If you profess faith in Christ as Savior and Lord, live by this profession of faith. This exhortation is always appropriate for members of the church to whom Jude is speaking (Jude 3). How so? On two counts. First, none of us have reached perfection. [...]

After exhorting you and me to defend the faith (verse 3), Jude urges us to respect the enemy. How so? We must know his cunning ways, avoid deception, and serve Christ. To assist us, Jude continues his description of ungodly persons who have crept into [...]

Jude has already exhorted: Prove your calling; maintain your confession; study our common salvation; contend for the faith once for all time delivered the saints. Having set this charge before his readers, Jude gives the people strong encouragement to follow through. He does so by [...]

Jude writes his letter in the mid-first century A.D. Was Jude or 2 Peter written first? We do not know. In verses 1-4, Jude reveals his purpose. We can put it this way: Prove your calling and maintain your confession by studying our common salvation [...]

The three-point sermon is standard fare and is considered the orthodox form in many circles. As a result, sequential outlines for Bible lessons or sermons are uncommon. But sermons by the prophets, apostles, or our Lord do not have the three-point structure. In recently reviewing [...]

In 2 Corinthians 10:4, Paul stresses that “the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.” These strongholds (ESV) are fortresses (NASB), which defend a position. One of my pastors reminds us that we all face various [...]

Gospel preaching is a means of grace. God uses gospel preaching to change us and to change others. Listen to the apostle Peter. “You have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of [...]

Remember John R. de Witt’s comment regarding Calvin’s sermons, “The feature that struck me most powerfully is just their immediacy” (John Calvin’s Sermons on Genesis, Chapters 1-11, xvii). Here are three hints to help achieve this immediacy and sharpen your gospel arrows, whether teaching a [...]

We take it for granted, “Actions speak louder than words.” This aphorism is true in public speaking too. That is, what we do while we are speaking is as important as the actual words we say, perhaps even more important . The force and impact [...]

A folded paper airplane hits a tree trunk, bounces back, and falls to the ground. By contrast, a sharp pointed arrow has penetrating power. In teaching and preaching, it is this “penetrating quality” that makes a gospel message effective (W.G.T. Shedd, Homiletics, 84). On one [...]