Author: Rev. Christopher Gillespie

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We have a tendency to understand absolution as a transaction — we repent and confess and then we’re given forgiveness. Because forgiveness is what God gives sinners, but only once they’ve repented and confessed (enough), right? Squirm with Sandra this week as Pastor Riley drives home the point that it’s not too much Gospel that leads people to sin, but they sin because they don’t believe the Gospel. We are so free in Christ that we don’t even need to confess to be forgiven because it’s a gift given — for free.

Questions? Comments? Send them to us at http://higherthings.org/contact or leave them on The SimulCast Facebook page.

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In this life, we have to deal with not only sin, but the consequences of sin. For some this leads to mental illness and even “secret” physical conditions like eating disorders and self-harming. When your understanding of Christianity is about at least projecting a certain image of having your life together like the Biblical heroes, being anything less than that can compound the despair of falling short of perfection. But the Church should keep in mine the news that we have a God who put on human flesh and became one of us in Christ Jesus. He showed the disciples His own scars. He gives us His Body and Blood to eat and drink for the forgiveness of ALL our sins.

Questions? Comments? Send them to us at http://higherthings.org/contact or leave them on The SimulCast Facebook page.

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We tell people to stop sinning, or they’re really gonna get it. And so they obey (outwardly)…but out of fear of God’s impending wrath. The Law is what makes us repent and stop sinning, and then the Gospel forgives the sin we’ve repented of. And then, in theory, we get better and sin less, but only out of fear of punishment. What’s missing in this way of thinking is Christ, and we end up with a Christianity that is less and less dependent on Jesus and relies more on our own self-improvement efforts apart from the Gospel. But what Christ crucified demonstrates is God’s love for us while we were still sinners, which leads us back to Him — even when we sin again — because He deals with us differently. He forgives us.

Questions? Comments? Send them to us at http://higherthings.org/contact or leave them on The SimulCast Facebook page.

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In spite of what many bureaucrats of various forms say, evangelism doesn’t necessarily need a program or special event to take place. It’s what’s going on when one sinner simply tells another what Christ has done for them. When we make a confession of faith, it shouldn’t be about how we have improved our lives by following Christ, but just bearing witness to what we have received from Christ and what He’s also done to save them. Now let’s go where we can get more of this forgiveness on a regular basis – in His gifts for us in Word and Sacrament.

Questions? Comments? Send them to us at http://higherthings.org/contact or leave them on The SimulCast Facebook page.

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When Christians only talk about sin in theory rather than as specific sins attached to real people we know and we fail to be appropriately transparent about our own sinfulness and its forgiveness in Christ, Christianity quickly becomes a very superficial religion of looking good. People feel like they have to put on an act of being perfect. We keep our struggles with despair to ourselves. And sin becomes something to hide rather than confess. But the reality is that God is love, He is for us. He seeks us out, even when we hide from Him. And He forgives all our sins.

Questions? Comments? Send them to us at http://higherthings.org/contact or leave them on The SimulCast Facebook page.

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For freedom Christ has set us free…really? Because that’s pretty scary. As new people in baptism, we have been given the entire kingdom of heaven and all of Christ’s own righteousness before the Law. But as sinners, we’re always looking for the catch, for something we can do to ensure God’s favor. Join Sandra and Pastor Riley as they talk about what it means to be free in Christ.

Questions? Comments? Send them to us at http://higherthings.org/contact or leave them on The SimulCast Facebook page.

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For generations, teaching young people in the church has been centered around imparting information in tidy lessons and examining a young person’s ability to recite answers in front of an audience. But many young people still leave church, often with lingering unanswered questions about their faith and lacking the connections to get faithful answers. Listen in as Sandra and Pastor Riley discuss what should be the ultimate goal of Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and Confirmation–learning where to go to receive the Gospel of Christ’s forgiveness for their sins.

Questions? Comments? Send them to us at http://higherthings.org/contact or leave them on The SimulCast Facebook page.

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In this world, we have sinners doing sinful things to each other all the time. Sadly, pastors and entire churches are not exempt from using the weight of sin and threats of eternal judgement to manipulate people by fear into doing what the pastor or church desires, this quickly crosses into spiritual abuse. Join Sandra and Pastor Riley as they discuss how people suffering from the fear, blame, shame, and guilt of spiritual abuse need to hear the Gospel preached in its truth and purity…and why it’s worth wandering the wilderness to find a true Gospel oasis.

Questions? Comments? Send them to us at http://higherthings.org/contact or leave them on The SimulCast Facebook page.

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What often happens when we personalize our relationship with Jesus is that we end up privatizing it as well. Religion based on the relationship of “Me n’ Jesus” results in a faith that is based on our individual feelings about faith and then church becomes an attempt to corporately pursue private relationships with Christ. But really, the most personal Jesus we can have is the One who comes to us from outside of us, whose Word is preached into our ears and Whose body and blood is placed into our mouths to give us forgiveness for our sins, eternal life, and salvation.

Questions? Comments? Send them to us at http://higherthings.org/contact or leave them on The SimulCast Facebook page.

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It’s easy, and a common way of thinking, to think that the Law is a bad thing. It hurts us, accuses us of what we have and haven’t done, and (if it’s doing what it’s supposed to do), it kills our Old Adam. The Law, then, is “bad stuff” that happens in our lives and the Gospel is “good stuff.” But are we really supposed to judge whether something is Law or Gospel based on how we feel about it? Sandra and Pastor Riley talk about how the Law is actually a good gift from God that is intended to drive us to new life and faith in Christ.

Questions? Comments? Send them to us at http://higherthings.org/contact or leave them on The SimulCast Facebook page.