Sermons @ Hope

2 Peter ends like it began. Peter began by urging his readers to pursue holy living. The letter ends, doing the same. The argument of the book is quite tight. The content all fits under countering false teaching. The False Teachers denied the authority of the Prophets and the Apostles. So, they denied the Second Coming of Christ. If there is no Second Coming, then there is no judgment. If there is no judgment, it does not matter how we live. To counter these false teachings, 2 Peter affirms the authority of the Prophets and Apostles. It affirms the Second Coming of Christ. It affirms judgment. It urges Christians to be serious about Holy living. If there is a judgment, how we live matters. 2 Peter 3:10-18 ends 2 Peter the same way it began. Peter exhorts his readers to pursue Godly lives. 2 Peter 3:11 asks the key question to sum up 2 Peter, "What sort of people ought you to be?" Stated differently, “How then ought we live?” “What sort of lives should we live?” Christians...

Noël et Pâques sont les grandes fêtes chrétiennes célébrées dans le monde occidental. Dans le Nouveau Testament, Pâques est la plus importante des deux. Dans notre culture, Noël est la fête chrétienne la plus célébrée. Dans notre culture, Noël est moins lié au christianisme qu'à la bonne nourriture, au temps en famille, aux traditions familiales, aux décorations, aux cadeaux, aux films, aux chansons, au Père Noël et aux sapins de Noël. C'est une saison qui captive tous nos sens. Noël influence ce que nous voyons, ce que nous entendons, ce que nous goûtons et les personnes qui nous entourent. À l'église, certains d'entre nous s'investissent pleinement dans Noël, tandis que d'autres sont plus hésitants. Ceux qui sont plus hésitants veulent se concentrer sur les enseignements bibliques simples de Noël. Il y a une tension. Nous ne pouvons pas devenir comme le monde. Nous pouvons condamner certains aspects du matérialisme, du mercantilisme et du capitalisme. Et no...

Christmas and Easter are the big Christian holidays that the Western World celebrates. In the NT, Easter is the most important of the two. In our culture, Christmas is the bigger deal. In Western culture, Christmas is less connected with Jesus but more with good food, time with family, family traditions, decorations, gifts, movies, songs, Santa Clause, and Christmas trees. It Belgium, the month of December really is Holiday season. This season captures all our senses. Christmas affects what we see, what we hear, what we taste, and who we surround ourselves with. In the Church, some of us go “all in” at Christmas, while others are more hesitant. Those who are more hesitant want to focus on the simple biblical teachings of Christmas. Celebrating Christmas involves a certain tension.  We can't become like the world. We can condemn aspects of materialism, commercialism, and capitalism. And, we need to be careful, because God loves feasts. In the Old Testament, there are a lot more fe...

Lorsque je vivais en Australie, je suis allé dans un lycée français. Lorsque de nouveaux professeurs arrivaient de France, nous leur faisions découvrir le Vegemite, une spécialité australienne, pour leur souhaiter la bienvenue. Nous leur disions que le Vegemite était délicieux et similaire à un produit qu'ils avaient en France, appelé Nutella. Nous étalions une épaisse couche de Vegemite sur une tranche de pain et leur disions que c'était ce qu'ils devaient manger au petit-déjeuner à partir de maintenant. Je me souviens de l'expression sur le visage de l'un de ces professeurs après avoir goûté ce délicieux sandwich au Vegemite. C'était une expression de dégoût ! Alors que le Nutella est sucré et crémeux, à base de noisettes et de cacao, riche en sucre et en matières grasses, le Vegemite est une pâte à tartiner salée et savoureuse à base d'extrait de levure, riche en vitamine B ! Quand je pense à 2 Pierre 2:10-17, je pense que Pierre ressent la même chose à l...

While living in Australia, I attended a French High School. When new teachers arrived from France, we welcomed them by introducing them to Vegemite, and Australian delicacy. We would tell these French Teachers that Vegemite was delicious and similar to a product they had in France, called Nutella. We spread a thick layer of Vegemite on a slice of bread and told them this is what they should eat for breakfast from now on. I remember the expression on the face of one of these teachers after tasting that delicious vegemite sandwich. It was the expression of disgust! While Nutella is sweet and creamy made with hazelnuts and cocoa, and is high in sugar and fat, vegemite is a salty, bitter, and malty spread made from yeast extract, and it is a rich source of vitamin B! When I think of 2 Pet 2:10-17, I think Peter feels similarly about false teachers, as my French teachers felt about vegemite. When all you have known is Nutella it is hard to imagine anyone genuinely liking vegemite. When you ...