September 14, 2025

Philemon And Slavery

Text: Philemon 1-21
Dr. Dan Rogers
Reading a book that's missing some of the beginning chapters, uh, missing some of the middle chapters and missing the end. What's it like reading a book like that? Well, it's kind of challenging. How much can you get out of it? Well, it's surprising how much we can get out of the book of Philemon - - - There's so much. But we can't focus too much on what we don't know because we might miss what we are to learn and to really know and understand from what Paul has written. Let's try to remember that adage, the main things are the plain things, and the plain things are the main things. It was because of the main things that the writing this writing of only 355 words was preserved and became a part of the New Testament cannon of the Bible. So today, as we look closely at the book of Philemon, let's be sure to notice the lessons for us today.
September 8, 2025

Speaking of Life 4041 | Refresh the Hearts of the Saints

“Forgive and forget,” is a lot easier said than done. In Jesus, we have a reconciler who carries us through the process of restoring relationships.

September 1, 2025

Speaking of Life Script 4040 | Living Your Best Life

“Don’t settle for less!” A phrase that we usually hear when we try to aim for the best. But the question is, are we settling for what we think is best for us? Or do we entirely trust the One who has created everything in existence? Jeremiah tells us that Christ is the fountain of living water. The water from which all blessings flow. The water that quenches every thirst. If you ever think that you’re not living the best of life, know that in Christ we have every spiritual blessing. 

August 25, 2025

Speaking of Life 4039 | Remembering God’s Goodness

We’ve all had the experience of forgetting something important at home. Everything can get chaotic when we’re preoccupied thinking about the pile of tasks and deadlines that we still have and want to do. King David reminds us that if we ever feel buried in problems we have an awesome God who will carry us out of that pit and restore us with his everlasting love and compassion.

August 24, 2025

Do You Really Like Being a Christian? Really?

Text: Hebrews 11:29-12:2
Dr. Dan Rogers
Do you consider yourself to be a Christian? Do you really like being a Christian? Have you ever thought about maybe just not going to church anymore or maybe just dropping out of Christianity altogether?   Some people are not going to church anymore or maybe just dropping out of Christianity altogether?   Well, this is a situation that the author of the New Testament book of Hebrews faced as he wrote to what appears to have been a group of Jewish Christians in the first century AD who were facing severe persecution and that was causing some of them to give up the faith.  We read in Hebrews chap 10 verse 25 that they are admonished not to neglect the meeting together of themselves as is the manner of some. In other words, they've stopped going to church. And the author of Hebrews says, don't neglect going to church. And some of them, he fears are going to give up their faith. They just don't have the faith and the endurance that they need. Now, how is he going to help them? How's he going to exhault them? Well, he does this by telling of examples from the Hebrew scriptures and writings of those who did have faith in Israel's history and who endured. And he concludes then with the ultimate example of faith and endurance, and that is Jesus Christ.  Now, just as this applied to the original audience of the book of Hebrews, it very much applies to us as Christians in our world today 
August 18, 2025

Speaking of Life Script 4038 | Wrong-Way Drivers

Have you ever experienced where you were the only one headed in the opposite direction where everyone else was going to? Our journey could be like that sometimes when we are confused, lost, or afraid. Because we have Jesus, we don’t have to worry about tomorrow and completely trust him where he leads us next.

August 11, 2025

A Call to Persevere in Faith: Hebrews

When the road ahead feels uncertain, Hebrews reminds us that Jesus is our steady guide, faithfully leading us, redirecting our steps, and bringing us safely home by His grace.

More about the GCI Worship Calendar here: https://www.gci.org/articles/the-churchs-worship-calendar

Voiceover by: Matt Royal – Durham, North Carolina, US

August 10, 2025

Being With Christ and In Christ - What Does It Matter?

Text: Colossians 3:1-11
Dr. Dan Rogers
Today we continue in our study of the New Testament book of Colossians, believed to have been written by the Apostle Paul sometime around 62 AD. Now, if you've missed any of the previous messages on Colossians with the complete background and context of the letter, you can find them and view them on YouTube byentering Dr. Dan Rogers sermons in your internet browser and you will find all of those past videos. But here's a brief review of the background and context of our passage for today. The Apostle Paul is concerned for the church members in Colasse, a small city in what today is modern Turkey, because he's heard that false teachers, they're circulating false teachings which minimize the deity, the supremacy, and total sufficiency of Christ for the people of God. Paul refers to this false teaching with the term philosophy and in the context of the letter and common usage of the time and the context of Paul's audience Paul is using the word in its meaning of religion and religious ideas and teachings. But what religion and what religious ideas is he talking about?
August 4, 2025

Speaking of Life 4036 | Not So Buried Treasure

What treasures or valuables do you work to keep safe? Jewelry from a grandparent? Your dream car or home? Or the latest smartphone with all the bells and whistles? Whatever it may be, these things can easily become our idols and distract us from what is important. In Colossians, Paul tells us that we never have to fear losing the true treasure—Christ. The treasure of having a relationship with Jesus is beyond any worldly desire.

August 3, 2025

The False Elemental Spirits Of The World

Text: Colossians 2:6-19
Dr. Dan Rogers
This is a message that's just as important to us as Christians today as it was for the Christians in the city of Colasse to whom Paul wrote. There have been and probably always will be false teachers who try to convince the church that in addition to Christ to be really right with God and to qualify for the kingdom of God and to qualify for salvation. There are things that a Christian must do and some that sometimes that to-do list can get quite long. But let's not be deceived. Let's go now to the book of Colossians chapter 2 and we're going to look closely at verses 6-19 and seek to understand the Apostle Paul's teaching of the true gospel of the supremacy and total sufficiency of Jesus Christ. All right, let's first
July 28, 2025

Speaking Of Life 4035 | Debt Forgiveness in Christ

In one way or another, most of us have experienced financial debt. Whether it be borrowing money to buy groceries or getting a loan for your education, debt can haunt us. But there is another type of debt that cannot be paid off by any currency, goods, or services. Sin. But through Christ, our debts are completely wiped clean. Through him, we are forgiven and restored, free from all bondage!

July 21, 2025

Speaking of Life 4034 | Mrs. Fidget

Mrs. Fidget from C.S. Lewis’ book, The Four Loves, demonstrated a warped expression of love leaving her supposed “loved ones” miserable. Her “love” was more about love for herself. Have you experienced this? Like Martha and Mary’s story, we sometimes miss what’s important because we are focused on the wrong thing. May we focus on the correct thing, setting our eyes on the One who gave us life. Let us learn to love others as Christ has loved them.

July 20, 2025

“It’s All About Jesus. (Period!)”

Text: Colossians 1:1-14
Dr. Dan Rogers
Well, today we begin a study of the New Testament book of Colossians. The book of Colossians is attributed to the Apostle Paul and was likely written while he was in prison perhaps in Rome. Now the city of Colassic was a city in southern Asia Minor in what today we would call middle of the first century AD, Colassi was a small city overshadowed by its larger, more prosperous neighbors Higheropouloolis and Leodysia. Now the church in Colasse appears to have been founded by a man named Epipris who was a native of Colasse and a c-orker of the apostle Paul's at the time of the writing of the letter to the church. What was the message?
July 14, 2025

The Supremacy and Sufficiency of Christ: Colossians

Colossians reminds us that Jesus isn’t just part of the story. He’s the one who holds it all together. His power and love invite us to live free, renewed, and fully alive.

Voiceover by: Lara Olsen – Queensland, Australia

More about the GCI Worship Calendar here: https://www.gci.org/articles/the-churchs-worship-calendar

July 7, 2025

Speaking of Life 4032 | True Boasting

Dealing with sickness can become expensive very quickly. Even for the characters in the Old Testament, health care was expensive and unpredictable. Listen to Greg as he shares the story of Naaman, a prideful man who becomes sick. Eventually, he realizes that there is only one true Healer who can fully restore him inside and out.

July 6, 2025

Slaves Of The Flesh Called To Be Free

Text: Galatians 5: 1, 13-25
Dr. Dan Rogers
I once met a Christian who told me that Jesus Christ was the center of their lives. They said they knew this because they kept catching a brief glimpse of him in the middle of their road of life as they ran from the ditch on one side of the road into the ditch on the other. Well, this story kind of characterizes what we're going to find today in the book of Galatians. From what we're able to discern from the Apostle Paul's letter to the churches in Galatia, the church was experiencing divisions in what appears to be three groups. One, a group that supported Paul and his teachings. Two, a group that questioned Paul's authority and believed Paul's teaching was too liberal and inadequate. Though they were Gentiles who lived in what today we would call central Turkey and who had been pagans, they had come to believe that they needed to be circumcised, obey Torah, and keep the law of Moses to truly be God's people and to be saved. And group three, a group that believed.  What Paul taught about grace and freedom from the law, caused them to reason that they could maintain their pagan cultural ways and basically, behave any way they wanted to behave because everything was all right. We need to carefully pay attention to what Paul said and what his teaching was. So, with that little bit of background, let's go to Galatians chapter 5:1,13-25
June 30, 2025

Speaking Of Life 4031 │Unseen Footprints

Have you ever been so focused on a problem that you lose sight of everything but your desired solution? Heber reminds us that God’s faithfulness to us in the past can fuel our hope for his goodness to us in the present, even if shows up for us in unexpected ways.

June 29, 2025

Demons And Pigs . The Gerasenes Demoniac

Text: Luke 8:26-39
Dr. Dan Rogers
We’re going to be talking about Luke chapter 8 today and the story of the Gerazines's demoniac and some pigs but when studying the Gospel of Luke and this applies to the book of Acts as well It’s important to take note of what Luke says his methodology is in writing in the opening sentences of his gospel.  Luke tells us that many have written about the events of Jesus life so we might ask the question well then Luke why did you think you had to write another gospel well he goes on to tell us why and he says that he has investigated everything in the life of Jesus very carefully he's used eyewitnesses accounts and other resources in order to write an orderly sequential account so that readers might know the truth or that is have the security in the things which they have been taught about Jesus So, we note that when we read the Gospel of Luke at least from Luke's perspective it's in a purposeful order and we should consider that order and the context in which Luke puts things and his method of organizing events now we also note that Luke states that he wrote to give his readers a certain Theophilus and Greekeaking.  let's note three instances of that in chapter 8:20 through 25 Jesus demonstrates his power and authority over nature and over creation in chapter 8: 26- 39 Jesus demonstrates his power and authority over the spirit world and the minions of the evil one then in chapter 8:40-56. Jesus demonstrates his power and authority over disease and death then after his disciples have seen and witness Jesus demonstrations of his power and authority Jesus sends out the disciples and grants them to participate in that same power and authority that he has demonstrated thus the disciples go forth confidently with the power they've clearly seen demonstrated by Jesus and they can now boldly proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God so understanding that context we will focus on Luke 8 and 26-39
June 23, 2025

Speaking of Life 4030 | The Myth of Isolation

We’ve all experienced moments of loneliness, anxiety, or darkness and doubt, believing we are alone in our journey. The prophet Elijah felt the same way and thought he was the only prophet left. Even when we can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, God reminds us that he will never leave us.

June 22, 2025

Is The Holy Spirit Really a Person

Text: John 16:12-15
Dr. Dan Rogers
Okay - going to begin today with some questions and your participation is invited how many of you have ever recited these words from the great creed; I believe in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ his son our Lord, I believe in the Holy Spirit. Okay - good how many of you were baptized with the words "I baptize you in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit". Okay - how many of you along with the apostle Paul have ever recited the benediction; "the grace of our lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the holy spirit be with you all." Okay - how many of you have ever sung these words; "holy holy holy Lord God Almighty God in three persons holy Trinity." Okay - great now many of us as Christians have said these words do we know what we're talking about? Do we really understand what we're saying when we say those words? You know the two most important questions anyone can ask is; Who God is? and the second one like it, Who the God is revealed in Jesus Christ in the gospels - especially the gospel of John.