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2025-09-28: Galatians – Freedom’s Power

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:23 — 22.9MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 2:11-21

Galatians
Freedom’s Power
Galatians 2:11-21

The rules are good, but they don’t make us better people, do they? If anything, they just make us feel guilty when we don’t follow through.

When we try to make ourselves look good by following a list of rules, then we divide ourselves from one another.

When we try to make ourselves look good by following a list of rules, then we divide ourselves from one another and it causes a lot of hurt.

Trying to abide by any external standard does nothing to change us on the inside.

We don’t make ourselves better people by trying to follow a list of rules. In fact, we make ourselves worse! We divide ourselves. We deceive ourselves. And we deny the gospel.

So if you truly want to become a better person, don’t trust a law; Trust the Lord! Put your faith in Christ.
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If you want to find true righteousness before God, if you want to hit a homerun with Him, if you truly want to be a better person, then don’t depend on a list of rules; instead depend on the Lord.
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2025-09-21: Galatians – Freedom’s Threats

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:00 — 19.2MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 2:1-10

Galatians
Freedom’s Threats
Galatians 2:1-10

The door to freedom scares a lot of people. They prefer the comfort of the known, even if it means death, to the uncertainty of the unknown.

Paul would teach the Gentiles that freedom from sin is gained simply through faith in Christ.

They all agreed that our salvation is by God’s grace alone through faith in God’s Son alone without any additional requirements.

We must labor with each other to proclaim and live out the Gospel.

They agreed not only to proclaim it together. They agreed to live it out together as well.

When our legalistic standards keep us from helping people in need, then we need to dump those standards, especially those of us who preach the good news of God’s unconditional love.

We must come together in the truth. And we must work together for the truth if we’re going to be all that God has called us to be as a church.

When we come together as the church here in Richmond, let’s remember “It’s not about the food; it’s about the family.” It’s not about the music; it’s about the memories we make together.

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2025-09-07: Galatians – Freedom’s Influence

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:16 — 18.7MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 1:11-24

Galatians
Freedom’s Influence
Galatians 1:11-24

Jesus calls us, His followers, “the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13), but salt that stays on the shelf doesn’t do any good at all.

Paul makes the point that he didn’t get his ideas from any man. He got them directly from Jesus Christ Himself in Arabia.

We gain the right to be heard, because we have spent time with the Master Himself, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Oh, that God would open our eyes to love and appreciate the supreme treasure that we have in His Word.

If we’re going to speak with any authority in our world, then we must know Jesus personally.

God has set apart each and every one of us believers for a special purpose.

God was glorified because of the change in Paul’s life. And God is glorified when we allow Christ to change our lives, as well.

We can change our world for the better! All we have to do is commune with Christ and allow Him to change us from the inside out.

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2025-08-24: Galatians – The Good News of Freedom

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:47 — 19.8MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 1:6-12

Galatians
The Good News of Freedom
Galatians 1:6-12

In people’s sincere efforts to translate the gospel into something we can understand, sometimes things get lost in the translation.

You see, false teachers were coming after the Apostle Paul and claiming to preach the same Gospel he did. But Paul makes it very clear, “They are preaching a different gospel.”

We are all part of the problem, but there is only one man who is the solution. His name is Jesus.

False teachers distort the good news. They twist the truth, and it confuses people.

Any time anybody adds anything to faith as a requirement for God’s acceptance, then all kinds of red flags should go up.

As people engage in practices and embrace ideas that are spiritually poisonous, they think it is making them more spiritual.

All we have to do is trust Christ. All we have to do is commit our lives to Him.

Faith, and faith alone, sets us free.

Christ died for our sins. Christ rose again. All we need to do is trust Him. That’s the simple Gospel that comes from God Himself.

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2025-08-17: Galatians – Breaking Free!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:20 — 20.1MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 1:1-5

Galatians
Breaking Free!
Galatians 1:1-5

What will it take for us to really break free from the habits and attitudes that keep us grounded?

We better listen very carefully to His words, because they are not his words; they are God’s Words.

If you and I want to be truly free, then we too must wake up and listen!

God doesn’t base His decision to release us because of something we did.

We aren’t even looking for the freedom God provides. Instead, God has to come looking for us.

Christ has purchased our freedom, but we want to hang on to the little trinkets of this world; and we prefer the familiarity of our bondage over the unsettling prospects of freedom.

You see, we’re not just talking about a ticket to heaven in the future here. We’re talking about the way to a life of goodness and holiness today, in the present.

If you want to be truly free, then simply listen to God’s Word, and believe it when he tells you, “I am setting you free!”

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2025-08-10: Love One Another – One Anothering

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:15 — 13.9MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: John 13:34-35, John 15:12, John 15:17, Ephesians 5:25-32

One Anothering
Love One Another
John 13:34-35, John 15:12, John 15:17, Ephesians 5:25-32

Be Devoted to one another.
Ruth 1:16-18, Romans 12:10, Ephesians 5:1-2

To honor one another.
Romans 12:10, Philippians 2:3-4

To submit to one another.
Ephesians 5:21, Philippians 2:5-8, Matthew 20:25-28, Acts 21

To accept one another.
Romans 15:7, Romans 14, Romans 15, John 13:34-35, Matthew 25:40-45

To admonish one another.
Colossians 3:15-17, Romans 15:14, Galatians 2:11-13, Proverbs 12:1

To encourage one another.
Hebrews 3:12-14, Hebrews 10:25, Ephesians 4:29

To serve one another.
Galatians 5:13-15, Ephesians 2:8-10, Philippians 2:5-8, Matthew 20:25-28

To bear one another’s burdens.
Galatians 6:1-5, John 13:34-35, Galatians 5:14

To bear with one another.
Ephesians 4:1-3, Colossians 3:13, Romans 12:18

To pray for one another.
James 5:16, Ephesians 6:18, Acts 12:1-17, Matthew 7:7-11, Philippians 4:6-7

And finally, to spur one another on to love.
Hebrews 10:23-25, Galatians 4:16, Proverbs 27:6, Proverbs 18:21

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2025-08-03: Spur One Another On – One Anothering

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:31 — 18.9MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Hebrews 10:23-25, Galatians 4:16, Proverbs 27:6, Proverbs 18:21

One Anothering
Spur One Another On
Hebrews 10:23-25, Galatians 4:16, Proverbs 27:6, Proverbs 18:21

“My son is under a doctor’s care and should not take P.E. today. Please execute him.”
“Dear School: Please ekscuse John being absent on Jan. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and also 33.”
“Please excuse Roland from P.E. for a few days. Yesterday he fell out of a tree and misplaced his hip.”
“Megan could not come to school today because she has been bothered by very close veins.”
“Chris will not be in school cus he has an acre in his side.”
“Please excuse Ray Friday from school. He has very loose vowels.”
“Please excuse Tommy for being absent yesterday. He had diarrhea and his boots leak.”
“Please excuse Jimmy for being. It was not his fault.”

God doesn’t want to hear excuses, rather He wants to hear confessions and resolutions. God wants to see genuine repentance and faithfulness.

Hebrews was written to persuade them to come back to Christ and stick with Christ.

Usually, when we think of provoking someone, we think of doing so in a negative sense, rather than a positive sense.

There are people to be loved, there is service to be performed, and there is justice to be done.

Deeper and more meaningful relationships require something more than just niceness. Deeper and more meaningful relationships require prodding and provoking.

We can provoke people by our PRESENCE The first thing we must do is faithfully gather with the church as a whole and with each other individually.

We can provoke people by our EXAMPLE So let’s continue in our faithfulness and allow it to be a powerful example that spurs one another on.

There is a time for warm, encouraging words, and there is also a time for corrective and challenging words.

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2025-07-27: Bear One Another’s Burdens – One Anothering

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:11 — 19.4MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 6:1-5, John 13:34-35, Galatians 5:14

One Anothering
Bear One Another’s Burdens
Galatians 6:1-5, John 13:34-35, Galatians 5:14

Sucked in, washed up, and blown over…that’s enough to steal the song from the stoutest heart.

The “burdens” that we are to help others carry include any sort of difficulties that people face.

As followers of Jesus, there are certain Christian responsibilities or burdens that each believer must bear and these burdens or responsibilities cannot be lifted by others.

And so, as Christians, we need to accept the fact that we too will have burdens to carry.

If the person needing the help isn’t open and honest enough about their struggle or burden, then no one will know what their burden is.

In other words, God helps us carry our burdens through his people.

Let’s love each other enough to want to help those who are burdened. And then, let us be humble enough to be willing to receive the loving assistance of others.

I hope that our love for each other will cause us to feel that no burden is too heavy to help a brother or sister to bear.

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2025-07-20: Pray For One Another – One Anothering

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:10 — 20.7MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: James 5:16, Ephesians 6:18, Acts 12:1-18, Matthew 7:7-11, Philippians 4:6-7

One Anothering
Pray For One Another
James 5:16, Ephesians 6:18, Acts 12:1-18, Matthew 7:7-11, Philippians 4:6-7

I’m guessing that most of us believe in prayer, but would admit that we don’t feel like we are very good at it, or that we don’t do enough of it.

The right view of God is to see Him as our Heavenly Father, who is a great parent who hears all our requests but gives us what is good for us, which is not always what we want.

Prayer involves an intimate relationship where we share our struggles and needs with each other so that we can pray for each other.

Not only did Paul request prayer, he made others aware that he was praying for them.

That’s the best “but” there is, right? But the church was praying to God for him.

I think God included it as an encouragement to us, so that we would understand that God answers our prayers even when our prayers and our faith are not perfect.

Jesus continues to intercede for us, and we can intercede for each other.

How would that change the way we pray for ourselves and others if we prayed less about our needs and desires and prayed more for God’s purposes?

Prayer is ultimately not getting our will done in heaven, but getting God’s will done on earth.