1. An Overview of 1 Peter- The author is Peter.- It was written in AD 64-65, right around the time that Nero burned Rome.- Persecution was increasing and Peter was writing to believers to remind them of their hope in the midst of difficulties. 2. We are Exiles- Chosen – Jesus does the saving!- Exiles – We live between two worlds and don’t fit in.- Instead of conforming to culture, we are called to be different. 3. Redemption is a Triune Activity - Verse 2 shows us that redemption is a Triune act...
Jan 16, 2023•7 min•Season 2Ep. 559
1. Act Like You Know What You are Talking About- A main theme in 1 Peter is that we should be living hope-filled lives in a hopeless world.- Peter’s presupposition is that we will be living in such a way that nonbelievers will want to ask about the hope we have. 2. Actually Know What You are Talking About- We need to be able to articulate our faith!- Focus on answering two questions:- Why do you love Jesus?- How did he change your life? 3. Win People, Not Arguments- We persuade with gentleness a...
Jan 09, 2023•34 min•Season 2Ep. 558
Taking the Lord’s Supper was how we decided to start off 2023. What a blessing to be a part of the Tabernacle family! We are certain the Lord still has great things to do to us and through us!
Jan 04, 2023•18 min•Season 2Ep. 557
1. There is a Scarlet Thread through Scripture- Every story in Scripture whispers Christ’s name- The common theme that brings all of the Bible together is the atonement 2. Foreshadowing Swaddling Bands- There is a repetition of the idea of Jesus being wrapped in cloths in both verses 7 and 12- When something is repeated that closely in Scripture, it means we should pay attention!- The lambs used for sacrifices in the temple were raised in Bethlehem! 3. Jesus was Born to Die and his Death Gives u...
Jan 04, 2023•15 min•Season 2Ep. 556
1. God can Turn your Marks of Sin into Memorials of Grace- It’s not a license to sin, or a reward for sin, but we often grow in grace when we are disciplined.- Zechariah had nine months to reflect on God’s promise to him. - Meditate on God’s Word in the midst of difficult times! 2. Jesus is our Horn of Salvation - What does that mean? Not a horn that you blow. - Psalm 92:9-10 gives us a picture of what it stood for: Weapon!- There are only two instances of the phrase “horn of salvation” in the O...
Dec 20, 2022•29 min•Season 2Ep. 555
1. Angelic Pronouncements- Mary is given the news that completely flips her world upside down- He is called Immanuel – God with us! (Isaiah 7:14) 2. How Can This Be?- The angel has to explain to Mary about the Virgin Birth – an incredibly important doctrine forbelievers- Gabriel’s final words? Nothing is impossible with God! 3. Working In before Working Through- Though she doesn’t understand, Mary submits to God’s will- God also works in Elizabeth and her unborn child, John the Baptist- Mary res...
Dec 12, 2022•30 min•Season 2Ep. 554
1. Breaking the Silence- God speaks after 400 years of silence- God correlates this announcement through Gabriel with Malachi 4. 2. Is this Really True?- Just like Zechariah, our initial response can often be doubt- Make no doubt about it, Luke’s gospel was right on, declaring he had done the work; therefore, what he is writing and telling, is completely accurate. What you believe and what others have taught you is accurate! 3. How Should We Respond?- Either we believe, or we don’t. There is no ...
Dec 05, 2022•32 min•Season 2Ep. 553
1. A Heart Revealed- There is something fundamentally wrong if we don’t celebrate God giving grace to others- Jonah wants to remake God in his own image- God is asking Jonah two questions:- Why are you doing this to yourself?- Are you sure you’ve gauged this situation properly?- Jonah was saved from the belly of a fish, but he needed to be saved from the power of sin in his life- God’s response to Jonah’s tantrum is to comfort him 2. Jonah has Misplaced Love- The same God who sent the plant also...
Nov 28, 2022•34 min•Season 2Ep. 552
1. The Church Needs to Redefine Success- Intimidating odds should not make us cower- Hold fast to our supernatural God- Success is obedience 2. Throw the Pass Anyway- If we proclaim it, God’s Word can change hearts- God humbled Jonah, and then used him to humble the Assyrians- Your lost cause could be God’s tool for greatness 3. God is Unbelievably Gracious- God has made a way- God’s wrath has been poured out – 2 Cor. 5:21- Let’s celebrate and share Christ’s sacrifice
Nov 21, 2022•36 min•Season 2Ep. 551
God is still in the business of restoring people’s lives. We can see Him bringing restoration throughout the Bible, and He’s still bringing restoration today. God restores our identity as sons and daughters of the King. We are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. God restores our calling. Identity should naturally lead to activity because we are God’s ambassadors on earth. When your “brushwork” is analyzed, do people see the marks of Jesus in you?
Nov 14, 2022•34 min•Season 2Ep. 550
What is it going to take for us to cry out to God? We need to realize that even in the depths, God is still in control! When we encounter ourselves in the depths, this can be the result of two things: the reality of living in a broken world or a consequence of our sin. In the depths, we realize we are helpless and hopeless without God. Just like Jonah realized that in the past and cried out to God, the same truth is for us today. Without the Lord we are nothing. Sometimes, God allows us to get i...
Nov 07, 2022•27 min•Season 2Ep. 549
Are you a blessing or a barrier to the people around you? Jonah was a barrier to the people on the ship. He almost killed them all, however, God is sovereign. Like the sailors paddling for shore, any effort to save others apart from God falls short. In his providence, God used Jonah’s warped witness to lead these pagan sailors to worship Him. We must understand that our most important citizenship is not of this world and that there is always going to be collateral damage when we disobey God, so ...
Nov 01, 2022•36 min•Season 2Ep. 548
When is the last time you meditated on the fact that the Creator of the universe speaks to us? If our Creator speaks, we should listen to Him. There are only two responses when God speaks: obedience or rebellion. Jonah rebelled. He was fearful of his enemies and had a difficult time understanding why God cared for the Ninevites. Just like God has spoken to Jonah, he has spoken to us. Are you going to obey or rebel when He speaks? It is our job to obey, even when we do not understand all the reas...
Oct 24, 2022•33 min•Season 2Ep. 547
In Dr. Zach Crook’s first sermon as Tabernacle Lead Pastor, he talked about Esther’s story in Est 4:11-16. 1. God knows what He’s doing. God is sovereign and doesn’t make mistakes. So, whatever you are walking through, you have to trust that God is allowing it to happen 2. We need to get ready. If you just come to church once a week, you won’t be ready! It’s daily getting in his Word and praying! 3. Trust God with the results. Esther was saying that being obedient to God, even if it leads to an ...
Oct 17, 2022•33 min•Season 2Ep. 546
Who are you ultimately trying to please? Don’t you long for the Master to say upon His return, “Well done, good and faithful servant? But you might say, “It’s too late.” No, it is not. You can decide that you are going to accept what you’ve been given and quit griping about what you don’t have. You can decide that you are going to invest what you’ve been entrusted, as you discover what God has placed in your hand. Understand that one day the Master is coming back, and you will give an account fo...
Oct 10, 2022•37 min•Season 2Ep. 545
Do you think you’re paying good money to watch what goes on up here week after week at church? Sadly, that’s what many church attendees believe; but that’s not the way God designed the church. Some Christians consider themselves followers of Christ and even members of Tabernacle, but they feel like they are on the sidelines of what God is doing in the church, and desperately want to be a part of what God is doing. On the other hand, there are some people that have been sitting on the sidelines j...
Oct 04, 2022•38 min•Season 2Ep. 544
Paul in this letter is combating heresy in the church and people who have distorted the image of Jesus. Paul loves this church dearly and cares for their spiritual maturity and well-being. Paul’s response doesn’t attack or spend time critiquing the wrong view, rather Paul draws people to worship the risen Savior by showing Jesus in His supremacy, power, and beauty. Colossians 1:15-20 will present to us the most essential truth of the Christian faith. Christianity is centered on Christ being God ...
Sep 26, 2022•45 min•Season 2Ep. 543
This is the first sermon of now, our Lead Pastor, Dr. Zach Crook preached at Tabernacle.
Sep 26, 2022•33 min•Season 2Ep. 542
God has wired us all with a need for other people; for community. But what is biblical community? Biblical community is a small gathering of people for Bible study, ministry, and accountability. When it comes to biblical community, just attending a worship service like this doesn’t put you in community. It’s difficult to experience community within a large group like this. Being in community means that you know others and are known by others. You serve and are being served by others. You love an...
Sep 12, 2022•29 min•Season 2Ep. 541
Genesis 1:1 is the most well-known verse in the Bible. Here we see the God Code for humanity, where, God, the Creator of the whole universe presents Himself as the Intelligent Designer who designed the entire universe.
Sep 06, 2022•36 min•Season 2Ep. 540
God shows us in Psalm 1 that the person who delights in the Lord will be given a life of joy, delight, happiness, and a full soul. The life of blessing is the life lived in the Word of God and in the Presence of God. Trust God and delight in the Word and you will have His blessings lavished on your life. Trust yourself and the council of the wicked and you will receive the punishment and wrath of God.
Aug 30, 2022•44 min•Season 2Ep. 539
This morning, Carlos Oliveira talked about Heaven: 1. What is Heaven?2. What will life be like in Heaven?3. What happens next?
Aug 22, 2022•38 min•Season 2Ep. 538
Many Christians don’t exercise the spiritual discipline of reading God’s word, so what can you do to have such a hunger for the Word of God to the point that you couldn’t imagine living a day without feeding on it? In 1 Peter 2:1-3, the Apostle Peter is equating a hunger or longing for the Word of God with a newborn infant hungering for milk. Using that analogy, if you want to hunger for the Word of God, you have to:1) Experience God – taste and see that He is good! Confess Christ as Lord and Sa...
Aug 15, 2022•44 min•Season 2Ep. 537
Would you wish your life in Christ on anyone else? In other words, is your life in Christ so exhilarating and fulfilling to the point where you would want EVERYONE to know about it and have the opportunity to experience it? Or do you see your Christian life as a burden, to where you wouldn’t wish it on ANYONE? Consistency and persistence are two crucial characteristics we need to have when we pray. Being consistent means that prayer has become a part of your life. It means constantly adhering to...
Aug 08, 2022•32 min•Season 2Ep. 536
Some people are hopeless all the time, more than hopeless, they are complainers. However, most people are not necessarily without hope all the time. Instead, when they go through some tough seasons in their lives, they feel hopeless and feel like nothing is ever going to change. Hopelessness is difficult especially because it is always related to pain and hardship. It is like a part of the package. Hopelessness, pain, and hardship. When we feel hopeless we can only focus on the negative things t...
Aug 01, 2022•30 min•Season 2Ep. 535
We wonder why the church is powerless in our day against society. It’s because we try to keep one foot in society and one foot in the Gospel, however, the Gospel is a radical call for commitment and selflessness. We are all full-time missionaries and stewards of the Gospel. Don’t fall asleep because that’s the reason why we were created, to live for God 24/7 and to be like Jesus Christ in our daily lives.
Jul 25, 2022•29 min•Season 2Ep. 534
When it comes to the discipline of prayer, the conversation we find in Luke 11 is fascinating. Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." The disciples didn’t ask Jesus to show them how to perform miracles. They asked Him to show them how to pray. Why? They already KNEW how to pray. Every Jew knew how to pray. Maybe because something always happened on the heels of Jesus praying. Perhaps th...
Jul 18, 2022•53 min•Season 2Ep. 533
In Matthew 11:28-30 we see the gentleness and kindness of Christ towards us. Jesus gives us the invitation to come to Him and the promise that if we come to Him, we will find rest. In the kindness of Christ, our souls can find rest and enjoy the life God has set before us because we are no longer burdened by things we cannot control. Free from the anxious worry and burden of the eternal resting place of our souls we can enjoy the life set before us and have true happiness and peace.
Jul 12, 2022•40 min•Season 2Ep. 532
The world operates on a principle of unforgiveness and retribution. We see this play out constantly on the news where people are assaulted or killed for something they said or did. Then follows the cycle of unforgiveness, hatred, and revenge. We see the devastating results of unforgiveness all the time. One gang at war with another gang. One race hating another race. Former friends who now can’t stand to be in the same room. A family who once shared sweet fellowship is now divided. Such is the w...
Jul 05, 2022•41 min•Season 2Ep. 531
Have you ever picked up a cup filled with coffee expecting it to be hot, only to find it cold or lukewarm? What did you do or what were you tempted to do? Probably spit it out. Have you ever picked up a Coke or a Dr. Pepper, expecting it to be ice cold and bubbly, only to find it hot or lukewarm and flat? What did you do or what were you tempted to do? Probably spit it out. Why? Because lukewarm coffee and lukewarm coke are not ideal. THAT’S what Jesus is communicating to this church in Laodicea...
Jun 20, 2022•32 min•Season 2Ep. 530
