Big Idea:

God is always good and ever-worthy of our worship

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Is God good?

This question about God’s character and capability plagues more people than any other. Almost daily we hear someone asking the question, “How could a good God allow such suffering in this world?” Perhaps we have asked it ourselves. How indeed?

We live in a world that is filled with physical, mental, emotional, political, and relational suffering. If we’re honest, we’ve all wondered how God could be good and yet allow these things to happen. Why does He not intervene?

Every preacher knows the discouragement of looking out on an obviously disengaged audience - glassy stares, confused looks, slowly closing eyes just moments from a nap - it's awful. While some of the responsibility lands in the laps of our listeners, most of the responsibility is ours as preachers.

Our job is to "rightly handle the word of truth" (2 Tim.2:15). That's the command the apostle Paul gave young Timothy - a green, insecure, uncertain pastor in a jacked up situation. 

I am part of a tribe that takes this task seriously. We preach the Word week in and week out. We don't play games with God's Word. But, if we're not careful we can make the mistake of believing that faithful preaching means nothing more than mere accuracy. I believe Paul's encouragement to Timothy begs more than accuracy alone.

Here are seven reasons people might hate our preaching (even if it's Biblically accurate)…

Big Idea:

God is intimately involved in the lives of His people.

For full sermon audio, listen here...   

“Is God with me?”

This seemingly simple question is deeply theological. If we’re honest, we’ve all asked it at one time or another. No matter who we are, we’ve gone through seasons of life when God feels distant, unresponsive, even absent. Even when we read our Bibles faithfully and pray earnestly, we can find ourselves wondering, where is God? Is He with me? Is He involved in my life? 

When we feel this way, it’s crucial that we allow God’s Word – not our circumstances, experiences, and thoughts – to shape our belief about God. 

Consider these two characteristics that give us a Biblical concept of God:

Big Idea |

The cross serves as the clearest display of Christ’s love for me.

For full sermon audio, listen here...   

There is no more destructive doubt we can have than to wonder whether or not God really loves us. Confident faith in God’s love is the very basis of our relationship with Him. When we doubt His love, instead of having the relationship God wants to have with us, we have one marked by shame, avoidance, and defensiveness. 

There are two primary reasons we struggle to believe God could love us: 

• The things you've done. Conceiving of God’s love may be difficult because of sexual sin, substance abuse, or just selfish pursuits that mark your life, past or present.

• The things done to you. You may feel unworthy of God’s love because of past  abuse, abandonment, or betrayal. You may feel dirty, used, or unlovable.

Big Idea |

Jesus knows, engages, and dispels the doubts of His people.

For full sermon audio, listen here...

One thing we all have in common, whether we are Christians or non-Christians is this: Every one of us has doubts about God. Even if we don’t doubt His existence we do question His character and His capability. We wonder:  Is God who He says He is? Can He do everything He claims? 

See, it's never a question of whether we doubt, it’s a question of how we deal with our doubt. As Christians, we have to confront our doubt with the Word of God in order to strengthen our faith.  

Big Idea |  “You should pursue vocational ministry because you’re called by God, not compelled by circumstance and emotion.”

“How do I confirm if God’s calling me into full-time vocational ministry?” 

This is a question I’m being asked more and more. Young people, old people, rich people, poor people, successful and established people - I’m encountering a growing number of people considering a call to full-time vocational ministry - vocational, meaning “paid".

Every Christian is called to “full-time” ministry. There is never a season, time, or circumstance in which a follower of Christ is not to minister the good news of Jesus to those around them. Baristas and bartenders, students and stay-at-home moms, business people and bankers, those in construction and childcare, medical providers and machinists - all of us are to always minister to those God providentially places in our lives. 

Because every Christian is called to full-time ministry, I always want to know why it is an individual feels called to ministry vocationally. You may think, “Who cares? They want to serve Jesus, so what does it matter why they want to?” Well, it matters a lot. The truth is, there are a great many BAD reasons to pursue vocational ministry - Here are the five most common I hear

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Few things keep Christians from consistent time in the Bible like busyness. 

We are busy with school, busy with work, busy caring for kids, busy with hobbies, busy at church, and busy with relationships. 

We are a busy people.

If we’re honest, many of us show up to weekend worship services distracted, unprepared, and often times, more than a little late. This is sad when we consider the nature of what we’re invited into when we gather for corporate worship.