9-27-26 Kenwood Church of Christ Live Stream

 

JUDE: A LETTER FROM A FRIEND: Introduction and Issue 9-27-26

​JUDE: A LETTER FROM A FRIEND: Introduction and Issue 9-27-26

INTRODUCTION 

A new series

A series about a short letter

Letters are powerful!

Your letters helped me get through my surgery. 

When was the last time you sent a letter?

Why not try sending one to someone you haven’t seen in a while? Why not use our new directory?

Let us read this letter from a friend.  Let us read the Book of Jude.

‭‭Jude‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance. Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire. In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them. Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion. These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage. But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”

‭‭     Jude‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jude, the brother of James, was commonly called Thaddeus. He was crucified at Edessa, A.D. 72.

Foxe, John. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.

Jude 1:1-4 NIV

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.  Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.  For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you.  They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

Jude 1:1-4 NIV

I. INTRODUCTION TO HIS FRIENDS

A. Jude

1. A servant of Jesus Christ

2. Brother of James

B. Jude’s friends

“A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.”

Bernard Meltzer

1. Those who have been called

2. Those who are loved in God the Father

3. Those who are kept for Jesus Christ

C. Jude’s greeting

"Dont tell your friends about your indigestion: How are you is a greeting, not a question."

Arthur Guiterman, American poet

1. Mercy

2. Peace

3. Love in abundance

II. ISSUE BACK THEN

A. Not about salvation

B. Urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.

1. Certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have  secretly slipped in among you.

2. They are ungodly people

a. They pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality.

A Lesson on Grace

The boy stood defiantly. “Go ahead, give it to me.”

The principal looked at the young rebel and asked, “How many times have you been here?”

The child sneered rebelliously, “Apparently not enough.”

“And you have been punished each time?” the principal responded.

“Yeah, I been punished, if that’s what you want to call it. Go ahead. I can take whatever you dish out. I always have.”

“And no thought of your punishment enters your head the next time you decide to break the rules does it?”

“Nope, I do whatever I want to do. Ain’t nothin’ you people gonna do to stop me either.”

The principal looked at the teacher who stood nearby. “What did he do this time?”

“Fighting. He shoved Tommy’s face into the sandbox.”

The principal looked at the boy, “What did Tommy do to you?”

“Nothin’, I didn’t like the way he was lookin’ at me.”

The teacher stiffened, but a quick look from the principal stopped him as he quietly said, “Today, is the day you learn about grace.”

“Grace? Isn’t that what you old people do before you sit down to eat? I don’t need none of your stinkin’ grace.”

“Oh but you do,” said the principal. The principal studied the young man’s face and whispered, “Oh yes, you truly do…” The boy continued to glare as the principal continued, “Grace, in its short definition is unmerited favor. You cannot earn it. It is a gift, and is always freely given. It means that you will not be getting what you so richly deserve.”

The boy looked puzzled. “You’re not gonna whup me? You just gonna let me walk?” 

The boy studied the face of the principal, “No punishment at all? Even though I socked Tommy and shoved his face into the sandbox?”

“Oh, there has to be punishment. What you did was wrong, and there are always consequences to our actions. There will be punishment. Grace is not an excuse for doing wrong.”

“I knew it,” sneered the boy as he held out his hands. “Let’s get on with it.”

The principal nodded toward the teacher. “Bring me the belt.” The teacher presented the belt to the principal. He carefully folded it in two, and then handed it back to the teacher. He looked at the child and said, “I want you to count the blows.” The principal walked over to stand directly in front of the young man. He gently reached out and folded the child’s outstretched, expectant hands together and then turned to face the teacher with his own hands outstretched. One quiet word came forth from his mouth. “Begin.” The belt whipped down on the outstretched hands of the principal. Crack!

The young man jumped. Shock registered across his face, “One,” he whispered. Crack! “Two.” His voice raised an octave. Crack! “Three.” He couldn’t believe this. Crack! “Four.” Big tears welled up in the eyes of the rebel. “OK stop! That’s enough. Stop!” Crack! came the belt down on the hands of the principal. Crack! The child flinched with each blow, tears beginning to stream down his face. Crack! Crack!

“No, please,” the former rebel begged. “Stop, I did it, I’m the one who deserves it. Stop! Please. Stop…” Still the blows came. Crack! Crack! One after another.

Finally it was over. The principal stood with sweat glistening across his forehead and beads trickling down his face. Slowly he knelt down. He studied the young man for a second and then his swollen hands reached out to cradle the face of the weeping child and said, “Grace…”

Grace came to you through the sacrifice of Jesus of Nazareth who at Calvary received the punishment that you and I deserve for our sin. His back was whipped for the idols that we have bent our backs to. Nails were driven through His sinless hands for the things that we have done with our hands. Nails were driven through His feet for the paths that we have chosen to walk. He wore a crown of thorns for the things we have given our minds to. A lance was driven into his heart for the things we have held in our hearts. Truly we have received God’s grace. G-R-A-C-E= God’s Righteousness At Christ’s Expense!

Donnie Martin, Sermon Central, August 18, 2004.

B. They deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

Lord Jesus, thou who art the way, the truth, and the life; hear us as we pray for the truth that shall make all free. Teach us that liberty is not only to be loved but also to be lived. Liberty is too precious a thing to be buried in books. It costs too much to be hoarded. Help us see that our liberty is not the right to do as we please, but the opportunity to please to do what is right.

Peter Marshall, Before the U.S. Senate.

II. INTERSECTION WITH TODAY

A. The idea of salvation in Jesus is widely known.

B. The attacks on the church are often more nuanced.

1. Attacks on grace

2. Attacks on Jesus

C. Will you contend for the faith?

I read this week about a baseball game that one day took place. It seems that the Lord’s team was playing Satan’s team. The Lord’s team was at bat, the score was zero to zero, and it was in the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs. The Coach and the Lord stood by observing the game. As they watched, a batter stepped up the plate whose name was LOVE. Love swung at the first pitch and hit a single, because “love never fails.” The next batter was named FAITH, who also got a single because faith works with love. The next batter was named GODLY WISDOM. Satan wound up and threw the first pitch. Godly Wisdom looked it over and let it pass….ball one. Three more pitches and Godly Wisdom walked, because Godly wisdom never swings at what Satan throws. The bases were loaded. The Lord then turned to Coach and told him He was now going to bring in His star player. Up to the plate stepped GRACE. Coach said, "He sure doesn’t look like much." Satan’s whole team relaxed when they saw Grace. Thinking he had won the game, Satan wound up and fired his first pitch. To the shock of everyone, Grace hit the ball harder than anyone had ever seen. But Satan was not worried, as his center fielder let very few get by. He went up for the ball, but it went right through his glove, hit him on the head and sent him crashing on the ground. Then it continued over the fence for a home run! The Lord’s team won. The Lord then asked Coach if he knew why LOVE, FAITH, and GODLY WISDOM could get on base but could not win the game. Coach answered that he didn’t know why. The Lord explained, "If your love, faith and wisdom had won the game you would think you had done it by yourself. Love, faith and wisdom will get you on base, but only My GRACE can get you home."

Kraig Pullam, Graceful Living, 11/20/2009.

Grace is essential, and we can only have grace through Jesus Christ. There is no way to the Father but by Jesus.

CONCLUSION

The Book of Jude is relevant to us today. We are much like his friends. The issues of the past are still issues today. The attacks upon the church today are nuanced and center on grace and Jesus.

INVITATION

It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word.  You may want to follow Jesus.  You may want to proclaim your faith.  You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).  Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church.  If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now.  If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.  

9-23-26 S.U.M. It Up!

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9-20-26 Kenwood Church of Christ Live Stream

 

​“COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS: The blessing of hope.” - 9-20-26

​“COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS: The blessing of hope.” - 9-20-26

INTRODUCTION

Blessings

God carries our burdens daily.

God heals all our diseases.

God redeems your life from the pit.

God crowns us with love and compassion.

God satisfies your desires with good things.

God offers unseen blessings.

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭103:1-6 NIV

“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 

Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.”

‭‭ Psalms‬ ‭103:1-6 NIV

We have faith in the God who is the Lord.

We have hope.

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10:23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

‭‭ Hebrews‬ ‭10:23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I.  HOPE

Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all...As long as matters are really hopeful, hope is mere flattery or platitude; it is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength. 

G.K. Chesterton, Signs of the Times, April 1993, p. 6

A.  Hope is never lost.

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?”

‭‭ Romans‬ ‭8:24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

B.  We can be confident in hope.

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

‭‭ Hebrews‬ ‭11:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

C.  True hope comes from God.

‭‭Romans‬ ‭15:13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

‭‭ Romans‬ ‭15:13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭1:3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

‭‭ 1 Thessalonians‬ ‭1:3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

D.  Hope is a gift.

‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

‭‭ Romans‬ ‭5:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

E.  Hope endures 

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭23:18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.”

‭‭ Proverbs‬ ‭23:18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

II. THE HOPE OF HEAVEN

We know very little about heaven, but I once heard a theologian describe it as "an unknown region with a well-know inhabitant," and there is not a better way to think of it than that.

Richard Baxter expresses the thought in these lines:

My knowledge of that life is small,

The eye of faith is dim,

But it's enough that Christ knows all,

And I shall be with him.

To those who have learned to love and trust Jesus, the prospect of meeting him face to face and being with him forever is the hope that keeps us going, no matter what life may throw at us.

James Packer, Your Father Loves You,  Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986

A.  Jesus is preparing a place for you.

‭‭John‬ ‭14:1-4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

““Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God ; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.””

‭‭ John‬ ‭14:1-4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

B.  We will be transformed for life in heaven.

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3:20-21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”

‭‭ Philippians‬ ‭3:20-21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

C.  We will see God “face to face.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭22:1-5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.”

‭‭ Revelation‬ ‭22:1-5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

III. THE ASSURANCE OF HEAVEN

A.  The promise to believers

‭‭1 John‬ ‭5:10-13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

‭‭ 1 John‬ ‭5:10-13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1:3-7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

‭‭ 1 Peter‬ ‭1:3-7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

B.  The reward of faithfulness

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7:21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

‭‭ Matthew‬ ‭7:21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭4:7-8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

‭‭ 2 Timothy‬ ‭4:7-8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭1:10-11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

‭‭ 2 Peter‬ ‭1:10-11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

C.  The promise of God

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10:23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

‭‭ Hebrews‬ ‭10:23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

CONCLUSION

In one of his books, A.M. Hunter, the New Testament scholar, relates the story of a dying man who asked his Christian doctor to tell him something about the place to which he was going. As the doctor fumbled for a reply, he heard a scratching at the door, and he had his answer. "Do you hear that?" he asked his patient. "It's my dog. I left him downstairs, but he has grown impatient, and has come up and hears my voice. He has no notion what is inside this door, but he knows that I am here. Isn't it the same with you? You don't know what lies beyond the Door, but you know that your Master is there." 

A.M. Hunter, Christian Theology in Plain Language, p. 208

Hope.  The hope of heaven.  The assurance of heaven.m

INVITATION

It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word.  You may want to follow Jesus.  You may want to proclaim your faith.  You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).  Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church.  If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now.  If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.