Reformed & Expository Preaching

The Lord is going to raise up citizens to dwell in his kingdom. They will be pilgrims in this world. This week we spend a few minutes seeking to lay out how one enters into the Lord’s kingdom. Does the Lord secure every single human being in this age meaning that all are in Christ Jesus no matter what? Does the Lord secure only 144,000 people as a very literal number? Can we even know if we are citizens of heaven and members of God’s Pilgrim Citizens?

Habakkuk began wondering if the Lord hears him, and now he hears the Lord. Is Habakkuk at peace with the Lord's answer? What does Habakkuk have to learn regarding the Lord's sovereign plan? How is this lesson still relevant for us today?

Christ is our gracious Lord who takes away the heavy burden. Christ's righteousness goes beyond that of the scribes and the pharisees. Does this mean that we just have to work harder to attain the Lord's favor? Does this mean that we live as we want? How can Christ take away the heavy burden, but still we are called to conform to the Lord?

We see the tree of life in the Garden of Eden and in the heavenly temple. It would appear that as Adam has to obey the law and we are called to obey the law that our covenantal arrangement is the same. Do we individually have to earn heaven? How do we enter heaven after Adam Failed? What is the consequence of the fall and what is the consequence of Christ’s success?

The world seems to have gone awry at different times in history. We might wonder if the Lord really takes note of this age or if the Lord is just sleeping. Habakkuk wants to know what the Lord is doing. The Lord shocked him by saying that he sending the Babylonians to bring judgment. How can the Lord counteract the problem that is worse than what Habakkuk sees?

The prophet Elijah is very discouraged. It is strange that he would be discouraged. He has won the battle of the gods and rain has been sent in the land. It would seem that these are good things, and why the discouragement? The rain is not good enough for Jezebel because the Baal prophets have been executed. She vows to kill Elijah. Elijah runs to the wilderness to die, and then to a cave at Horeb. The Lord is going to speak, but what is he going to say? How is the Lord going to sustain his servant through this event? How does the Lord give assurance that his church will be preserved until the end?

The Tree of Life holds out the promise of glory. This tree is consumed only by those who overcome. This implies that Adam would not have eaten from this tree until his probation in Eden is over. How does one overcome and eat the fruit from the tree of life?

It is strange for protestants to profess that we are "One Catholic Church" or that there is "One Holy Catholic Church." How can protestants deny being Roman Catholic, but still be a member of the one Catholic Church?

It is strange for protestants to profess that we are "One Catholic Church" or that there is "One Holy Catholic Church." How can protestants deny being Roman Catholic, but still be a member of the one Catholic Church?

Habakkuk is coming to grips with the reality that the Lord is bringing a nation worse than Israel to judge Israel. This does not seem possible, but this is what the Lord is doing. So, how does one cope with such disappointing news?