In C.S. Lewis' Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Mr. Beaver tells Peter, Edmond, Lucy, and Susan that Aslan (the Christ figure in the book) is not safe, but he is good. This is the picture of God that we see in Nahum. He is a God of righteous jealousy, retribution, an fierce fiery wrath. He is also a stronghold in the day of trouble. He rescues all who trust in Him. In Nahum 1:2-8 we see the power and sovereignty of God. We see that He is not safe, but He is good.

This is the first sermon in a series through the book of Nahum, called The God of Justice and Comfort. In this sermon Pastor Scott sets up the book of Nahum and gives an overview of the book, as Nahum foretold the destruction of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. The Assyrians had oppressed the Southern Kingdom of Judah for about 100 years, and so the announcement of the down fall of Nineveh would have been a great comfort to Judah. Matter of fact, God does comfort His people there through His prophet Nahum. And what is very clear is that the God of Judah, whom Nahum served, is a God of both wrath and compassion, of justice and comfort. The god who is the god we want, because we've chosen by our own preferences, not to believe in the aspects that make us uncomfortable, only shows we follow a god of our own imagination. But the God who is, is who He is despite what we, fallen and sinful people, want Him to be.

In this sermon Ryan McKeen walks through Psalm 36. Here we see the great love of God toward those who fear Him. His love is vast and precious to those who trust in Him.

As Pastor Scott wraps up Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians, he finishes chapter three where the Apostle Paul addresses an issues that had been continuing in the church, namely, that certain members were not working and depending on others to meet their needs. Paul makes it clear, if we can work then we are to work, and meet our own needs. To live in idleness is disobedient to our Lord, and the commands He has given through His Apostles.

The first five verses of 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, should be seen as Paul's introduction to a new section of the letter, where Paul brings needed correction to the church. But, as he introduces this section, he first asks the Thessalonians to pray for him and his co-workers as they take the Gospel to other places. He specifically asks two things, that they would pray for the Gospel to advance and be honored, and then he asks the Thessalonians to pray that they would be delivered from evil men, for not all believe the Gospel. At this point, Paul moves into encouraging the Thessalonians in the situation they found themselves in. Then he begins to move the introduction into the direction that Paul headed into through this section. And he does this by referring to the church's overall obedience. He expresses his confidence in their current and continued obedience in what Paul commanded them. After this, Paul, once again expressed his prayerful desire for the Thessalonians. Through all this, we see where Paul's confidence was and where he wanted the Thessalonians' confidence to be; which was in God. Whether for the Gospel going out, or the hope and encouragement in facing evil and persecution, or Paul's confidence in the continued faithfulness of the Thessalonians, Paul's confidence wasn't in him self, but in God. And that is where he directed the Thessalonians confidence as well.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17, we see after the Apostle Paul had corrected error that had snuck into the church, that the day of judgment had already come, and so the Thessalonians believers thought they were in the midst of God's judgment being poured out, Paul then moved to remind them of the security of their salvation. As they had been shaken in mind and alarmed, thinking they were facing God's wrath in all their suffering, Paul reminded them that their hope in Christ was secure. Paul began by expressing his gratitude to God for His choosing of the Thessalonians from the beginning. And we see, then, in this passage that salvation is all of God. We who are saved can do nothing to earn or gain our salvation in anyway. But Salvation has been planned, executed, and applied by God and God alone, and therefore our salvation in Jesus Christ is secure.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, the Apostle Paul addresses a false teaching that had made its way into the Thessalonians church, that they had missed the rapture and were in the midst of the Day of the Lord. Paul begins by urging the Thessalonians to maturity and discernment in verses 1-2. Then in verses 3-12 he corrects the Thessalonians by explaining they could not be in the Day of the Lord, the time period in which God pours out His wrath on the earth, because there were things that had to happen first. First there has to be an apostasy, the Antichrist has to be revealed, and the one restraining him from being revealed has to get out of the way. In this passage we see the importance of right teaching, as Paul brings his correction. We also see that in the end, no matter how evil the world gets, and even when the most powerful and most evil man is leading the rest of the world again our God and His people, Jesus is still greater and will have the victory. This truth should give us great hope, even as we see evil seemingly prevail in the world around us.

As Paul began his second letter to the Thessalonians, expressing his thanks to God for His work in them, even in the midst of persecution, Paul encouraged them to persevere in light of the future hope of Christ's glory and the privilege of being among the saints to worship Christ at His return, and the judgment that would come against their persecutors in that day. In our great nation we have been living in a unprecedented time, where the church has sat comfortable for years, but we should not pretend that persecution will not come. We must be prepared to suffer, and set our eyes on God's coming justice and Christ's glory so that when we suffer we will persevere and prove our faith genuine. 

This sermon begins 2 Thessalonians, as we continue our series looking at the Apostle Paul's letters to a faithful church. One thing we see in the first four verses of this letter is that, despite the issues that needed to be corrected in the church, the Thessalonian church remained a church to be held up as an example of others. As Paul received news of their growing faith and increasing love, even in the face of persecution, he told them that he boasted about them to other churches siting their faith in all their persecutions and in the afflictions that they were enduring. Through it all they were remaining faithful. Yet, they were not a perfect church, and where as 1 Thessalonians was mainly a letter of encouragement, with some correction, 2 Thessalonians is mainly a letter of correction, with some encouragement in the first part of the letter. Yet, being an imperfect church did not stop them from being an example to others. That should be an encouragement to all of our churches, because none of us are in a perfect church. Therefore, as Pastor Scott walks us through 2 Thessalonians we seek to look to the Thessalonians to be an example for us, so that we can be an example to others in being faithful and growing in Christlikeness.  And as we see the things that the Apostle Paul needed to correct the Thessalonians in, we seek to learn so that we will not fall into the same follies, or to see if they are areas we need correction in ourselves.

In the final sermon of this Christmas Series, "What Child Is This?", Pastor Scott takes us through John 12:27-50, where we see that Jesus is the light. Jesus has said of Himself in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world". In John 12 we see that to believe in Jesus, the Light, means to come out of one's darkness, which is to come out of a life characterized by sin and error, and to come into the light. To reject Jesus is to be overcome by darkness and remain under condemnation.