Topic
Theodicy
3 sermons · All topics
Live Stream - January 08, 2023
Ecclesiastes 8:10–17 confronts the believer with one of the sharpest enigmas of a fallen world: the wicked die unpunished, the righteous suffer unjustly, and God's judgment appears indefinitely delayed. The preacher argues that Solomon's response is not philosophical resignation but two concrete imperatives — fear God and enjoy what God gives — grounded in covenant trust rather than in sight. The sermon closes by pressing the theological significance of God's delayed judgment: without it there is no gospel, no day of grace, and no salvation for elect sinners who would otherwise have perished in their first sin.
The Prophet's Refuge
Habakkuk 3:17–19 — a confession of joy in God amid total material destitution — is only fully appreciable when the prophet's historical and theological context is understood. Preaching through the book's three-chapter arc, this sermon traces Habakkuk's movement from perplexed dialogue with God, through a deliberate rehearsal of God's past mighty acts, to a resolute refuge in the Lord independent of all outward circumstances. The linchpin is Habakkuk 2:4 — 'the justified by faith shall live by his steadfast trust in the living God' — which grounds the prophet's joy not in divine provision of health or prosperity but in God himself. The sermon calls believers to build a theological foundation in their souls now, so that when calamity comes, the resolution of Habakkuk 3:18 is already settled.
The Prayer of Habakkuk
Habakkuk 3 moves from prophetic complaint to confident worship through prayer and the deliberate rehearsal of God's mighty acts in redemptive history. This expository treatment traces three movements in the chapter: the prophet's prayer (vv. 1–2), his contemplative collage of God's historical deeds (vv. 3–15), and his response of reverential awe and joyful devotion despite impending calamity (vv. 16–19). The sermon presses home that the justified by faith must live by steadfast trust in God — not because He supplies health, wealth, and prosperity, but because He is Lord, and in having Christ the believer has everything.