Christians commonly think we can change the culture around us through evangelism or through great individuals. However, culture is primarily changed through communities. Dualism, the separation of the personal and public spheres — the way we often separate our faith from other areas of our lives — prevents us from having a stronger impact upon culture. This talk was given during a leadership training session at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.

As Christians in the 21st century, we are called to obey God’s laws, because they are tools for understanding and expose the workings of our heart. Once we realize that we are saved by grace alone and accepted by God, we can respond to God in genuine obedience with transformed hearts. As members of a local Christian community, we become an alternate city within a city, a holy nation, representing Christ and serving the community in which we worship and live.

Christian growth is described through the metaphor of the fruit of the spirit, which is a gradual process that begins with the seed of the Holy Spirit. As we are changed from the inside out, organically and radically, we will find deep joy and lasting change.

The essential dynamic of change in the heart of the Christian runs on a cycle of repentance and faith. Repentance is unmasking the idols of the heart, the motivations for action and bases for identity other than Christ, and then taking them to the Cross. Faith is trusting in the forgiveness of Christ, understanding both the depth of our sin and the worth of Christ’s sacrifice.

Jesus tells his disciples to have private prayer lives. Using the disciplines of morning and evening prayer, we can process our lives before God and bring him our requests while being at peace with the outcome. This talk was given during a leadership training session at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, and includes suggestions concerning Bible study, meditation, and contemplation.

No one knows better than Jesus that life is full of suffering. What does it mean to rejoice in our sufferings, or even grow from them? There is only one thing on which you can build your life and not be shaken – your love for him and his love for you.

Christ is spiritually present in the Lord’s Supper. This sacrament is a matchless resource for spiritual growth and the beginning of a new community. This talk was given during a leadership training session at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.

We all know that there is a moral standard higher than our own hearts. But if that’s true, how could we ever face God's judgment? Yet he is not just our teacher - he is the judge who has been judged in our place so that we can have rest.

Martin Luther said that our whole life should be one of repentance. True repentance happens when we come to our senses about our sinfulness, grieve at the sin itself and not just the negative consequences that result from it, and seek forgiveness first from God and then from those we've hurt. Repentance is vital to the Christian life because it reconnects us more deeply to the truth that our strength comes not from our own record of moral achievement, but from the record of Jesus Christ.

In his triumphant entry to Jerusalem, Jesus juxtaposes power and weakness. In cleansing the temple, he restores God's sanctuary for the benefit of everyone. When he curses the fig tree, he shows how his power should be fruitful in us.