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We finished up the sermon series: Big Words, with a look at redemption. Again, I used a bunch of Scripture in this message and want to make it available for you. Hope God uses it in your life.

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.(Jn 8:34, NLT) For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard.(Ro 3:23, NLT) They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you.(2 Pe 2:19, NLT) Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.(Col 2:8, NLT) Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.(Ro 1:22-25, NLT) For I was born a sinner- yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.(Ps 51:5, NLT) For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.(Ro 3:20, NLT) When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.(Ro 5:6, NLT) For God in all His fullness was pleased to live in Christ. (Colossians 1:19, NLT) "Don't misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.(Mt 5:17, NLT) Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God's grace.(Ro 6:14, NLT) So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law.(Ga 5:1, NLT) But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.(Ga 3:13-14, NLT) For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many."(Mt 20:28, NLT) He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.(Eph 1:7, NLT) For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.(Col 1:13-14, NLT) He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.(Tit 2:14, NLT) So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.(Ro 8:1, NLT) So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.(Jn 8:36, NLT) For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father."(Ro 8:14-15, NLT) God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.(Eph 1:5, NLT) For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.(Ga 3:26, NLT) But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.(Jn 1:12, NLT) See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don't recognize that we are God's children because they don't know him. Dear friends, we are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.(1 Jn 3:1-2, NLT) That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.(Heb 9:15, NLT) Click here for a pdf file of the above if you want to print them out. Enjoy!

I started a sermon series last week called Big Words, where we're examining a few of the big words from the Bible and what they mean to and for us. Here's the intro video I came up with for the series. For some reason it's very pixelated at YouTube. Anyway, I love doing these things. I'm not a pro and they're pretty simple, but this one involves some chroma-keying. Check it out.

I used a lot of different Scripture passages in the sermon today. Here's all of them, in case you're interested.

And the Lord was also angry with me because of you. He said to me, 'Moses, not even you will enter the Promised Land!'(Dt 1:37, NLT) I feared that the furious anger of the Lord, which turned him against you, would drive him to destroy you. But again he listened to me. The Lord was so angry with Aaron that he wanted to destroy him, too. But I prayed for Aaron, and the Lord spared him.(Dt 9:19-20, NLT) The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.(1 Ki 11:9, NLT) Because the Lord was very angry with Israel, he swept them away from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained in the land.(2 Ki 17:18, NLT) God is an honest judge. He is angry with the wicked every day.(Ps 7:11, NLT) But you have been very angry with us, for we are not godly. We are constant sinners; how can people like us be saved?(Is 64:5, NLT) For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.(Ro 3:23, NLT) If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.(1 Jn 1:8, NLT) And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”(Jn 3:36, NLT) But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.(Ro 1:18, NLT) All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.(Eph 2:3, NLT) So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming.(Col 3:5-6, NLT) For the wages of sin is death.(Ro 6:23, NLT) [F]or he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.(Ro 3:26, NLT) And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.(Ro 5:9, NLT) Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!(Jn 14:9, NLT) He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.(1 Jn 2:2, NLT) For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever.(1 Th 5:9-10, NLT) This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.(1 Jn 4:10, NLT)

The sermon was the first in a short series: Big Words. We're looking at some of the big words used in the Bible and what they mean. Today's word was Propitiation. Here's a PDF file of these verses: Scriptures for Sermon Big Words: Propitiation.

I'm beginning a new series Sunday, simply called "Seriously." I created a short intro video for the series. It will play every Sunday in the transition from worship music to message. I enjoy putting these videos together. I'm really excited about this new series. It will be somewhat of a departure, as far as content goes, from my previous series. There's a much more personal, you and God only, element to the entire series. The series draws from the book So, You Want To Be Like Christ?: Eight Essentials to Get You There by Chuck Swindoll. I read the book several years ago and I've always wanted to do some type of series focusing on some Biblical principles gleaned from it. So now I finally get to do it. By the way, thanks to redferriswheel for the background graphic I used in the video.

I try to have a video to fill the space between the band's last song and my entry on stage. Sometimes I borrow (thanks LifeChurch.tv), sometimes I buy them, but I have the most fun when I develop my own. The video below is one I developed for our current sermon series: Church: Get Connected.