May 13th

[hannaleeAdmin]

Passage: 2 Peter 1

v.5 "For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue (NIV: goodness), and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness (NIV: perseverance), and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love."
- I was wondering why this verse seemed so familiar and I realized we went over it in discipleship! Don't have my book with me so I don't really remember exactly what we talked about but I hope to possess these qualities and grow more and more in them! (v. 8 "For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.")

supplement: something that completes or enhances something else when added to it
- We are "supplementing our faith" with these qualities (virtue, knowledge, etc. completes/enhances our faith - they don't create/make it!)
- Rather than working to have these qualities and expecting faith to follow, we should have faith as our base already
- My lovely study Bible says: "these qualities do not merit entry into heaven for us. Instead, they are the fruit of what does merit salvation for us - the perfect righteousness of Christ that we receive through faith in Him alone" - having virtue, knowledge, self-control, etc. doesn't guarantee that we'll go to heaven, but they are a byproduct (fruit) of the gift of faith that God has given to us!

v. 20-21 "knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."
- Reminds me of yesterday at Bene when we talked about prophets! I can have confidence in the prophecies in Scripture and know that they are not just random words/guesses made by random people

Babe I'm sooooooooo sorry that I'm sick and cancelled on you today!! I'll make it up to you however you want love you so much

[JamesAdmin]

Scripture Passages (from today's sermon!): Hebrews 4:27, 5:1, 5:9-10, 9:9-10, 10:1
-Hebrews 4:27 "He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.”

Today's sermon was based on Jesus' role/office as the high priest! We have to understand that priests were mediators in the OT, mediating between the people of God and God himself. But Christ has no need to keep on sacrificing, because it's been paid - once and for all. This is amazing because OT readers had been familiar with all of the traditional ceremonial rituals that came along with providing offerings for sacrifice.
-Anyways, this is applicable because we have to recognize that we've truly been liberated from sin.

Romans 6:14, "For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace."
-Although Paul states that sin has no dominion over us, we are still sinners. Yet we have been provided the power and grace in order to turn away from sin.

We need to recognize that our habits, our inclinations, our sins can be removed as it has been removed by Christ's blood and resurrection. We need to understand that sin is deadly, not just in it of itself but it harms our relationship with God, with others, and with ourselves. We were not made to sin, rather we were made to love God. What stops me from loving God, then?
-I think it'd have to be 'constantly being busy' with stuff. I feel like our generation struggles with this because we often find ourselves 'so busy' but leaving the important tasks left undone. We need to set our priorities straight in line with our identity (yayyyy re-establishing christian identity <3)
-What stops me from loving God is pride. I need to live a life that is absolutely dependent on God's grace, rather than my strength and my own personal mentality - whatever it may possibly be.

Love you so much Hanna, hope you're resting well as I stare at you on skype hehehe and please never feel bad about cancelling. Love you babe