Florida Coast Church

In Revelation 2:12-17 , we meet the Church in Pergamum, a group of Christians that one has to admire for holding fast to the name of Jesus in a city that Jesus called “Satan’s throne,” and even after one of their number had been killed for his faith.  Although they were steadfast in resisting outside attacks, they were less vigilant about the beliefs and practices of their own members, so Jesus ur...

Although the church in Smyrna may not have looked like much on the surface, Jesus’ evaluation of it was wholly positive.  He did not tone down his description of what the believers were about to suffer, but he pointed to the way to face all the challenges of life and death without fear and full of faith.  Although we may never have to face what those early Christians faced, we all have to live, an...

In Revelation 2:1-7 , we read the letter to the church in Ephesus, a cosmopolitan port city where intellectual and religious currents were always trying to divert the faith of the Christians.  Jesus commended the Ephesian Christians for standing firm for the faith in such a difficult environment but called them back to something essential they had forgotten – love.  Although truth and love are equ...

In our summer sermon series, we are going to study the first three chapters of the last book of the Bible, beginning with Revelation 1 and then taking the letters to the seven churches of chapters 2 and 3 one at a time.  In this first chapter, we have an introduction that teaches us how and why to read the book and then see a stunning portrayal of Jesus, which serves as the base of the following l...

With the book of Acts , we finish our review of Bible history. Unlike Old Testament history, New Testament history ends on a very positive note. In Acts, Luke recorded the advance of the gospel from Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria and all the way to Rome. The first Christians and many others after them did such a good job that the gospel has reached all the way to us, and now it is up to us to ta...

It is good to have more than one person ready to verify facts, especially when they are well-informed and honest.  In the case of the remarkable life of Jesus, we have four accounts written by people close to the source, which we traditionally call the Gospels, because they record the gospel, or good news, about Jesus.  After considering their authorship, we look at their overall structure and the...

With the books of Ezra and Nehemiah , we arrive at the end of Old Testament history with the Jews back in their land after having been taken away by Babylonia and sent back by Persia.  They returned in at least three phases, under the leadership of three men – Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah – in order to rebuild the Temple, the people, and the city, respectively.  All was set for a glorious ending...

Although the books of Kings and Chronicles cover much of the same history, they have different and complimentary perspectives, focusing mostly on the time of the united Kingdom of Israel under Solomon and then the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Kings answers the question: What went wrong? Chronicles answers the question: Is there any hope for us? It turns out that there was more hope than t...

Thanks to Pastor Rick Hunter of CityChurch for his sermon on Acts 17:16-34 , where Paul had a unique opportunity to preach to a group of well-educated men who did not know the Bible.  This sermon sounds very different from those he preached in the Jewish synagogues but contains the same Gospel message.  As Christians present this good news to people of all backgrounds, we can learn much from Paul’...

Ringing in our ears from the book of Judges is the cry for a king, so we are not surprised to find that the book that is now divided into 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel answers the need for a king.  However, the process was not very neat, since there was a first failed attempt to have a king and then a second more successful one, which was not without its own problems.  As we see in all the books of the Ol...

When people read the Bible, they may be surprised to find shocking stories of wickedness mixed with stories of great faith, sometimes in the very same people.  In other words, it contains stories of people like us.   Judges reports on the chaotic situation in Israel after the death of Joshua during which a series of deliverers rescued God’s people time and time again from self-inflicted problems....

In Exodus, the focus was on coming out of Egypt.  Numbers recorded the wandering in the desert between Egypt and the Promised Land.  Deuteronomy was preparation for entering the Promised Land.  In Joshua , we read of the fulfillment of God’s long-standing promise to give the land to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  The corresponding call of the book is for God’s people to be faithful...

In Deuteronomy , the fifth and final book of what is called the Pentateuch or the Five Books of Moses, we have three sermons that Moses gave to the people before his death and before the people were finally to enter the Promised Land: one focused on the past, one on the future, and one on the present. A summary of his message is: God loves you, so trust and obey him. Along the way, Moses touched o...

Who would have thought that a book called Numbers would contain interesting stories that are applicable to our lives today?  Actually, the Jews call the book In the Desert , which is not only a more engaging title but also more descriptive of the history the book records about the wanderings of the people of God in the desert between Egypt and the Promised Land.  The New Testament refers several t...

While Leviticus makes for difficult reading for people today, it contains a simple message that everyone needs to learn: God is holy, so we may approach him only in the manner he determines. In the context of Leviticus, God determined that his people approach him through a holy priest offering a perfect sacrifice.  However, the fact that the people had to offer many sacrifices through many priests...

We left off the story at the end of Genesis with Joseph’s coffin in Egypt and his words about God visiting his people in the future to bring them up from Egypt.  In Exodus , we pick up the story some generations later when the Hebrews found themselves enslaved and calling out to God for rescue.  He heard them and did indeed rescue them through the agency of a man named Moses.  However, things did...

In our new series, “Building Blocks for Life,” we began at the beginning, with Genesis , the book of beginnings.  This first book of the Bible records the beginnings of the universe, humanity, marriage, the family, the 7-day week, work, rest, sin, and redemption.  It also introduces the patriarchs whose lives shaped ancient biblical history.  In its story form, Genesis answers the big questions of...

For Easter Sunday, we reviewed Acts 2:22-36 , part of the first Christian sermon ever preached, in order to discover what are the essential points of the Christian message.  We found that it is the announcement of events that happened, not instruction about commandments to keep.  In other words, it is good news, not good advice.

In Matthew 21:1-10 , we read about what is traditionally called the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, which set the stage for the events that rapidly developed over the final week of Jesus’ life on earth, because this event holds a key to understanding the events that unfolded after it.  In fact, Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was the event that set the other ones in motion.

From Colossians 1:24-2:7 , Dr. Jim Garretson explained the nature of the gospel ministry, applying lessons from Paul’s ministry to our situation at Florida Coast Church, reminding us to give thanks for faithful pastors, and calling us all to remain true to God’s purpose for the church in taking the gospel to others and building each other up in our faith.

We concluded our series with I Peter 5:1-14 , in which Peter described the three ways in which God cares for his people: through the elders of the church, through the other members of the church, and directly.  The letter also ends where is began, with concepts that sum up the Christian faith and life: grace, love, peace.

In  I Peter 4:1-19 , Peter continued the call for us to follow Christ by living exemplary lives according to God’s will.  Above all, we are to love each other earnestly, knowing that love functions in the church to cover a multitude of sins.

Although the original readers of Peter’s letter were experiencing relatively mild opposition from their neighbors, in I Peter 3:8-22 , he wanted to prepare them for worse persecution to come and the unfair suffering they would have to endure.  As in all the letter, God calls on us both to preach and to practice what we preach, no matter how others might be treating us.  In fact, when we endure unf...

Continuing the call to live outstanding lives among unbelievers, Peter focused his attention on wives and husbands in I Peter 3:1-7 .  Although the specific instructions to wives and husbands sounded at first glance to be similar to traditional cultural norms, they were in fact radically Christian in their placing both wives and husbands under God’s authority and motivating both by the love of Chr...

Because the early Christians were accused falsely of all sorts of outrageous behavior, Peter urged his readers in I Peter 2:11-25 to be especially careful to live such honorable lives that even their enemies would end up glorifying God. This calling was especially difficult, because they often found themselves in unfair situations that they were powerless to change, in which they suffered unjustly...