1 Peter – 1 Peter 5:8-11 – 17 of 18 SERMON SUMMARY In his first epistle, Peter tells us not to be surprised by our trials. It’s interesting that he doesn’t take the time to commiserate with his readers, nor does he offer advice on how to avoid suffering and pain. Instead, he reminds us…
1 Peter – 1 Peter 4:7-11 – 13 of 18 SERMON SUMMARY Jesus (Matthew 16:21-26 & 24:3-8), Paul (1 Timothy 4:1-6) and Peter (1 Peter 4:7-11; 2 Peter 3) all voiced practical concerns regarding how to behave in difficulties we will encounter in “the end times”. During times of suffering, persecution and growing immorality, Christians…
Living in the Shadow of the Resurrection – The Day God Died – 2 of 4 SERMON SUMMARY Jesus had not eaten since the Passover meal he ate with his disciples nearly fourteen hours earlier. Consider Jesus’ physical and emotional condition: he’d been up all night and had endured six emotionally draining trials. He’d been punched and scourged (Matthew 26:67; John…
SERMON SUMMARY Many of us are familiar with the story of Jesus’ birth—about his mother’s miraculous pregnancy, about his birth in a manger, about angels announcing his arrival to some shepherds (Luke 1:30-33; 2:8-15). And, of course, many of our favorite Christmas songs mention the role of angels too. Today let’s gain a better understanding…
SERMON SUMMARY Many of us have lost loved ones to death—family members, friends, members of our church family. And understandably, we grieve that loss. Grief and death go together. But as Christians, our grief should be tempered, because if our loved one died in faith, the Bible assures us that we will see him or…
SERMON SUMMARY The Bible is filled with accounts of the miraculous. For the Christian, miracles confirm God’s existence, his power and his message, but the secular world view allows no divine intervention. But if miracles are not possible we should all go home, forget about God, and abandon our faith. Portuguese philosopher Benedict Spinoza best…
SERMON SUMMARY Christianity had gotten off-course, and so 500 years ago a brave Catholic monk named Martin Luther nailed to the door of a church a list of 95 abuses. In Luther’s day, church leaders competed against the Scriptures for authority. Today, due to globalization, Christianity is just one of many religious options— each of…
SERMON SUMMARY The Bible sometimes uses sports analogies to describe the Christian life (Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 9:24- 27). The Christian life is compared to a race—not a sprint, but a marathon where great endurance is required. God wants us Christians to get off the sidelines and into the game (Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 Peter 4:10).…
SERMON SUMMARY The central tenant of Christianity is incredible the claim that Jesus of Nazareth was raised from the dead three days after being crucified. But even if it did happen—does it matter? After all, if it did happen, it happened over two thousand years ago! I’m convinced that Jesus’ resurrection speaks to our present…
SERMON SUMMARY There is a good deal of historical evidence surrounding the resurrection of Jesus. In fact, there are mountains of evidence, but today we are going to look at a special subset of that evidence called the Minimal Facts. The Minimal Facts approach consists of only those facts that are strongly evidenced and agreed…
