1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
How the Gospel Gives Hope to the Church : Josh had a tough passage of Scripture last Sunday, but he did a great job with it. You could hear a pin drop as he talked about the need for sexual purity. If you weren’t able to be here last Lord’s Day I would strongly encourage you to go to the website, and either read it or listen to it. I have a real advantage this morning–my sermon text is a very familiar passage…
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
How the Gospel Enables the Church to Escape God’s Wrath Last week we studied the amazing truth that Jesus is coming again, and when He returns, the Church will be raptured, caught up together with Him to be with Him forever. We suggested that Paul’s teaching on this topic in 1 Thess 4 was designed to deal with a problem, namely the problem of bereavement. Some of the Thessalonian believers had misinterpreted Paul’s teaching on the possibility of the soon return of Christ as…
1 Thessalonians 5:12-28
How to Be a Gospel-centered Church I have a confession to make. I don’t read the news. I don’t watch the news. I don’t listen to the news. I don’t know the news. At least I didn’t until last week. In my internship meetings with Mike he became aware of the fact that I didn’t read the news and he admonished me to begin. My father-in-law has been on me to do the same for years. So, this last week…
2 Thessalonians 1:1-12
The Justice and Judgment of God Introduction: My kids ask me whether I’m nearsighted or farsighted on a regular basis, not because they have a bad memory, but because the concept is hard for them to understand. I always respond the same way to their question, which turns into a small litany. I say, “I’m nearsighted,” and they say, “What does that mean again?” I say, “It means I can see near, but not far.” Then they say, “Can I put…
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
The Rebellion of Antichrist Introduction: There is probably no more mysterious and fascinating figure spoken of in the Bible than Antichrist. He has been the focus of a great deal of speculation among students of prophecy and the subject of countless books. Over the centuries I suppose everyone has wondered at one time or another whether some current evil leader in the world might morph into that tragic figure. While we’re going to examine carefully what our Scripture passage says about Antichrist, it is…
2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5
The Return of the King Before I begin today’s sermon I want to express my deep gratitude for all the cards, thoughts, conversations, and prayers expressed to me and my family in the days following the death of my mother. We rejoice in the wholeness that she experiences in the Lord’s presence, although we do miss her. The site of mom’s burial is just a quarter mile away from the farm on which I grew up. That proximity helped to…
2 Thessalonians 3:6-18
The Bread of Idleness Introduction: In a sense it is a relief to be past the most controversial prophetic passages in 1 and 2 Thessalonians. There’s nothing directly in today’s text about the Tribulation or Antichrist or the Rapture or the Second Coming. As you know, my last three sermons have all been on these topics–important but controversial. You’ve been very gracious in listening to views that were, for some, new, and for others, troublesome. For the most part I believe you have followed…
Luke 13:1-5
CLICK THE LISTEN BUTTON TO HEAR THE ENTIRE SERMON Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People (and Good Things to Bad People)? One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Isaiah 1:18: “‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the LORD. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’” This week, and in fact for most of this summer, I want us to…
John 14:6, Acts 4:12, Romans 1:18-25
Is Jesus Really the Only Way? (And if so, what about those who have never heard His name?) Dr. Robert Yarbrough, a professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, was reviewing a book for an evangelical publisher on women’s roles in the church, a topic we are going to be dealing with later in this series. In the introduction of her book the author noted that historically the nearly universal position of orthodox Christianity has been that women should not be ordained to…
Acts 20, 21
How Do I Find God’s Will for My Life? This third sermon in our series on Hard Questions could do one of two things: It could liberate you in an important area of practical Christian living, or it could blow your mind and upset your whole spiritual applecart. Someone has said that sacred cows make the best hamburger, but it’s easy to choke on it. I may be slaying someone’s sacred cow today, but I don’t ask that you digest it all…
Luke 9:49-62
Is Tolerance a Virtue or a Vice? Today is the fourth in a series of nine messages on Hard Questions for Thoughtful Christians and Inquiring Skeptics. Today I want to ask the question, “Is Tolerance a Virtue or a Vice?” And I want to answer my own question with a firm, unequivocal, “It depends.” I have here a magazine whose cover asks the question, “Why are Christians So Intolerant?” I believe that’s a legitimate question, because there are many people who need the Lord…
Mark 9:43 48, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10
Hell? Yes! There are several reasons why I have decided to address the topic of hell in this series on “Hard Questions for Thoughtful Christians and Inquiring Skeptics.” First, it is clearly a biblical topic. Second, it is a neglected topic in our churches. Third, hell is under intense attack in our rationalistic, relativistic culture. And fourth, and most importantly, I want to warn those who are on their way there to stop and turn around before it’s too late. Unfortunately, we cannot assume…