Reformed & Expository Preaching

It is easy to be nice to those who are nice to us. It is easy to be encouraging to those who encourage us. However, how do we interact with those that we deem unworthy of any compassion?

Matthew records Isreal's leaders continuing on their attack of Christ rather than learning from Christ. The Saduccess and the Pharisees compete in a godless campaign to undermine Christ. How does Christ put them on edge? How does Christ silence their scoffing from the Psalms? What can the Psalm say about Christ's deity?

John has a majestic vision of us entering into the Lord’s rest. We might wonder how many casualties of war will there be? Are we going to be triumphant when we consider our current circumstances? It seems that there are a lot of forces that come against the saints, but how do we know that we will enter into the holy city of God?

One of my favorite moves is the princess bride that communicates a theme of true love. We can define true love as a commitment, or maybe even a human feeling, but the Apostle Paul grounds this true love in something that is certain. What is the true love and what is the basis for our hope in this true love? How does Christ’s love inform our love for one another?

The leaders of Israel are trying as hard as they can to silence Christ. They perceive Christ to be a trouble maker rather than the Lord of life. They do not see the kingdom and all they want to do is undermine Christ. The pharisees send their disciples to do their dirty work only to further expose themselves as hypocrites. The Saduccees try to finish the job only to expose their ignorance. How does one view the mission and ministry of Christ? Where is the hope of the gospel?

The Thessalonians wondered if they missed the second coming of Christ. They perceive that Christ will return soon, but as far as they can tell Christ is still in heaven. Did Christ already come? What about their loved ones who have died? Will those loved ones experience glory? How will we know when Christ returns? Is it going to be secret, public, and what happens when Christ returns?

The ultimate destiny is for God’s people to dine in the Lord’s presence. I hope that when that glorious day comes we would be joyful. However, we find that there are people who would rather not go to the king’s banquet. Why do they not want to go? Why is this such a problem?

The thought of the anti-Christ coming to power sounds pretty frightening. This is a man who is doing the work of Satan to challenge the Lord, to challenge God, and to come as a rival to the Lord’s kingdom. Is this something that should terrify us? Why would God allow such a thing to happen? Will the church be able to survive such a horrible assault? How can we be sure that our Lord is sovereign enough to overcome this power?

The apostle Paul exhorts us to view ourselves with sober judgment. We are not to think of ourselves as more highly than we ought to think. Does this mean we deny that we have any gifts? Does this mean that we do not have dignity? What is Paul exhorting us to do as God’s children? How do we evaluate ourselves without becoming arrogant?