If there is one thing I am notorious for doing in my sermons, it is trying to say too much. I write too much and I talk too fast. As a result, there are often a few
notes of truth that get lost in all of the noise pouring out of my mouth. Below, are a TEN of these “notes” that may have been missed in my last sermon. They do not represent thunderbolt-like truths you’ve never heard of but are probably more akin to 42 character quips you could twitter out–clever phrases that say so much…but so little at the same time. If my sermon were a textbook, these would be the bold or italicized words you would pay attention to while working to ignore everything else that you know won’t be on the “test”. Enjoy.
- “Our obedience does not ever dictate our relationship with God; but it always reflects it.”
- “As we saw with our first parents in the garden, Adam and Eve, what begins with doubt about WHAT GOD HAS SAID always ends with lies about WHO GOD IS….[and] refusing to take the blame for our sin will eventually lead us to blame God for our problems.”
- “[When God is silent] We are always much more demanding for God’s immediate judgment on the evil of the world than we are for His judgment on our own. For that we are the ones who are usually silent. “
- “God is not fair. That might seem like a strange thing to say about God, or even a bad thing to say about God, but it is exactly what we need Him to be. ..He doesn’t give us what we fairly deserve.”
- “…the judgment of God results in condemnation of the world, the judgment of God results in redemption for His people…Before the judge destroys all evil in the world, He destroys the evil in the hearts of his people. “
- “Removing our sin is painful for us, but NOT before it was painful for Him. “
- “The cross changes HOW WE LOOK, because it changes WHAT WE LOOK AT. It is not enough to see our sin cleansed by the sacrifice of Jesus, we must also see our sin as the reason He is on the cross in the first place. ”
- “Knowing that God is angry, and that there is a coming judgment of the world (but not those in Christ) helps me to know that what feels like judgment now is actually refinement—it should lead me to grow and worship, even in pain.”
- “Until you see that someone innocent took your guilt, became a victim for you, you will continue to accuse God and play the victim—you will always have something to complain about. “
- “…once you see the cross as the place where the judge, after justly declaring you guilty, took off his robe, stepped down from the bench, took your place as the accused, and was executed in your place—you will realize you have nothing to complain about. “
