Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church

We exist – to behold, to experience, to magnify, to proclaim, and to live for the glory of God alone. It is for HIS glory that God created us, the world, and all that goes with it. It is for HIS glory that God carried out his plan of redemption – through his Son, our Savior, Jesus. It is for HIS glory that he is moving all of history toward the future crescendo of Christ’s return and the establishment of a new heaven and a new earth. The “Sola” that each of the other four leads to . . . Glory to God Alone is the bottom line of EVERYTHING!!!

We continue the Sola series examining the basic tenets of Christian faith. In Pastor Don’s final sermon at Liberty Corner Church, he explores “Glory to God Alone”. What is glory and what does it mean to give glory to God alone?

We are living in a time of massive change and returning to the teachings of the Reformers reminds us of the core truths of the faith. What do we really believe as Christians? Today, we examine the sola “Faith Alone”. How are we saved? If we are saved by grace through faith, is faith a work? Is it something that up to us, something we conjure up from our very being? Is the desire to follow God, faith, a gift from God?

Guest pastor Rev. Dr. Dana Allin continues the Sola series with "Faith Alone." Faith is more than just a mental agreement of facts, but a transferring the trust of our lives over to Jesus.

Human love always has limits. Grace has no limitations, no conditions, and you cannot earn it. The church of the Reformation was selling grace through indulgences. The church doesn’t own grace; It is a gift from God. The church cannot give or deny grace, but only make others aware of grace and live by grace ourselves. Do we live by grace?

If we are honest with ourselves, sometimes we tend to run or walk ahead of God . . . and do our own thing. At other times, we stay or drag behind him and we don’t do the things we know He’d like us to do. But we really need to walk WITH God in order to fully live out the life He calls us to live. Fighting the good fight . . . finishing the race . . . and keeping the faith, is what it means to walk WITH God.

The hot button issue of the Protestant Reformation was the selling of indulgences, basically the selling of God’s grace. The apostle Paul was clear that the only thing that will save us is “grace alone”—not good deeds.

The purpose of the Bible is to teach us to love as Jesus love and will challenge our deepest assumptions. It must challenge us if it is to teach and transform us – a reformation of the heart. Are we being transformed by scripture? How should we approach and engage scripture?

The Reformation was a call for authentic Christianity . . . an attempt to escape the medieval corruption of the faith through renewal and reform. It called for a commitment to an entirely God-centered view of faith and life. The reformers believed in Sola Scriptura – “In Scripture Alone” to lead and guide us. Remember, the Scriptures are God-breathed, complete, authoritative, and true . . . they are all we need to understand God’s love, purpose and plan for our lives.

This fall Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church is examining the basic beliefs of the Reformed faith through a new sermon series entitled “Sola.” Sola, meaning “only” or “alone,” is used to emphasize the foundational elements of the Protestant Reformation. This year marks 500 years since the Protestant Reformation, and some believe we’re currently experiencing a new reformation. Journey with us as we examine the five solas - scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, and glory to God alone – both historically and from the standpoint of current relevance.

Is work a necessary evil, a blessing, a curse, a God-given good, or a forced reality? As humans, we are hardwired for work and eager to produce. Though he amassed great wealth, wise King Solomon thought the work of his hands was meaningless. “What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun?”

Temptation, unfortunately, is a common part of the human condition. It happens to everybody . . . we're all in the same boat, and everybody's tempted in a variety of ways. But, this is not for us to just live with a defeatist’s attitude . . . don’t miss the fact that God is faithful . . . our Father is with us and he can help us overcome! When we pray, “lead us not into temptation,” we are asking God to give us power and strength to resist any trap that the devil puts in our path.

In the center of The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus has two petitions that touch on our basic needs—to have our physical needs met each day, and to be forgiven by our Savior God. Forgiveness is both vertical (between us and God) and horizontal (between us and others who have offended us).

Jesus’ model for us teaches that prayer is not meant to be used to impress anyone nor convince God to do what we want…our way. When our proper perspective is “your Kingdom come, your will be done as it is in heaven” we acknowledge that our loving heavenly Father is our King, that he has a plan that is good, and we desire to line ourselves up with his perfect will.

We are beginning a sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer called “His and Ours,” and today’s sermon is about the importance of prayer in Jesus’ life and in ours. In the opening verse, “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,” we understand that God is our loving Father in heaven who waits for us to come home.

Philemon is a letter directed to a leader in the church from Paul, who is in Rome, regarding Philemon’s runaway slave, Onesimus. Paul appeals to Philemon to put aside the ways of the world and, on the basis of love, accept his former slave as a dear brother. Paul is asking Philemon to extend to Onesimus the same love and grace that God extends all of us. Are we willing to extend this same love and grace to others?