Have you become passive in your faith and slipped into autopilot? Cruising? Sleepwalking? The truth is, the Devil wants you checked out. He’d rather you nap than wage war for the cause of Christ. That’s why Paul gives this charge: “[I]t is high time to awake out of sleep” (Rom. 13:11). So, get up, get dressed for battle, and clothe yourself with Christ. Put on His humility, holiness, faith, and love. Make no provision for the flesh. Don’t just hear the word, but internalize it and flee temptation. Wake up and fight!

Sermon: https://churchandfamilylife.com/sermons/68ec9604d5e03e6e6150ae12

You can pay off your taxes and mortgage, but you can never say, “I’m done loving you.” Love’s a debt we always owe. It’s the perfect fulfillment of the law which must be paid daily, without limit (Rom. 13:8-10). Every relationship in our lives—be it in our family, friendships, workplace, or the civil sphere—is built on this single debt. Why must we not commit adultery, murder, steal, bear false witness, or covet? Because our duties to others are summed up in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Rom. 13:9).

https://churchandfamilylife.com/sermons/68ec9604d5e03e6e6150ae12

Crime calls for an avenger. That’s the civil magistrate’s role as God’s minister. He is not to rehab criminals, but to bear the sword against them as a terror to evildoers (Rom. 13:3-4). So, when a man commits murder, for example, his life should be forfeit (Gen. 9:6). And justice should be swift. When it’s not, lawlessness explodes, “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the sons of men is fully set to do evil” (Eccles. 8:11). When civil rulers coddle criminals, they despise God’s Word, and nations crumble. Only by acting as righteous avengers will they reverse this trend and fill their God-given role.

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Young men—go to the ant, you sluggard. Consider her ways and be wise (Prov. 6:6-8). The ant is self-motivated. She’s tireless, foresighted, team-oriented, resilient, and disciplined. She needs no boss. The sluggard, by contrast, has grand designs, but never carries them through to completion. He wastes time and money. He’s marked by procrastination, frivolous excuses, and distractions such as sports and pornography. So, go to the ant—learn from her focus and work diligently.

There's no teaching in the Christian life more unnatural to our human flesh than saying, “Bless those who persecute you” (Rom. 12:14), and do not repay “evil for evil . . . but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:17, 21). Yet this is the calling of a Christian. Thankfully, we’re not simply given a new set of rules, but a new nature—and out of that new nature comes a completely different way of living. So, when the world curses, you bless. When others succeed, you rejoice. When someone is crushed, you weep. When you're wronged, you turn and feed your enemy. This is the life of the person who has died and risen with Jesus Christ, who’s presented his body as “a living sacrifice” (Rom. 12:1).

Sermon: https://churchandfamilylife.com/sermons/68b537310d4e4f4e3cd15235

While evangelism takes many forms, the two most effective evangelistic tools are the home and church. Both are created by God and designed for maximum impact. The home is the first of these and is the place where, day-in and day-out, parents are commanded to diligently teach their children God’s Word “when [they] sit in [their] house, when [they] walk by the way, when [they] lie down, and when [they] rise up” (Deut. 6:7). The church is next, as it’s there where children regularly hear the gospel through preaching, the observance of the Lord’s Table, and through baptisms. God’s Word is powerful, and where it’s faithfully proclaimed and lived out in the home and church, it will, with the Holy Spirit’s aid, lead to the conversion of the lost.

What laws should civil rulers govern by? Since every law of God is “holy . . . just and good” (Rom. 7:12), this must be their standard. And how should they apply them? Scripture gives us three divisions of the law: (1) ceremonial laws, which were fulfilled in Christ; (2) judicial laws, which were tied to Israel’s civil life and expired with the Old Covenant; and (3) the moral laws, summarized in the Ten Commandments, which abide forever. Civil magistrates are bound to uphold God’s moral laws in every decision they make. And even though the judicial laws of Israel expired in their original form, these laws still carry general equity—moral principles that apply across all ages and nations, which they should administer with careful wisdom.

Congregational singing is an act of love toward God, one another, the unbeliever, and our own soul. This is no accident, as God made our body as a musical instrument to express love—not through a lyre or trumpet, but through our voice and mouth. Singing together, as a congregation, harmonizes the church. It’s like a symphony with the blending of strings, percussion, and woodwinds. The church blends the different voices, personalities, and skill levels together into a shared sound, a shared confession, and a shared joy! We were created to sing—not just to worship God alone by ourselves, but to mingle our voices together in unity as we glorify Christ and build one another up in love.

Sermon: https://churchandfamilylife.com/sermons/64461ba3d4535ccc4488baad