Isaiah 65:17-66:2: Sermon Summary: Jerusalem below was built to pass, but despair not. The Jerusalem above, She is our Mother (Gal 4:26), and far above every destructive principality and power. Indeed, it carries in it the resurrection of the world, even a new creation. So the primary calls of the Lord are (1) rejoice forever and (2) tremble now (at His Word). These are bound together, the one being the defining trait of those who stand to inherit the Joy that Jesus knew to be worth dying for. The joy of the heavenly world is expounded to include no tears, no tragedy, no loss, no miscarriage, no harm; in short, a world where God's reign for our good is unobstructed and free forever. This new creation belongs to those who refuse to domesticate God here below and, instead, exhibit as primary the primary trait of being themselves a new creation, one in whom Heaven already dwells: humility before the Word of God.

Psalm 84: Sermon Summary: The sons of Korah were guardians of the galaxy of grace. They stood watch at the doors of God's earthly sanctuary, knowing quite well what it prefigured. And from their elevated vantage point, they sought to serenade sojourners to the sanctuary in a way most becoming of God's House. It typified exceeding loveliness, purest peace, spiritual strength, and fellowship with God in the blessedness of Messiah. To dwell there was the goal, and even a single day in such a heavenly state sufficed, spiritually understood, for more than a thousand anywhere else in the world. And if this can be said about the earthly sanctuary, to what heights of expectation might faith in the Lord rise concerning the Sanctuary above? Heaven is the all-satisfying sanctuary for those who trust in Him.

Revelation 20:11-15: Sermon Outline:

The One Who is Worthy and the Certainty of Judgment

The Almighty Judge and the End of History

The Longsuffering God and the End of Death

2 Thessalonians 1:5-10: Sermon Summary: For the persecuted church in Thessalonica, few things could offer rest and hope like the Day of the Lord.  But unlike many passages that offer the assurance of rest in heaven, Paul instead comforts the persecuted believers by reminding them what awaits their persecutors: God will come in flaming fire in order to enact the punishment of eternal destruction upon his enemies.  While the saints instead glory at his might and marvel at their great salvation from the same eternal torment.

Matthew 7:12-27:

1 Timothy 5:17-25: Sermon Summary: Paul gives Timothy a set of rules to communicate to the churches concerning the responsibilities of love that they bear toward the faithful elders among them.

Isaiah 66:1-24: Summary: God is a transcendent God.  He created everything that is, so it is His right to choose how to deal with men.  For men who choose the abominations of false religion, He says that He will choose a harsh treatment for them.  He will bring their very fears upon them in judgment.  Mankind has decided that they don’t want to obey the voice of the Creator.  As Creator, he is judge of all; and out of his justice, he promises judgment and eternal torment for those who continue to choose against him.  But for the man who is humble, contrite in spirit, and trembles at His word, God promises to look to that one and to offer salvation.  But for the unbeliever, He promises utter destruction and eternal torment.

Isaiah 33:1-24: Summary: Coming at the tail end of oracles concerning global judgment, the Lord directs Isaiah toward His people. After all, judgment will begin at the household of God. Once again forecasting eschatological judgment, Zion will be filled with justice. This will be to the joy and peace of the righteous, but it necessarily involves the removal of the godless from their place. The justice that affirms the righteous, afflicts the godless. And what we can say of temporal judgment can be agreeably elevated concerning the everlasting penalty of Hell. It is the sinner's self-destruction, the deprivation of all things excellent to the soul with the surplus of all things abhorrent, the application of a might they never believed on earth, and the realization that the righteous are truly blessed. In Christ, they are the only ones who can dwell with the Consuming Fire without fear of recompense. Righteousness reveals a Royal Refuge to which the godless will wish they'd fled, but too late will be too late to avoid the everlasting burnings kindled by their sin and maintained by God's might.

Deuteronomy 31:24-32:47: Summary: A song we're given to sing concerning the awfully praiseworthy justice of God in the sure and sudden damnation of sinners? Such is the text. On the cusp of death, Moses calls Heaven and earth to witness against a people who have returned hatred for God's love, rejection for His revelation, disobedience for His faithfulness, sin for His Law, impenitence for His longsuffering kindness. The song is a warning that builds upon the guarantees of unbroken depravity. In the lyrics, there's a lesson: God will not be mocked. Sin will have its punishment. The curse is reserved for the impenitent and, when it comes full, it will be all we shutter to know as Hell. Rejoice, Moses says, in the One coming to save us.

Genesis 36:1-43: Summary: The Holy Spirit saw fit to leave us a record of Esau's family. The questions is, why? Among the many reasons that present themselves to the mind, perhaps mainly this: Esau's a man descended from the line of Christ who branches off and chooses to settle as a Canaanite, away from his brother Jacob. To be an Edomite, descended from Esau, was to be counted villainous toward the people of God. And yet, even among the most notorious persecutors of faith in Christ, God has a remnant of grace. All that separates Jacob from Esau is grace, and all who call on the Name of the Lord will be saved.