Sometimes, when preaching through the books of the Bible, I’m amazed at how the Lord providentially brings us to texts that fit the season of life we’re in. One time our church was going through a hard season, and we were in 1 Peter. At another time, I was personally battling a particular sin, and…
Matthew 7:7-12 is one of my favorite passages of Scripture because of its description of God’s goodness to us. For most of my early years as a Christian, really until I was 29, I was convinced that God was at minimum mildly displeased with me and at worst, really mad at me. I never felt I could…
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…
