MBM Rooty Hill / Bible Talks

One of the great tensions of the Christian life is living between two kingdoms, the kingdom of this world, and the kingdom that is yet to come. 1 Peter was written to exhort Christians to remain faithful to their heavenly kingdom as they lived in a world where they didn’t fit. As 1 Peter starts, the author begins by providing a foundation for believers to place their trust, the character of God. As we build our foundation on who God is, that will enable us to live with meaning in a world where it doesn’t seem we fit.

Life is full of decisions that we need to make. With the busyness of life we are forced to prioritize and juggle many areas. With the frenetic pace of life we make choices concerning work, family, finances, and friendships. In the midst of all those choices it is easy to drift away from what ought to be our main priority, God and his glory. In Haggai 1 God’s people are confronted with the importance of priorities and exhorted to ‘think carefully’ about what drives them. This passage has a contemporary message for all of us who experience the same tensions of priority.

Revelation 21-22 gives us a vision that will not fade, a picture of God making all things new, wiping away every tear, and dwelling with His people forever. In this sermon we see the glory of the new creation, the beauty of Christ’s bride, and the call to keep faithful, keep longing, and keep inviting until Jesus returns. This is the hope that holds when everything else is shaking.

From the earliest pages of Scripture the great story of the Bible is God’s unfolding plan to move things from despair to hope, brokenness to wholeness, death to life. As Revelation moves to and end we see the culmination of God’s redeeming plan as wickedness and rebellion against God is quashed and God establishes his glorious kingdom in fullness. In Revelation 17–19 we see a contrast between two women, two cities, and two outcomes, that leave us with one question we must answer.

God’s justice, though confronting, is given not to leave us fearful but to assure us with hope that evil will one day come to an end.

Revelation 12-14 pulls back the curtain on the cosmic battle behind history. The dragon rages, the beasts deceive, but the Lamb stands victorious with His people. These chapters call Christians to see through the lies, stay faithful to Christ (because we’re victorious), and follow Him wherever He goes.

During his earthly ministry Jesus experienced regular and difficult opposition. Rather than presenting an easy life, Jesus spoke of discipleship being difficult. Rejection and opposition was something that his followers should expect. But being rejected and opposed is difficult and often taxing. Nobody likes to be on the outer. While experiencing opposition it is easy to feel discouraged and confused. In Revelation 11 we have words of encouragement and direction given to us on how we might respond when met with serious gospel opposition.