Sermons About Repent
The Church of Thyratira: Revelation 2:18-28
In America, most of us have not been physically threatened for our faith. However, like the church at Thyratira, I would argue that most of our greatest temptations to compromise stem from either economic or social pressures. The church today is radically tempted to compromise by valuing the same things that the culture around us values. We serve a God who calls us to consider everything rubbish in order that we might gain Christ and be found in him. We cannot cling to the values of this world and still hold fast to the righteousness of our savior. Jesus offers us himself. Jesus calls us live lives of repentance, constantly letting go of our sin and clinging to his blood, shed on the cross for our sin, to forgive us and give us his perfect righteousness.
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Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue
The second sermon in a series from the Christian Church of Clarendon Hills.
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Change Deals With the Idols of the Heart
The elders of Israel were steeped in idolatry. One day they came to the prophet Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord and God made it plain that the only thing He was willing to talk about was the idols they had set up in their hearts. The practice of idolatry is far more prevalent than most us realize. Idolatry affects us at the heart level and steals the affection and devotion God rightly deserves. Whatever rules our hearts will exercise an inescapable influence over our thoughts and behaviors. Therefore, biblical change must thoroughly address the idols of the heart.
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Your Will at the Crossroads: Time for a Strategic U-Turn
Repentance is an act of the mind and the heart.
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The Church in Ephesus: Revelation 2:1-7
The letter to the Ephesians in Revelation begins with a commendation. Jesus commends the Ephesians for their doctrinal purity. They have fought false teachings and have remained faithful to the truth without growing weary and giving up. Yet, though they have remained doctrinally pure, they have ceased to be faithful witnesses for Jesus because they lost her first love for Jesus. Jesus calls them to remember the depths of their sin and how much they have been forgiven. Some of us are like the prodigal son or the sinful woman in Luke 7, and we know we have been saved from a life of sin. We have been overwhelmed by his grace, but over time, the memory fades and we grow prideful and self-reliant. For others of us, the danger is that we have never had a sinful woman experience. We may not have ever felt desperate, out of control, absolutely empty, and needy. Our savior walks among his people and he sees them all. He will forgive us if we will stop trying to be perfect and simply fall at his feet and beg him for mercy. Run to the one who, though his face shown like the sun, willingly took on flesh to die on the cross in our place.
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Preparing the Way for Jesus
In Luke chapter 3, John the Baptist begins his ministry of preparing the way for Jesus' ministry. John's baptisms were for repentance, and he preached a message of "repent or else." He didn't tell people to go through rituals, but he told people that they needed to change to show their repentance. Real repentance produces fruit that comes from a changed heart.
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Fork in the Road
We make decisions every day. Right now you are choosing to read this. You also have the option to listen to this sermon or not. It is a lie to think we did not have a choice, or we do not have the time, or we did not know it was sinful, etc. When you faced a "fork in the road" about submitting to Jesus or not - you had a choice. Even today, if you are a Christian, you still face a choice, "Will I follow Him or not?"
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