How does the return of Christ fit in with his millennial reign in Revelation 20? In this message, Benjamin Shanks surveys the three big interpretations given throughout church history: PREMILLENNIALISM, POSTMILLENNIALISM and AMILLENNIALISM. This message will encourage...
The word "Spirit" appears 17 times in the first half of Romans 8—it's a chapter dominated by the theme of "Life in the Spirit." In this message, Benjamin Shanks unpacks what Life in the Spirit means. 1. I AM FREE FROM MY PAST 2. I SET MY MIND FORWARD 3. I LOOK FOR THE...
In Romans 5:6-21, Paul tells two stories: The Adam Story, and The Jesus Story. Like a hologram, the Bible projects the world that these two stories create. The question is: which world do you want to live in?
Today's message covers Romans chapters 2 and 3.On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg. In that moment, the Protestant Reformation was born. Luther was convicted by these passages in Romans. The title of...
The Book of Jonah is a well-crafted story. It brilliants subverts and plays with our expectations of what we think is going to happen. In chapter 3, Jonah brings the reality of Yahweh (gracious yet holy God) into the great city of Nineveh—a place of judgment,...
In this message, Benjamin Shanks kicks off our new 3-week series entitled Again. John 20:24-29 records the story of Doubting Thomas. What if Thomas isn't a cold, cynical, intellectual skeptic but a hurting, despairing disbeliever? Thomas, like the rest of us, carries...
The fifth strategic key of our SEE23 vision is NEXT GENERATION. At NorthernLife, we believe we must focus on passing on the Gospel to the Next Generation. In this message, Benjamin Shanks unpacks Psalm 145 and its vision of commending the Gospel generation to...
John 20:19-23 records the meeting of the disciples on the very night of the resurrection. After a tumultuous and chaotic week, the disciples gathered together on Sunday when the risen Lord Jesus appeared to them. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord! In...
"Rejoice in the Lord always... Do not be anxious about anything." In Philippians 4:4-7, Paul sets up a paradigm juxtaposing rejoicing and anxiety. Both are internal responses to external realities. How are we to rejoice always? To not be anxious about anything? Paul...
If you were to die tomorrow and stand before the pearly white gates of Heaven and an angel were to ask you why you should be let into Heaven, what would you say? Would you cite your long list of achievements and accomplishments in this world? No—you would plead the...
In Philippians 2:1-11, Paul exhorts the Philippians to unity through humility by looking at the example of Jesus on the cross. In this message, Benjamin Shanks teaches on the need for gospel unity through humility.
Repetition rewires the brain. It's the reason why you can easily brush your teeth, or drive a car, or play an instrument. It's also the reason why we believe lies if they repeated enough. Lies repeated enough creates ruts in our thinking, because repetition rewires...
In the Book of Deuteronomy, God commands the people of Israel through Moses to "not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of JUSTICE." This message unpacks biblical justice—which is restorative justice that works to give power and a voice to the most vulnerable.
The story of Palm Sunday — Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem — contains three key elements: the RIDE, the ROAD and the WORD. In this message, Benjamin Shanks unpacks the story of Palm Sunday, encouraging you to receive Jesus with open palms, and to praise him with...
The Gospel sees the dead come alive, the lame walk, the leaper cleansed and the sinner forgiven, but for every Resurrection Sunday there is a Monday Morning where we learn that the Christian life is not easy—it is full of suffering, persecution and weakness. Why? In...