September 3, 2020 |
Revelation 2:12-17 |
exposition
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We rarely dive into the deep end of sin. We tend to slide into the shallow end, slowly inching ourselves deeper until it’s over our heads and we start drowning. No one sets out to be an addict or an alcoholic, they make a series of compromises that lead them there. No one plans on being unfaithful in their marriage, divorce was never the plan, but they make a series of compromises that lead them there. No one decides to reject Jesus in order to put money or material things or some other pursuit their god, but they make little compromises that lead them there.
We tend to do better with big challenges, but it’s the little compromises that erode our lives and our souls over time.
That’s what was happening in the church of Pergamum, compromise was eroding their faith. But Jesus had a word for them. In the book of Revelation, Jesus told John to write a letter to seven churches in Asia Minor. To the church of Pergamum, Jesus told John to write a letter calling them to uncompromising faith. We can have uncompromising faith.
August 23, 2020 |
Revelation 2:8-11 |
exposition
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Are you facing suffering today? There are many aspects of human suffering, or pain in the broader sense. There is psychological suffering: depression, anxiety, loneliness, grief from a death, a divorce or a broken friendship. Maybe that’s where you are today. You have emotional pain. Then, there is physical suffering: sickness, injury, declining health, sleep deprivation, even the pain of hunger, thirst and shelter for the impoverished. And the minute we put suffering into these two categories of psychological and physical, we have to understand that one affects the other. The pain of the body affects the mind, and the suffering of the mind affects the body. We all want to avoid suffering don’t we? But isn’t suffering and pain inevitable in this life? And since it is, wouldn’t you like help in how to face suffering when it comes?
That’s where the believers in Smyrna were. They were suffering tribulation and poverty and Jesus sent a letter to help them face it. In the book of Revelation, Jesus told John to write a letter to the church of Smyrna to help them with the suffering they were facing. We can receive Christ’s help when we face suffering.
August 16, 2020 |
Revelation 2:1-7 |
exposition
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Jesus wrote a letter to His churches. The first letter went to the church of Ephesus. It was a love letter. He wanted to know why they no longer loved Him as they did at first. Isn’t that amazing? That the Lord Jesus would care whether we love Him or not? Don’t we all need to hear this today? You may be listening today and you feel lonely and unloved. You may wonder whether the Lord is even aware of your situation. Does He even care?
Hear this: Jesus loves you. And he wants to know whether you love Him back. In Revelation chapter 2, Jesus told John to write a letter to the church of Ephesus, calling them to always put their love for Him first. We can answer Christ’s call to put our love for Him first.
August 9, 2020 |
Revelation 1:1-20 |
exposition
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The apostle John recorded how the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him while he was exiled on the isle of Patmos and told him to a write letter to the seven churches of Asia Minor on His behalf. That’s what the book of Revelation is, it’s a letter from King Jesus to His Church containing what He wants believers to know about Him, the Church and about the future events in the world and in heaven leading up to His return.
In the first chapter of Revelation, the apostle John described how believers might receive the blessing of the revelation of Jesus Christ. We can receive the blessing of the revelation of Jesus Christ.
This series is about God’s design for the family and how following God’s design, with God’s help, results in God’s blessing on our families. Don’t you want God’s blessing on your family? It begins by giving it to God saying, “God, this is Your family!”
July 12, 2020 |
Ephesians 3:14-21 |
family, marriage
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The definition of marriage and family are being deconstructed and redefined. For those who care about God’s plan for the family, these are troubling statistics and trends. If you’re married with kids, you’re probably worried about your kids’ future. If you’re divorced and a single parent, you don’t want your family to be another statistic. If you’re single, especially if you’re a single woman, and you want to get married, you’re starting to panic that it won’t ever happen because of the decline of available, marriageable men. How can these statistics and trends be reversed? One heart and one family at a time.
In the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul prayed that believers would experience God’s blessing on the family. We can experience God’s blessing on our families.
July 5, 2020 |
Ephesians 2:4-10 |
grace
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Have you noticed how grace-less our culture has become? The so-called “social graces” that used to guide our social interactions, like polite speech, good manners, etiquette, deportment, appropriate dress, have faded into a rude, rough and selfish disregard of others. Add to our declining social graces the political turmoil, the pandemic, the racial unrest, and other problems continuously broadcast to us 24/7 and you have the makings of the graceless and divided country we see today.
How can we change? How can we understand how much “grace matters” to God and how much it matters to how we should live as believers? First, we must understand that in the Bible, grace takes on an even deeper spiritual meaning than just good manners. In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he reminded them how much God’s grace mattered to their salvation. We can understand how much God’s grace matters to our salvation.
June 28, 2020 |
Hebrews 10:19-25 |
church
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Why does gathering together as a local church even matter? In the epistle of Hebrews, believers were instructed that the glorious privilege of access to God through Christ Jesus came with certain important responsibilities as members of His body that make the Church really matter. We can recognize these important responsibilities that make the Church really matter.
June 14, 2020 |
2 Corinthians 5:16-21 |
racial unity
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Are you overwhelmed by the hatred and violence in our country these days? Don’t you wish we could all just get along? For some of you, the disunity is more than a news report or a social media post. It’s starting to affect your relationship with your neighbors, your co-workers, maybe even your relationship with your family and friends. Some of you have taken sides and made your positions known. Others of you are afraid to say anything, but even your silence is judged. Everyone has a different perspective on the root problems and the solutions. Everyone thinks they’re right and the others are wrong. How can we find reconciliation and peace again?
Where is God in all of this? Do our broken relationships with one another matter to Him? And if they do, how can we understand how much relationships matter to God?
In the apostle Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he sought to make them understand how being reconciled to God through Christ Jesus affected all of their relationships. We can understand how being reconciled to God through Christ Jesus affects our relationships.
June 7, 2020 |
2 Timothy 1:8-9 |
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What matters most begins with deciding whether Christ will be your Master, your Lord. Then second, learning what mission, what purpose, Christ has for your life. Then, who you choose as your mate or who you choose to fellowship with should line up with the first two.
In the apostle Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he charged Timothy to fulfill God’s purpose for him in Christ Jesus. We can fulfill God’s purpose for us in Christ Jesus.
May 31, 2020 |
Philippians 3:7-14 |
faith
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As we begin to return to life outside our homes, what have you learned about what really matters to you? Having so many things closed and isolated from school mates, neighbors, church attendance, even family… what have you missed the most? And have you considered whether everything in your formerly busy life should be just added back willy-nilly? Or should we carefully consider how we order up our lives going forward, asking what really matters?
In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he challenged them to follow his conviction that faith in Jesus Christ is what really matters above all other things in life. We can choose to see our faith in Jesus Christ as what really matters most in our lives.
