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Pray With Us “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” — Philippians 4:6 (ESV) Freedom In Christ Josh and Mandy have dedicated their lives to making disciples and strengthening the church in East Africa, particularly in Uganda. They serve through Resonate Global Mission alongside Freedom in Christ Ministries, partnering with local pastors and church leaders to equip them with discipleship resources and training so that individuals, families, and entire communities can be transformed by the truth of the gospel. Their work goes beyond teaching — they walk alongside local churches, helping leaders multiply disciples who live out Jesus’ love in word and deed. A significant part of their ministry has focused on prisons, where they share the gospel and train believers who, in turn, lead worship, start Bible studies, and boldly proclaim Christ’s freedom to others inside and outside prison walls. Josh and Mandy’s vision is to see Jesus’ church in Uganda equipped to transform the nations — building up leaders who will continue to spread the good news throughout Africa. Please continue to pray for a smooth recovery, strength for Tim DeKam, and peace and endurance for Tim and Dana in the days ahead. Please continue to be in prayer for Ama Pena, who remains at DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids. As of this (Thursday) morning, Brenda reported that Ama is being weaned off from the Bipap and oxygen during the day, but that she will most likely still be using the Bipap for support during the night. Please continue to pray that her lungs are strong enough to be without the extra oxygen support. Please continue to be in prayer for Tracie Pratt as she has ongoing treatments. Pray that she tolerates and responds well to the treatments. Be mindful of our members who find it difficult to get out during this time of year, especially: Gary VanBuskirk, Marilyn Tacoma, Sandy Pastula, Jeanette Dick, Ruth Brinks, and Judy Heethuis.

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The staff of Prosper CRC. Including Pastor Mitchell Leach. See the more information on the staff. Staff & Leadership Elders Gary Gladu Elder Dries Dodde Elder Lyle Pratt Elder Henry Diemer Elder Gary Gandolfi Elder Keith Dick Elder Deacons Josh Dick Deacon Gary Gladu Deacon Craig DeRuiter Deacon Tyler Gernaat Deacon Alex Utecht Deacon Staff Learn More Mitchell Leach Lead Pastor Learn More Jolene Sullivan Office Administrator Learn More Gary Gandolfi IT Director Learn More John Baas Custodian Learn More Bonna Baas Custodian

Watch, Listen, and Read the sermons from Prosper Christian Reformed Church. Transcripts of every sermon are available here to read. Sermon Transcripts Faith or Works? Sunday, February 15, 2026 Galatians 3 Mitchell Leach Crucified with Christ Sunday, February 8, 2026 Galatians 3 Mitchell Leach A Gospel Worth Defending Sunday, February 1, 2026 Galatians 1, Galatians 2 Mitchell Leach Lord's Day 12 Sunday, February 1, 2026 1 Peter 2 Mitchell Leach No Other Gospel Sunday, January 25, 2026 Galatians 1 Mitchell Leach Christ Sunday, January 18, 2026 Colossians 1 Mitchell Leach Sin Sunday, January 11, 2026 Psalm 51 Mitchell Leach God Sunday, January 4, 2026 Habakkuk 1 Mitchell Leach The Child Who Fulfills Every Promise Wednesday, December 24, 2025 Luke 2 Mitchell Leach First Prev 1 Page 1 Next Last

The staff of Prosper CRC. Including Pastor Mitchell Leach. See the more information on the staff. Mission Partners Missionaries Learn More Emily DeRuiter CRU Learn More Josh and Mandy Shaarda Freedom In Christ Learn More Paniba Paniba Learn More Pastor Brad Jones Arise Presbyterian

Read what Pastor Mitchell has to say on a variety of different topics Prosper Blog Drawing the Line of Legalism Mitchell Leach Heading 3 Drawing the Line of Legalism Mitchell Leach You’ve probably heard the term legalism, or legalist used — not just in the church — but in culture abroad. Legalism carries a clearly negative connotation (and for good reason). Yet legalism isn’t a word found in the English Bible, but that doesn’t mean the Bible doesn’t say anything about it. Paul uses the phrase “works of the law” eight times in his writings (Romans 2:15, 3:20, 3:28, Galatians 2:16, 3:2, 3:5, 3:10). Can we trust the Council of Nicaea? Mitchell Leach Why can the church feel this way? Because men cannot create new — correct theology — men can only discover it. Men can invent new heresy, but not orthodoxy. Men and women today and in antiquity can only recognize it. And this is what the modern church should find confidence in. As noted above, the implications of this inform nearly every subsequent theological position the church has taken since. The council of Nicaea was moved by the Holy Spirit to... How is Man Made Right With God? Mitchell Leach If you look at any human relationship – any meaningful one at that – you will find injustice from either party. It is inescapable, humanity defaults toward relational injustice, not towards relational justice. We inflict harm to those we love, and those who love us. Humanity has a strange propensity to cause brokenness in relationships. We do this not just in our horizontal relationships, but in our vertical relationship with God. How is man made right with God? Can unbelievers understand and interpret the Bible? Mitchell Leach "So anyone who thinks he has understood the divine scriptures or any part of them, but cannot by his understanding buildup this double love of God and neighbor, has not yet succeeded in understanding them”(Augustine, On Christian Teaching, 1.86). St. Augustine — accurately — describes that true comprehension of the Bible comes through a combination of prayer, faith, and an attitude of submission to God's will. It is by loving God and being compelled into action, If God Is Sovereign, Why Pray? Mitchell Leach Whether or not prayer is effective (and it is effective), we are called to be followers of Christ. The question shouldn’t be “Does prayer change things?” But rather “Is Jesus God?” Because if he is in fact God, then what he says goes. Questioning God on whether his commandments make sense to us is a grievously offensive practice. In doing so we (as finite creatures) are inferring that we — somehow — have a better perspective... First Prev 1 Page 1 Next Last

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For all funeral information at Prosper Christian Reformed Church Funerals We have the capacity to conduct funeral services for church members and their parents, children, and grandchildren. Funeral Arrangement Process To arrange a funeral at Prosper CRC, contact office@prospercrc.org

Faith or Works? Christ Alone Mitchell Leach Sunday, February 15, 2026 Audio Faith or Works? Mitchell Leach 00:00 / 45:53 Sermon Transcript Introduction/Big Question Are you a hard enough worker? That question's everywhere. It runs our life. At work, are you producing enough? Are you valuable enough? At home, are you doing enough? Or are you showing up at home at the right time? In your head, are you keeping up? Or are you falling behind? The trap is this. We don't keep that question in workplace or on our own effort in our physique or in how we're keeping up with ourselves. We often drag this question into our souls. We start asking it spiritually, Am I a hard enough worker for God? Am I consistent enough? Am I obedient enough? Am I disciplined enough? Most of us don't doubt that God exists, but we doubt whether we've done enough for him. It feels like a humble question. It feels like a A reasonable one because if you ask that question, you always know if you've tried hard enough. You always know that you've tried, but you never know if God is pleased. Is it healthy for us to ask this question of our spiritual life? And fortunately, the Bible has answers for us. So keep your Bibles open to Galatians 3, as we'll look at three movements through this passage. Outline The Galatians experience The spiritual pattern The law's function Verses 1 through 14 are going to show us something important here, that God justifies and blesses his people by faith alone, not by works of the law, as shown in the Galatians' experience, Abraham's example, and in Christ's curse bearing death. Where we are in the series: Where we're at in this series, we're in an eight-week series right in the middle of it. We're in week four. So far, what we've been seeing is this is a letter written from Paul to churches in Galatia, that this is a letter unlike all the other letters that Paul writes. This is Paul fighting for the gospel, trying to bleed with the Galatian churches that our faith is not based on works, that it's not Jesus plus anything. That doesn't make or improve Christianity. In fact, it takes away from it. That there's a crisis identity also within the church. There's this tension between who is in and who is out, who belongs in the church? Is it based on performance or is it based on faith? Paul has defended his message up until this point and his mission proving that he was an apostle, really trying to say that this gospel is not from man, but from God, and that he's going to confront anyone with it, even if that means confronting the apostle Peter. Week in and week out, what we've been seeing so far in Galatians is that life with God comes by faith in Christ and not the law. The Galatians experience faith, not law, brings the spirit Galatians 3:1-5 Paul comes back to the false teaching that he addressed at the beginning of this letter. He doesn't start with a lecture. He starts with something that is meant to shock the Galatians. He's saying, This is so absurd that you have forgotten the gospel, that you've left it, that it must be that you've been put under some spell. The word here that we see in verse one is the word bewitched, and literally the way that that translates in the Greek is to cast an evil eye. Really, it means to confuse so badly that you can't see what's obvious. This was a superstitious language that was used in the Greco-Roman culture. They believe that they could catch a curse. They could catch being cursed by someone or being being bewitched by someone. Paul is saying, How did you get the gospel so clear when I was with you? Then, How did you get it so wrong? Galatians 3:1 really could be translated this way, "O foolish Galatians, who has cast an evil eye on you. It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly, publicly portrayed as crucified." Paul is trying to use a play on words here. He's not calling them stupid, but what he's saying is, You're acting like people who can't see. You're acting like people who have been put under a spell. And what should have been the thing that kept them clear was the end of this. It was before your very eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. The Galatians didn't personally see Jesus crucified. So what does this mean? It means that Jesus's death was public, not in the sense that they watched it. In the sense that Paul's preaching put the cross right in front of them, like a billboard, like a public portrayal. The cross was not a footnote. In the faith of the Galatian church, it was the center of it. Paul moves from this verse into the rest of this section, Galatians 3:2-4. He's going to ask four important questions, four rhetorical questions, not because he doesn't know the answer, but he wants them to remember what they've already experienced. So Galatians 3:2 says, Let Let me ask you only this. Did you receive the spirit by works of law or by hearing with faith? He's going to ask these questions, How did you receive the spirit? How did you meet God? How did you experience the life of God? Was it through works? Was it through the law? Was it through faith? Paul is forcing one question through this. Did God come as a boss, paying you a wage, or did he come as your father, giving you a gift? There's one thing as hard workers we hate. It's a thing that's hard for us, especially in our culture, to deal with. It's being a charity case. Paul is saying that we need to be a charity case. It is not by works of the law, but it is through faith, something that we cannot earn. Paul is asking, did you work the spirit up? Is it you that mustard this Did the energy up? Or did the spirit come down to you like a gift? Paul's point is simple. We don't receive God as a wage. We receive him as a gift. He's not a paycheck. He is a blessing. He is something that we've gotten, we've received without any effort, without any of our earning towards it. Grace makes you a charity case before it makes you useful. In other words, Christianity begins the moment you stop asking, What do I deserve? And start asking, What can I receive? The spirit comes to you in the way that charity comes. It's never something that you purchase, but it's always something that you're given. He presses that same question on into sanctification as we look at verse three. Are you so foolish? Having begun by the spirit, are you now being perfected in the flesh? He's saying, God started this. He's the one who initiated this. Are you then going to be the one who perfects yourself, who finishes it? Religion says, I obey, therefore I am accepted. But the gospel says, I am accepted, and therefore I obey. Religion wants to give us performance first and then a verdict later. But the gospel gives us a verdict. It declares us righteous. It declares us justified. We obey out of that. It was God who began the work in you. Who do you think is going to complete it? Are you really that convinced that your effort can outdo Can we outdo what the Holy spirit can do? This is not just a question that Paul is asking the churches in Galatia, it's a question that we should ask ourselves. Can we outdo with our own effort what the Holy spirit spirit can do in us? Paul continues on to Galatians 3:5, Does he who supply the spirit to you and work miracles among you do so by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Again, God is the one who supplies the spirit. God is the one who works. God is the one who moves. And God is the one who gives life. He doesn't do it because we've earned it. He does it because we needed it. He does it because he's gracious. Paul is saying that there were some some miraculous things that were happening, some amazing things that were happening in the church in Galatia. And he's saying, Who did that? Was it the Holy spirit or was it you? I think it's a humbling question. For us as a church, if God's going to move us to where he wants to move us, if he's going to call us to where, or if we're going to go to where he's called us to be, we can't be like the church in Galatia that says, Well, this is on us now. This has to be led by the spirit, perfected by the spirit, communally, but also individually. Think about times in your life where God has moved. Why did he do it? Why did God move in and through your life? Whether it was the moment that you became a Christian or just a moment where the Holy spirit did something miraculous in and through you. Was it a time that you cleaned yourself up, that that you got yourself together, that you perfected yourself in the flesh? Or was it exactly the very moment that you needed his grace, that you needed him to step up and do something amazing? God is the one who supplies the spirit. God is the one who works the miracles. God is the one who works in and through us. Paul's begging them, Don't you see church in Galatia? It was never with you to begin with. Our works. Our works can never save us. I think oftentimes we think about our good works, our righteousness, even as Christians, even as people who aren't trying to earn our salvation, we think about our works as on par with the works that God does. In terms of righteousness, if we could give our righteousness or our righteous works a number on a scale of one to 100 or whatever, we would say, often wrongly, That our righteousness and what God does, his righteous works, are about the same. Our good works are on the same level with him, and we think about it that way. When we do something good, it's about as good as what God does, those good works. And yet our righteousness and his righteousness are not even on the same playing field. When we do something, it is not the same level of what God is doing. In fact, for us to use our good works in order to try to manipulate God into receiving blessing or to receive salvation or to receive anything from him is something that disgusts God. It is something that is repulsive to God. In fact, in Isaiah Isaiah 64. Isaiah says this, We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. This is a very charitable and a very kind way to interpret this passage. This passage, the word polluted garments, is really so much more foul than what is translated here that I really don't want to give you what exactly it says. But it is disgusting. Our righteousness and God's righteousness are not on the same level. I think about it like this, like children's artwork. When you get artwork from a young child who loves you, it is something you want to put on your refrigerator. It's beautiful. It's Wonderful. It's an expression of their love for you, and it's amazing. But if we're going to be objective about it, it's bad art, right? We can all say that, right? It is. It's not the quality of the art that we love. It's the heart behind it. It's the same with our works, our righteousness, our good. If we do them as an act to try to manipulate God, to try to get something something from him. It's bad art. It's objectively no good. But when we do it out of a heart of love, when we respond to the gospel and want to obey him, we want to do his will, he loves it. It is beautiful in his sight. I don't want to minimize that God doesn't like obedience. He absolutely loves obedience. But an obedience in trying to get something from him is like a polluted garment. If we're going to try to use our righteousness against God, God sitting there going, if you're trying to twist my arm by doing good works, good luck, you and me are not the same. Our righteousness is not leverage that we can use against God. God's love for you is independent Love your obedience to him, which brings us an incredible amount of freedom. When we understand that God loves me, when God loves us, we don't have to perform for him. Just try that this week. Feeling, embracing that freedom that you have. You don't have to earn his favor. He loves you. He is proud of you. You don't have to You don't have to be the one who is perfect in your devotional time, is amazing at your prayer life. Those things are great and good. But if you're doing them to try to make God happy with you, God is already happy with you. Live in the freedom that comes with that. The gospel does not say, work harder. It says, Stop bargaining. When we realize the love that God had for us and has for us, It allows us to go from, Man, I have to obey. I get to obey. There's this great hym by John Newton. He was the one who wrote Amazing Grace. This was a hym that was never put to music by him, but it's one of my favorite, I don't know, hymns or poetry that I've ever experienced in Christian literature. It says this, Our pleasure and our duty, though opposite before, since we have seen his beauty, are joined to part no more. To see the law by Christ fulfilled, to hear his pardoning voice, transforms a slave into a child and duty into choice. When we see the beauty of Christ, our pleasure and our duty aren't Two different things. They are the same. Our duty is something we choose to do. Our obedience to God is something we love to do. Transforms a slave into a child. God loved you before you were born. He loved you before the world was created. He wanted you to trust and follow him, not because of your works, not because of your obedience, but because of your faith. This is always the pattern. And Paul starts off with an experience. He This is how you experience God, Galatians church. The Scriptural Pattern in Abraham: Abraham was Justified by Faith (Galatians 3:6-9) It comes down to a question of belonging, question of who gets in, who are God's chosen people. Paul's move here is brilliant. It really is. He picks someone out of the Bible that no one can argue with. Paul picks Abraham. Everyone agrees on Abraham. Galatians 3:6 says this, Just as Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness, Why does Paul bring up Abraham besides that nobody can argue with him? Abraham was the first Jew. He is the family tree. If anyone could be saved by their bloodline or got in by effort, it would have been Abraham. And yet, here's the shocking part. Abraham was not justified by works of the law. He is justified by faith. Genesis 15:6 says this, And he believed the Lord, and it was counted to him as righteousness. Abraham didn't bring a record. He didn't bring his credentials. He brought empty hands. He believed, and God counted it to him as righteous. This was always the pattern. This was always the plan. And that's what we'll see next week in our passage. If you actually want to be part of the chosen group, part of the sons of Abraham, which is what verse seven says, it cannot be based on works. It cannot be through law keeping. It must be through faith. The truest Jew is not the one who has the right DNA. The truest son of Abraham, the truest member of the chosen people, is the one who has Abraham's faith. Belonging always has been a promise. It has never been about performance. Then Paul goes deeper in Galatians 3:8, he says this, And in scripture, Forseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preach the gospel beforehand to Abraham. Do you hear how bold this is? Paul is saying the gospel does not start with Paul. It was preached beforehand with Abraham. And what's the message that we see here? The message is this, that in you shall all the nations be blessed. God's plan was never to keep God's blessing to one people. From the foundation, from the birth of God's people with Abraham, it was all about being a blessing to the nations, to every family, to every person. The problem is the way that the Judiaizers or the circumcision party, when they read that passage, how they would have read that passage is like this, when they heard in you, they would have heard in your line, in your blood, in your family. To get into Abraham's blessing, they would have said you had to become a Jew first. But in you does not mean in your DNA. It means by you, from you, through you. Abraham's family was meant to be an instrument, not a fortress. The Jewish people, Israel, were meant to be agents of the blessing, not hoarders of it. It's one of the wonderful things about the Christian faith. Did you know Christianity was the first religion to say, you don't have to belong to this certain people group or this nationality or this ethnic tribe or be a part of this region, you can belong no matter who you are, where you come from, what you look like, what language you speak. Have Have you ever wondered the difference between our Bible, our sacred text, and a lot of other sacred texts? If you're a Muslim, you have to read it from the Arabic. The reason why is the official language of Islam is Arabic. Why can we say that this English Bible is still God's word, even though obviously Jesus did not speak English? It's because the first language, what was the first language spoken at Pentecost? It was every language. The gospel does not belong to one group of people. That was intentional. The blessing comes to all kinds of people, and the blessing is this. You can have God. You can belong to God by believing. You can be justified by faith. If all the other nations had to be justified, had to be justified by their works, they had to be Jewish first, it would have absolutely guttied the gospel. The promise to the nations would have been erased. And even Abraham's own story would have been negated. Galatians 3:9 continues on, So then those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. Not the man of works, the man of faith. Paul knew what our hearts do next when we hear faith. He wants us to respond truly, but he knows as humans, we hear faith and we want to grab the closest measuring stick. We want to make sure that we're doing it right, that we can be good Christians, that we can obey, and that we can belong. He shows us the other side of reliance, that it does not bring blessing, but it brings curse. The Law's function: It Brings Curse, not Blessing (Galatians 3:10-14) Galatians 3:10 says this, All who rely on works of the law are under a curse, for it is written, Cursed be everyone who does not abide in all things written in the Book of the law, and do them. Before we go on, what is a curse? We need to answer that question. I think oftentimes when we hear the word curse, we think of curse words, we think of witches, we think of magic, right? But the biblical idea of cursing is so much more than that. A curse is God's judgment. It's a failure to live up to his covenant requirements. A curse always comes from a covenant. Anytime a covenant was installed in the life of Israel, there were blessings and curses promised for those who believed it and would do it and those who wouldn't. You might think, Well, that's not so bad. It doesn't sound so bad. God's judgment from a curse means that it's his judgment without mercy. It means he weighs He gives up everything that you've done every time you've broken the law, and he judges you without his mercy. He gives you what you deserve. He gives us what our wages demand. Romans 6:23 says this, For the wages of sin is death. Our works earn us death unless you can keep the whole law, unless you can keep all 613 Commandments in the Old Testament all the time. This is a contract. It's not getting paid, half paid for half work. You have to do it all, all the time, keeping every commandment. You either keep all of it or you're cursed, judged, hopeless, dead. The law to use it like it can save us leads to death, to curse, to brokenness. Right here, the gospel becomes more evident than ever. It becomes more than advice, it becomes a rescue because God doesn't just tell us that we're under a curse. He sends us someone to stand under that curse for us. The good news is that Jesus has saved us. And that's why we can't work hard to fix things. Grace makes you a charity case before it makes you useful. Galatians 3:13 says this, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. It all comes back to the most important moment in the life of any Christian, the crucifixion. That something amazing has happened in our place, something substitution. We should have lived and died by the law. We are lawbreakers. We are cursed. And yet Christ became a curse for us. In our place, Jesus was condemned. He was cursed. That's why Athanasius says this, He became what we are, that we might become what he is. The cross is where your earnings go to die. The law tells truth about you, but it cannot save you. And all of this happens for a very important so that in Galatians 3:14. So that in In Christ Jesus, the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles so that we might receive the promised spirit through faith. So that is so important. If you write in your Bible, circle those two so that. Paul is telling us the intent of this passage, what he intends the Galatians to understand by it. The goal of the covenant of Abraham was Jesus, that all kinds of people would come into the family, this beautiful family of God, so that we could have God, so that we could have the promised Holy spirit with us, so that we could have God himself, not through works. Part of this is that God wanted to make sure that we knew that we could never have the delusion of controlling him. If we earn our salvation, if we earn his favor, it means that we can control him. If our righteousness, if our good works can make him like us more, means that we have control over him. And yet all we can do is respond. We can reflect his glory. The beautiful part about that is that we get his glory. That's the blessing here. Is that we get him. That's the freedom in all of this. Is that God is not someone we manage. God is a glory to behold. We are made to be mirrors, not marketers, not people who earn his love, people who reflect his glory. When you stop trying to control him, you finally get what you were made for. That you were made for his presence, that you were made for his favor, that you were made for himself. Mirrors do not strive. They do not achieve, they don't bargain, they receive light and reflect it. And that is the Christian life. Main Idea Faith brings blessing, law brings curse - Christ redeems us. This is the foundational reality of what we believe as Christians, that we are people who are redeemed, that we cannot save ourselves. That word redemption is an economic term. It means to purchase, to buy back. One of the pictures that the Bible paints of our spiritual reality is one of debt, that we owe a debt that we have no ability to repay, incapable, and that we have to admit that we are spiritually bankrupt. That's hard. That's hard for us. We're blue collar, middle class people. Working hard is one of the greatest virtues we can have. Wives, if you didn't get your husband a gift today, you can. You can tell him that you're so proud of how hard he works. There's nothing as a husband that... There's very few things as a husband that you love to hear more. We love to hear this. This is such a good part of who we are. It's part of the reason I love being a part of this church. We have tons of people who wake up early, who work hard. I love that about us. But God is telling us that that cannot be true of our spirituality. Jesus did not get up on the sermon of the mount and say, blessed are the middle class in spirit. ' He said, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit. ' We have to be people who recognize that we are spiritually bankrupt, that there is nothing that we can do to save ourselves, that we are charity cases. There's a scene in a book that I love. It's called The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis. The This book is about a bus full of people coming from hell and going to heaven, having the ability to stay there if they'd like. They all encounter someone from their life on earth who is in heaven now. A scene Seans between saints and ghosts play out. And that's one of the scenes I'd love to read for you here because I think it absolutely embodies this. If you can't read that, I'm going to read it aloud to. The ghost says this, 'Look at me now, ' said the ghost, slapping his chest, but the slap made no noise. I've gone straight all my life, don't you? I don't say I was a religious man, and I don't say I have no faults, far from it, but I've done my I've done my best all my life, see? I've done my best by everyone. That's the chap I was. I never asked for anything that wasn't mine by rights. If I wanted a drink, I paid for it. If I took my wage, I'd done my job, see? That's the I was, and I don't care who knows it. It would be much better not to go on about that now. Who's going on? I'm not arguing. I'm just telling you the chap I was. See, I'm not asking for nothing but my rights. You may think that you can put me down because you're dressed like that, which you weren't when you worked under me. I'm only a poor man, but I got to have my rights. Same as you. See? Oh, no. It's not so bad as that. I haven't got my rights, or I shouldn't be here. You will not get yours either. You'll get something far better. Never fear. There you go. That's what I say. I haven't got my rights. I've always done my best, and I never done anything wrong. And that's what I don't see is why I shouldn't be or why I should be put below a bloody murderer like you. Who knows whether you will be. Only be happy and come with me. What do you keep arguing for? I'm only telling you the chap I am. I only want my rights. I'm not asking for anybody's bleeding charity. Then do so at once. Ask for the bleeding charity. Everything here is for the asking, and nothing can be bought. Grace makes you a charity case before it makes you useful. That's the question. The question isn't whether you've done enough, whether you're religious enough, whether you've obeyed enough, whether you've done enough good works. The The question is, have you asked for the bleeding charity? Have you asked for the bleeding charity today? Christianity is not a marketplace. It is a mercy seat. If you believe that you're too good for charity, you're saying that you're too good for Christ. How do we respond as charity cases? Application: Receive charity This week, allow someone to help you. Allow someone to serve you. Do not be so prideful that you can't accept someone's help. I think it's easy for us I think for many of us, it's hard to see people on the same level. We always want to feel superior to people. We don't want to let people help us. When we let people help us, we become equals with them. If that's something that causes you to be unsettled in your heart, to be equals with people, we don't understand the gospel. We are. Receive charity. The second point is this. Practice charity This week, find one way to give, given a way that you can't be paid back. As people who have been redeemed, bought, been given charity, we must give graciously and generously. Look for someone. Look for a way that you can help someone, not because you're trying to be better than them, not as a power move, but you're trying to embody the gospel in a tangible way. So find a gospel-centered charity that you can give generously to. Maybe one of our missionaries, if you need help finding that on our website, we have a new web page that allows you to find their a living platform that you can give right to them. If you're not giving here, I challenge you to pray about what it would look like to tithe, not because we necessarily need the money, but because you need that in your spiritual life to trust God with your money. Maybe you're asking, what if it's going to be hard for us financially? Or it might not be the right time to do that. The truth is, that's the point. Gospel-shaped generosity hurts. Look at the cross. If generosity from God was something that didn't hurt, God wouldn't have went to the cross for us. He went to the cross. He suffered for us. Our generosity ought to cost something. It ought to make us feel uncomfortable. What would it look like for you to embody the generosity of the cross in your daily life? Landing As we come to a close, there's a danger here. Even in this, we can turn generosity into a new ladder, into a way to try to work the curse off of us. So how do we have the power to both receive charity and to practice charity without trying to earn something, without trying to try to take control? The only place Christ is the cross. Is that Christ became a curse for us. The curse that he bore was so much more than physical. I think sometimes we think about the physical nature of what Christ took, the lashes, the nails in his arms and his hands. The cross was infinitely more painful because it was spiritually torturous. It was the first time in the history of the Trinity, in the relationship of the Trinity, that Jesus was not loved, but he was hated. On the cross, Jesus heard what we should have. Depart from me. I never knew you. He was told that he was not loved. He became a curse for us. Because of that, we get what he deserves, that we get to become children of God. We get the blessing that Jesus received, the words that Jesus received at his baptism. This is my son or daughter in whom I'm well pleased. As a Christian, you get to hear that over you, not because of what you've done, but because of what Christ has done for you. We are already loved. That is the blessing that we get to receive. Hear this, faith brings blessing, law brings curse, and Christ redeems us. Prayer Let's pray. Father God, we thank you for who you are, that you are God who is rich in mercy, that you allow us to be saved, not by our works. That we do not have to muster enough effort up in us to be pleasing to you, but you are already pleased in us because you are pleased in your son. God, we thank you that he became a curse for us so that we do not have to try to pay for the wages of our sin, which would have been death. Thank you for the gift that we have in Christ, the free gift that we have. God, help us to sing as people who have been redeemed. It's in your name we pray. Amen. Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Paniba Paniba La Romana, Dominican Republic PANIBA is a Christian ministry committed to feeding the hungry, sharing the love of Jesus, and strengthening vulnerable communities in the Dominican Republic. Their heart is especially for children and families living in economically disadvantaged areas, where access to nutritious food is limited and basic needs often go unmet. Through weekly feeding programs, PANIBA provides nutritious meals to children to help them grow, learn, and thrive physically, mentally, and spiritually. These gatherings aren’t just about food — they include worship, Bible teaching, games, and intentional time to share the hope of Christ with young lives. In addition to nourishing children, PANIBA extends care to elderly and disadvantaged adults, offering monthly grocery support for those who otherwise have no safety net. The ministry partners with local churches and volunteers to meet both practical needs and spiritual hunger, demonstrating God’s love with compassion, dignity, and respect. Support Paniba

Josh and Mandy Shaarda Freedom In Christ Uganda Josh and Mandy have dedicated their lives to making disciples and strengthening the church in East Africa, particularly in Uganda. They serve through Resonate Global Mission alongside Freedom in Christ Ministries, partnering with local pastors and church leaders to equip them with discipleship resources and training so that individuals, families, and entire communities can be transformed by the truth of the gospel. Their work goes beyond teaching — they walk alongside local churches, helping leaders multiply disciples who live out Jesus’ love in word and deed. A significant part of their ministry has focused on prisons, where they share the gospel and train believers who, in turn, lead worship, start Bible studies, and boldly proclaim Christ’s freedom to others inside and outside prison walls. Josh and Mandy’s vision is to see Jesus’ church in Uganda equipped to transform the nations — building up leaders who will continue to spread the good news throughout Africa. Support Josh & Mandy

Pastor Brad Jones Arise Presbyterian Vista, California Brad was born in a small town in the Canadian Rockies. Kristin was born in West Michigan. By God's grace they were both brought up in Christian homes. Brad and Kristin have been married for over 15 years and together they have 4 children: December, Isaac, Reuben and Violet. They share a common commitment to Jesus, His Church, and His mission. Brad has degrees from Kuyper College and Westminster Seminary California. Brad is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and has over 10 years of full-time pastoral experience. The Jones family moved to Southern California in the summer of 2019 to help Grace Covenant Church replant into a new, vibrant church plant. In March 2020, GCC was replanted as Arise Presbyterian Church but the mission of reaching the community with the Gospel is just getting started! Support Pastor Brad