Sermons by Michael Andrus (Page 41)
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…
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 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?) TO HEAR THE ENTIRE SERMON CLICK THE LISTEN BUTTON ABOVE 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…
Acts 20, 21
TO HEAR THE ENTIRE SERMON CLICK THE LISTEN BUTTON How Do I Find God’s Will for My Life? Speaker: Michael Andrus 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…
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…
1 Corinthians 11:2-16; 14:34, 35; 1 Tim 2:8-15
What is the Role of Women in the Church? The topic of gender roles is a minefield many pastors consider too risky to cross, and I understand their hesitancy. It’s not without good reason that I am starting my study month tomorrow! It should be obvious that we cannot look to society for help in resolving the gender controversy, for the positions staked out there are pretty extreme. On the one side we have the women’s liberation movements like NOW, the National…
Genesis 1-3
Secular Work Is Full-time Service Introduction: For a long time I have bristled at the notion that ministry is business. There seems to be a strong movement in the church to borrow business practices from Madison Avenue–from public relations to marketing to management styles. You would be amazed today at the books most widely read by pastors of mega-churches. Many of them are written by secular business tycoons and leadership gurus. Please don’t misunderstand me. I believe there is something that can be learned from experts…
Colossians 3:22 4:1; Ephesians 6:5-9
Work Is Not a Four-Letter Word Introduction: Last Lord’s Day we began a new series on The Ministry of the Market Place. We noted that work is a divinely established institution–one of four God set up to make our lives meaningful, purposeful, and happy–the others being marriage/family, government, and the church. We also learned that work should not be viewed as the “secular” part of our lives which must be endured so that the “sacred” might be enjoyed. Work actually preceded the Fall of…
Genesis 39-41
Joseph: There’s No Substitute for Integrity at Work In our new series on The Ministry of the Market Place we have spent the past two Sundays laying the foundation for a biblical theology of Work. Today we are going to turn from the general to the specific. We are going to begin to examine some biblical biographies of individuals who understood the theology of work, and we hope to learn what it was in their lives that enabled them to live out that theology. None…