How can believers be grieved by and distinct from the injustice and selfishness in the world AND yet also be simultaneously beneficial and involved BOTH mourning AND thriving in Babylon. Today, we set the tone for living in this tension, this love/hate relationship. ONE text calls us to totally identify with Babylon and the OTHER is an expression of disgust and disdain for Babylon. So let 's look at: The Essential Tension of Exile Keys for Staying at the Center of the Tension

Last week the sermon was about death (the death of a king, Josiah) today the sermon is also about death – the death of a dream, of a nation, AND … IN this brutal and final death, a very vivid expression of Hope… havoc AND hope. Once again, the story in two parts #1 Havoc and #2 Hope and #3 Four truths about God from Kings and today's finale

The Bible thinks of death as the source of all fear and the final enemy (1Cor 15.26) facing humanity (Heb 2.15). We can't stop thinking about it and dreading it. Could this very ancient text have anything to say to a modern society that doesn't know how to think about death? … Let's see! Let's first look at a two-part-story (i.e. the tomb of the unknown prophet and the death of the well-known king) And THEN what we can take away with us: 3 Truths about death to guide us through life.

A little boy… comes to the throne… only eight years old. His name is Josiah ("Supported by Yahweh"); he is the boy king of Judah… and the Reformer. He's all that Isaiah (57.15) said a king should be, "broken and contrite… lowly and humble" and yet energetic, effective and amazingly bold. I want to look at part of his life today and then take away what I think God wants us to learn from it… The Little King with Big Ideas Big Ideas from the Little King

I want to consider this king and also look at a shocking surprise about the man (that we only discover in another part of the Bible) AND I want to see BOTH the tremendous potential for evil when humans misuse power AND see the more tremendous power and beauty of God's dark grace:1- The Matter of Memory2- An Emblem of Exile3- The Lessons for Life

Today, I want to take lessons from the life of this good king. But I want to focus on a tragic flaw in Hezekiah and one that is a very common flaw in the spiritual life. Let's see what these final scenes tell us about: #1 - The Man and His Flaw#2 - When the Believer is Unbelieving#3 - Three Truths About God That Can Fix Us

2nd Kings 18.5, 19-25, 18.28, 33-36; 19.15-2 T.J. Campo    

Series: Hope in Disappointing Times | 2nd Kings Bible passage: Isaiah 57:12-21; Isaiah 66:1-4 Sermon By: Jorge Trujillo

The Fallen TentAmos 5.8-27; 9.9-15 The two texts we chose from Amos are typical of the Hebrew prophets – picturesque appeals to the heart of a spiritually-minded people who'd stopped trusting God and had gotten lost. The first text is an "oracle of woe" and the second, a "promise of restoration". Let's look at 3 symptoms of Religion in Decay – synthetic, fruitless, false spirituality.AND 3 qualities of vital spirituality,3 aspects of that inner work God brings about in people who actually know Him

2nd Kings 14.8-14; 2nd Chronicles 26.16-21 by TJ Campo

Let's get some help here on the way spirituality really is. Three scenes and three big ideas from bottom to top: Covenant Resurrection Foolishness

The World is, in many ways, the same as it ever was and this Letter… basically IS Christianity… the Good News presented, explained, applied, defended, celebrated. AS it changed the Ancient World, it can change and IS changing the modern world. Let's look at: Life in a Hostile World and How the Big Themes of Christianity Speak

What happens when believers in Jesus differ on what the rules are? Following the rules NEVER worked to make us right with God (all have sinned and fallen short of God's standard – the egg is smashed on the sidewalk) but NOW that believers in the same church ARE excepted because of Jesus Christ's obeying the rules… Are there NO rules? If so What ARE they? What if we disagree on the rules? Let's jump in and see: Words to Weak and Strong Reasons for Action Walking According to Love

All other regimes and administrations are invalid and of no effect – they're rivals… "BUT WAIT!" says Paul, "Not so fast". The Way of Jesus and the plan of the ages actually has a place for these authorities. This passage both explains that plan and shows believers how to live AS: Children of Light Living at Night With One Eye on the Clock

Today, we want to look at the connective tissue that holds us in the Body…"Slaves Freed to Love". What doesit mean to love other people in the Church – to love others as God loves US, without expectations of getting areturn on our investment. Let's look at: The Mechanics of True LOVE An Excursus on Gracious Revenge The Power to Love Truly

Here, the essential paradox of the NT Church (now a catholic or international church) is the paradox of "One but Many". The Apostle sort of plays with these two apparently incongruous ideas and the image that illustrates the whole thing is that of a Body – ONE body with MANY parts or organs or limbs.So, what does that mean, practically speaking, to be so vitally connected to other people that we can be described as a body (same DNA) AND that we're both connected to one another and, at the same time, so different that one part seems to have no resemblance to another (as different as an eye and a toe!)? That's the question! Let's look at:#1 Why We Need the Body Metaphor#2 How It All Works Out (a THREE-Part Answer)

Today, we transition INTO the practical section of the Letter, and I hope to show that distinctively Christian morals grow in the soil of MERCY. To focus on God's mercy, the theory, the doctrine or philosophy of God's Sovereign Grace WILL LEAD US into a new kind of practical living. To bypass reflecting on God's mercy and grace and go right to the ethics is impossible. You HAVE TO muse, to contemplate, to bathe in, soak in, to dream about, sing about, ruminate on, to relish and savor the way God applies grace and forgiveness and adoption to His children. The connection between Christian theory, ideas, doctrine, Christian thought AND Christian practice – that's the topic for today: As we come round the corner into Gospel-morals, let's look at: Musing on Mystery Mercies to Morals The Morals Mercy Makes

Sermon By: Rev. Dr Sansbury   Rev. Dr Sansbury is Prof. of Theology & Philosophy at Knox Theological Seminary in Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Guest Preacher, Rev. Brad Schmidt, Lead Pastor at City Church, Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

I have found, in my own thinking and beliefs, a need to undergo such a reorientation regarding the big ideas of God's justice, mercy, His omnipotence (i.e., almightiness or sovereignty) AND His salvation of sinful, guilty people. THIS chapter may have that affect on YOU. I urge you though, not to simply skip over it because the re-orientation COULD lead you to a much deeper appreciation of these ideas and a new sense of mystery, assurance, praise and reverence toward God and of humility, diligence, and abundant comfort. (Westminster Confession of Faith, 3.8) Let's look at this mind-expanding, heart-expanding passage under three headings: A Quandary Answered By Four Examples The Underlying Truth That Grounds Us Why the Disorientation is Worth It