Plymouth Haven Baptist Church

Core Truth: The theme of our Second Advent Sunday service this morning is expressed in one of the most elusive of all the entire world’s desires – the word peace. It is a longing and desire for which profoundly horrible and destructive wars have been fought. Entire nations have been eliminated, and innumerable organizations both large and small have worked long and hard to bring about, and yet we seem further away from its reality than ever before. In today’s message we’ll consider these thoughts about it.

Hold Fast Orient Trust Towards God Proclaim His Presence Experience Renewed Strength

Core Truth: While from a human or earthly point of view many Biblical prophecies are hard to understand and interpret because they seem to be all happening “in the moment,” whereas in reality their various elements are often separated by literally thousands of years. Such is the case with our Scripture today where a large span of earthly history is telescoped down to seem like it is all happening at once but is actually spanning or covering a very large portion of history here on earth.

Core Truth: “Christians around the world are experiencing severe persecution. The consequences for professing faith in Jesus Christ range from stereotyping and marginalization in the west to enslavement and martyrdom in parts of the east. As unwelcome as it may be, persecution is not surprising. Jesus warned His believers, ‘A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.’ (John 15:20). The strange truth about persecution is that it has an enigmatic effect: it strengthens the Church! In Romans 5, the apostle Paul encourages believers to ‘glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope’ (verses 3-4). History bears testimony to the fortifying effect of persecution.” Dr. David Jeremiah.

Core Truth: Believing that every true believer wants to please God and receive His unqualified approval when we finally stand before Him, it is most encouraging to know that our ultimate success in that regard does not depend upon our faithfulness but upon His – and that His faithfulness cannot ever change! Such confidence enables us to live truly free in Christ, knowing that while we are not yet perfect, we one day shall be – and that even then that most generous gift given to each of us will not be on our deserving it but on His unchanging faithfulness.

Core Truth: While current events would seem to suggest that due to mankind’s age-long rebellion against Him and His rule over us, God has finally turned His back on His world and left man to his own fate. However, even a brief search of the Scriptures will indicate that such will never be the case and that in fact, we – the very people living in this present generation – may well be those who are even now starting to see the ominous signs of the arrival of one of the most dramatic events in all of human history – the Day of the Lord!

Core Truth: While the world is increasingly confused and frightened as to what the future might bring, believers have no need for such fears. As Paul wrote to the Christians of his day in 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6: “But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should take you unawares, or surprise you like a thief. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.”

Core Truth: While as believers we are called to live out our faith in a very troubled and uncertain world, rather than reflecting that turmoil in our own lives, Christ’s desire is that by the power of the Holy Spirit and the sure Word of God we learn how to live above the turmoil and uncertainty as we demonstrate to a watching world what knowing Him as Lord and Master really means for all who are willing to put their trust in Him.

Core Truth: There is only one Name on which the fate and future of the entire universe and everyone in it hangs like a Damoclean sword, and it is of importance that everyone – every man, woman, and child – get to know, honor, celebrate and serve the One who holds that Name in order to not only be able to live their most satisfying and productive lives while here on earth, but especially and above all doubt, to ultimately secure the saving of their eternal souls!

Core Truth: In writing to Christians about a different subject matter in ancient Corinth (1 Cor. 14:10), the Apostle Paul said: “There are doubtless many different kinds of voices in the world, none of which is without its own significance and meaning.” In today’s message I want to borrow that as an analogy for life in general by suggesting that of all the things that invite, even strongly tempt, us to make them our life’s goal and driving passion none will ever match the call to follow Christ above else!

Core Truth: At this moment in history, the greatest danger to the Church of Jesus Christ is not the terrible storms whose clouds are growing larger and more ominous every day, rather its greatest danger is allowing itself to become a spiritual somnambulist, a sleepwalker – one who walks or perform other actions while actually sound asleep.

Core Truth: Seldom if ever will God do things the way we would expect or prefer. In fact, it seems that most of the time He does the very opposite, and it is at those times in particular that He calls us to just trust Him and not waver in our faith.

Core Truth: As we noted in last Sunday’s message, we know that the world is filled with mind-numbing examples of profound suffering and evil that seem to multiply on an ever-increasing basis, and in recent times it has become especially so for Christians. In today’s message The God of All Grace (Part 2) we will look at the age-old questions of why there is so much suffering in the world to begin with, and especially why our God of faithfulness and love hasn’t at least exempted His own children from it.

Core Truth: Not unlike the believers of Peter’s time, today’s true followers of Christ are facing growing persecution, suffering, and adversities, both in the form of some of the greatest waves of torture and death now happening on a rapidly growing scale in many nations around the world which is at its worse since the earliest days of the church, but also in what’s been called a “soft persecution” now on the rise in nations such as our own, as those same deadly spiritual forces are manifesting growing hostility and social marginalization toward people of the genuine Christian community. As a result, the Apostle Peter tells us what to expect and how to handle these new realities.

Core Truth: It is doubtful that there has ever been a Christian who has been perfectly satisfied with how well they have been satisfied with their level of success in living the Christian life and bearing the spiritual fruit that Christ taught should be the case when in John 15:16 He said: “You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you that you might go and bear and keep on bearing fruit, and that your fruit may be lasting, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give it to you.” However, our gracious and patient Lord has also given us the remedy to our frustration, and has actually modeled the solution for us, if we are willing to pay the price.

Core Truth: The problem for many Christians is not that they have not really been born again and given a brand new life in Christ by the Spirit of God (see Ephesians 2:1). Rather, the problem is that in terms of their daily walk with Him, many are living largely fruitless lives compared to what He had in mind when in John 15:8 & 16 He said: “My Father is glorified and honored by this, when you bear much fruit, and (by so doing), prove yourselves to be My true disciples. You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will remain and be lasting, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.”

Core Truth: A relentless war has been waged against Truth throughout human history. It began in the Garden of Eden when the serpent first said to Eve? “Hath God said?” and it has not stopped since. Satan’s relentless war against the truth has continued to take its toll on every succeeding generation of mankind and it continues to this very moment, bringing untold misery, destruction and death to multiplied millions of people every day, and perhaps never more so than in this present hour.

Core Truth: From our Lord’s own testimony itself, He and the Father have not left us to our own devices – about anything in our lives! And if He made it His life’s goal to get the mind of His Father on all the things that He said or did, how much more should we seek to do the same today. But for many that also raises such questions as: “Does God really speak to His children personally these days and if so, How does it do it? What does His voice sound like? And how can I be sure it is He who is speaking to me and not someone or something else?

Core Truth: Though Christians in many parts of the world are increasingly being called to remain faithful to Christ in the face of growing persecution, such has not been the case for believers here and in most of the free world. However ominous signs are starting to appear that would suggest that may be about to change, and change very quickly – which leaves us with the questions “What would it take to cause us to deny our faith?” How irrevocable is our resolve to follow Christ and remain true to Him no matter what the cost?

Do this in Christ’s love, as family in Christ, by looking to Christ.

Matthew 28:18-19
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Core Truth: It’s been said that God answers prayers in one of three ways…He says “Yes,” and you receive what you ask for…or He says “No,” and you have to accept it and move on…or He says “Not yet,” and you have to be patient and wait. All three of these can certainly be true, but today we will look at each of them in a more in-depth way as we consider the following three points.

Core Truth: Throughout the Scriptures, whenever men and women say ‘yes’ to God’s call to follow Him, they did invariably so with far different expectations of what their lives were going to be like than what actually turned out to be the case, and if we today are really serious about answering that same call, we too will sooner or later find ourselves facing that same challenge, but in the end it will always be for our ultimate good.

Core Truth: Maximizing our potential of usefulness to Christ and His kingdom while we are here on earth requires that regardless of the obstacles or circumstances we may face, we must continue to press forward and press on in our Christian walk until the day He calls us home to Himself and we get to hear those wonderful words ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! Now enter into the joys of your Lord.’

Core Truth: Despite the “many infallible proofs” given to us of the literal bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, from the earliest days following that glorious event down to modern times, there have been relentless attempts to explain and discount that unprecedented reality in hopes of dismantling the whole edifice or structure of the Christian faith and the only hope of our eternal life and salvation.

Core Truth: While Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday was met with great joy by only a few genuine worshipers who saw Him for who He really was – their long promised Messiah – a much larger crowd of religious leaders who were also there saw Him as a very serious threat to their own positions of power, and soon made sure that He was nailed to a cross in hopes of settling that issue once and for all.

Core Truth: The question is not IF the storms of life may come at some point into our lives, but rather it’s simply a matter of WHEN, and waiting until that moment to discover whether we have built our lives on the right foundation can be a fatal mistake. The wise person decides well ahead of time to build on the only foundation that is sure to last – the decision to follow Christ and Him alone.

Core Truth: Death is always necessary for any sort of harvest to occur. This is a universal principle and if it applied to our Lord then surely it applies to us. We, too, will only bear fruit that is eternal to the extent that we are willing to die to self and all its wishes, aspirations, and demands, whereas whatever we are clinging to that He has asked us to surrender will cause us to remain unfruitful for eternity – the place and time where it matters most.

Core Truth: Whether we realize it or not, every believer is called to some sort of Christian ministry and if we allow Him to, God will use everything we’ve been through from the moment of our birth until now – whether good or bad – as the “matrix” or means of shaping our lives for maximum service and usefulness to Him and of greatest blessing to others.

Core Truth: In a world which is being shaken in every sense of the word – from literal earthquakes, floods and other elements of nature, to political and social turmoil and upheaval, to violence and warfare – both here in our nation and even on a global scale, the call of our Scripture today is to remember Whose we are and how we are to live and conduct ourselves in such momentous times.

Core Truth: The storms of life in which we may find ourselves always reveal at least two important things: one, how genuine the quality of our trust in God and His work in our lives really is… and two, how absolutely sufficient Christ is in bringing us to safe harbor, even when it means passing through some of the most difficult and treacherous storms we may be facing, because His own ironclad promise is “and behold, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually – regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the very end (consummation) of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b)

Core Truth: Someone has very wisely said that “the Gospel is not God angrily saying ‘Turn to Me or I’ll send you to hell.’ Rather, the gospel is God’s Mercy and Grace saying “You are already on your way to hell! Turn to Me and I’ll save you!” As succinct and forthright an explanation as one could ask for, and one that the world desperately needs to hear?

Core Truth: If we could ever say that God faced a dilemma, it would be how to repair the awful separation from His beloved creatures caused by mankind’s willful disobedience in the Garden of Eden. What could possibly be done that would be adequate in restoring God and man to the unbroken fellowship that they had both once enjoyed? The only answer had to be in the form of a perfect sacrifice – one that would be sufficient to meet the unbending demands of an absolutely holy and righteous God while also dealing with Man’s sinful rebellion, this re-opening the door to the Edenic fellowship both had enjoyed before the Fall.

Core Truth: However unexpected, unpredictable, and even unwanted some of the changes be that God allows to come into our lives – none is without divine purpose and ultimate benefit to our success and well-being if we will…with God’s grace and help, “fix our eyes on the Author and Finisher of our faith” – the One who out of sheer mercy and love reached out and saved us and started us on our journey unto eternal life, and has promised to get us all safely home.

We must accept Jesus’ terms of surrender

Jesus is Logos in a world of chaos, Life in the midst of death, and Light in the domain of darkness.

Core Truth: “The center of Christianity is the coming of the Son of God into the world as a real man to destroy the works of the devil and create a new people for His own glory. The very heart of our faith is that He did this by obeying the law of God, dying for the sins of His people, rising victorious over death, ascending to God’s right hand with all His enemies under His feet. The second coming of Christ is the completion of His saving work. If you take it away, the whole fabric of His saving work unravels.” (Dr. John Piper)

Core Truth: God’s love for us as His children is unconditional and there is absolutely nothing we can do to lessen nor increase it, and the same is also true about His faithfulness. These two realities are among the great and unchanging constants of the Universe – as He said through the prophet Isaiah When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Isaiah 43:2-3

How does living in Christ change our mindset?

Core Truth: While most Christians understand the call to rest in Christ for our salvation, many have not learned the truth of resting in Him in all areas of our lives – a reality that once discovered can enable us increasingly to live a peace-filled life even in some of life’s most difficult circumstances.

Core Truth: Everyone is connected to a “vine” of some sort, but only those who are truly in Christ and who remain connected to Him can experience genuine fruitfulness. And it is also only those who are willing to submit to the often painful process of divine pruning who will experiences that level of fruitfulness that delights the Father’s heart and validates one’s claim to being a true follower of Christ.

Core Truth: Trying to ‘keep the rules’ and follow Christ in our own strength will – literally – wear us out! It is only as we enter into the sweet reality of knowing that because of the His finished work on our behalf at Calvary we are now and forever ‘accepted in the Beloved’ that we can actually start to understand and enjoy the reality that His yoke truly is easy and His burden really is light.

Core Truth: “The blood stands out in solitary majesty, the only rock of our salvation. This blood is not simply the only thing that can save, but must save alone. Put anything with the blood of Christ, and you are lost; trust to anything else with this and you perish. Morality will keep you out of jail, but only the blood of Jesus will keep you out of hell. Beloved, it is a thought which ought to make our hearts leap within us, that through Jesus’s blood there is not a spot left upon any believer, not a wrinkle nor any such thing.” Charles Spurgeon

Core Truth: We, Christians, have often been accuse of being so ‘heavenly minded that we’re of no earthly good.’ However, I do believe it can be empirically proven that throughout history quite the opposite is true… that the people who have made the most significant impact in this world are those who have been the most preoccupied with the one that is to come… and who would have understood quite clearly what the late Missionary Jim Elliot meant when he said: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

Core Truth: “It Is by the grace of God that a congregation is permitted to gather visibly in this world to share God’s Word and sacrament. Not all Christians receive this blessing. The imprisoned, the sick, the scattered lonely, the proclaimers of the Gospel in heathen lands stand alone. They know that visible fellowship is a blessing.” (Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

Core Truth: Trusting God is always easy when things are going well in our lives; but the true measure of our faith and confidence that our heavenly father really does know all about us and is closely watching over us comes when an unexpected test, trial, or a temptation appears – suddenly throwing us off our game, as the saying goes. We find ourselves being tempted to doubt in the darkness what we were so sure about in the light. It is especially at those times that He wants to bring us to a new level of faith and trust in Him – ‘The God Who does ALL things well!’ (Mark 7:37)

Core Truth: Sooner or later we all must come to some sort of conclusion about the fact that pain, troubles, and adversities are part of human life. As one writer put it: “If life is to be meaningful, we need desperately to find a place for suffering in it and to discover how to cope with it,” and nowhere are we given a better means of doing that than with what we learn from the Apostle Peter in our Scripture text for today’s message.

Core Truth: If there has been that moment in time where we genuinely gave our heart to Jesus Christ and are now seeking to walk with Him in our daily lives, then every single one of us is on an “unpredictably divine adventure” – a spiritual journey toward our only true “home” that will be every bit as “unpredictable” as the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the countless others who have found themselves walking the same path, and it is a journey that and only be made by walking “by faith and not by sight.”.

The Core Truth is: As important as hearing God speak to us in a way that first brought us to faith and salvation, equally important is our need to hear His voice on a day-by-day and moment-by-moment basis. Only this will enable us to live our lives in ways that maximize our personal peace, help us define our purpose, and determine our kingdom productivity, while bringing the most possible honor and glory to our Lord and the greatest blessing and encouragement to others.

Core Truth: “There was the cup; hell was in it; the Savior drank it – not a sip, and then a pause; not a draught, and then a ceasing; but He drained it till there is not a dreg left for any of His people! The great ten-thonged whip of the law was worn out upon His back; there is no lash left with which to smite one for whom Jesus died! The great bombardment of God’s justice has exhausted all its ammunition; there is nothing left to be hurled against a child of God!” (Spurgeon Sermon: “It Is Finished”)

Core Truth: “The work of the Sprit is to impart life, to implant hope, to give liberty, to testify of Christ to guide us into all truth, to teach us all things, to comfort the believer, and to convict the world of sin.” (D.L. Moody) “Without the Spirit of God, we can do nothing. We are as ships without wind. We are useless.” (Spurgeon)

Core Truth: “Those who think that a woman detained at home by her little family is doing nothing, think the reverse of what is true. Scarcely can the godly mother quit her home for a place of worship; but dream not that she is lost to the work of the church; far from it, she is doing the best possible service for her Lord. Mothers, the godly training of your offspring is your first and most pressing duty…You are as much serving God in looking after your own children, training them up in God’s fear, minding the house and making your household a church for God as you would be if you had been called to lead an army to battle for the Lord of hosts.” (Charles Spurgeon)

Core Truth: Someone has wisely said that “It seems like too many people and ministries go right back to business as usual after Easter is over. They celebrated the empty tomb, but they celebrated the empty tomb from their personal vantage point. Most people give very little thought to what the empty tomb requires of us once we accept Him as Lord and Savior, but in a world increasingly filled with hopelessness and despair our witness as to what Christ’s resurrection really means is needed now more than ever.”

Core Truth: “If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that He said; if He didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what He said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like His teaching but whether or not He rose from the dead.” Dr. Tim Keller.

Core Truth: As with Israel at a most critical moment of their national life, so today both nations … churches … and even individuals are ever in danger of missing God’s blessings and grace by failing to recognize the time of His divine visitations.

Core Truth: Becoming a Christian is not a matter of signing up for a series of do’s and don’ts that are based on our ability to perform. Rather, becoming a Christian is a matter of freely receiving the incredible gift of a brand new life in Christ – a life filled to overflowing with everything needed to please God, bless and encourage others, and live lives that will be eternal in their consequence.

Core Truth: “Present suffering is not enjoyable, but life would be worth little without it. The difference between iron and steel is fire, but steel is worth all it costs. Iron ore may think itself senselessly tortured in the furnace, but when the watch-spring looks back, it knows better. David enjoyed pain and trouble no more than we do, but the time came when he admitted that they had been good for him. Though the aspect of suffering is hard, the prospect is hopeful, and the retrospect will start a song, if we are ‘the called according to His purpose,’ in suffering.” (M.D. Babcock)

Core Truth: While we may never in this life come to full understanding or agreement on such great doctrines as those of Predestination versus Free Will, the more important practical reality is that whether we ever grasp it or not, for His own gracious reasons our loving Heavenly Father was quite intentional in choosing us to be His own, and wisdom would seem to dictate that we focus more on the ‘why’ than on the ‘what’.

Core Truth: “Unconditional election means that our election is decided by God according to His purpose, according to His sovereign will. It is not based upon some foreseen condition that some of us meet and others fail to meet. It is not based on our willing or our running, but upon the sovereign purpose of God.” (R.C. Sproul)

Core Truth: “With our initial salvation, God has equipped us – by the indwelling Spirit – with an introductory packet that includes everything we need. We have access to resources which, when utilized, will result in usefulness and fruitfulness both horizontally – in our relationships with others – and vertically – in our relationship with God. But having the right equipment is no guarantee that we’ll benefit from it. We must use that equipment properly.” (Chuck Swindoll).

Core Truth is: A wise person once said “The Devil doesn’t care how much theology you know… just as long as you don’t use any of it.” There is a great difference between appreciating Truth and appropriating it, and perhaps nowhere is this more true than when it comes to learning how to truly access what we have been given – the actual mind of Christ – the powerful resource with which to live godly and effective lives for Him while here on earth.

Core Truth: While at the very moment of our New Birth we are given the mind of Christ, it is only through the lifelong process of ‘renewing our minds’ that we can begin to understand what that means and how it alone is the key to living a truly God-pleasing and God-honoring life.

Core Truth: The things that are on our personal lists of priorities are probably not in the same order as God’s list for us. And while upon receiving Christ we are indeed given a new mind, even the very mind of Christ, it is only by the constant process of ‘renewing our minds’ that our priorities begin to come into line with what God really has planned for us, and the more we do that the more we will be amazed at the power of a prioritized life!

Core Truth: A Biblically engaged church is a church that seeks to understand and live out the God-intended role in the culture in which it has been providentially placed, ever vigilant lest it be co-opted by that culture and thus rendered largely ineffective by the very environment it seeks to serve and redeem for the glory of God.

Core Truth: If we could ever actually grasp what God is really seeking to do in us as His children and what the amazing consequences of that are actually going to be, everything would be different – from how we see our problems and adversities, to how we spend our time and money, to how in general we live our daily lives.

Core Truth: Every new year is filled with 365 days of the unknown, unexpected, and at times – if we only knew – the unwanted. However, we do well to remind ourselves that if we are truly followers of Christ we really do have nothing to fear since God has already promised to walk with us, work in and through us, and help us make each of those days useful and productive, both to our best interests and to His eternal glory, and to that end He has already given us rich gifts for facing a new year.

Core Truth: In a world that is rapidly becoming darker and more ominous – even to the point that as our Lord predicted “men’s hearts are failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth” (Lk. 21:26), God’s message of hope for a hopeless world is that in the midst of it all, He offers a glorious new and eternal future for all who put their trust in Him, and He has secured that promise through the life, death and resurrection of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Core Truth: In a world increasingly wracked by wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and natural disasters; plagues and pandemics now costing millions of lives, and the raw face of evil becoming rapidly more open and unrestrained, I would argue that the need to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas is greater than it has ever been!

Core Truth: As wonderful as the sights and sounds of Christmas are that bring us such joy and elation at this time of the year, we forget or perhaps have never even really thought about the fact that the wonder and joy of Christmas was born in a matrix of danger and death, suffering and adversity, anguish and loss at depths of levels that can hardly be imagined.

Core Truth: Throughout human history names have always carried their own meanings and significance… sometimes easily understood, and at other times rather puzzling and even humorous. However, as we once again celebrate the wonderful season of Christmas, we need to remind ourselves that “it’s ALL about HIM! And that long after every other name has faded into history – there is one Name that will stand forever and before which every knee shall bow… in heaven… and on earth… and under the earth… and every tongue will confess that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Core Truth: If we could ever begin to really understand God’s eternal purposes for every one of us who has been born again by the Holy Spirit and been made part of His Bride, the Church, it would radically affect every aspect of how we are living our lives right now… from how we spend our time, our money, and our energy, to how we use our gifts and talents in our day-to-day living here on earth as we come to understand ever more fully the apostle Paul’s declaration in Romans 8:18, ‘whatever the sufferings of this present life may be, they are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us and for us and conferred on us!’

Are you willing to be a witness for Jesus?

We should defend the persecuted because:
1. Because we want to be where Jesus is working
2. Because the Bible commands us
3. Because defending religious freedom is essential to our mission strategy
4. Because the persecuted deserve our help
5. Because we can make a difference.

Core Truth: God simply wants us to trust Him and believe that whether it comes to our salvation, our sanctification, or our service for Him, He is quite ready and willing to do for us, in us, and through us what we cannot possibly do for ourselves.

Core Truth: The scriptural truth about the Rapture or “catching away” of all believers in Christ is not meant to create fear or apprehension. Rather, it is intended to motivate us to do the work He has for us to do while there is still time, and to live our personal lives in a constant state of readiness and expectation as we seek to persuade others to also be ready for the Lord’s return.

Core Truth: There are a number of rapidly increasing signs that our Lord’s return to earth is very close at hand and that we, as His church and bride, are not to be taken by surprise, but rather are to be found wide awake and fully engaged in preparing for that incredible event. And among those signs are what is now unfolding in world events in general, and with the nation of Israel in particular.

Core Truth: How long have we "lived in the Father's house and failed to understand His heart?" The more we recognize how much we ourselves have been given by sheer grace the more patient, generous and forgiving we will find ourselves able to be toward others.

Core Truth: If we as Christ’s followers could ever begin to grasp the incredible future that has already been prepared and waiting for us upon Christ’s return to this earth, it would change everything in our lives … from how we spend our time, to how we raise our families, as to what we do with our money, to how we control our behavior and our speech, and even what we tolerate in our daily thought life. Literally everything about us would undergo radical transformation and reorientation, and truth be told, that is what true sanctification of the believer is really all about.

Core Truth: Far from being the impotent, irrelevant, and inconsequential presence that much of the world assumes it to be, when Christ returns His Church will be the ONE thing He considers worth saving and the primary means by which He will one day rule the world, and all who accept His call to join Him in His great work must understand several important things.

Core Truth: Far from being the impotent, irrelevant, and inconsequential presence that much of the world assumes it to be, when Christ returns His Church will be the ONE thing He considers worth saving and the primary means by which He will one day rule the world, and all who accept His call to join Him in His great work must understand several important things.

Core Truth: None of us likes to feel inadequate – whether it’s on our job, in our role as parents, or most any other situation we may have to deal with from day to day. However, the Bible shows us quite clearly that not only did some of God’s greatest servants experience great feelings of inadequacy, but they discovered that those very limitations were what qualified them to be used of God to do great and mighty things for Him and His kingdom here on earth.

The Core Truth: "God promises us in His Word that He hears every word that we pray to Him. Like a good parent, He is waiting, ready, and willing to listen to our worries, concerns, and needs. Whether we are seeking forgiveness, strength, or healing, prayer provides the channel to communicate with God and receive supernatural strength and power!” crosswalk.com

Core Truth: If ever there was a time when the spiritual acuity of every Christian should be operating at an increasingly sharp level it is now … as events on every front – globally, nationally, regionally and locally – are shouting at us that things cannot go on as they are … that something decisive and dramatic is about to occur and that God expects His people to be “dressed for service and our lamps burning brightly.” (Luke 12:35)

Core Truth: Because as God’s “Scattered Elect” we have been providentially sown into the cultural soil of an alien and hostile world, it is an absolute certainty that we will be “temporarily harassed by all kinds of trials and temptations.” In light of that we are called to do certain things which will help to make us strong in our faith, conform us more fully to the likeness of Christ, and prepare us to stand unashamed before the Lord whenever He may choose to call us home.

Core Truth: Over the course of biblical history, God has often used “scattering” as His method of choice for kingdom growth, and what may seem like a setback (going to Egypt, being exiled, persecution, or even a pandemic!) may be His catalysts for paradigm shifts and future kingdom growth that will have a lasting impact on the Church’s effectiveness, as well as the individual believer’s personal growth and ultimate triumph.

Core Truths:
1. Christ's call to discipleship is a call to leave the world behind and follow Him and Him alone. And though it will manifest itself in different ways, it will cut across the grain of everything in our lives so as the rich young ruler, we too are called to forsake all to follow Him, for it is then and only then will we be able to realize the freedom, power, and fruitfulness of a fully surrendered life.
2. Every person who would ever decide to fully follow Christ must at some point determine whether he or she is really ready to surrender that “one thing” which has the ultimate hold on their will and their willingness to surrender all to Him.

Core Truth: The certainty of Christ’s resurrection from the dead is THE pivotal point in human history and implication of its not occurring are profound beyond all we can imagine.

Three reasons why this “darkest day in human history” deserves to be called Good Friday.

Core Truth: While as the apostle Paul declared, by one man’s actions sin and all its destructive consequences were released into what had been a perfect world, God the Father chose to offer a way of escape and complete restoration of all who will believe in and receive His perfect Gift, the Perfect Christ.

Jesus is the Son of God, fully God and fully man. He was born and lived a sinless life. He died, was buried, and He rose again from the dead. He will come again, in glory, one day to judge the living and the dead. Who do you say that Jesus is?

Core Truth: There are at least 114 times (depending on the Bible translation being used) when the well-known phrase or idiom “in that day” is used in Scripture to mark or pinpoint major changes in the forward flow of human history, some of which will be profoundly cataclysmic and destructive, and some of which will be glorious beyond believing. The danger is not only that the unbelieving world will opt to treat such information as a joke and live their lives accordingly, but that careless believers will be caught in the same trap.

Core Truth: Prayer is the primary means by which we communicate with God, and it is not meant to simply be a way of getting what we may want or need. Rather, the reality is that God wants to be our friend and wants us to get to know Him better. And as we do this through effective prayer – prayer that actually works – we will get to know Him better, and every need will be met and every prayer will be answered, but in the way that glorifies Him and brings about our ultimate good.

Core Truth: It’s been said that a person with a theory is always at the mercy of a person with an experience, and it is fair to say that there are some things in life that we as Christians should know what we’re talking about! It is the Christian who can answer such important questions as: “Why are we here? Where are we going when we die? And, is there really any hope or meaning in this present world?” It is the Christian who can “speak what we do know;” all else is mere theory and conjecture.

Core Truth: Throughout the ages God’s people have often had to live out their faith in times of great adversity and affliction. However, their examples of doing so with such amazing peace and tranquility remains a challenge to anyone today who would also live for Christ the way they did.

Core Truth: The troubles and adversities we may experience in this life – regardless of their source or nature – are always intended by a wise and loving God to not only be beneficial to us in this present life, but also profoundly consequential in the life to come – making them in the end – far more to be treasured than the greatest of earthly pleasures.

Core Truth: Our Lord said “I came so that they may have life and have it to the fullest, until it overflows.” If we really understood how much God wants us to be truly happy – both in this life and in the life to come – everything could be different, including the ways in which we experience and process some of the difficult and painful things that may happen in our lives.

Core Truth: “Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.” Max Lucado

Why Shepherds? Because of their lowly status, their strategic place in the redemptive story, and their instant obedience and sheer delight in being privileged like this.

Core Truth: No celebration of Christmas would be complete without at least some reference to the Magi, usually as the “three kings.” However, there is no scriptural evidence that they were kings nor that there was just three of them. The larger question is – why they were included in Matthew’s account of Christ’s birth to begin with, and does their being part of the Christmas story have any significance for us today?

Core Truth: The life and ministry of John the Baptist is nothing short of a watershed moment in human history and speaks at once of the faithfulness of God as well as of His absolute sovereignty in all matters pertaining to mankind in general and to God’s people in particular.