The Well: Sermon Audio

The Book of Esther is the only book of the Bible that does not mention God by name, yet His hand is all over it. God uses unlikely characters in unlikely ways to bring about His purposes to preserve His people. God's silence does not mean his absence, and this story invites us to trust in God's providence life or death. 

When he first called Matthew, Jesus had recently healed a man with leprosy and commanded a paralyzed man to walk. At Matthew's celebratory feast, Jesus reminded the Pharisees that it is not the healthy who need a physician but the sick. We are all dead in our sins and need a saving that only Jesus provides. 

The wedding at Cana was never about the wedding but always about the wine. Jesus begins his ministry by transforming water into wine, demonstrating his focus on the cross and replacing Old Testament purification processes with the sufficiency of the blood of Christ. 

When Jesus comes through town, Zacheus famously climbs a tree just to get a glimpse. Jesus invites himself to Zacheu's house, showing us that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. 

When Jesus comes through town, Mary sits at His feet while Martha is busy serving Him and his guests. When Martha confronts them, Jesus lovingly reminds her that our work cannot come before our worship. 

Theologically, meals are significant. The Bible begins and ends with a meal, starting with the tragic eating of fruit and ending with the redeeming marriage supper of the lamb. This summer, we are exploring people's various encounters with Jesus over food in a sacred meal known as Convivium.

Today, we look at one of Jesus's largest meals, the feeding of the 5,000. The crowd is invited to receive a meal, while the disciples are invited to distribute it. Are you the crowd following Jesus merely to meet needs? We don't need the blessings Jesus gives; we need Jesus the author of our salvation. As followers of Jesus, we have the privilege of giving the bread away. However, we must recognize that we are wholly inadequate for the work that he has called us to do.

The grace that saves is the same that sustains us.

The Book of Jude exposes false teaching and compels readers to contend for the faith in light of false teachers. We all have a tendency to reject God and do life on our own, but we are called to a different standard. So, how are we called to live? We must be faithful to the truth, and that faithfulness to the truth will inform how we live.

Jude compels readers to persevere in the truth even when the ungodly prosper more than the godly. He also admonishes becoming like the ungodly through grumbling and complaining as the Israelites in Moses' day did.  

Jude is dealing with false teachers in the midst of the Church. He uses Old Testament references to warn against rejecting God's design and authority. We reap what we sow. Are folly and flesh being sown in your life? Or are you being influenced by wisdom and the Holy Spirit?

The book of Jude compels readers to contend for the faith in truth as he writes a message of warning. Jude gives three examples of past failures from the Old Testament: one of rebellious Israelites, rebellious angels, and rebellious people.

But Jude doesn't just want to give a Jewish history. God's Word is living and active, and this caution is applicable even today.