23. God, the Gospel, and Israel (Romans 11) | Michael Bouterse

23. God, the Gospel, and Israel (Romans 11)

Periodically in Thrive's Romans series, we're pausing to take up a "hot potato in Romans"—a topic that is culturally "hot" and hard to handle. In this talk, Michael Bouterse, Thrive Harbor's local director, addresses what Romans 11 says about Israel—a nation and people group never too far from political and theological controversy.

The story of Israel as told in the Old Testament revolves around God's promise, expressed and developed through multiple covenants, to one day bring salvation through a Messiah descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In Romans 11, Paul reveals that even though God has temporarily cast Israel aside due to their rejection of Jesus as Messiah, their being cast aside is neither total nor permanent. One day God will again take up His dealings with the Jewish people. He will regather them to their ancestral homeland, visit salvation upon a Jewish remnant, and, as a result, bring renewal to the entire world. These events belong to Israel's future, not because human beings are righteous, but because God is faithful; and for that reason, the future of Israel is one of the greatest exhibits in Scripture of God's lavish, unmerited grace.

Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include Genesis 3:14-15; 5:29; 12:2-3, 7; Deuteronomy 28:15, 20-21; 2 Samuel 7:12-16; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26; Isaiah 2:2-4; Matthew 1:1; Romans 11:1-32; Isaiah 11:11-12; Ezekiel 36:8-12; Zechariah 10:6-10; 14:4; 12:10; 13:1; and Genesis 45:1-7.

19. Romans 8:28-39 | Michael Bouterse

19. Romans 8:28-39

Michael Bouterse, Thrive Harbor's local director, closes out the last section of the climactic eighth chapter of Romans. In Romans 8:28-39 Paul reveals God's purpose for humanity: not conformity to a set of moral principles but to a person, Jesus Christ; His aim is for the very life of God to be woven into the warp and woof of our personalities. To this purpose God adds a promise of assurance that He will bring this reality to pass: that because of God's sovereignty and His sacrifice on the cross, nothing can separate us from His love.

Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include Romans 8:28-39; 8:18-22; 1 John 3:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Timothy 3:5; Jeremiah 2:13; 1 John 4:8, 16; Luke 22:31-32; 1 Peter 1:3-7; and John 17:20-26.

14. Jesus, Sex, and Secrets: Part 1 | Michael Bouterse

14. Jesus, Sex, and Secrets: Part 1

Periodically in Thrive's Romans series, we're pausing to take up a "hot potato in Romans"—a topic that is culturally "hot" and hard to handle. In this talk, Michael Bouterse, Thrive Harbor's local director, opens a two-week miniseries on “Jesus, Sex, and Secrets” that confronts pornography and sexual addiction, springing out of Romans 6 and 7. This first talk deals with the devastation of porn, the wrong way to heal, and the right way to heal.

Scripture passages cited in this message include Romans 7:15, 19, 21, 24; Ephesians 5:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 2 Corinthians 12:7; Luke 15:17-24, 30; 2 Corinthians 5:17, 21; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; and Genesis 41:51.

13. Romans 7:14-25 | Michael Bouterse

13. Romans 7:14-25

How does God change us? How do believers grow amid the ongoing, ever-present battle with sin? Whereas Romans 6 gives Paul’s explanation of the right way to fight sin and seek change, Romans 7 gives the wrong way. It shows us that despite human beings’ inherent tendency to improve ourselves through our own effort, sin can’t be defeated through simply trying harder. Sanctification is God’s work, accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Scripture passages cited in this message include Romans 7:14-25; 1 John 1:8; Romans 6:17; Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 Timothy 1:8-9; Colossians 2:20-23; Romans 6:2, 11-13; and Galatians 2:20.

8. Romans 3:21-31 | Michael Bouterse

8. Romans 3:21-31

Mercy forgives the guilty, while justice refuses to let the guilty off the hook. How can these two important principles coexist? In this message on Romans 3:21-31, Michael Bouterse, Thrive’s local director, explains how according to Paul there is exactly one place where these seeming opposites collide: the cross of Christ. On the cross, God upheld judgment by punishing sin, while also demonstrating His merciful love for us through Jesus dying in our place.

Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include John 5:19; 1 Corinthians 1:18-23; Psalm 143:11; 1 Kings 21; and Romans 5:8.

7. Romans 3:21-26 | Michael Bouterse

7. Romans 3:21-26

Why is it so easy to feel dogged by a sense of shame and inadequacy? Is there a way to shut off the inner monologue that says, “You’ll never be enough”? In this message on Romans 3:21-26, Michael Bouterse, Thrive’s local director, expounds Paul’s teaching on justification by faith, the cornerstone of Christian theology. Human beings are self-justifying creatures, always searching for new ways to shed our sense of guilt and feel morally superior to others. But the doctrine of justification says that the erasure of our guilt comes only through what Jesus did on the cross. The result is forgiveness and the breathtaking gift of God’s righteousness.

Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include Isaiah 64:6; Psalm 103:10-12; 109:22; Matthew 3:17; 5:20; 17:5; 2 Corinthians 5:21; and Ephesians 6:14.

6. Romans 3:1-20 | Michael Bouterse

6. Romans 3:1-20

In this message on Romans 3:1-20, Michael Bouterse, Thrive’s local director, unpacks the conclusion of Paul’s argument that all humanity is guilty and in need of salvation. Already he has argued that religious people need the gospel (chapter 2) just as much as non-religious people (chapter 1). Now, to conclude his argument, Paul considers some challenges someone might make to his case, before driving that case home with a withering litany of truth about humanity's desperate state apart from Christ.

5. Romans 2:17-29 | Michael Bouterse

5. Romans 2:17-29

There are people who sit in church every Sunday, who serve the homeless, clothe the naked, and care for the sick—but who are on their way to hell. In this message on Romans 2:17-29, Michael Bouterse, Thrive's local director, unpacks the Bible's astonishing teaching that even the most scrupulous religious observance is insufficient to save us. Whereas religion often leads to self-righteousness and judgmentalism, the gospel humbles us by revealing the hypocrisy of the human heart—and the way our hearts can be healed.

Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include Matthew 7:21-23: Romans 1:18-3:20; James 3:1; Hebrews 13:17; and Luke 15:11:32.

4. Romans 2:1-16 | Michael Bouterse

4. Romans 2:1-16

Why are human beings so good at destroying relationships with those we love? According to the Bible, the answer is that the human heart is hard-wired to justify itself. In this message on Romans 2:1-16, Michael Bouterse, Thrive's local director, unpacks Paul's profound teaching on human hypocrisy, its deadly results, and the cure we desperately need.

Scripture passages cited in this message include Romans 1:21, 25, 29; 1 Corinthians 2:15; Matthew 7:2; and Luke 18:11-12.

3. Is God Anti-Gay? (Romans 1:26-27) | Michael Bouterse

3. Is God Anti-Gay? (Romans 1:26-27)

Periodically in Thrive's Romans series, we're pausing to take up a "hot potato in Romans"—a topic that is culturally "hot" and hard to handle. In this talk, Michael Bouterse, Thrive's local director, takes up Paul's controversial words about homosexuality in Romans 1:26-27. According to this passage, is God homophobic? Is Christianity bad news for those who experience same-sex attraction? The answer to both questions is no. Seen within the broader storyline of the Bible, Christianity's teaching on sex, though countercultural, ultimately points to an even greater source of satisfaction that is available to us in Christ.

Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include Romans 1:24-28; Matthew 11:28; 19:4-6; Genesis 1-2; 2:18, 24; 19; Ephesians 5:31-32; Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 7; Hebrews 4:15; James 3:2; John 9:2-3; Mark 8:34-35.

2. Romans 1:18-32 | Michael Bouterse

2. Romans 1:18-32

Michael Bouterse, Thrive Harbor’s local director, continues Thrive's series on Romans by looking at the second half of Romans 1. Like a prosecuting attorney, Paul in 1:18-3:20 constructs an air-tight case that all humanity is guilty and in need of a savior. In this section, Paul first tells us why humanity is guilty, and secondly he shows us how God responds to our sin—by giving us over to the very sin we crave.