Children of The Day | Lesson 12

Children of The Day | Lesson 12

Are you living as a child of the day—or drifting as if you still belong to the night? In this sermon from 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11, we explore Paul’s contrast between those in darkness who will be overtaken by the Day of the Lord, and believers who are “children of light, and children of the day.” Building on Old and New Testament passages about the Day of the Lord, the message highlights how our secure identity in Christ and deliverance from God’s coming wrath are meant not just to inform us, but to transform how we walk right now. Pastor Josh unpacks the call to “watch and be sober” by showing what spiritual sleep and drunkenness look like in everyday life—being overcharged with pleasures, distractions, and the cares of this world. In contrast, believers are exhorted to put on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet of the hope of salvation, living alert, engaged, and others-focused as we await Christ’s coming. The sermon closes by pressing the practical question: if the Lord came today, would you be found living in line with who you are—light in the Lord—or simply blending into the darkness around you?

Centuries of Witness | Lesson 14

What if the entire Bible is telling one unified story through two intertwined threads—God’s plan for glory in Christ and His plan to redeem sinners? In this sermon from Isaiah 42, “Centuries of Witness,” we trace how God has progressively revealed His eternal counsel “bit by bit” across the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets. We explore the “eternal purpose” thread—God’s plan to place all authority in heaven and earth under Jesus Christ—and the “redemptive” thread—God’s answer to sin and death through the promised Seed. From Genesis to the Davidic covenant, through the Psalms and key prophetic passages, we see how themes of kingdom, dominion, resurrection, and worldwide blessing increasingly converge on the person of Christ. The message then walks through specific Old Testament prophecies that sharpen into remarkable detail: the virgin birth (Isaiah 7), the birthplace of the Messiah (Micah 5), His identity as God in the flesh and eternal King (Isaiah 9), and His atoning sufferings and substitutionary death (Isaiah 53). Along the way, we consider how these “former things” and “new things” validate God’s word, anticipate Christ’s cross and resurrection, and prepare for the final revelation of “the mystery” given to Paul. The sermon closes by urging us to read Scripture with this big-picture lens, to understand where we fit in God’s unfolding purpose, and to respond with the contrite, believing heart God looks for today.

Watch and Be Sober | Lesson 11

Are you living like a child of the day—or drifting along with a world that thinks it’s safe in the dark? In this sermon from 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11, we explore Paul’s teaching on “the day of the Lord” and how it connects to the broader biblical storyline in both Old and New Testaments. Pastor unpacks the meaning of “times and seasons,” the imagery of the day of the Lord coming “as a thief in the night,” and the world’s deceptive cry of “peace and safety” just before sudden, inescapable destruction. Along the way, he traces key Old Testament and Gospel passages (Joel, Amos, Matthew 24, Luke 21, 2 Peter 3) to show how this coming day brings both judgment and salvation, and how the Thessalonians could “know perfectly” about it yet still be troubled by false teaching. From there, the message turns to the believer’s identity and calling: we are not in darkness, but are “children of light” and “of the day.” That identity carries a clear exhortation—“let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” Paul’s imagery of spiritual armor (the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of the hope of salvation) ties directly to the “work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope” already seen in the letter. Because God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, this coming day should not terrify us but shape how we walk now. The sermon closes by calling believers to live in a way that matches their calling—alert, sober, and comforted—so that we might truly “live together with Him” as we await His coming.

The Secret and the Revealed | Lesson 13

How does the whole Bible fit together as one unified plan in Christ rather than a collection of disconnected stories? In this sermon from the series “That Which May Be Known,” we trace God’s eternal counsel from before the foundation of the world into history through progressive revelation. Beginning with Babel and the call of Abram in Genesis 11–12, we see two main threads emerge and develop: God’s purpose to gather all things in heaven and earth in Christ, and His plan of redemption to deal with sin entirely through Christ, not human effort. The message highlights how God scattered the nations, chose Abraham, promised a seed through whom all families of the earth would be blessed, and began to disclose both kingdom authority and redemption in seed form—while many details still remained hidden. From there, the sermon follows these threads through the law and the Psalms, showing how the sacrificial system, the Passover, and the Day of Atonement were shadows pointing to the true substitute, the Lamb of God. Psalm 22 and Psalm 16 are opened as stunning prophetic disclosures of Christ’s crucifixion, forsakenness, burial, and resurrection, while Psalm 8 reveals the dominion purpose vested in man and ultimately fulfilled in Christ. Throughout, Deuteronomy 29:29 frames the balance between God’s secret things and what He has now revealed, culminating in our present privilege: we live in the fullness of revelation, with God’s purpose in Christ and His redemptive plan fully made known.

Sorrow Not as Others | Lesson 10

What difference does it make, in real grief, that Jesus really rose from the dead? In this sermon on 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18, the focus is not merely on the timing and mechanics of the rapture, but on Paul’s primary purpose in the passage: comforting sorrowing believers. Pastor Josh unfolds how the “patience of hope” thread running through the epistle reaches a climax here, as Paul corrects the Thessalonians’ ignorance about those “who are asleep” in Christ. By grounding Christian hope in the death and resurrection of Jesus, he shows that believers who have died are not lost, not forgotten, and will in fact rise first when “the Lord Himself” descends with a shout, the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God. The message carefully distinguishes Christian grief from the hopeless sorrow of the world, emphasizing that our tears are to be mixed with confident expectation. Pastor Strelecki explains the order and nature of the rapture—dead in Christ raised, living saints changed and “caught up together” to meet the Lord in the air—and highlights the relational joy of that great reunion with Christ and with one another. The sermon closes by pressing the practical call of verse 18: to actively “comfort one another with these words,” learning to face death, hospital beds, and funerals with a shared, Scripture-shaped hope in the certain coming of the Lord.