Clash of the Covenants - new book from Mike Kapler

The brand new book, Clash of the Covenants - Escaping Religious Bondage Through the Grace Guarantee, from Growing in Grace co-host Mike Kapler is now available for Kindle on Amazon!  Remember, you don't need a Kindle in order to read.  Download the Kindle app on your computer, tablet or smartphone. 

GOD IS NOT YOUR PAROLE OFFICER, HE BROKE YOU OUT OF PRISON!
Have you been robbed by religion? Have you ever wondered where you really stood with God? For everyone trapped in a mindset of wondering whether God is angry or disappointed with them due to a lack of performance or dedication, help is on the way. In fact, it already arrived more than a couple thousand years ago.

Christian churches are filled with people who have been hearing Bible teaching built upon a foundation of mixing together two very different covenants that are not alike. Frequently embraced in most Christian circles, the practice of combining the old and new covenants has resulted in a diluted version of the gospel. This religious formula has caused many to avoid the institutional church altogether, often puts them in a state of confusion, and leaves them hungering and thirsting for a new identity of righteousness, unaware it has already been provided.

The current reality of unconditional love, peace, freedom, forgiveness, and everything else that is good, has been gifted to us by God's grace through the finished work of Jesus Christ. This is the message most people have been longing to experience, but it may require a complete change of mind from a lifetime of traditional church doctrines that have left many drowning in guilt and feeling as though they are in a state of bondage. God has provided a way of escape from the burdensome religious business—it is through a New Covenant where it is impossible for us to fail, because Jesus is the mediator and guarantee of this better covenant, and it has been established on better promises.

GIG 206 - Identifying Ourselves Correctly in the Parables

The words of Jesus - surprisingly to many people - are not always what they seem at face value, as we've discussed over the past few weeks here on Growing in Grace. Often we begin with a preconceived premise in our determination of what Jesus is trying to communicate, but if we start with the wrong premise then we're going to end up going down the wrong path, leading to the wrong conclusions. With this in mind, this week we take a look at how various characters in the parables that Jesus told are often misunderstood because we often start with the wrong premise of the meaning of each parable.

Often the parable of the Good Samaritan is read and taught in such a way as to make us (Christians) out to be people who should strive to be the Good Samaritan in the story. The parables of the Pearl of Great Price and of the Treasure Hidden in a Field are presented as stories that show Jesus as a precious pearl and treasure that we are to purchase after we sell all we have. Are these things really what these parables are communicating? We'll take into consideration the people Jesus was talking with in each situation and what questions He was responding to, and also take into account the surrounding context and other New Covenant truth to help us sort out who some of characters in the parables really represent.

Hint: We often try to make ourselves the heroes and/or the centerpieces of the parables. But perhaps these parables really show us how Jesus is the hero and centerpiece!

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