Why Does Unbelief Cause Hatred?

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Why do so many atheists hate God? Atheists have progressed from being mostly passive to being militant and violent.

We are not more powerful than God (vv. 18, 24-27). We are not smarter than God (vv. 18-27, 30, 31).

God cannot be overtaken and He cannot be fooled.

Throughout history, people have strived to find answers outside of the Scriptures (22).

Today there are far more people attempting to discredit God and the Bible than there are people contending for the faith.

God does not need for us to be strong or wise. God needs for us to be obedient. The rest will follow sincere obedience.

A few Sundays ago, I was called back to the home of the original Orange Office, Poplar Grove Baptist Church in Russell Springs, Kentucky; 4173 N Hwy 127, to be exact! It is a pleasure to return and be a part of this congregation.

During the coming year we are going to focus on outreach. As a result, we will be having some events throughout the year. Check us out on our Facebook page (Poplar Grove Baptist Church) to stay connected to our schedule.

As the editor of our weekly bulletin, I am pleased to share with you our new 8-page format which includes announcements, prayer requests, comments, sermon notes and descriptions of our services at PGBC. You can check it out at the link below:

https://d.docs.live.net/37cf6820369835cf/Church/Sermons/220109%20Bulletin%20Directory.docx

Thank you for supporting Poplar Grove Baptist Church, our prayer group ministry which meets on FB live at 8:00 pm cst on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings and for checking out the Orange Office Ministry from time to time.

God’s best blessings to you and I wish you a joyful and productive 2022!

Byron VanArsdale, pastor of Poplar Grove Baptist Church

Contending for the Faith

Jude (July 25, 2021)

Licentiousness – lasciviousness – apostasy

Gnostics – separated the spiritual from the fleshly and reasoned that people living in a fleshly body cannot be held responsible for their worldly thinking and ungodly behavior

Rejecting authority is a recurring concern in Scripture (both OT and NT) and is the underlying motivation behind many who claim atheism.

Egypt       angels      Sodom and Gomorrah

What do the Gnostics of today look like?

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How do we best contend for the faith?

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Align with the Spirit

John 16:5-15 (February 21, 2021)

The greatest gifts from God: The Lord Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit convicts the world. We come to Christ through the convicting power of the Holy Spirit.

Concerning sin: We have a moral compass but we know that other things are sins because of Scripture and conviction.

Concerning righteousness: We do not see Jesus physically. But we feel his presence through the Holy Spirit and we obtain our righteousness through Him.

Concerning judgment: The devil has been condemned. He is not happy about it. He wants company. But God has given us the Holy Spirit so that we might obtain righteousness through the death of Jesus.

How may we have the truth revealed to us?

• Read the Bible
  • Conform our worldviews to that of Scripture
  • America is almost devoid of Scripture
  • There is nothing wrong with being established
    • The establishment clause says that the government may not establish a national religion. But that does not mean that our government was not established upon Christianity and that it is inappropriate for it to remain so.
• Pray
• Submit to the Spirit living within us
  • We will never become good enough on our own to be called righteous
  • The only way we can obtain righteousness is through faith in Christ
  • God’s will is for us to be conformed to the image of Christ

The First Trumpets

Revelation 8 (February 7, 2021)

Many of the events in the Revelation are troubling and scary to consider. But followers of Christ will not suffer the Tribulation.

The seven trumpets do not necessarily “follow” the seals as such but are contained underneath the seals. Similarly, the bowls are contained under the seals and the trumpets.

What purpose do you think is served by events of the Revelation?

• To torture all people for their sins?
• To put the world into subjection?
• To give certain people time to repent?

Many people have conjectured what they suppose the events described will be like. There are implications that some will be supernatural and some will be allowed by God.

As followers of Christ, what is our responsibility with regard to events in the Revelation?

Encourage Even in Troubling Times

1 Thessalonians 5:12-24 (January 31, 2021)

Can we assess the United States as collectively honoring God by our examples of living “in peace with one another” (v.13)?

The things we are urged to do in v. 14 are all to be done with patience. (unruly = undisciplined)

What might we do to improve our seeing that “no one repays another with evil for evil?”

How is it possible to “seek after that which is good for one another and for all people?”

What effort are you willing to put forth to be patient and to seek what is good for us and for all?

Only the Spirit of God can sanctify us “entirely”.

Israel Sealed

Revelation 7 (January 24, 2021)

The seventh chapter of Revelation answers the question as to whether anyone will be saved during the Tribulation.

The sealing of the 144,000 for protection is akin to God’s protection of Noah and his family, Israel from Pharaoh and Rahab in Jericho.

There is no compelling reason to believe that the church is included in those who are saved during the Great Tribulation. At no other place in Scripture are the tribes mentioned when referencing the church.

There are many Israelites scattered among the nations. They may not be among those sealed from the tribes and will be martyred for not worshiping the Antichrist.

There will be many who are martyred during the Great Tribulation. The implication is that they may have suffered hunger, thirst and/or scorching heat as part of their persecution on earth.

Divine Wrath: The Seven Seals

Revelation 6 (January 17, 2021)

Some important questions related to this passage:

• When do these events occur?
• How do these events relate to the church?
• How do these descriptions help us to prepare for the end times?

Since Christ does not return to the earth as a conqueror until after the Great Tribulation, the figure on the white horse is likely not the Lord Jesus.

If the figure on the white horse is the Antichrist, the figure on the red horse may be the false prophet or another political leader during the Great Tribulation.

The third seal is more about famine than focused on economics.

The ashen horse is representative of sickness because of famine.

There will be many martyrs during the Great Tribulation.

The terror of the sixth seal is unprecedented.

We will not experience the great wrath of God during the Tribulation if we are believers, but that does not mean will escape the consequences of our fallen world before the Rapture.