Florida Coast Church

From the six hours Jesus hung on the cross, we have seven brief sayings recorded in the gospels, each of which explains important aspects of the meaning of his death for us.

After defending true teachers in chapter 1, Peter began to expose false teachers in 2 Peter 2:1-10 . With examples from Genesis, he denounced false teachers and also showed us how to live in this world.

In 2 Peter 1:19-21 , the apostle explains what the Scripture is, how it got to us, and why we should pay close attention to it.

As he approached his death, Peter announced in 2 Peter 1:12-18 his purpose of ensuring that Christians would always be able to recall the truths of the gospel.

After and because God has given Christians everything we need to live, we should make every effort to supply what our faith needs in order to grow ( 2 Peter 1:5-11 ).

Second Peter 1:1-4  contains the startling statements that Jesus is God, God has given Christians everything necessary for godly living, and we share in his divine nature.

According to Ephesians 6:1-4 , children are to obey “in the Lord” and parents are to nurture children in the instruction “of the Lord.”  That is, the gospel is at the center of Spirit-filled family relationships.

Although some adults tried to keep children away from Jesus, he welcomed them in Mark 10:13-16 as models of how to enter the kingdom of God.

Psalms 127 and 128 beautifully describe God’s perspective on children, which we need to recover, not only for our own happiness but also for the well-being of the world.

In 1 Corinthians 7 , Paul reminds us that life is full of transitions from one state to another, for example, from unmarried to married to widowed to remarried. Therefore, we need to hold everything lightly, knowing that only one thing remains.

According to Ephesians 5:25-33 , Christ’s death not only revealed the meaning of marriage, but also calls husbands to follow Christ by laying down their lives for their wives each day.

After seeing the original pattern for marriage in the previous sermon, we now look at what went wrong in Genesis 3:16 and how Christ transforms marriage on the wife’s side in Ephesians 5:15-24 . (Husbands next week!)

In order to understand marriage, we need to go back to the creation of the woman in Genesis 2:18-25 .

Because some preachers were saying that God’s grace permits Christians to practice immorality, Jude urged us to avoid their error by keeping ourselves in the love of God.

In 3 John , there is a sharp contrast between one church member who loved Christ and his missionaries and another who loved to be first.

Since the early days of the church, people have tried to deny the Incarnation and still call themselves Christians. The little letter of 2 John is an answer to them and a reaffirmation of the truth about God in the flesh.

In Isaiah 10:33-11:10 , we find a picture of trees that were all chopped down.  However, out of one stump a sprout would grow and eventually transform everything.  This picture portrays the coming of Jesus and also what he can do in your life.

In our worship service today, we received new members and baptized new believers, two of whom told their stories of becoming Christians. In Romans 3:19-26 , we have an explanation of why and how someone can become a Christian.

All agree that the Lord’s Supper is a remembrance meal, but it is also communion with the Lord and with each other. In 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 , Paul corrected errors and explained the Lord’s Supper, who should participate, and how to participate.

From several texts in the New Testament, this message answers four questions: What is the meaning of baptism? Who should be baptized? How should we baptize? Is baptism necessary?

Although faith in Christ has become more and more of an individual matter in the West, those who became Christians in the New Testament were added to local churches.   Acts 2:36-47 records the addition of 3000 new church members in one day and describes the privileges they shared.

In the last three verses of our Old Testament, Malachi 4:4-6 , two of the biggest figures of biblical history make a cameo appearance, Moses and Elijah, representatives of the law and the prophets and forerunners of Jesus.

In the sixth dispute between God and his people in Malachi 3:13-4:3 , we find the proper response to everything God was saying to them. That response will make all the difference on the day God promised to bring, a day for which we all need to be ready.

In another dispute with his people in Malachi 3:6-12 , God gave his people of that day a lesson in generosity, which Christians need to learn as well, especially as it has been transformed by the coming of Christ.

While the people cynically questioned God’s justice and longed for his intervention, in Malachi 2:17-3:5 , God told them he would be coming in judgment after his messenger prepared the way. In the New Testament, we learn who that messenger was and what God did when he showed up, which was a shock to all.