Sermons

Through the lives of Abraham and Joseph, this passage shows how God accomplishes his plans even in human weakness. Through failure after failure on the way to having Isaac, God still made Abraham the father of many nations; Joseph went through the suffering of his brothers' jealousy, slavery, and prison, and became prime minister of Egypt and an instrument for saving his family. These stories of biblical figures are not mere historical records; they are examples that show how God is at work in the trials and temptations believers face today.

The sermon stresses that the direction of believers' lives changes depending on what they choose between the world and God. When Joseph refused the temptation of Potiphar's wife and chose the suffering of prison, God set him in the seat of prime minister; this means that when believers make God-centered decisions moment by moment, God changes their circumstances. Also, Abraham's failure in trying to have a son, Ishmael, by his own will, and Joseph's forgiving his brothers and fulfilling God's prophecy, show that only when people abandon their own righteousness and obey God can they enjoy true blessing.

Because Christ bore our sins and sacrificed himself on the cross, we have received the right to stand blameless before God. But if we do not treasure this amazing grace and pursue worldly gain or comfort instead, we may give in to Satan's attacks and lose the opportunity of salvation. What is the sacrifice of Christ, and his authority, that we must carry in order to stand blameless before God, and how are we keeping his grace now?

This passage warns about what false teachers really are and the confusion they cause in the church, and describes the life of a true believer as being filled with the Holy Spirit. False teachers, servants of Satan, pretend outwardly to preach the truth but actually lead souls to destruction, and believers must keep checking whether their choices have Christ at the center, so that they are not deceived by those teachers' words. Emphasizing that salvation is not a mere declaration but something that shows itself in good character and actions in life, it points out that God looks not at outward appearance but at the thoughts and judgments of the heart.

Through a parable of two servants, the sermon explains that believers' faith makes a difference, like the amount of water filled into a jar. Even if people outwardly receive the same grace, the reward they receive on the last day differs according to their thankfulness and devotion, and the sermon warns that those without the Holy Spirit live by instinct and fall into sin. In particular, it teaches that a mature believer, rather than judging or condemning those who doubt, has compassion on them and embraces them, and that such patience and love become a blessing that in the end lets the church stand unshaken.

The sermon asks in depth how believers filled with the Holy Spirit should discern the temptations of falsehood and embrace a doubting brother or sister, and how they should transform the suffering and strife they meet along the way into something higher.

Today's passage deals with a situation in which false teachers deny Christ's humanity and salvation through the cross, and emphasize only spiritual knowledge. As in the scene where Paul says farewell to the elders, or in what Jude warns of, believers must remain in the Holy Spirit and discern evil people and spirits, whichever way the world may go. It tells us that God will do anything for the salvation of his people, and that those who persecute the church and hinder God's work will surely be judged.

Enoch is introduced as a man who, through understanding given by the Holy Spirit, prophesied Christ's return and judgment. He was taken up to heaven without seeing death, which suggests that believers who have received Christ will also have their bodies changed and will meet the returning Lord. The line of faith runs from Adam through Enoch, Methuselah, and Noah; they proclaimed the world's judgment, but were met with people's indifference and mockery. Believers today must still boldly proclaim Christ's return and judgment, and live lives set apart from the ungodly world.

When on the last day we stand before the judgment seat, before the book in which all our words and deeds are recorded, what choice will we make? We ask how we will live as godly people, right now, in order to enter the kingdom of heaven God has prepared.

This passage points to the dark reality of a world that more and more lives by instinct alone, like creatures without reason, and compares the spiritual state of people who have left God and are wandering to ‘wandering stars’. People blame others for their own unhappiness and let their character crumble, and they grow spiritually dull and indifferent even to cruel events. A heart that has left God is empty, like a house swept clean, so evil spirits easily enter, and in the end it drifts unhappily, like rocky ground overgrown with thorns.

The sermon points out that the root of this wandering lies in Satan's scheme to separate people from God. Jesus promised to give rest to those who labor and are heavily burdened if they come to him, yet people still carry the world's burdens and roam like wandering stars. Believers must lead those who carry the world's burden of sin and are looking for rest to Christ, so that they find rest in the truth, and must fight on, using suffering as a stepping stone and hoping for God's eternal kingdom.

Through Cain's jealousy and anger, Balaam's greed and pretended faith, and Korah's pride and challenge to authority, it also warns how false choices lead to destruction. Believers must reach true perseverance and growth not through the number of times or years they have attended church, but by grafting the Word into their lives, and must take care not to fall for Satan's temptations. The sermon asks how believers should live so that they become not wandering stars wrapped in the darkness of Satan and false teachers, but beautiful stars that reflect the light of Christ.

Through three events recorded in the letter of Jude, this passage deals with the importance of keeping the order God has set and each one's own place. First, it shows Aaron, Moses' older brother, humbly serving by performing miracles in place of his younger brother, who hesitated to obey because he was slow of speech. Second, through the fallen angels who forgot their beauty and position and rebelled against God, and through the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, it makes clear that those who overturned the order of creation received eternal judgment. Finally, it points to the meaning of true humility in the archangel Michael, who, even while disputing with Satan, did not pass judgment himself but respected the Lord's authority.

The sermon points out that miracles reveal a person's nature more than they change the person. Although Aaron did not enjoy greater glory than Moses, he obeyed God's will and served devotedly in a low place, and so received the office of high priest. Proud Satan, by contrast, left the position he had been given and tried to seize God's glory, which led in the end to his falling into the eternal lake of fire. It also warns that the way false teachers despise authority and slander celestial beings belongs in the same vein as those fallen angels. Michael's not rebuking Satan himself but leaving it to the Lord is presented as a model of humility that keeps its own place.

The sermon calls believers to guard against losing their gratitude and growing proud in the place God has set for them. It asks what we must hold on to in life so that we are not swept away by the world's values or Satan's temptations into the sin of overturning the order of creation.

In today's passage Jude writes to faithful believers, reminding them not to forget the truth they already know and to judge carefully. Through three events, Israel's exodus from Egypt, the judgment of the fallen angels, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the passage clearly shows what befell those who disobeyed God. In particular, it highlights the foolishness of the people who, having come out of Egypt, forgot their slavery there, grumbled against God and Moses, and tried to go back, and it warns how deadly a heart that forgets grace and is not thankful can be.

The passage points out that true faith is not simply knowing things but living out the Word. If believers give in to the world's temptations or fears and cannot let go of human righteousness, they lose the opportunity to show the light of Christ to people in darkness. It also reminds us that refusing a pastor's counsel or a brother's correction, and even resenting it, can be an expression of pride that sets itself against God. When we know the truth but do not obey it, we are easily deceived by the false gospel that heretics preach, and that is the road to a heavier rebuke.

We must look back at whether we are living lives that never forget God's grace, moment by moment, but give thanks and obey. In a life where suffering and ease keep alternating, we must become believers who are not swayed by feelings but persevere to the end and are transformed by the renewing of our minds. Today we need to think deeply about what decisions we must make to live according to God's will as we search the Scriptures, and what attitude we should bring to that process.

This passage contains the apostle Jude's exhortation to believers to hold firmly to the truth of the faith and fight for it. Jude stresses that believers must live out the uncorrupted gospel the apostles delivered just as it is, without mixing in their own thoughts or feelings. He also warns that when believers fall to Satan's temptations and choose sin, it is not a simple mistake but a conscious choice, so repentance does not come easily and recovery is hard.

The sermon leads us to consider whether believers' hearts have received God's grace and become good soil, or whether they are rocky ground where thorns and thistles grow because of worldly greed and lust. In particular, it points out that conviction about the Word and discernment are essential to protect our souls from false teachers who have slipped into the church and twist the truth, and from the temptations of heresy. Since Satan attacks relentlessly to make believers fall, it says that believers must not let their guard down but stay awake and be led by the Holy Spirit.

The sermon warns that if believers do not contend earnestly for the faith, their salvation can be taken from them. It also reminds us that false truth is a well without water that gives no spiritual satisfaction, and asks us to stand firm in the Word so that the Holy Spirit can be a strong fence around us. Finally, it leads us to reflect on how believers can keep the faith to the very end without being shaken by Satan's schemes.

In this passage Jude, the brother of Jesus, warns against the Gnostic heresy that was threatening the church at the time, and makes clear what the true identity of a Christian is. At first Jude was not convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, but after experiencing the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit firsthand, he takes up the mission of being ‘a servant of Jesus Christ’. He points out that the Gnostic claim that only the soul is saved leads in the end to moral laxity, and emphasizes that believers must live lives of obedience to the Word.

The sermon explains why believers who have faith must not compromise with the world but preserve their holiness. Because God first welcomed us, we must show a holy character and life worthy of his calling. After sharing the gospel, we must not simply share it in words, but bear the fruit of faith by being kind, thankful, and patient. Believers must step back from the world's temptations and emotions to discern evil, and lead souls by setting an example of living by the Word.

As a special people rescued from death, can we confess wherever we go that we are servants of Christ? And what decision will we make today to live a holy life worthy of God's calling?