The Joshua Victor Theory

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. This is the 6 th and final sermon on the book of Galatians, and in the sermons on chapter 5 & 6 we said we’d be talking about sanctification—the Christian’s life of holiness and bearing the fruit of the Spirit. Last week we remembered that even when speaking about sanctification, we live by grace alone—not by our human effort or strength. Rather, like Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Paul returns to that theme again in chapter 6:14, where he writes, “Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” The cross is at the center of the Christian life, and it reorients us away from worldliness and toward Jesus Christ. So another ...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Today on Pentecost Sunday we remember the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the apostles as they went forward with the mission to go and testify about Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven. Since the readings all focus on the Holy Spirit, we’ll look at what Christian spirituality is. What genuine spirituality for the Christian is, and what the work of the Holy Spirit is, and how Christ and the cross stand at the center of true spirituality. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. While religious belief isn’t “in vogue” today, the generic idea of spirituality is. As author Gene Veith describes in his book, “The Spirituality of the Cross,” people today say they aren’t interested in doctrines, creeds, or institutions, but they are very interested in “spirituality.” “They are in the market for something that will give them a pleasant my...