ARCC Sermons

Silence and praise are worship when they are oriented “To You, O God.” All of His creation joins all of His people because of the redemption He is bringing to all things.

G.K. Chesterton once said: “The objection to fairy stories is that they tell children there are dragons. But children have always known there are dragons. Fairy stories tell children that dragons can be killed.” The reality is that there is a dragon, he’s furious, and he wants to destroy the Son by destroying the redeemed. Revelation is a playbook of sorts for how the dragon can be conquered. In the end, it is when we lose our life that we gain it and subsequently render the already defeated dragon powerless. Discipleship in this life is to this end…daily taking up our cross in order to die to ourselves.

We were once enemies of God. The profound reality is that for those who crucified Jesus in the first century they would never have considered themselves as enemies of God. It would seem as though the two witnesses represent that which was necessary to prove this truth: While we were yet enemies, Christ died for us! We are a product not of our “goodness”, but of God’s covenant of grace.