Beyond Mediocrity Blog

(Image courtesy of gettyimages.co.uk.) We must be faithful to the gospel. It is still God’s only message of salvation. Preaching the reality of God’s coming judgment is an essential element of the gospel. While many preachers feel that preaching “fire and brimstone” is a turn-off, it is essential to the gospel itself. Why else do we need salvation through Christ if there is no coming judgment?

(Image courtesy of www.stock.adobe.com.) "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming" (2 Peter 3:11-12). My six-year-old son asked some difficult questions the other night. We were sitting in the living room after supper reading the Bible together. After our reading, our discussion turned one way and then another. Eventually we were discussing good and evil. Reading the Bible and simply existing in this world reveal this battle plainly, even to kids. There is good and there is evil, and it's seen almost everywhere. My son, however, was puzzled by something: why did God destroy the evil people in the Old Testament Bible stories? Are we supposed to kill the evil people today? If David could kill his enemies with the sword, can we today? He was confused.

(Stock photo.) “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). We are always asking the question, “What is God’s will for my life?” Well, God tells us what his will is plainly in the Scriptures: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

(Image courtesy of https://www.appellawyer.com.) In the past couple of weeks, I have accidentally dented the bumper on the semi-trailer and backed into a farmer's milk house. I feel so bad for my accidents. It's a learning experience for me, certainly. Thankfully, farmers can be some of the most forgiving people.

(Stock photo)  “And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done” (Genesis 2:2). According to a 2017 study by the World Health Organization, an estimated 264 million adults worldwide are negatively affected by anxiety in some form or fashion. In the United States, anxiety is the most common mental disorder affecting 40 million people (Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 2020). Finally, the WHO found that the prevalence of all mental disorders increased by 50% worldwide from 416 million to 615 million people between 1990 and 2013.

(Image courtesy of gettyimages.com.) "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…” (Romans 3:23-24). What do the following people share in common: you, your pastor, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Adolf Hitler? Yes, we are all human, and because we are all human we also share in the same guilt before God because of our sin.