As we continue our series in Galatians, we see Paul exhorting the church not to be deceived and dissuaded by a distorted gospel. They weren't deserting the church and religious activities, but had lost their passion for Jesus. Rather than relying on the free gift of grace, we often feel that we need to, or can, add something to Christ's completed work. We are to contend for the gospel—that it remain Christ-centered.

In the first week of our new sermon series, Pastor Gary Wilkerson sets the historical and cultural context in which the book of Galatians was written. We see that it was Paul's credo that it is through Christ and Him alone that we are set free from all things. We are not to let anything supersede the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Adultery and divorce seem to plague the church as much as the world. Where has our power gone? Why doesn't the church have a greater testimony than the world around us? In Genesis, we see the first broken relationship—between God and man. When sin enters a relationship we feel vulnerable and unprotected. In response, we go into self-preservation mode—trying to cover and hide our guilt and shame. The same thing that restores our right relationship with God is the same thing that can restore our other relationships: the holy righteousness of Christ.

The message of grace is not easy for many to receive. There are misconceptions that it excuses sin, downplays holiness and dismisses repentance. It's just not so. We see in scripture that there is a righteousness and perfect obedience required by God. His law is a holy standard that must be kept in full. The bad news is we can't do it. The good news is that Jesus did.

We are a generation of people who will know a spiritual awakening. Suddenly God will begin to stir us with the fact He is still God and we are His people. Awakening begins when God brings back His people to a place of spiritual authority in the prayer closet. If you have forgotten who you are in Christ get back into the prayer closet until the Holy Spirit begins to stir your heart again.

In King Amaziah, we see a man who "did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart" (2 Chronicles 25:2). Many in the church today are doing the right things, but their hearts are not fully given to Christ. Is there some area of your life and heart that you have fully surrendered to Jesus? If so, how do we obtain this wholeheartedness that God talks about?

We have become a nation that worships the blessing of God more that the God of the blessing. There is a certain time and season when God chooses to go after those who have walked away from Him. In these last days God will raise up men and women who are not boasters of themselves but who will preach a message that declares all things are possible in Jesus Christ.

Proverbs 31 is often presented as a checklist of what a godly woman should aspire to be like, but if anyone truly tried to do everything listed there, they would quickly become exhausted and even possibly ashamed, because it cannot be accomplished in your own strength. We should never strive through performance and works to receive love and acceptance from people and God. Christ won God's love for us and it is through His sacrifice that women are empowered to have aspects of the woman described in Proverbs 31.

If you feel small and weak and you’ve been through pain and sorrow bring your neediness to the Lord. God’s hand will touch you and strengthen you. God wants you to know today that His eye is upon you and you are not forgotten but He has reserved you for a special purpose in His kingdom. God is able to take the little you have and multiply for His glory.