The first of a three part series on the book of Joel. The Lord knows how to painfully discipline His children for their own good. There are three main points in this sermon: 1. Unstoppable Invasion (Joel 1:1-6, 2:1-11) 2. Total Devastation (Joel 1:4-7, 10-11, 17-20, 2:3) 3. Forgotten Exhortation (Hebrews 12:5-13) Themes include: grievous […]
In the final of the 7 letters to the churches, Jesus has no commendation for the church in Laodicea. His criticism is that they are neither hot nor cold, rather they are lukewarm. Spiritually this amounts to Apathy. They are not against God, but not excited or passionate about him either. It is not criticism […]
In this series on 1 Kings we discover one disappointing king after another and in this sermon we come to the lowest point where King Ahab decides to institute the cult of Baal as the state religion. God, by his grace, however, doesn’t let him get away with it and sends his prophet to rebuke […]
We know that David and Solomon were ancestors of the Lord Jesus and that Jesus is David’s greater son. We also know he came to establish his Kingdom and that his enemies were the greatest enemies of all – sin, death and the devil. The difference between Jesus and Solomon is this. Solomon’s enemies got […]
No wonder that Paul says to avoid such people and to avoid those who teach this type of faith. In the history of the church the false prophet will reveal himself in the end. We have a standing order as Christians to avoid people who tells us to pamper to self, rather than to serve […]
One of the criticisms directed against Paul was that he was all bluff – that he was weak. That he wrote strongly when away but was weak when he was amongst them. Well, Paul is writing that when he comes, he will not exercise the same amount of restraint. After-all he is an apostle of […]
Church discipline is important, and love should be at its root. Not saying something to someone who is living in a way that is not in accordance with the will of God is not loving. That is akin to watching someone walking over a cliff and doing nothing to stop them. It is the duty […]
We can see what a mess Paul was in with all this tension with the Corinthian Christians and in fact how damaging this kind of conflict can be. Firstly, it is extraordinarily damaging for Paul himself and very costly in both time and resources. Secondly, the gospel suffers. Conflict always has a detrimental effect on […]