The image of "hellfire" has stirred dark imaginations and scared people for centuries. What if it could be proven that what many churches have taught for centuries is one of the greatest misrepresentations of God that the world has ever seen?
Everyone has had and will have the experience of being wrong, of making mistakes and of not understanding something well enough to properly represent it. Everyone! The question is not about what to do IF these things happen; the question is how do we handle it WHEN these things happen? Making mistakes and being wrong are never comfortable experiences, but they are priceless in their value if we allow them to be. So, how do we allow them to be priceless? When we are wrong, do we face it or ignore it? When we make a mistake, do we 'fess up or bury it? Further, how can we identify the thought and behavior processes that bring us to wrong conclusions and actions so we can avoid repeating the same old mistakes over and over again?
As time goes on, many of us will look back at 2017 and remember it as a year of storms. We have had storms of political division and unrest, storms of tragic events ranging from terrorism to the senseless taking of innocent lives, and we have had literal storms - specifically three major hurricanes that came back to back-to-back and left a wake of devastation, homelessness loss and death. It is the hurricanes, the natural disasters we will focus on today. Are these events a coded message from God? Is God punishing us for our blatant sin or is He telling us to mend our foolish ways? Now, if you don’t believe in God, could these natural disasters be a coded message from “Mother Earth” letting us know that we have messed with her precious and vital ecosystem for too long? Are there lessons here for us to learn?
Judgment Day! The very words strike fear into the hearts of many believers across the borders of many religions. After all, this world obviously does not dole out any form of true justice to its vast population, and whatever God you may believe in surely sees this and will soon balance those scales that are presently so skewed in their measure. Justice! For many believers there is a conviction that God’s justice will soon come to earth in the form of anger, wrath and fire and bring the result of a destruction never seen upon this planet! Judgment and Justice – are these images of mayhem and obliteration really what the Bible describes? Is this world in for a dark and miserable night of pain from the wrath of God from which there is no tomorrow or is there an entirely different meaning and result of Judgment Day? What does the Bible REALLY say?
The world is messed up. If you believe in God, then you most likely believe in some sort of ultimate justice system. The question is, what does God’s system of justice consist of – what kind of penalty? For generations, the majority of Christianity has believed in a hell of fire and torment as the answer to this question. However, there is a mountain of biblical evidence to the contrary. On this program, we will embark on Part III of our series that examines this evidence. We will look at some of the really difficult and seemingly contradictory Scriptures that talk about the condition of those who were evil in this life. Do they go to hell? Is there fire and torment in hell?
Christianity is all about salvation in Christ Jesus, but it is also about judgment and accountability for wrongdoing. All Christians believe that Jesus clearly addressed both the salvation and judgment, but we are widely divided on what he meant by his words. Did Jesus teach that all who do not accept him are doomed to eternity in the ravaging and torturous fires of an ever burning hell or did Jesus teach that the ultimate consequence for those who do not either now or later accept him is eternal death?
It kind of funny how there is such a movement against the Bible and biblical principles these days, yet things like “Armageddon” and “Judgment Day,” which have their basis in Scripture, are common themes in our society. Of course, society dramatizes these things way beyond the reality of Scripture, so what we perceive is generally not what will happen. So, Judgment Day – it is coming! What does that mean? When will it happen? Who will be judged? Stay with us!
We are blessed – truly blessed - to know Christ and to have the opportunity for salvation before us. In light of this blessing that is claimed by Christians, some have raised the question if you (Christians) have this blessing and path to God’s favor while the vast majority of the world’s population does not, then isn’t that saying that your God is not an equal opportunity employer? Is that a fair God? Is their question legitimate?
Judgment Day! The very sound of the phrase previews an ominous picture in the minds of most. Judgment day: a day of great regret, great wrath, great sorrow and great reward, both for the righteous and the unrighteous. All will receive what is coming to them on Judgment Day – the question is – how does it all work? Is Judgment Day really a day to be feared by the multitudes of sinners in our world or is it actually a day to look forward to? Stay with us!
In one way or another, prejudice has dominated human culture for thousands of years. Because prejudice is an internal characteristic, it is often hard to detect it until it has had time to develop and finally show itself in our words or actions. As Christians, can we be shielded from prejudice? Do the scriptures teach us how to avoid it or how to remedy its effects? Is prejudice ever a good thing? Stay with us this morning as we plunge into this wildly difficult topic and try to get a grip on a true Christian perspective.
