In the Bible, we are always commanded to watch our life and doctrine. This is primarily possible through the regular preaching of God’s word. That means, we are to be careful in appointing teachers who stand on the pulpit to preach God’s word. In this passage, Jesus teaches us how to discern false teachers and practice discernment.
Unlike us, God never fails to keep His promises. The Bible is filled with His promises, and one of His promises is that His word will never fail to fulfill His purposes. In this passage, we learn that this word from God can never be destroyed which is contained the scriptures.
God abundantly blesses those who seek to live obedient lives. Obedient living does not allow for “accidents” in God’s plan. He orchestrates events in our lives to bring us to Himself, even through our misery and hopelessness. In the book of Ruth, we see Him working out His perfect plan in Ruth’s life, just as He does with all His children.
There is one prevailing truth which the Bible keeps reminding Christians about, that is our eternal fellowship with God. This is not just our destiny, but it is also our longing. We were created with a sense of eternity in our hearts, which can only be realized in actuality when we behold God on the last day and enter into eternal fellowship with God. In this passage, the Apostle Paul explains why and how we need to keep groaning for our eternal home, which is God Himself.
We live in the world of injustice. What we see is evil, murder, abuse, corruption, partiality, discrimination, rape and the list goes on…We can all sense the injustice around us because we are made in the image of God, we have been given the ability to do Justice. The other sad reality is that we’re not just the recipients or victims of injustice, but also the perpetrators of injustice (even if it’s done in small ways). So how does a just and righteous God deal with injustice around us and injustice because of us? What does God expect from us? Listen to the sermon to find out.
The Bible says “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts”. It doesn’t describe in the same way about His love, mercy, or justice. Why is there such a description about God’s holiness unlike any of His other attributes? Well, that’s because holiness captures the perfections of all the other attributes of God. Which means, His mercy, justice and love can also be understood as His holy justice, Holy love, and His Holy mercy. To be Holy also means to be set apart or to be separate, which implies that God cannot withstand nor exhibit anything that is unholy. How then does He allow sinners like us to come to Him despite our sinfulness? Listen to the sermon to find out.
Repentance is turning away from sin and turning towards God. In today’s passage, we learn how God’s message of Judgement to the people of Nineveh enabled them to see His mercy toward them and produced repentance in their hearts. In the sermon, we also learn how God is not just the main author of our salvation, but also the main author of our repentance.