God doesn't only seem to tolerate evil, he seems to just let it go. He seems to let the evildoers get away with murder, while those who trust the Lord end up suffering or being persecuted. In Psalm 37, David sees the same thing and gives us a blueprint to follow.
Resurrection Sunday 2024 – In Philippians 3, the apostle Paul is unsatisfied with knowing ABOUT Jesus – he wants to press on, reach out, and pursue KNOWING Jesus, which includes, knowing the power of his resurrection.
If we never talk about retirement from a gospel centric perspective, we will end up going into the 4th quarter of our lives with the same mindset as the world – treating the things of this earth as if they are the ultimate treasure.
As the cross looms large in Jesus' story, he sits down to a much anticipated dinner with his disciples – the Passover meal – a story full of rich history and remembering, a meal full of significance and joy, a meal full of promise and hope – a meal he leaves unfinished.
Jesus gets invited to another dinner party with the Pharisees, and talks to them about who will be invited to the banquet table in the kingdom of God.
Someone asks "How many people will get to heaven? Just a few?" Jesus pauses to reply, and teaches that only those who make every effort to enter the Narrow Door will be saved.
If Jesus' had a mission statement, what would it be? It might not be what you think it would be, and not only that, Jesus surprises the disciples by saying there's no middle ground. You're either in or out.
Jesus leaves the home of the Pharisee who invited him for dinner, and prepares his disciples to face a crowd of thousands by saying, “Be on your guard against hypocrisy.”
We tend to live our lives day to day, moment to moment with our eyes on what is right in front of us, but God in his Word informs us that death is not a period on the end of our story, but a comma. All of the doctrines we've looked at so far find their resolution in the Doctrine of Eternity.
“Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.” Does that mean having money is bad? And what are we supposed to do with this bit about loving your enemies? Or did we miss something in those 4 words: “Yours is the kingdom”?