Sermons

Christianity exploded onto the scene in the latter half of the first century. Through miracles, persecution, and missionary endeavors the gospel spread. Over the centuries followers of Jesus have transformed the world. It all started with 120 people gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem waiting for the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and empower. What can we learn from them to help us spread the gospel today?

Without the book of Acts we would not know what happened in the initial grass-roots phase of Christianity. Still worse, we would not know how the truth of Jesus' Ascension launched his disciples off into a hostile world to proclaim the authority of their new King. Praise God that from Acts, to today, till Jesus comes back, He is King!

Does the end of the book of Job teach that we should expect things to always turn out happy after we go through a period of suffering? When understood in the context of the entire book (as well as the rest of the Bible), we can confidently say that is not what the end of Job is teaching. As followers of Jesus, we know that the ultimate end of the story is eternal joy, even if we experience hardship and suffering in this life.

Many modern readers struggle with God’s response to Job near the end of the book. Many people hear it as a power play in which God deflects Job’s questions and puts him in his place. However, this misunderstanding is due to our failure to see God’s parental and personal heart of love for Job in these chapters. When rightly understood, God’s invitation to Job is the same invitation to all of us: trust in him because he is perfectly wise.

Sermon Description

It has been said that in the book of Job, Job goes through trials, but it is God himself who is on trial. Specifically, the question is raised whether it is right for God to reward people for righteous behavior. It is this issue that is behind the majority of the book of Job, some 33 chapters of dialogue between Job and his friends. In the end, we are invited to see that the world is far more complex than we often think, and we are invited to trust in God’s wisdom as he governs the world.