Rose City Baptist Church Sermon Archives episodes:

• April 08, 2025Revelation 10:1-11:19 (Pt 2)

  “Perhaps all this cavalier talk about death and dying as part and parcel of

  true Christianity is shocking to you.  Maybe you thought Jesus was speaking

  only figuratively when he stated, Matthew 16:25, that ‘whoever would save

  his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

  ’…To be a citizen of God’s kingdom, an overt witness of Jesus in this

  world, is ultimately to invite a death sentence from a world that is in

  rebellion against Jesus’ Lordship.  Dual citizenship is impossible church!

  ”

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• September 26, 2024Revelation 10:1-11:19 (Pt 1)

  “The message is this bittersweet scroll: we must share in the sufferings of

  Christ in order to share in the life of Christ. If the message that you

  have swallowed is semi-sweet, and lacking in bitterness, it’s not the word

  of God. If it’s not the sweetest thing you can imagine, and it’s not

  bitter…that we’ve been called to lay down this life…to lay down this life

  and take up our cross…if the message you’ve believed is not so sweet that

  you cannot imagine anything better, and if the messaage you’ve received

  doesn’t have this bitterness as well…it is not the word of God…”

  ...more

  

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• September 26, 2024Revelation 8:1-9:21

  “It’s a sobering vision, especially the end. It’s even hard to hear. These

  chapters in Revelation 8 and 9 are yet another vision that paint another

  horrific picture of the wrath of God being poured out in judgement against

  those who reject him…Every translation uses this word ‘fear’. Do you know

  why? Because that’s the word they used in the original language. We are to

  fear God…Where does that fit in with ‘there is no condemnation for those

  who are in Christ Jesus?’ The answer is those who fear God do not be afraid

  of him. Now, that’s my lingo, my interpretation. But this is what that

  means: those who fear God do not need to fear this wrath. It’s exactly like

  what we teach our kids about a stove or a campfire. we don’t need to be

  afraid of a campfire because we fear fire…Likewise, we can boldly come into

  the very throne room of God, even though he is absolutely Holy, because we

  know by which we have proper relationship with Him. This doesn’t mean we

  don’t fear him, we should fear him! Our God is a consuming fire! Handle

  with care! He’s not tame! We have to respond to God in the way He commands

  himself to be responded to. But we don’t have to be afraid that we are

  going to be the ones who receive this wrath, unless we are the ones who are

  pretending to live for God and are in fact living for ourselves…”

  ...more

  

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• September 26, 2024Revelation 7:1-17

  “Church are we those who live with great joy and celebration because of the

  salvation plan of God. When we think about the way the Father planned from

  the beginning, executed by the Holy Spirit his transformation in our

  hearts, and suffered and died as the Son — we see that God in his three

  persons, each working together, agreeing together, for our salvation. When

  we see that we are those who deserve wrath, deserve the judgement of God

  poured out. Can we say that we wake up daily in celebration?…”

  ...more

  

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• September 26, 2024Revelation 6:1-17

  “He rules and reigns. Nothing that’s happening in our governance, nothing

  that’s happening in our economy, nothing that’s happening in the youth of

  today, is out of control. God gives his righteous judgement….this is what

  Revelation is all about. The message is that this allows all of our rage

  and grief and fear to be channelled into obedience to the one who sits on

  the throne…”

  (Originally preached on March 25, 2018)

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• September 04, 2024Revelation 4:1-5:14 (Pt 2)

  “The first thing we are confronted with in this passage beyond the majestic

  glory of the heavenly throne room, far more splendid than any government of

  earth, is the way in which God is worshipped in this setting. God himself

  is indescribable in his glory; jasper and carnelian, not much there for a

  descriptor from John’s vision.  The narrative quickly moves on to those

  worshipping their creator, the elders and living creatures…”

  ...more

  

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• September 04, 2024Revelation 4:1-5:14 (Pt 1)

  “In what way have we today failed to honor God and give thanks for his

  ultimate authority and power; perfect sovereignty and plan?  Because God is

  on the throne. We cannot let fear keep us from sharing the gospel. We

  cannot abandon a vocal and public proclamation of the gospel, even in a

  culture that vilifies talking about religion and calls any verbal component

  of evangelism “cramming religion down people’s throats…”

  ...more

  

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• September 04, 2024Revelation 3:14-22

  “The last of Jesus’ seven messages to the churches, he addresses the church

  in Laodicea, an extremely wealthy, and self-sufficient city…The charge made

  against this church is that they are lukewarm; an accusation that has often

  been taken to mean that their zeal for Jesus had mellowed and their faith

  was no longer hot passion; it has cooled to lukewarm but is not quite cold

  yet. The problem with is interpretation is that it invents the idea that

  Jesus prefers a cold heart to one with at least some desire, and that in no

  way does this fit the context of Laodicea…Jesus is not contrasting being

  “on fire for” him with being “cold toward” him. Instead he is comparing the

  Laodicean believers to their water supply.  Cold water is a good thing;

  good for drinking, and hot water from the heated springs is a good thing;

  good for health and relaxation, but the Laodicean Christians are neither

  cold nor hot. They are, in fact, absolutely worthless.  They are just as

  offensive to Christ as their lukewarm water was to those who had to drink

  it…”

  ...more

  

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• September 04, 2024Revelation 3:7-13

  “God has not commanded us to ‘take the city’ or build his church. That is

  Christ’s own role.  If your metric for the health of the church is anything

  other than growing in frequency and fervor in obedience and faithful overt

  witness, you are headed for disappointment. When we are weak, he is

  strong…”

  ...more

  

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• September 04, 2024Revelation 3:1-6

  “Jesus will never be satisfied with an outward show; superficial airs of

  pretended godliness. This was exactly what Jesus condemned in the

  Pharisees! We often misunderstand Jesus’ harsh rebukes for religious

  leaders and the Pharisees throughout the gospels thinking that Jesus calls

  them out for being legalists or religious in some negative sense. What

  Jesus primarily and specifically warns them and the crowds about was their

  contentment with fostering a reputation for outward devotion to God while

  their hearts were actually far from him…”

  ...more

  

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