3.14.21 Babylons Will Be Judged
Babylon is the metaphorical name for the Roman Empire in Revelation. "Babylons" are arrogant, controlling, wicked, self-centered, worshippers of their own greatness. All Babylons will feel the wrath and judgment of God.
Sermon Follow The Lamb Wherever He Goes. Revelation 14. In this challenging chapter of Revelation we face judgment, warnings, a blessing, and a glorious picture of just who we are as "followers of the Lamb."
The Greatness of God and His Choice of Us. Pastor Skip's friend, Pastor Kent Murahashi brings the message this morning from the first few verses of Ephesians.
Parody and the Beast, Revelation 13. Satan- the Enemy of our souls- never comes at us "head on." He always comes as a parody to deceive and destroy. And so in Rev. 13 the Dragon calls up two Beasts to war against the faithful children of God.
Help Me Jesus. After a challenging week, Pastor Skip will share a testimony about the value of simple prayer in the midst of the crisis.
In Rev. 12 John takes a familiar Roman legend and uses it like a political cartoon to help the faithless Roman followers of Jesus see the sinister nature of the power behind Empire -any empire.
When you live in Babylon the success of a witness is not measured by the quantity of their converts, but by the steadfastness of their testimony. Revelation 10 and 11.
Suffering Repentance Salvation: In Revelation 8-9 God's judgment is played out in disaster and suffering, but the goal of it all is life change [repentance] that leads to salvation.
Rev 8-9: Judgment Rebukes Empire
Revelation is about the Church's relationship to Empire at any time in History. Its message to the struggling Christians in Roman Asia Minor: any human government that sets itself against God and the Lamb will go the way of Rome or Egypt.
The Christians of Asia Minor are battered by Rome's civil religion. Some are giving in and giving up to Caesar worship. They need something to put some steel in their backbone and some faith in their hearts. In Rev7 John gives them two snapshots of themselves.
FBC Member David Andrianoff fills the pulpit with an encouraging message about moving forward into the unknown of 2021- especially after the unpleasantness of 2020.
Sermon: Why Is This So Hard? You'd think God would make things easy for Mary and Joseph since they're doing something so important. But no. Their story is fraught with difficulty...just like yours and mine. And that's not only okay, it's good.
Love All
Like the Lawyer in Luke's gospel [ch10] we want to set boundaries on just who we have to love. Jesus' answer in a story about "a Samaritan..." blows all our boundaries away.
Give More (Pandemic Style): God wants to give Himself to us. Jesus is the example of "all in" giving that God intends for us, his people, to follow so we can in the parlance of Advent Conspiracy: Give More.
Link to sermon video
Spend Less to be Selfless
Christmas spending in America topped $1 Trillion in 2019. Advent Conspiracy's Spend Less is an invitation to be selfless- like Jesus.
Link to video of sermon Spend Less to be SelflessSermon transcript link
Mourning into Gratitude: If absence makes the heart grow fonder, it should also make us more grateful.
link to sermon video Horsemen, Martyrs, and Calamities
What if the strange happenings in Revelation are not future events but portrayals of exactly what the Asia Minor Christians were experiencing at that moment? What if Revelation is about living faithfully for Jesus now rather than a guide for Anti-Christ spotting?
Today's video message is a video message from our beloved FBC family members, Doug and Cora Person. Link to Video:
I have had two vision experiences in my life. Revelation is John's recounting of a vision he had. Today I'll tell you the story of my little visions and maybe we'll gain some insight into John's big one.
Video of A Tale of Two Visions
UNFORTUNATELY THE AUDIO AND VIDEO DID NOT SYNC ON THIS ONE. APOLOGIES FOR THE TERRIBLE QUALITY.
Link to sermon transcript: A Tale of Two Visions