Topeka Bible Church EXTRA

When the Israelites heard God’s voice and saw the great fire of His glory in Horeb, they cried out for someone who could survive God’s presence and deliver his messages to them. For a while, that person was Moses. But who would bring God’s word to His people after Moses died? In this message from Deuteronomy 18, Pastor Connor looks at the guidelines God gave for recognizing prophets. He also talks about the promise that God made to...

Throughout human history, slavery has taken a terrible toll on human dignity and flourishing. So why does Scripture use it to describe our relationship with both God and sin? As he continues our series on Deuteronomy, Pastor Connor discusses the instructions that God gave his people around slavery. He also talks about slavery in the New Testament, as well as the wisdom in Bob Dylan’s observation, “You’re gonna have to serve somebod...

God cared deeply about where and how His chosen people worshipped Him. This week, Pastor Jim continues our series on Deuteronomy. He talks about the life and final words of Moses, as well as why the Promised Land was such an important place to God. He also discusses what it means for us today to worship God in the place where He dwells.

After the sermon, Jim, Jason and Teresa discuss how God uses brokenness to heal us and ...

God commands His people to be tenderhearted toward the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the poor in their midst. In this message on Deuteronomy, Pastor Connor discusses God’s justice and how the Law provided for the needy in Israel. Ultimately, God calls us all to have hearts that care for vulnerable people. He also expects our actions to reflect that care.

This week, Jason and Teresa talk about how God sees the vulner...

During their 40-year journey through the desert, God’s people earned judgement over and over. But God continued showing them mercy, often because Moses advocated for them. In this discussion of Deuteronomy 9, Pastor Connor talks about Moses as a mediator between God and Israel. He also examines how Moses foreshadowed our great mediator, Jesus Christ. As our sacrifice and our advocate before God’s throne, Jesus is our sole source of...

In Deuteronomy 9, God reminds the Israelites that their entrance into the promised land isn’t because of their own righteousness. Rather, they’re entering because of His purposes and through His power. This week, Pastor Jeremy discusses how the gospel of Jesus Christ is similar to God’s plan to bring the Israelites into Canaan. He also talks about how pride in our own works can blind us to the goodness of God’s unchanging love.

There’s room for compromise in many areas of life, but never in our relationship with God. In Deuteronomy 7, God commands his people to be totally uncompromising as they conquer the land He’s giving them.  By disobeying this command, they sowed the seeds for a broken relationship with God and their nation’s ultimate downfall. In this week’s sermon, Pastor Connor urges us to consider whether our own hearts might be trying to comprom...

As the Israelites are poised to enter the Promised Land, Moses is concerned that they will become too comfortable with their new, abundant blessings and forget the God who provided them. He warns them against complacency with creature comforts and that their praise and adoration should increase as they begin to have every need fulfilled. In a culture that draws us toward comfort and wealth, do we continue to keep our soul, heart, a...

This week, we dig into one of the most famous commandments in the Bible. In fact, Jesus called it the greatest one. This commandment is so important that etching it in stone wasn’t enough; God wanted it written on His people’s hearts! Pastor Connor Kraus discusses what it means to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and strength. He also talks about how we can surround ourselves and our families with reminders of this g...

It’s easy to think of God’s Law as a series of complicated rules. This week’s message explores how the Law is so much more than that: God gave it to His people as a way to show His character to the world. Through their obedience, they demonstrated that God was righteous and close to His people. But what if they chose disobedience instead? Pastor Connor Kraus discusses that question, along with its implications for us today.

What obstacles have you faced on the road to obedience? For the people of Israel, it was a promised land full of fierce giants! God had just delivered them from the Egyptian army, and His presence continued dwelling with them, but they didn’t trust Him to defeat an overwhelming enemy. That mistake cost them 40 years of wandering and death. In this sermon, Pastor Connor discusses God’s involvement in our past, present, and future. N...

After 40 years of wandering through the wilderness, Moses and the Israelites are standing at the proverbial gates to the promised land. Moses tries to draw the younger Israelites into who they are and whose they are. It’s a call to faithfulness, Moses’ last appeal to God’s chosen ones, as he presents God’s laws in a way that’s relatable to them. It’s a call to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, and strength. And it’s a call ...

Are flashy, impressive spiritual gifts a sign of spiritual maturity? The early church at Corinth certainly thought so… but they were missing the most important ingredient! In this discussion of 1 Corinthians 13:1-7, Student Ministry Pastor Jeremy McGrath explores the critical importance of love as a measure of spiritual maturity. He also talks about ways to cultivate greater love as we exercise our gifts to serve one another.
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It’s easy to understand how those who are seeking closeness with the Creator will turn to creation to do so. Some of the earliest religions thought that God was a being that was constrained to places or objects. Even some of us who consider ourselves followers of Christ say that we feel closer to God in certain places – the mountains, the beach, or a comfy chair in our home with our favorite Bible and a cup of coffee. Are we worshi...

Some Eastern faiths are centered around the concept of karma, the belief that good input results in good output and bad input results in bad output. This line of reasoning isn't biblical, but has karma crept into what we believe about God? Connor uses Scripture to help us separate karma from God's retribution. Karma puts the control on us, the timeline for retribution on our timeline, and the burden of being "good en...

In light of the fascination with spiritual things in our culture we are kicking off a new sermon series entitled, Enchanted, Exploring Spirituality. With Proverbs 3:5-6 as our guiding scripture, Jason talks about how to make sure our ultimate trust is in God and his word, as well as, what happens if we give up our ultimate Trust in God for more untrustworthy practices.

Connor, Jason, and special guest Connie Hall do a deep...

This month’s bonus episode starts with a fascinating segment by TBC Lead Pastor Connor Kraus where he dives into questions like, “What was Paul’s thorn in the flesh?” and, “Why was Paul thankful for it?”

In the second segment, Teresa sits down with Women's Ministry Director Patty Diliberto and Women's Council Member Connie Hall, who took a mission trip to Haiti in December 2023. They share about TBC's histor...

Accountability can be difficult because the places we need to change most may be deeply painful and personal. As Paul wrapped up his fourth letter to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 13:1-10), he implored them to consider their relationship with Christ and make changes before Paul's return visit. Connor used this section of Paul's letter to outline six qualities we must embrace when practicing accountability with others. We...

Paul encourages the Corinthians to follow Jesus' example of engaging with the culture without succumbing to it. Christ didn't behave in a culturally superior way or desire cultural acceptance. He transformed the world through the spirit of God in the Gospel message and finding life in his sacrifice. He walked a perfect middle line that shows us how to walk as Christians and not flirt with the things Satan throws our way. ...