This week's sermon from guest preacher Derek Bates.

"We are not looking for figures by predicting specific persons in the future; rather, we are looking for images of dragon-like leaders at work in all societies and all times. They are puppets, whose strings are pulled by the dragon. Remember, these images are not about predicting the future, but about shaping our perceptions of the present.” – Scot…

Today's open discussion.

"It is possible that people can refuse to believe [the Bible's] testimony, functioning as if Jesus' tomb has a No Vacancy sign hanging outside it. It is also possible that we verbally affirm the resurrection and still fail to be changed by it. The Spirit's work is essential. But when he works... the resurrection radically transforms our lives. The …

“From the expulsion from Eden, God’s people have been an expectant mother, awaiting the birth of the Seed who would champion their cause against Satan the liar, accuser, and murderer.” – Dennis E. Johnson

“The contribution of the Revelation to the work of witness is not instruction, telling us how to make a coherent apology of the faith, but imagination, strengthening the spirit with images that keep us ‘steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord’ (1 Cor 15:58). Instruction in witness is important, but courage is critical, for it…

“…not because Christians in the late first century were actually innumerable, but because of John’s faith in the fulfillment of all the promises of God through Christ, the church is depicted as an innumerable company drawn from all nations.” – Richard Bauckham, The Theology of the Book of Revelation, 77.…

“Seven is the number of perfection, implying something done according to the divine design, the number of completion. Three implies the greatest or ultimate expression of something. So seven times three indicates triple perfection! These judgments describe the complete, perfect erasure of evil.” – Scot McKnight, Revelation for the Rest of Us, 110.…

“Questions are never indiscreet, answers sometimes are.” – Oscar Wilde

“In the heart of ultimate reality, John saw a Savior who still bears the marks of his suffering – a Lamb who was slain, yet conquered death.” – Nancy Guthrie, Blessed, 98.

“The worship of God is the heartbeat of the cosmos, even when we humans on earth do not see it, participate in it, or value it. Only God is worthy to receive what others, especially powerful political figures, may want or demand: our total devotion, our praise, our crowns.” – Michael J. Gorman, Reading Revelation Responsibly, 107.…

“The messages to the seven churches establish a context in which readers of Revelation can ponder the meaning of the visions that will unfold in the next chapters. We have seen that those who were first addressed by the book faced issues ranging from persecution, to assimilation, to the complacency that arises from prosperity… The promises that wer…

“The reproof is startling and designed to bring change. The goal is to shake the congregation out of its complacency and into a renewed relationship with Christ.” – Craig R. Koster, Revelation and the End of All Things, 73.

This is a sermon from guest preacher, Gavin Breeden.

“Could it be that the Christian faith is unthinkable for many people today more from prejudice, misinformation, and neglect than from honest investigation?” – Dick Keyes, “A Crisis of Meaning” in Finding God at Harvard, 85.

This is a sermon from guest preacher, Gavin Breeden.

“…to be heavenly minded is to live in light of the age to come. To maintain a heavenly orientation is not to withdraw from the earthly creation but rather to view the earthly in light of the heavenly.” – Michael D. Williams, Far As the Curse is Found, 301.

“God’s answer to everything that ever terrorized us is a child. The power of God is so far superior to the Assyrias and all the big shots of this world that he can defeat them by coming as a mere child. His answer to the bullies swaggering through history is not to become an even bigger bully. His answer is Jesus.” – Raymond C. Ortlund Jr., Isaiah:…

“God’s first word to fallen man has all the marks of grace. It is a question, since to help him He must draw rather than drive him out of hiding.” – Derek Kidner, Genesis, 70.

“You have made us for yourself and restless is our heart until it comes to rest in you.” – Augustine

This is a sermon from the guest preacher, Derek Bates.

“The letter to the church at Philadelphia invites us to ask ourselves: Am I walking through the doors that Jesus has opened for me to share the gospel?” – Nancy Guthrie, Blessed: Experiencing the Promise of the Book of Revelation, 82

This week's open discussion.

This is a sermon from guest preacher, Nameun Cho.

Travis' comments on the Letter to the Church of Sardis: "Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy." - Revelation 3:4 Sardis is one of two churches in Revelation 2-3 that receives only a rebuke and no commendation. Some folks wonder if that is correc…

Some challenges of idolatry for the modern believer: Far from idolatry being a relic of the distant past of paganism, idolatry is an ever present temptation and struggle for believers in every age, including our materialistic, rationalistic, and scientific one.

"Seven churches, different in so many ways from one another. Seven churches, similar in so many ways to the churches in which we live and serve Jesus. What one thing do all these churches need to fortify them against the enemy's frontal assaults, to make them savvy to his subtle stratagems, and to make them loyal to God and compassionate toward the…

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." —Jim Elliot

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." —Jim Elliot

"A church can continue only for so long on a loveless course. Continuing on that course means ceasing to be a church. Its lampstand is removed." —Leon Morris

Note: This recording had an error part way through and ended abruptly. Apologies for the delayed upload and partial sermon.

"From this point onwards, the centrality of Christ is the ruling theme of Revelation. All things depend on their relation to him." —Michael Wilcock

"It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine." —R.E.M.

"When a sinner turns to God, heaven throws a party. The prospect of such joy keeps Jesus associating with sinners." —Darrel L. Bock

This week's sermon from guest preacher Gavin Breeden.

"In sum: 'to be saved' in the Pauline view means to become part of the people of God, who by the Spirit are born into God's family and therefore joined to one another as one body, whose gatherings in the Spirit form them into God's temple. God is not simply saving diverse people and preparing them for heaven; rather he is creating a people for his …

This week's sermon is the first of a two-part series from Derek Bates out of Ephesians.

Today's sermon from guest speaker Nameun Cho on the Tower of Babel and how it relates to Pentecost.

"Kindness, which is an ability to serve others practically in a way which makes me vulnerable, comes from having a deep inner security. Its opposite is envy, which leaves me unable to rejoice in another's joy. And its fake alternative is manipulative good deeds, doing good for others so I can congratulate myself and feel I am 'good enough' for othe…

The next part of guest speaker Gavin Breeden's series on King David.

"...[O]ne of the main themes of the biblical story and stories is that even some of the ablest human beings who have ever lived, such as Abraham and David, could not rise above the brutality of their own cultures nor the self-centeredness of their own hearts. But by clinging to the wondrous promise that God's grace is given to moral failures, they …

"These modern beliefs—that we must all be committed to equal rights and justice but that there are no God-given moral absolutes—undermine each other. Modern secular education teaches every child that they must be true to themselves, that they must identify their deepest desires and dreams and pursue them, no letting family, community, tradition, or…

The second sermon on God's Kingdom from Matthew 13 in guest speaker Roger Woodworth's four-part series.

"The gospel comes from that kingdom, and conducts to that kingdom; the word of the gospel is the word of the kingdom; it is the word of the King, and where that is, there is power; it is a law, by which we must be ruled and governed. This word is the seed sown, which seems a dead, dry thing, but all the product is virtually in it. It is incorruptib…

Dating over 40--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pretty-gurl-hustle/support

This week's sermon from guest speaker Gavin Breeden begins his mini series on David.

"If you believe in a God who controls the big things, you have to believe in a God who controls the little things. It is we, of course, to whom things look 'little' or 'big'." —Elizabeth Elliot

The Dating game has changed tremendously! In order to survive we have reevaluate how we approach, process, and proceed. The dating pool is vicious but we don’t have to drown in it. Starting June Dating Over 40 will be launching to help navigate through these muddy waters called the Dating pool! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.c…

"The humblebrag is a way for us to glory in ourselves without sounding glorious, being proud while sounding humble. No one likes the guy who is always bringing attention to himself, and we roll our eyes at overtly proud people. But deep in our hearts, we want to be acknowledged, honored, and we want glory." —John Pennylegion…