I’m grateful to have finished the Sodom and Gomorrah story. It’s been a long, dark, and challenging week of study. I’m thankful that the sermon culminated with a sighting of Jesus because it’s not good for my soul to be left in the judgment of Sodom. I hope it was good for you as well.
When I began to believe that God loved me more than I could ever imagine because of Jesus, I stopped living for others’ approval because I didn’t “need” it anymore. Rather, in Christ, I had all the love I could ever want/need, and I had a reservoir of love to give out. Further, when I began to believe that God had judged me more than I could ever imagine because Jesus’ death for my sin reveals this, I stopped being crushed by others’ judgments of me because their judgments were not nearly as critical as God’s already was. In Christ, I was truly free.
One challenge of preaching from texts like Philippians 3:1-11, is that it is so familiar to most, that it’s hard to look at it with a “fresh set of eyes.” This text is by far my favorite in Philippians and it’s been one of those life-altering texts for me through the years. I am grateful that the Lord gave us this passage, to look…
