“Augustine said that anyone who denies the Trinity is in danger of losing his salvation, and anyone who tries to understand it is in danger of losing his mind.” The Kingdom of God is like There are none of the metaphors and similes about the Trinity that we see in the teaching of Jesus about the Kingdom. There are just statements that are to be taken as both facts and mysteries. He never takes the disciples aside to explain, “I and the Father are one” or “If you have seen me you have seen the Father.” It is a Fact with a capital F. It is a Truth that cannot…

1.  Last week we looked at Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit. We looked at the ten days between the Ascension and Pentecost and saw the nature of the church without the power of the Holy Spirit. What was it like? It was a praying church. All of them prayed. There was not Wednesday night prayer meeting. There were no prayer warriors. The whole meeting was prayer and the prayer room was the only room. They were all together all the time and in prayer. The church was of one mind. They were first-rate examples of Paul’s command to the Corinthians, “Be of one mind.” They were held…

Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” 1. The Lord makes and takes us through hard times. Not just as punishment – although hard times are sometimes His way of getting our attention – but often times as preparation. It is easy to forget that there is a life after this one for which we are being prepared. It is easy to…

1.  Colossians 1:15-20: The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile…

Psalm 99 1 The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. 2 Great is the Lord in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations. 3 Let them praise your great and awesome name— he is holy. 4 The King is mighty, he loves justice— you have established equity; in Jacob you have done what is just and right. 5 Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy. 6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel was among those who called on his name; they called on the Lord and he answered them. 7 He…

“‘Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion”…’Safe?’ said Mr. Beaver; ‘don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.’” 1.  That’s the issue this morning. What is the nature of God’s goodness? What do we mean when we say – sometimes glibly – God is good all the time and all the time God is good? Do we mean He is safe or do we mean a kind of terrible goodness as well? Do we mean something we define and control as “good” or is the…

I am not starting with “proof” of God. I don’t believe you can prove God to someone who is simply unwilling to believe. For whatever reasons, there are people who resist believing and there is not enough evidence in the world (or outside the world) to convince them. The Scripture calls them fools in Psalm 14:1-3: The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. In Psalm 10:2-5 David says of the fool: In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. He boasts about the…

1.  From the beginning, there have been people teaching all sorts of doctrines about the second coming and the time of the end. Yes, there were and are false teachers but most of the confusion is either jumping to conclusions about certain signs or overly excited imaginations or just different readings of Scripture. Why else would we have pre/post/a millennial and pre/post tribulation interpretations of end times. No one knows for sure but everyone has an opinion or a feeling. That was true for the church at Thessalonika. There were people teaching that the only explanation for their suffering and hardship was the end times had begun. Others were teaching…

1.  Paul writes at a time when the whole age was suffering from “the failure of nerve.” Men were longing for some defense against the “advancing chaos of the world.” We want to use Christ as they used religion as a means of making our world a better or safer place. We want to find something that will calm the volatility and uncertainty. In times of instability, then and now, people attach themselves to easy answers, sure things, strong leaders, institutions that promise security, heresies, novelties, cults, movements, extreme beliefs or no beliefs at all. This was the world the church was in when Paul is writing. People were unsure…

1.  The assignment this morning is the topic of mission and how each of us are missionaries – not just those who travel to foreign countries or are full-time. That’s true and I want to look at that from a little different angle. I want to look at our mission as defined by Christ. When Jesus ascends in Matthew’s gospel he leaves the disciples with what has been called The Great Commission. “19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And…