Kaleo Church Podcast

Who is God and what is he like? John seeks to answer this question for us by saying, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God?” But what does this mean? How can someone be with God and still be God? Why does John call him the Word? And what does any of this have to do with us today? In this sermon we will seek to answer these questions and show why these truths are so vital for our lives today.

What exactly is the glory of God and why is it so special? If it is so special why do we often find ourselves more focused on other things? These are just a few of the questions we will try and answer in this sermon.

When it comes to the mission of the church to advance the gospel, there have been countless methodologies prescribed throughout church history. As helpful as those may be, the mission of the church is impossible without the Holy Spirit. Listen and hear how the Holy Spirit empowers us to treasure Jesus and call others to treasure him as well.

Why are we here? What is the ultimate purpose of our lives? When Jesus came to earth 2000 years ago he came with a clear purpose. Over and over in the book of John he talks about not doing his own will but the will of the one who “sent him.” When Jesus found himself at a crossroads he would always go back to the will of the one who sent him to make his decision. And then in John 20:21 Jesus said to his disciples “As the Father sent me, even so I am sending you.” In this sermon we will discuss what it means for us to be sent by Jesus to finish the work that he began. We will also talk about some of the obstacles to living this sort of way and what Jesus has given us to help us overcome those obstacles.

This message is about a family that has existed for all eternity and a Son who was loved so perfectly by his Father that he gave his life so that he might share that love with sinners and see them adopted into his family. Now I know that not everyone has good associations with family, but in this message we will talk about how God’s family is a place where we can find healing from the wounds our nuclear families may have left us. We will also talk about what a privilege it is to be a part of the family of God and why it is so important that we prioritize it in our lives.

We live in an age where division over disagreements can be seen everywhere you look. In a culture where unity is cheap, superficial and fragile the Bible tells us that the church is supposed to be different. This sermon will address why the unity of the church is far more important to the witness of the Gospel than what candidate wins the election. We will also talk about how Christians should respond if the candidate they vote for doesn’t win. In an age of division the church has been given an amazing opportunity to show off the power of the Gospel by living out our identity as a family even if we don’t agree about everything.

In an age of distraction how can you and I learn to Treasure Christ above everything else? In this message we will talk about why it is that we find ourselves so easily distracted and what God has done to grab our attention so that we begin to love the most the one who is most worthy of our love.

When we view the Gospel in a man-centered way we stop being formed BY it and instead we use it as just another tool for our own self-fulfillment, self-help, and to achieve our own social ends – and the message becomes – “God is good. We’re all good. Let’s just feel good and do good.” – THIS is a total distortion of the true Gospel. The Gospel is the good news that God, the Holy and Righteous Author of life, looked upon a rebellious people with love and sent Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, into history to reconcile a people to himself by living a perfectly righteous life, dying on the cross for our sins, and rising from the dead conquering sin, death, and evil so that all who believe in Jesus will receive new and eternal life by his grace and have everlasting joy in his Kingdom.

Loneliness is something each one of us has felt. We feel it when we are abandoned by a friend or rejected by a family member; we feel it when a child moves out or a loved one passes away; we feel it when we thought we found the person who would take it all away, but somehow it remains. In 2 Timothy 4 Paul experiences deep loneliness. He has been forsaken by a friend, deserted by the church, and harmed by an enemy all as he sits chained in a dungeon waiting to die. However, as lonely as Paul feels he finds strength in the reality that he isn’t really alone and never will be again. This message will look at where Paul found hope in the midst of his loneliness and how we can find it as well.

In a world that calls us to follow our desires and avoid suffering Paul comes to offer us something worth suffering for. Paul describes the Christian life as a fight and a race but then he tells us what it is that makes all the sacrifices involved worth it in the end.

What exactly is preaching and why does Paul think it is so important. Not only will we answer these questions but we will see that this passage doesn’t just apply to pastors, it applies to all of us.

In 2nd Timothy 3 Paul lays out two very different paths to follow in life. One is flexible morphing to make room for whatever our hearts desire. This path has the appearance of godliness, but it denies its power. The other path is lined with suffering and persecution and it requires us to depend upon the power of God for our very survival. This sermon will show us which path Paul chose and why we would be wise to follow in his footsteps.

In 2 Timothy 3 Paul warns Timothy about the danger of false teachers who have the appearance of godliness but deny its power. In this message we will consider a few of the different ways that we are tempted to settle for the appearance of godliness and deny the true power of God’s grace. Specifically we will talk about the danger of making the confession of our sins into a form of godliness and the danger of presuming upon God’s grace while continuing to live for ourselves.

Do you love God? A lot of people reading this will probably say “Yes.” But in 2 Timothy 3 the question isn’t “Do you love God? But “Do you love God the most.” In this passage Paul lays out the danger of disordered love where we find ourselves loving good things more than the God who made them. In this sermon we will talk about how to tell what it is that we love the most. We will also discuss how we can find freedom from the disordered loves that are constantly trying to suck us in.

Within the context of the local church, there will be some that are under Jesus Christ as their Master, while others are under the evil one as their master. The way Paul commands Timothy to talk to these opponents, can also teach us how to correct our opponents in such a polarizing culture. Listen and hear how the good news of a gentle and lowly Savior creates in his followers a gentleness that mirrors the gentleness of Jesus.

Paul applies how the Gospel and endurance apply directly to our words. There are some in the Ephesian churches who will use the word of God and the Gospel to give life to others, while there are some who will use their words to spread false teaching and death. Listen and hear how the Gospel frees us from irreverent babble and spurs us on to gospel proclamation for the glory of God and the good of the church.

Due to Paul's impending death, he wants to prepare Timothy and all whom he disciples into a life of endurance that leads to seeing Jesus face-to-face. How does endurance happen in the Christian life? It happens by remembering Jesus and the gospel that cannot be bound. Listen and hear how remembering Jesus is the heartbeat of endurance.

One of the things that Christians often find themselves wrestling with is how does God’s law and obedience and effort relate to God’s grace and mercy and forgiveness. Is the primary message of the Bible “Just Believe” or is it more a call to “Radical Discipleship?” In 2 Timothy 2:1-7 Paul helps us get a better understanding on how God’s grace and hard work are supposed to relate. We will also see how Paul tries to help us better understand the Christian life by comparing it to the life of a soldier and an athlete and a farmer...

In 2 Timothy 1:8 Paul calls Timothy not to be ashamed of Jesus, but rather to join him in suffering for the Gospel. How does this verse apply to us today? Should we really be suffering for the Gospel today in America? In this sermon, we will discuss if suffering for the Gospel is really necessary or not. We will also talk about what our motivation for not being ashamed of the Gospel should be and if the suffering that comes with it is really worth it.

Today, just as in Paul’s day, two forms of power vie for our attention. The world holds out a power found in strength that offers us control so that we can avoid suffering and gain significance. But in 2 Timothy Paul shows us another way. Here he offers a power found in our weakness for the sake of love. Rather than avoiding suffering this power enables us to endure it and instead of seeking its own significance this power enables us to consider other people more significant than ourselves. While on the surface the power that this world offers appears far more attractive in this sermon we will see that true freedom comes when we embrace the power of the cross.