive into the seriousness of sin and who it effects beside us. What we see is it comes down to who do we chain ourselves to, who are we bound to? Ourselves? Our flesh? Or Jesus? Do we gratify our flesh or do we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us? If we...

Paul is going to talk about confronting Peter when he sinned by getting up from the table while he was fellowshipping with some uncircumcised Gentiles, and going to set with the circumcised Jews and not having any fellowship with them. Paul says he wasn’t having that because sin is serious business and our sin could easily persuade others to sin as well, which is exactly what happened when Peter did what he did! Did Paul handle it right? What does Jesus say about the seriousness of sin and how do we handle it when a brother or sister in...

Paul says some false believers tried to sneak into their meeting with the leadership at the church in Jerusalem to take away the freedom they have in Christ. These false believers wanted to make the Gentiles adhere to the laws God gave the Jews and Paul says, “No! They don’t have to do that, in particular, they don’t have to be circumcised!” We go on a deep dive in this podcast about “freedom” and what Paul means. Bottom line, God gives us His word...Do we trust Him?

Paul is rehearsing his story to the Galatians because he is proving to them that they can trust him. Why? Because he has been filled with the same Holy Spirit the apostles have and he has even had meetings with those apostles and they gave him their approval. He calls the apostles “pillars” which in the Greek means “Pillars of fire” and Paul says, “These pillars of fire accepted me and Barnabas as co-workers; therefore, I am a pillar of fire too! He even tells them in detail about a trip he took to Jerusalem to tell the apostles the messag...

In establishing his authority and defending it to the churches in Galatia, Paul makes a profound statement, “But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace.” Paul makes it clear that he did not choose this life that he lives, God chose it for him. He was a bad dude that loved God. He was a Pharisee, knew God’s word, and he had a zeal for God like nobody else! However, it was misguided zeal for he took it and persecuted the church thinking he was doing God a favor. In his fl...

When you want to confront someone about an issue, you better have some authority or you’ll get laughed at to your face! In the episode of Andy Griffith where Barney confronts the two men for selling fruits and vegetables on the side of the road without a permit, they threaten to beat him up. Barney leaves because of fear but comes back to confront them pointing out that his badge represents a higher authority and they better obey it or pay the consequences. Paul tells the church at Galatia, “My authority doesn’t come from any man but from J...

Paul was a prisoner in Rome because he spread the gospel and told people about Jesus. He was literally in chains! Onesimus was a rebellious, run-a-way slave who happened to find Paul and, while in chains, Paul shares the gospel with him, and his life is changed forever. Onesimus is a completely different person and Paul tells Philemon to accept him back because he will now be useful to him forever which is a play on his name, “Useful”. He wasn’t useful to you in the past but now he will be because Jesus has changed his life. Regard...

We are introduced to a slave owner named Philemon and we have this tiny letter because one of his rebellious slaves, Onesimus, ran away and just happened to run into Paul. Paul shares the gospel with the guy while in prison and Jesus changes his life! He helps Paul spread the gospel there in Rome but Paul sends him back to Philemon with this letter. In this letter Paul describes Philemon and his family: strong faith, love Jesus, love people, kind, and very generous. Philemon’s name means friendly and his wife’s name mean fruitful as in complimentary. Toge...

When reading the bible, people may have a tendency to skip through Paul’s greetings. At the end of his letters, he starts telling the people “thank you” and “greet (fill in the blank), but there is some good stuff found in his greetings if we will take the time to read them and such is the case in the letter of Colossians. Yes, Paul greets a lot of people, some even from another church (Laodicea), but if you break down some of these people’s lives from what he says about them, one can learn a lot! Like Epaphras f...

What does it mean to be “devoted” to something? I remember when I was a kid, sports players were “devoted” to a team. They played with one team their whole career. I don’t know of any player today that can say that because they follow the money. Whoever pays the most is where they go. To be “devoted” to something means you endure, you continue, even when things get hard. You don’t quit. Paul tells the church at Colosse to “devote” themselves to prayer and be watchful, with thanksgiving in their hearts. He is telling them to pray with expectatio...

When we “put on Jesus”, we put on all these things Paul mentions in chapter 3, tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. We are commanded to be like Jesus in everything we say and do, how we live, and Paul says we are to give God permission to work in our lives which means we must allow Him to chip away at the stone walls we have built around our hearts because someone has hurt us or wronged us in some way. Forgiveness is not an option, it is a must and Jesus is our greatest example. He was beat...

“What should I wear?” is a question my wife asks me when we are going on a date and I always answer the same way, “Beautiful, you know I have no idea about fashion so whatever you choose will look fine to me.” There’s a clothing we need to wear every day that is very important and it absolutely matters. Paul says at least three times in Colossians 3 to “Put on” a certain type of clothing: Jesus, love, and a whole bunch of Jesus characteristics. He wants people to look at us and see Jesus so God will be glorified...

Paul has made it clear that we have crucified the flesh, we have put it to death, buried the old man in the grave, and have come out a new creation in Jesus; We are filled with his Holy Spirit and have set our eyes on Jesus as we walk in this world. However, we must choose to do so everyday because Paul also makes it clear, even though we are filled with the Spirit, we will still be tempted and those desires still live in us. We have to make the choice to continue to walk with Jesus...

People today want to be seen and they’ll do anything to be seen. They’ll sleep with whoever they need to, lie, cheat their way to the top, deceive and walk all over anybody to achieve their goal. They want to go viral, be known, because it’s all about them. Paul says we are hidden in Christ and will be revealed when Jesus comes back. But again, who wants to be hidden? We want to be seen! When we come to Christ, our sins are forgiven, our old, sinful nature is put to death and buried, however, Paul s...

When I was a skateboarding teenager, we didn’t have internet or cell phones to order things. We had magazines and one magazine that I subscribed to was a skateboarding magazine called “Thrasher Magazine.” In Thrasher, there were ads selling skateboards and at the top of the add it would say, “Buy a complete for only $99!” which meant you could buy everything you need to skate from the ad: the deck, grip tape, trucks, riser pads, bearings, and wheels. When that thing came in the mail, you were ready to skate! Paul says, “When we have Jesus, we are complete.” W...

In Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, Hermey the Elf pulls the teeth of the big and bad abominable snowman therefore Rudolph and his friends no longer have to be afraid of him! Paul says Jesus has publicly disarmed the enemy therefore he has no power over us and we do not have to fear him! So do not let the enemy get in your head! When he reminds you of your past, you point to the cross and remind him of his future!

The word “continue” carries another option with it...don’t continue. How many times has a parent said, “Stop doing (fill in the blank),” but you keep doing it. Then you hear, “If you keep doing that (continue), you’re going to get a spanking (Or a time out)”? Then, since you continued to do the thing they said to quit doing, you get your punishment. The parent was implying “Do not continue doing what you are doing” when they said “If you continue doing that...” You had a choice to make...right? To continue or not continue. Paul tells the church at Colo...

Paul uses a three letter word that is so powerful in his letter to the church at Colosse, “Let.” He says, “Let your roots grow down in him,” and “Let your lives be built on him.” In other words, we have to give God permission to work in our lives. He just doesn’t overwhelm us, overpower us and say, “I am God and I am going to do this in your life whether you like it or not!” No, we have to give Him permission. Every day, we have a choice, Am I going to continue to follow Jesus? Am I going...

Mary and I spoke at Authentic Church this past Sunday, February 2. We kicked off pastor's new sermon series out of 1 Corinthians called, "I Want What's Best For You." Here is part 2 talking about division.

Mary and I spoke at Authentic Church this past Sunday, February 2. We kicked off pastor's new sermon series out of 1 Corinthians called, "I Want What's Best For You." Here is part 1 talking about division.

Paul tells the church at Colosse to watch out for the false teachers that will soon come to their fellowship to try and persuade them that there is more to it than what Paul has taught them. They will come with fancy words and eloquent speech trying to convince the people they lack something even though they are following Jesus. It’s the same message Satan used in the Garden of Eden, “God is withholding something from you, Eve...” Unfortunately, Eve fell for the lie and was deceived and we see so many people falling for the lie today. Jesus...

Do you knit or know someone that does? You can take a single of strand of yarn that is not very strong, and make something that is superstrong! The person who knits will take yarn, thread it through the hook, and start knitting. When the product is done, like a blanket, it can be used because the single strand of yarn has been knitted together, twisted together, and has become strong. Paul tells the church at Colosse he wants them to be encouraged and knit together by the love of Christ. We need to be involved in one another’s...