Sermon Video: "because of his mercy" - Titus 3:4-7

Following his description of the wretched state of humanity apart from God in verse three, Paul highlights the dramatic turn in human history when the kindness and love (lit. philanthropy in the Gk.) of God appeared.  Instead of wrath, justifiable, especially from our Creator, God sent his grace, in the person of Jesus Christ, propelled by his kindness and love.  Why?  Because certain individual people deserved to be helped?  No, because of his mercy.  It had to be mercy.  It needed to be because God's holiness and justice were at an impasse with God's kindness and love.  Mankind could not be reconciled to God, as is, because of our rampant sinfulness and rebellion, nor could we obtain enough righteousness of our own to ever make up for the guilty verdict outstanding against us; mercy was the only option.  The mercy of God was not found in ignoring the consequences of sin, but instead in redirecting the cost of sin from those who were guilty and deserved no mercy, but received it anyway, to the one who was guiltless yet willingly died without mercy to provide it for us.  The cross and resurrection made the mercy of God possible, enabling his love and kindness to triumph, and opening the door for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to not only wash us in rebirth, but continue to cleanse an renew us as we await the promise of the children of God, a reunion in heaven with our Father, our Savior.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: "At one time, we too were foolish" - Titus 2:15-3:3

As Paul finishes up his directions to Titus regarding Christian ethical behavior, he focuses that topic on the respect that the people of God owe to Titus, as a man of God, to the government, and to their fellow members of society.  In all three cases, pride is the enemy and humility is the answer.  For most Christians, it won't be the first topic, respecting the leadership of the Church, that will give them difficulty, but one of the latter two.  Paul, however, gives no wiggle room, requiring that Christians show respect and be obedient to whichever government they find themselves under.  This was, by any objective standard a more difficult task for the Cretans living under Roman rule, or for Christians living under corrupt governments around the world today or in the past than it is for American Christians who not only have a historically representative and efficient government, but the right to protest freely against it while still being a good citizen.  In light of that easier task, why is it that many American Christians follow the lead of the politicians and talking heads on TV by engaging in the same crass and rude behavior in the political realm?  Why is it that Christians feel they can post on social media things that they ought never to say, regardless of who it is directed at?
When interacting with family, neighbors, or co-workers, Christians likewise have an obligation to be polite, kind, and compassionate, and no room for the slanderous, hateful speech that much of society indulges in.  Paul ends the topic by reminding God's people that they once were so far removed from God that they lived lives of malice, envy, and hatred; used to, but thanks to God, no longer.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: "while we wait for the blessed hope" - Titus 2:13-14

What impact does the knowledge that a Christian has of how the story ends have upon his or her life?  In Titus 2:13-14, Paul continues with the previous two verses' idea of how grace teaches us to act morally by expanding the perspective of our need to be a people who are "eager to do what is good" to include God's overall plan and purpose for ourselves, Christians in general, and the world.  While we learn from grace, we also await the "blessed hope" of the return of Christ in glory.  That knowledge ought to give Christians optimism, encouragement, hope, and instill in us boldness as we know that we are already on the winning side of the future when we are on the side of the king of kings.  We have hope for our own lives, that heaven awaits us beyond the grave, but we also have hope for the world, for Christ will return, not to strive once more in the world, but to reign.  In the meantime, God's plan is to create a people brought together by faith in Christ, a people purchased by his blood and transformed by the Holy Spirit, who will be his instruments for the kingdom of God in this world.  How will we accomplish the plan of God, by being a people who are eager to do what is good.  Our calling is a high one, but we have been equipped for it by the Holy Spirit, and we know that our side cannot lose, more than that, that it is guaranteed to be victorious in the end, for Christ will come again in glory.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Bible Study, Gospel of Mark, audio files

The link below is to the audio file from my Bible study that began this week in the Gospel of Mark.  This is a verse by verse study, not utilizing any outside materials, simply discussing the text and and answering the questions of those attending the study.  Each week a new link will be added until all of the Gospel of Mark is included.  Feel free to post any questions you have regarding the text to this page and I'll try to answer it in a subsequent week's study.

The audio file is hosted on archive.org, let me know if you have any technical problems with listening to and/or downloading it.

Bible Study: Gospel of Mark 1:1-18

Bible Study: Gospel of Mark 1:19-39

**** I've moved the future postings of audio podcasts to its own page, the rest of the segments for Mark and future Bible study podcasts will be placed there; simply scroll up to the top of the blog and click on the tab. ****

Looking to the future: The Terminator movies and Christians

With another installment of the Terminator movies about to be released, I am once again reminded of the harmful attitude of fatalism that permeates much of Evangelical thought about the future.  In the Terminator movies, both a hero and a villain are sent back from the future to try to change what is coming.  The villain wants to prevent the good guys from winning after a horrific holocaust, and the good guy is hoping to not only preserve that victory, but somehow make the entire dystopic future null and void.  Each of the Terminator movies ebbs and flows back and forth with the future fate of humanity hanging in the balance.  What has this to do with the attitude of Christians regarding the future?  Quite a lot actually.  Christians ought to know what the future holds, God has given us a broad outline of what will one day happen along with a variety of difficult to understand pieces of the puzzle.  What we do know, for certain, is how the story ends; it ends in the complete and total victory of Jesus Christ over all opposition: sin, death, and Satan.
So why are so many Christians walking around with an attitude that the future is doom and gloom?  The answer is simple enough, they believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture, and thus believe that the future of humanity is a downhill slope that cannot be altered.  Those who believe in a post-Tribulation Rapture, or a Post-Millennial Rapture are far less pessimistic because in the first case, Christians won't be taken away before the trouble starts, in other words, we're going to have to deal with it, and in the latter, the next thing to come on God's cosmic plan is the 1,000 year reign of Christ, a time of glory not tribulation.  Because many Evangelicals firmly believe in a Pre-Tribulation, Pre-Millennial Rapture, they almost welcome bad news in the world. looking at it as a sign that Christ's return is closer.  Why try to alter the world we're living in if it is inevitable that it will decline, and why try to slow the decline if it must reach its nadir before Christ can come back?
In the Terminator movies, when the heroes know that the future is bleak, they are willing to risk anything and everything to try to stop it.  For some Christians, they believe that they're interpretation of Biblical prophecy is the correct one, and therefore there is no point in trying to stop it.
I don't know which interpretation of the Scriptures is right, those willing to have a pinch of humility will agree, so why would I live like a pessimist?  It is our job to do what we can, with what we have, where we have been placed.  We do know how the story ends, but keep in mind, we have no idea how long it will be until the final chapter begins.  Christians need to ditch the pessimism, embrace the final victory of Christ, and roll up their sleeves and get to work trying to claim our world for the kingdom of God.