There is a key difference between sermons and lectures. If a pastor speaks about a passage from the pulpit on Sunday in the same way a professor speaks, there is a problem. A professor’s primary job is to relay information. Good ones attempt to move the heart, but that is not their primary goal. The … Continue reading Revelation is a Sermon, Not a Lecture
This world is working to draw its net around Christians who hold to the truths of God's Word, and many Christians are denying clear scriptural teachings to sidestep the trap. We seem to see more and more Christians and Christian institutions failing to stand firm when the opposition to biblical sexuality comes to their door. To deny such … Continue reading A Call for Endurance and Faith
The person sitting in the other pew at church is more glorious than you realize. It is easy for us to look at some of the other people in our church and think, “I am glad they are part of this church, but they are not that significant.” If we feel like that, it exposes … Continue reading Why There Are No Insignificant Christians
Revelation gives us a fascinating picture of golden bowls filled with our prayers at the throne of God. What is this telling us? Why would our prayers be presented this way? Let us look at the basic biblical interpretation of this passage and then close with one point of speculation. Our Heavenly Father knew no one in … Continue reading Golden Bowls Filled with Prayer
Revelation speaks about our future condition to help us in our present condition. That is one of the main reasons our Lord gave John the vision. The church was under intense persecution, and John himself was in exile when he was told to write what he saw. Like all apocalyptic literature in scripture, Revelation is designed to increase … Continue reading Our Future Glory
It is not God's will that we know everything about him or his plan. He has given us everything we need to know pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), but he has not given us everything. At one point in Revelation, John sees a mighty Angel. He is so large that he has … Continue reading The Knowledge God Keeps From Us
It started with the drama at the throne (Revelation 5). The scroll containing the inheritance of the children of God was sealed with seven seals, and no one could open it. No one, that was, until the slain Son of God appeared. Because he died and rose again, he is worthy. He had borne the wrath they deserved. Because of this, he is both just and … Continue reading The First Six Seals of Revelation
Remember from where you have fallen (Revelation 2:4). Wake up and strengthen what remains and is about to die (Revelation 3:2). These two phrases, the first spoken to the church in Ephesus, and the second spoken to the church in Sardis, summarize the condition of our spiritual lives from time to time. For countless Christians, it is easy to reflect … Continue reading Strengthen What Remains
Church is often dull because we think about it like secularists, not according to scripture. This world takes its stand against Christ, and Jesus tells us that as believers, we will have trouble. He also reminds us to take heart because he has overcome the world (John 16:33). For us to take heart, which leaves … Continue reading Why Church is Often Boring
Put yourself in this situation. It is somewhere between 70 and 95 AD, and the church is under siege by the world. You have seen Nero take some of your brothers and sisters in Christ, tie them to poles, cover them in tar, and set them on fire to light his parties. The enemies of God have even … Continue reading When Downcast, Look to the Throne
The Fight of Faith 