The Antichrist [Watch Sermon]
From the "The Next Seven Great Events" series
Preached on May 18 & 19, 2013
by Matthew Ross
Summing up everything that I was taught from elementary school through college is a dizzying prospect. While the broad strokes of what I was taught remain largely in tact, many of the little details that I learned along the way have long since disappeared. The lessons that had the biggest impact on me were not related to academics; they were related to the social aspect of my junior high years. While everyone has his or her own experiences from junior high, we can probably all agree that it is a very socially confusing time.
The whole of my junior high career came down to one thing (socially, at least): being cool. Whether it was saying the right thing, bringing the right lunch or wearing the right clothes, everything that I did or didn’t do during those three years was a calculated risk in order to be cooler. But not everything that I liked to do was considered to be popular, and I quickly realized that, if something was important to me, I would have to stand up for it at some point. Doing so would cost me something.
Granted, my popularity as an eighth grader is hardly a big deal, but at the time it was incredibly important to me. The lesson that it taught me is one that has been proven over and over again. Standing up for the things and people whom you care about will not always be popular; it can even bring scorn and ridicule at times. Nowhere is that more true than being a Christian and standing up for Christ and what you believe. We live in a time when being a Christian is less and less popular. I encourage you to keep your eyes on Jesus and stand up for Christ. When you do, his resurrection power will flow into your life, and you will be amazed at what he will accomplish through your willingness to stand up for him.
Reflections of Mom [Watch Sermon]
Preached on May 11 & 12, 2013
by Matthew Ross
Abraham Lincoln once said, “I remember my mother's prayers, and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.” This past weekend, we celebrated Mother’s Day at Calvary Church, and I found myself thinking about what this holiday means to me and to my mom. The more I have gotten older and have seen what it means to be a parent and have realized the sacrifice and love that goes into it, the more I have become glad that we have a day like Mother’s Day.
I admit that parenting is something that I have a hard time imagining doing. Maybe it is because, as a kid, I had that knack for finding trouble or because I could never seem to sit down or do anything without being the center of attention. Perhaps I just have a hard time seeing myself as a dad and being responsible for raising a child. Don’t get me wrong—I love kids, and kids usually love me. I love being goofy and have no problem relating to them (that could be a good or bad thing). Parenting is something that I have always watched with a healthy degree of awe and with fond memories of my parents.
As Pastor Steve said this weekend, we recognize that Mother’s Day can be a bitter day for some. He said that, if God does not give you the gift of a loving mother, he will always give you the grace to live in wholeness and joy. We at Calvary Church remember you and are praying for you. If you have the ability to show your mom or a mother figure in your life how much they mean to you, I encourage you to do that this week. Whether that involves making an extra phone call or taking some time from your schedule to visit her, make time this week to do something out of the ordinary and let her know how much she means to you.
The Battle to be Positive [Watch Sermon]
From the "The Next Seven Great Events" series
Preached on May 4 & 5, 2013
by Matthew Ross
Let’s pretend for a moment that you are the one who comes up with the definitions for the words in Webster’s Dictionary. Let’s also pretend that you are given the chance to redefine the word rejection. How would you define it? In Matthew 24:9, Jesus actually gives us one definition of what rejection will look like when he says that we will be hated by all of the nations for his name’s sake. He is not saying that we will be hated for how we dress or for our taste in music; he is saying that we will be hated because we represent Christ to the world. I don’t know about you, but rejection always seems to hurt the most when I am being rejected because of who I am—not because of anything that I said or did. No matter how hard I try, sometimes people reject me for no rational reason. There is nothing that I can do about it. Rejection is not a good feeling.
If rejection is something that we will all have to face, then why did Jesus take time to give us such a clear message of what to expect? Yes, it is comforting to know that God knows that we will face rejection, and it’s comforting to know that he is right there with us when we do face rejection, but that is not all that Jesus is saying in Matthew 24:9. What he goes on to say is how to handle rejection when we do experience it. First, talk about it. We have all experienced rejection before and will probably experience it again, but there is no reason to pretend that it doesn’t hurt. The Bible is full of examples of people who were rejected and abused but did not pretend that it never happened. They took to God the hurt and anger that were there.
This week, think about one or two of those times when you felt very hurt and rejected. Then take them to God. The enemy wants to use those feelings of rejection to get you to give up, stop moving forward and lose sight of the victory that comes when you let God turn those moments of rejection into moments of victory in your life. God is bigger than your moments of rejection and anger, but you have to stay focused on him and know that you are here for a reason. The enemy wants you to lose sight of that and give up and hide. Remember that, when you take those feelings of rejection to God and keep moving forward with your eyes on him, you will be victorious.
Israel in Prophecy
From the "The Next Seven Great Events" series
Preached on April 27 & 28, 2013
by Matthew Ross
I often strike up conversations with strangers when I am in public and waiting for something. Something just feels awkward about standing in silence next to strangers, so I usually try to start up a conversation. At some point during this conversation, we typically end up talking about what we do for a living. This part always interests me because, when they hear that I work at a church, they usually have a strong reaction. They are either excited and relieved that we have something in common, or they are unsure of what to say because they might not have a great opinion of Christians or the Church.
Over the years, this has led me to realize that nothing will draw the spotlight to you and how you act faster than saying that you are a Christian. All of those little things that they might have seen you do suddenly matter (like holding the door open for someone, being short with a waitress or giving the mom with the screaming kids a dirty look). Once they know that you are a Christian, you go from being just another person that they probably wouldn’t have noticed to being yet another reason why their opinion of the Church and Christians is right or wrong. The world is constantly watching and evaluating the Church and asking whether our actions match what we say that we believe—especially when times get hard.
This week, I encourage you to ask God to make you aware of those moments when your words or actions can draw people toward God or push them away. It is easy to get busy and assume that you’re flying under the radar and that no one is watching you. The truth is that sometimes the biggest impact you can have on someone’s life is what you do when you think that no one is watching.
It’s Only Just Begun [Watch Sermon]
From the "The Next Seven Great Events" series
Preached on April 20 & 21, 2013
by Matthew Ross
When it comes to end times prophecy in the Bible, there are some key words that grab our attention. These are words like the rapture, second coming and tribulation. I don’t know when you might have heard any of these words for the first time, but I heard them at a fairly young age. Having spent most of my time either in school or at church, it didn’t take long for me to hear my first sermon about the end times and everything that goes with it. It also didn’t help that, as soon as I was old enough, I read the “Left Behind” series and books by Frank Peretti. All of these books deal with life right before or after the rapture. I admit that reading these books left me with a somewhat inaccurate view of what the end times will be like … at least I assume that they are inaccurate.
Out of all of the big words that I grew up hearing, one word bothered me the most: tribulation. It bothered me partly because, as a kid, I had no frame of reference for understanding what it would feel like, and the dictionary definition never felt like anything I could relate to. As the years went by, I began to understand more and more about the different emotions that are wrapped in the tribulation, like fear, uncertainty, helplessness and pain. But it wasn’t until my last year or two in college that I realized what really gives tribulation its weight. It’s panic.
Panic can cause all sorts of reactions in people. It will make some try to fight it, some try to dodge it and others just want to sit down and give up. What Jesus is saying in Matthew 24 is that there are things that will happen in the world that we cannot control. There will be chaos and fear, but don’t give in to panic. When you give in to panic, your emotions and imagination begin to make the decisions for you, and you become vulnerable to the enemy.
This week, I encourage you to take some time to ask yourself if you tend to react or respond. Do you feel like you walk around with a constant sense of fear of what tomorrow will bring? If so, take those things to God and ask him to give you his peace that passes all understanding and help you to start to respond to things rather than react to them.