Genesis 4:17-24
Do you ever feel that you are trying to become someone of worth but your goals are driven by worldly influences? The Bible teaches us that we are created to be dependent upon God, not ourselves, and that God created each of us with a good purpose ordained by Him even before the creation of the world. This sermon teaches that we live our best lives when we are submitted to God’s will for our lives and fulfilling the purpose for which He created us.
Do YOU See the Light?
Luke 8:16-18 (Feb. 17, 2019)
The outline of Luke 8:16–18 is as follows:
i. The lampstand as a picture of Jesus’ public teaching (8:16)
ii. Secrets to be manifest eventually (8:17)
iii. A call to hear and a warning (8:18)[1]
We are to be salt and light. But Jesus is the real Light of the world. Each person much choose how they will respond to the Light. How have you responded to Jesus’ teaching?
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The enemies of Jesus are not to be feared. They will be revealed. We should beware how we respond to Christ’s message.
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Have you heard Jesus’ message or have you heard what you want to hear? Have you only heard what someone else has told you instead of pursuing the truth on your own?
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Care should be given as to how we respond to Christ’s message. If we respond by receiving the message, we access a blessing of receiving more. If we receive Christ’s message wrongly, we lose all that we perceived we had. Have you responded to Christ’s message correctly?
[1] Darrell L. Bock, Luke: 1:1–9:50, vol. 1, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1994), 743.
Our friends up north are always amused by the paralysis suffered by their fellow-Americans to the south whenever we have a snow event. We do them a favor, though, by staying in and not crashing our vehicles when the roads are bad–less crashes, lower insurance rates!
Being a minister, I don’t get to hear other sermons live very often. When I do have occasion, usually by attending a conference, I am usually intimidated by the skill and presentation of the highly experienced preachers who are used to preaching in front of thousands of people every time they stand in the pulpit.
If you are a minister, snowed-in today and not able to travel, take this opportunity to watch a sermon online. Listening to other people helps us to realize where we may need to improve our exposition or presentation. People are not bored by the Bible. People are bored by bad sermons. We owe it to our calling to be as skillful as possible at the preaching craft.
If you are a lay person and are snowed-in today, take the opportunity to listen to an online sermon preached by someone other than your pastor. It is not being unfaithful to your church to listen to other preachers. As a matter of fact, sometimes it helps motivate us to hear encouragement from someone besides the one we are used to hearing. The message captures us afresh and we find ourselves in a good place to serve the Lord and to serve others. Blessings to everyone for a great week!
Orange Office Ministry 