Hill Country Bible Church Dripping Springs Sermons

If the time is coming, if Jesus is on the way, if Advent is really happening, then what kind of people are they being called to be? And the answer to that question is not just a historical one, but it is also one that is quite relevant for all of us. Because as they waited for Jesus to come the first time we wait for Jesus to come the second time, and there are a lot of similarities in how we can prepare to receive Him just as they did.

The word advent, literally defined, just simply means “coming.” And so the purpose of Advent season oftentimes is thought of as a time to look back and to remember when Jesus came: His coming as a Christ-child, His coming as a baby in a manger, as the long-awaited and promised Messiah who would save the people from their sins. So that tends to be how we think of Advent. It’s looking back and remembering when Jesus came the first time. But Advent also is meant to cause us to look ahead, to anticipate. So it’s both a season of celebration and a season of anticipation, where we remember that Jesus came but we prepare ourselves for the truth that He will come…that He will come again. So we want to celebrate the birth of Jesus; we want to anticipate the return of Jesus during this time of the year especially.

“From Him, through Him and to Him” is really the essence of the Christian life. And an opposite mentality – “from me, through me, and to me” – is the fundamental problem with mankind and why hell exists. So let’s use this framework to look at these verses and the glory of God.

We may forget that Christ is actually a title. It’s not Jesus’ last name. So, Jesus Christ should be understood as Jesus, the Christ. It’s a title.
Christ is the New Testament equivalent of the Hebrew word Messiah. So Christ is equivalent to Messiah, which literally means ANOINTED ONE.

When the Reformers used the words sola Scriptura they were expressing their concern for the Bible's authority, and what they meant is that the Bible alone is our ultimate authority not the pope, not the church, not the traditions of the church or church councils, still less personal suggestions or subjective feelings, but Scripture only.

The last section of Jonah exposes a heart problem both in the prophet and in us. We worship created things over the creator and, like young children, become angry when God graciously takes them from us. God patiently points out our sins, not to anger us, but because he is kind and full of grace. He puts us in difficult situations so that we might see and have his heart.

The struggle Jonah is having is not that he is disappointed in God. That is simply an effect of something much deeper. Jonah is disappointed because Jonah does not want what God wants.

Sometimes the love of God comes in the form of stinging, hard judgment. You cannot have true love that does not include judgment. Because if you have love that does not have judgment, it doesn't have moral structure to it.

These five verses are a radical perspective on how you should measure your potential.

One of the biggest questions you could ever ask is how is it that God changes us. We're going to look at a moment in the life of Jonah where we get to be witnesses on how God works to change the heart of a man.