About this episode

Are You Exhausted Doing What Jesus Never Asked? What if some of the most familiar Christian advice is keeping you from enjoying Christ? In this message, Andrew challenges the pressure to rededicate your life, put God first, live by the Ten Commandments, and agonize over finding God's perfect plan for every decision.

You don't need another promise, checklist, or formula. You've been joined to Jesus. He isn't merely your priority. He is your life. Discover the freedom of getting your eyes off your performance, walking by the Spirit, and trusting Christ to bear His fruit through you. Discussion Questions: Read Ephesians 1:21–22 and Colossians 3:4. What is the difference between trying to continually "put Christ first" and recognizing that Christ is already your life and already above all things? Read Acts 17:28 and Philippians 1:21. How do these verses challenge the idea that the Christian life is about fitting Jesus into one part of our lives rather than living from Him as the very source of our life? Read 1 Corinthians 6:19–20. If the Holy Spirit already lives in you and you already belong to God, how might that change the pressure to repeatedly "rededicate" yourself to Him when you feel you have fallen short? Read Romans 7:4 and Romans 7:6. According to these verses, what happened to our relationship with the Law when we came to Christ, and what has replaced the "oldness of the letter"? Read Galatians 5:18 and Galatians 3:24–25. What was the Law's purpose, and what do these passages say about our relationship to the Law now that faith has come and we are led by the Spirit? Read 2 Corinthians 3:7–9. Why does Paul call the commandments engraved on stone a "ministry of death" and "ministry of condemnation," and how is the ministry of the Spirit different for someone who has spent years trying to measure up? Read 1 Timothy 1:7–9. What does Paul mean when he says the Law is good when used lawfully, but that it is "not made for a righteous person"? How does that challenge the idea that Christians need the Ten Commandments as their daily rulebook? Read Romans 12:2 and Philippians 2:12–13. Instead of anxiously searching for a hidden plan from God before every decision, what do these verses suggest about how God works through a renewed mind and even through our own desires? Read 1 Corinthians 10:31. If Scripture says we can eat, drink, and do "whatever" we do to the glory of God, what freedom does that give us when facing ordinary decisions where several choices may all be perfectly acceptable?

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  2. 2Don't Waste Your Life?What if Jesus, risen from the dead, were the only reason you behaved? How can we live differently knowing Christ is our life? A popular teaching has me worried that I might waste my life. What are your thoughts on finding purpose? How do we face strongholds or persistent struggles and temptations?27 min
  3. 3No Tongues = No Holy Spirit?Our church leadership is telling me that I don't have the Holy Spirit living in me, because I don't speak in tongues. Is that truly the main evidence of salvation? And what about praying in a heavenly tongue? I'm wondering about salvation and in particular, my father, who was raised Catholic. What is the bare minimum that saves a person? What role does water baptism play?27 min
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  7. 7Better Than Religion - Part 12What If Jesus Already Took It All Away? What if forgiveness isn't a payment plan? Religion thrives on repeat performances, but the Gospel announces, "Paid in full." Discover why Christ's better blood, better sacrifice, and better covenant mean your sins aren't merely covered… they're taken away once and for all! Discussion Questions for Hebrews 9-10: What does Hebrews mean when it says Jesus offered a "better sacrifice"? Better than what, and why does that matter? Why is it important that Jesus did not offer Himself repeatedly, but "once for all"? What is the difference between sin being temporarily covered and sin being completely taken away? How does this change the way we relate to God? Why could the blood of bulls and goats remind people of sin but never remove sin? Hebrews 10:2 says OT worshipers, if "once cleansed," would have no longer had consciousness of sins. What does this tell us about what we DO have in Christ today? Use Hebrews 10:2 to react to this lie: Christians are forgiven eternally but still need daily cleansing. What does it mean that Jesus "takes away the first in order to establish the second"? Why couldn't the old covenant remain alongside the new? Hebrews 10:10 says, "we have been sanctified…once for all." How does this contradict a lot of teaching on "progressive sanctification" today? React to this statement: Jesus will return without reference to our sins and we can eagerly await Him!37 min
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  9. 9Pets in Heaven?How can God tell us to "go forth and multiply" when humanity is sinful? Isn't that a contradiction? Why does God seem so different in the Old Testament? Will we see our pets again in Heaven?27 min
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