Sermons on All (Page 15)
All sermons listed in chronological order.
Preparing To Rebuild
Preparing to Rebuild This summer I read the fictional account of the Battle of Thermopylae called The Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. The battle between the Greeks and Persians lasted three days in September, 480 BC (35 years before Nehemiah). Persia was invading Greece for the second time, ten years after their defeat at Marathon, and King Leonidas of Sparta was leading an alliance of Greek states defending their land. In one speech Leonidas summarizes his view of leadership: “A king…
The Mission of the Cupbearer
The Mission of the Cupbearer We talk about God’s sovereignty a lot, but we keep running into circumstances that—on the surface—appear to threaten that reality. If God is sovereign, why do his children go through such difficult times? God is about to open a way for Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls, but why were the walls in such disrepair to begin with? Before we answer that, let’s make the question personal. Some of you have recently…
The Son’s Everlasting Dominion
• I needed a familiar passage this week. 8 years is more than sufficient to escape long-term memories. • Obsession with eschatology > Abandon it altogether. Some would prefer to remain disengaged. Focus on essentials. “End Times” doctrine not central to the gospel. • Disagreement doesn’t mean unsaved, unwelcome. Differences of opinion abound among solid, reformed Christians. Common Reading Strategies (Unhelpful): 1. Detailed blueprints • Characteristic = Chronological Precision. • Method = Each element finds correspondence with historical event/figure. •…
The Prayer Of The Cupbearer
I like to stay informed of what’s going on in the world, but the main outlets to learn this information have a way of explaining things in such inflammatory ways that it’s hard to read the news without becoming upset. And that sucks me into a nosedive of frustration and despair that is difficult to recover from. Hours later I’m still trying to refocus my attention. Let me know if any of you have discovered the secret of staying informed…
The Priest In Filthy Garments
Those of you who have small children at home will be familiar with an experience I had about 10 years ago. Thatcher was one year old and he was eating spaghetti for the first time. As all of you could imagine, by the time he was finished eating he had managed to get himself completely covered in spaghetti sauce with an occasional noodle stuck in his hair, face, arms, hands, clothing, legs, and toes. He was literally covered from head…
Love That Will Not Let Me Go
When people search for a marriage partner they often begin with superficial motives. We see an example of this in the book of Esther. When Queen Vashti refused to entertain King Ahasuerus and his guests at a party, he set up a beauty contest in order to select his new queen. Modern society tries to be a bit more sophisticated, but much of the superficiality remains. A potential spouse usually has to pass an appearance test before going through a…
The Riches Of The Gospel
Imagine the incredible works of literature we would lack if people had not spent time incarcerated. John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. Miguel Cervantes began to write Don Quixote, widely considered the first modern novel. Martin Luther King Jr. penned “Letters from a Birmingham Jail,” his fiery response to complacent clergymen as he suffered punishment under an unjust law. Unfortunately, we also have Adolf Hitler’s autobiography, Mein Kampf. Of course, the most critical literature ever to come out of prison, were the Prison Epistles…