Sermons on Christian Life (Page 10)

PRIORITIES THAT GLORIFY JESUS

C.S. Lewis under the title: A GRIEF OBSERVED makes this comment after grieving the death of his wife, Joy:
“What sort of a lover am I to think so much about my affliction and so much less about hers? Even the insane call, ‘Come back,’ is all for my own sake. I never even raised the question whether such a return, if it were possible, would be good for her. I want her back as an ingredient in the restoration of my past. Could I have wished her anything worse? Having got once through death, to come back and then, at some later date, have all her dying to do over again? They call Stephen the first martyr. Hadn’t Lazarus the rawer deal?”
R.C. Sproul comments about this verse:
“I will never obey the truth of God apart from the power, grace, and assistance of the Spirit. We are living in strange times in terms of how the church functions. We have been caught up with a fierce desire to find a way to relate to a culture that has been immunized to Christianity. We try to find new methods to reach the lost. The motivation is righteous, because we should have compassion for the lost. The danger comes when we ask the lost how they want to come into the kingdom of God, how they want to worship God, and how they want to hear God’s Word, and then tailor our method to their tastes and preferences. THAT IS FATAL. Sooner or later the church must come back to confidence in God’s way of doing God’s work, because the Bible does give us A BLUEPRINT FOR EVANGELISM.
…It is accomplished by the method of proclaiming the Word of God, which, as Peter says here, changes lives and purifies souls through the power of the Holy Spirit.
…We must never negotiate those fundamental, biblical methods of worship, preaching, evangelism, and spiritual growth.”

GOING BEYOND CONTROVERSY

1 Peter 4:7-11 1. The End of the World is Near Colossians 1:24-29 Romans 8:18-23 2. Peter is referring to the end of all things Jewish Matthew 24:1-4 2 Peter…

RADICAL DISCIPLESHIP

“Christ didn’t send us into the world as vacationers on a self-guided tour of a playground but as soldiers on a tour of duty in a battlefield. We’re not called to kick back, relax, take in the scenery, and wait for our Guide to take us home. We need to arm ourselves with spiritual armor to withstand the temptations of this world.” Chuck Swindoll
C.S. Lewis in his classic: Mere Christianity writes:
“The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God. The present state of things is this. The two kinds of life are now not only different but actually opposed. The natural life in each of us is something self-centered, something that wants to be petted and admired, to take advantage of other lives, to exploit the whole universe. And especially it wants to be left to itself; to keep well away from anything better or stronger or higher than it, ANYTHING THAT MIGHT MAKE IT FEEL SMALL.
It is afraid of the light and air of the spiritual world, just as people who have been brought up to be dirty are afraid of a bath. And in a sense, it is quite right.
IT KNOWS THAT IF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE GETS HOLD OF IT, ALL ITS SELF-CENTEREDNESS AND SELF-WILL ARE GOING TO BE KILLED AND IT IS READY TO FIGHT TOOTH AND NAIL TO AVOID IT.”
Martyn Lloyd-Jones, in his excellent book ‘Joy Unspeakable” writes:
“Perhaps the greatest danger of all for Christian people is the danger of understanding the Scriptures in the light of their own experiences. We should NOT INTERPRET SCRIPTURE IN THE LIGHT OF OUR EXPERIENCES, but we should EXAMINE our experiences in the light of the teaching of the Scripture.”

CAN YOU HANDLE THE TRUTH?

Question of the week:
The Greek word “apologia” means to give an answer for the way you live. The best example of “apologia” is found in Acts 22:1-26:32. As you read and study the entire episode, extract some of the major points the Apostle Paul is making for his defense, and what would your personal answer be if questioned to give an answer for the way you live?

YOU WILL BE REWARDED

1 Peter 3:8-14 1 Peter 1:13; 1 Peter 3:12; 1 Peter 1:6-7 Matthew 19:27-29; Matthew 6:1-4 Matthew 6:20; Matthew 10:41; Matthew 16:27 Ephesians 6:7-8; Colossians 3:23-24 Hebrews 10:35; 1 Peter 3:8-11

FINDING REST IN A RESTLESS WORLD

Question of the week:
From the day God created a man and a woman and put them in the Garden of Eden, he meant for them to find rest in His creation. Can you find that principle in the Old and New Testament
applied when people disobeyed or obeyed it? What was the result in every instance?

LIVING BY BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES

Question of the week:
We all know that the Bible clearly states that we are Ambassadors of Jesus Christ, that is, we are representative of the Heavenly Kingdom on this earth. As such, we do not have authority beyond what has been bestowed upon us to represent the King of Heaven. Why is this kingdom principle of uttermost importance to make a wife/husband relationship fulfilled and blessed? You may want to study John 5:18-23 to find the kingdom principle at work.

THE DIVINE ALTERNATIVE

Question of the week:
Jesus revealed in Matthew 5:38-42 how the divine alternative impacts our responses to unjust treatment. How does His teaching apply to everyday situations in your life, and how would unbelievers perceive Christianity if you lived by this divine alternative?

BUILDING WITH LIVING STONES

Question of the week:
The writer of Hebrews communicates that those who were not the people of God in the Old Covenant have become the people of God through the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:7-13).
This has been prophesied in the Old Testament. Which prophets did so? and where is this also taught in the New Testament?

I CAN ONLY IMAGINE

Question of the week:
Hebrews 4:12 states that ”THE WORD OF GOD IS LIVING AND ACTIVE, SHARPER THAN ANY TWO-EDGED SWORD, PIERCING TO THE DIVISION OF SOUL AND OF SPIRIT, OF JOINTS AND OF MARROW AND DISCERNING THE THOUGHTS AND INTENTIONS OF THE HEART.” What does this verse SAY TO YOU PERSONALLY, and what other Scripture verses can you find that will help you see the importance of feeding on the Word of God daily?