North Avenue Church Podcast

Why We Need Christmas: The Old Testament Background

Christmas is like the beginning of the fourth act of a five act play. In order to understand it in context, we must go back to the beginning of the story. Here we look at why we need Christmas by starting in the Garden of Eden and ending in the new creation.

Jesus: From the Cradle to the Cross (Scott McAndrew)

Scott McAndrew, one of our elders, preached for the first time at NAC Sunday. He covered the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and what it means for us today.

Faith Alone: They Added Nothing to Me (Galatians 2:1-10)

Why is circumcision such a big deal in the Old Testament? Why did false teachers try to make it a requirement (along with faith) for salvation in the New Testament (see Acts 15:1)? How do the seemingly strange cultural customs and food laws of the Old Testament apply to us today? How do the OT and NT fit together?

God's Sovereign, Saving, Effective Call: A Neglected Biblical Truth (Galatians 1:15-24)

In the New Testament letters, the "call" of God is rarely (if ever) an internal sense of direction or guidance. Rather, God's call is His effective and sovereign call to Christ and has to do with salvation itself.

Are You Underestimating the Power of the Gospel? (Galatians 1:10-14)

Have you lost hope that a family member or friend will ever trust Christ? As long as there is breath, there is hope. If the gospel of grace has rescued Paul from a life of terrorizing the church, then there is hope for anyone.

The Idol of People Pleasing (Galatians 1:10)

Perhaps one of the most common idols we struggle with is often not well understood. In this message we look at several passages that show us how dangerous the desire for human approval and human praise can be...and how the gospel sets us free.

Reformation Day, Martin Luther, and the Apostle Paul (Galatians 1:6-9)

We celebrated the 499th Reformation Day this weekend. We discuss Martin Luther's conversion and how the Reformation was birthed by Paul's letter to the Romans and letter to the Galatians.

What Makes Christianity Different from All Other Religions? (Galatians 1:1-5)

The gospel is unique from all other religions especially on how we are made right with God.

Who Were the Apostles and Why Should I Care?

Everyone has an ultimate source of Authority in their life. It may be peer-reviewed journal articles, opinion polls, text books, professors, personal experience, feelings, impressions, or what your parents taught you growing up. However, it is impossible to live without a final authority. Who or what do you turn to as the final court of appeal in your life? If you are a Christian, then your final authority must be the Bible. This is why the Apostles really matter.

Aren't Books Missing from the Bible?

Aren't there all kinds of books that didn't make it into our Bibles? How do we know which ones should be included and excluded? What about the Apocrypha? What about the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Peter, the Gospel of Judas? etc. Why these 66 books and no others?

Genesis 50: How Do I Know I'm Forgiven?

This is the last message from Genesis! Here we look at how the brother's become insecure about their relationship with Joseph and fear that he will yet punish them for their sin. We used this as a spring board to deal with the topic of assurance of salvation. How can we know that the true and better Joseph, Jesus Christ, has forgiven us? We spend some time in Peter's first letter to find the answer.

Genesis 49: Was Jesus Embarrassed by the Old Testament?

The most destructive attacks on the authority of Scripture have not come from outside the church, but from within. In order to guard against this tendency, we must examine Jesus's view of Scripture very carefully. What did Jesus think about the Old Testament? Did He believe it is literal history or mythological in nature?

Genesis 46-48: When God Interrupts Your Plans

When the future is uncertain what should we know, believe, and do? We learn much from God's interactions with Jacob when Jacob's plans are dramatically interrupted.

Genesis 45-46: Go and Tell that the Son is Alive!

Joseph reconciles himself to his brothers. He then sends them to their family to go and tell the good news that the loved and favored son is alive and that there is bread to save a perishing and famished world! It is not hard to see how this relates to believers today in a Great Commission world.

Genesis 45: Joseph's God is Totally Sovereign & Totally Good

Joseph gives us a stirring example of how to forgive the unforgivable. Only a belief in the total sovereignty and goodness of God will enable us to trust God in the dark and forgive those who wrong us deeply. Ultimately, Jesus shows us the greatest example of this kind of forgiving love on the Cross.