Greater Than
Greater Than Death
The Greek term from which we get the word “gospel” means “good news.” What constitutes the “good news”? Paul indicated that the “gospel” he preached consisted of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, but he seemed to give greater importance to the resurrection by spending more time talking about it (1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Acts 13:32-33). Why? Because the resurrection is the primary source of good news since the good news is that Jesus is alive! Sermon Handout 1 CORINTHIANS…
Greater Than Me
Jesus made it very clear that in order for someone to be his disciple he or she must be willing to “deny himself [or herself]” (Matthew 16:24). Why? Because if God is the Greater Than then I must be willing to confess that I am not. This might be the most difficult greater than status of God for us to accept because it requires us to acknowledge that the world does not revolve around us. And this might also be…
Greater Than My Future
According to Isaiah 46:9-10, God is the only One who is able to “[declare] the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done.” Thus, God is the only One who is greater than the future, and how we approach the future demonstrates whether or not we believe this. If you believe that God is greater than the future then you have the mentality of a “so what-er,” but if you believe that God is not greater…
Greater Than My Past
The past can be filled with great memories, but the past can also be filled with burdensome baggage. As one preacher said, “Few types of bondage are greater than the prison of the past.” We may be bound by a wound that was inflicted on us by another person that we cannot forgive, or we may be bound by a wound that we inflicted on someone else and cannot forget. Either way, “the past has the capacity to incarcerate the…
Greater Than My Doubts
The Bible defines faith as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). In other words, faith is deciding that what is unseen is greater than what is seen. But subscribing to such a mentality is easier said than done. More often than not, we sympathize with the father in Mark 9 who asked if Jesus could heal his demon possessed son. Jesus answered “All things are possible for one who believes,” to which…
Greater Than the Impossible
In the model prayer, Jesus began with the words, “Our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). Why did Jesus feel the need to teach us to acknowledge the Father’s location in our prayers? Maybe He did so to remind us that God does not abide in this world, and, as a result, He is not bound by the limitations of this world. If God is not bound by the limitations of this world then He is greater than what seems impossible…
Greater Than Evil
One of the greatest philosophical challenges to faith is the presence of suffering and evil in this world. In other words, if God is good then why does He allow evil to persist? The problem with such a question is that presumes that God owes mankind an explanation for His perceived activity or inactivity. As one minister said, “we want a God that is so big that He can do anything but so small that we can understand everything.” We…
Greater Than All Gods
Scripture routinely identifies God as greater than all other gods. For example, after hearing of God’s providential care for the Israelites, Moses’ father-in-law proclaimed, “Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods” (Exodus 18:11). At the dedication of the temple, Solomon announced, “The house that I am to build will be great, for our God is greater than all gods” (2 Chronicles 2:5). The Psalmist wrote, “I know that the LORD is great, that our Lord is…