Understanding Christianity

In this sermon, Dr. Sean Cole preaches the first three petitions in the Lord's Prayer. Here’s the main focus of the first three requests: Our prayers must be thoroughly God-centered instead of self-centered. Request Number One: We passionately ask that Your name be hallowed! Request Number Two: We passionately ask that Your kingdom come! Request Number Three: We passionately ask that Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!   Sean has released a new book on prayer called 30 Days of Praying the Scriptures, and you can purchase it here: https://bit.ly/49XaYQN Sean has published three other books: Compassionate Calvinism: Defending the Doctrines of Grace Without Being a Jerk   You can purchase it here: https://www.amazon.com/Compassionate-Calvinism-Defending-Doctrines-Without-ebook/dp/B0FZDNLGK4/ref=sr_1_1   https://shop.g3min.org/products/compassionate-calvinism-defending-the-doctrines-of-grace-without-being-a-jerk   You can purchase Sean’s two books here:   40 Days in Philippians: Finding Joy in Jesus:   https://g3min.org/shop/books/g3press/40-days-in-philippians-finding-joy-in-jesus-sean-cole/   Your Identity in the Trinity: Discovering God’s Grace in the Gospel:  https://rb.gy/yoa223   VISIT OUR WEBSITE:   www.seancole.net   FOLLOW on:   Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/understanding-christianity/id979729949   Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5F5IniTefWZPu2DjaazxPc?si=c37f71675a6e4321   FOLLOW US ON OUR SOCIALS:   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@emmanuelbaptistchurch-ster4705   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sean.cole.16144   Twitter/X: https://x.com/sdcole  

In Matthew 6:1-6, Jesus teaches us to beware of seeking man’s praise instead of God’s glory. Verse 1 is Jesus’s main point in this section of the Sermon on the Mount, and he will give three areas of personal worship or devotion: giving to the needy, prayer, and fasting. The idea of practicing righteousness is a good thing. This is not legalism or working FOR our salvation, but being a devoted follower of Christ who seeks to glorify Him through how we live. What kind of righteousness should we practice? A righteousness that is greater than the Pharisees, which means that it is not external show or doing things to impress others, but the secret things of the heart, where only God sees, and you can’t fake it.  We should give to the needy. We should pray. We should fast. These are practices that we, as believers, should incorporate into our lives as we grow in maturity. The problem is when we do these things to “be seen” by others. Sean's new book, Compassionate Calvinism: Defending the Doctrines of Grace Without Being a Jerk, has been released.   You can purchase it here: https://www.amazon.com/Compassionate-Calvinism-Defending-Doctrines-Without-ebook/dp/B0FZDNLGK4/ref=sr_1_1   https://shop.g3min.org/products/compassionate-calvinism-defending-the-doctrines-of-grace-without-being-a-jerk   You can purchase Sean’s two books here:   40 Days in Philippians: Finding Joy in Jesus:   https://g3min.org/shop/books/g3press/40-days-in-philippians-finding-joy-in-jesus-sean-cole/   Your Identity in the Trinity: Discovering God’s Grace in the Gospel:  https://rb.gy/yoa223   VISIT OUR WEBSITE:   www.seancole.net   FOLLOW on:   Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/understanding-christianity/id979729949   Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5F5IniTefWZPu2DjaazxPc?si=c37f71675a6e4321   FOLLOW US ON OUR SOCIALS:   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@emmanuelbaptistchurch-ster4705   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sean.cole.16144   Twitter/X: https://x.com/sdcole    

Dr. Sean Cole preached a special Mother's Day sermon on parenting, based on Matthew 5:48. This section of the Sermon on the Mount started at 5:17 and now ends at 5:48 as a summary of the six antitheses. Jesus has addressed six laws or issues that the religious leaders were twisting: (1) murder, (2) adultery, (3) divorce, (4) oaths and vows, (5) retaliation and revenge, and (6) loving our enemies. These laws were all addressed in the Old Testament, but Jesus takes us deeper into God’s requirements by getting to the heart of the issue. Where is our heart? What dominates our thoughts? Do we merely try to conform to some outward list of rules and regulations, or do we truly see God’s law as not only the perfect standard of our outward conduct, but also the inward condition of our hearts? Here is the main point or central idea I want us to explore today: Parents should imitate their heavenly Father, not perfectly, but intentionally.   Sean's new book, Compassionate Calvinism: Defending the Doctrines of Grace Without Being a Jerk, has been released.   You can purchase it here:   https://www.amazon.com/Compassionate-Calvinism-Defending-Doctrines-Without-ebook/dp/B0FZDNLGK4/ref=sr_1_1   https://shop.g3min.org/products/compassionate-calvinism-defending-the-doctrines-of-grace-without-being-a-jerk     You can purchase Sean’s two books here:   40 Days in Philippians: Finding Joy in Jesus:   https://g3min.org/shop/books/g3press/40-days-in-philippians-finding-joy-in-jesus-sean-cole/   Your Identity in the Trinity: Discovering God’s Grace in the Gospel:  https://rb.gy/yoa223     VISIT OUR WEBSITE:   www.seancole.net     FOLLOW on:   Apple:   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/understanding-christianity/id979729949   Spotify:   https://open.spotify.com/show/5F5IniTefWZPu2DjaazxPc?si=c37f71675a6e4321     FOLLOW US ON OUR SOCIALS:   YouTube:   https://www.youtube.com/@emmanuelbaptistchurch-ster4705   Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/sean.cole.16144   Twitter/X:   https://x.com/sdcole  

In Romans 12:9-21, Paul gives us a great list of very practical ways we live out our faith. This is sanctification in action. And it starts with love. Never lose sight of what God has done for you in the gospel. Let that grace and your identity in Christ serve as the foundation and motivation for you to live a life of JOYFUL Obedience to Jesus out of gratitude for what He’s done. We saw the need to live a lifestyle of worship with transformed minds. We saw the need to use our spiritual gifts in service to others and to build up the church. Dr. Sean Cole continues this study of Romans and teaches this list of marks of a true Christian. Sean's new book, Compassionate Calvinism: Defending the Doctrines of Grace Without Being a Jerk, has been released.You can purchase it here: https://www.amazon.com/Compassionate-Calvinism-Defending-Doctrines-Without-ebook/dp/B0FZDNLGK4/ref=sr_1_1  https://shop.g3min.org/products/compassionate-calvinism-defending-the-doctrines-of-grace-without-being-a-jerk   You can purchase Sean’s two other books here: 40 Days in Philippians: Finding Joy in Jesus:   https://g3min.org/shop/books/g3press/40-days-in-philippians-finding-joy-in-jesus-sean-cole/   Your Identity in the Trinity: Discovering God’s Grace in the Gospel:  https://rb.gy/yoa223   VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.seancole.net   FOLLOW on: Apple:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/understanding-christianity/id979729949   Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5F5IniTefWZPu2DjaazxPc?si=c37f71675a6e4321   FOLLOW US ON OUR SOCIALS: YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@emmanuelbaptistchurch-ster4705   Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/sean.cole.16144   Twitter/X:https://x.com/sdcole    

Matthew 5:13-16 concludes the Beatitudes before Jesus transitions into the Sermon on the Mount, which is how we live out our identity as believers in the Kingdom. Jesus begins with our identity in the Beatitudes before He tells us how to obey or live out our faith as His followers.This section is a bridge between our identity—those blessed by Christ—and what we do—becoming useful to Christ.   The final Beatitude was about persecution and how the world will treat us. The word’s influence and impact on us, citizens of the Kingdom. Jesus transitions to describe the exact opposite: How we as believers and citizens of the Kingdom influence and impact the world and respond to those who persecute us. Jesus uses two examples from the everyday life of those ancient Israelites to show them not only WHO they are, but also what they should do. Are you living your purpose? Or to ask it another way: Are you useful for Christ? Here is the big idea or central theme from this passage: Those blessed by Christ become useful for Christ.   Sean's new book, Compassionate Calvinism: Defending the Doctrines of Grace Without Being a Jerk, has been released.You can purchase it here: https://www.amazon.com/Compassionate-Calvinism-Defending-Doctrines-Without-ebook/dp/B0FZDNLGK4/ref=sr_1_1  https://shop.g3min.org/products/compassionate-calvinism-defending-the-doctrines-of-grace-without-being-a-jerk You can purchase Sean’s two other books here: 40 Days in Philippians: Finding Joy in Jesus:   https://g3min.org/shop/books/g3press/40-days-in-philippians-finding-joy-in-jesus-sean-cole/ Your Identity in the Trinity: Discovering God’s Grace in the Gospel:  https://rb.gy/yoa223 VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.seancole.net FOLLOW on: Apple:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/understanding-christianity/id979729949 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5F5IniTefWZPu2DjaazxPc?si=c37f71675a6e4321 FOLLOW US ON OUR SOCIALS: YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@emmanuelbaptistchurch-ster4705 Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/sean.cole.16144 Twitter/X:https://x.com/sdcole

Romans 1-11 teaches what God has done for us in the gospel and focuses totally on our identity in Christ. Paul spent a lot of time on justification by faith and what God the Father has done to save us. He focuses on our election and God’s grace and how, from first to last, God has rescued us as guilty sinners by sending Jesus to die in our place. The mercies of God in chapters 1-11 of Romans are the totality of what God has done for us in His sovereign grace in making us a new creation in Christ. In essence, what Paul is saying is that in light of all that God has done for us in making us this new creation in Christ, in light of this wonderful identity we have in Christ, and in light of the rich mercies of God as our foundation and our motivation, we are in turn, called to present our bodies as living sacrifices in lives of worship back to God.   Sean's new book, Compassionate Calvinism: Defending the Doctrines of Grace Without Being a Jerk, has been released.You can purchase it here: https://www.amazon.com/Compassionate-Calvinism-Defending-Doctrines-Without-ebook/dp/B0FZDNLGK4/ref=sr_1_1 https://shop.g3min.org/products/compassionate-calvinism-defending-the-doctrines-of-grace-without-being-a-jerk   You can purchase Sean’s two other books here:   40 Days in Philippians: Finding Joy in Jesus:   https://g3min.org/shop/books/g3press/40-days-in-philippians-finding-joy-in-jesus-sean-cole/   Your Identity in the Trinity: Discovering God’s Grace in the Gospel:  https://rb.gy/yoa223     VISIT OUR WEBSITE:   www.seancole.net     FOLLOW on:   Apple:   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/understanding-christianity/id979729949   Spotify:   https://open.spotify.com/show/5F5IniTefWZPu2DjaazxPc?si=c37f71675a6e4321     FOLLOW US ON OUR SOCIALS:   YouTube:   https://www.youtube.com/@emmanuelbaptistchurch-ster4705   Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/sean.cole.16144   Twitter/X:   https://x.com/sdcole  

Dr. Sean Cole continues through the Beatitudes. Here is the main point or big idea of this Beatitude: A heart purified BY Christ leads to deeper fellowship WITH Christ. This sermon asks three questions of this passage of Scripture. First of all, what does Jesus mean when He speaks about the heart? Second, what does it mean to be pure in heart? Third, what does it really mean that we will see God? Sean's new book, Compassionate Calvinism: Defending the Doctrines of Grace Without Being a Jerk, has been released.You can purchase it here: https://www.amazon.com/Compassionate-Calvinism-Defending-Doctrines-Without-ebook/dp/B0FZDNLGK4/ref=sr_1_1 https://shop.g3min.org/products/compassionate-calvinism-defending-the-doctrines-of-grace-without-being-a-jerk You can purchase Sean’s two books here:   40 Days in Philippians: Finding Joy in Jesus:   https://g3min.org/shop/books/g3press/40-days-in-philippians-finding-joy-in-jesus-sean-cole/   Your Identity in the Trinity: Discovering God’s Grace in the Gospel:  https://rb.gy/yoa223     VISIT OUR WEBSITE:   www.seancole.net     FOLLOW on:   Apple:   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/understanding-christianity/id979729949   Spotify:   https://open.spotify.com/show/5F5IniTefWZPu2DjaazxPc?si=c37f71675a6e4321     FOLLOW US ON OUR SOCIALS:   YouTube:   https://www.youtube.com/@emmanuelbaptistchurch-ster4705   Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/sean.cole.16144   Twitter/X:   https://x.com/sdcole

Sean's new book, Compassionate Calvinism: Defending the Doctrines of Grace Without Being a Jerk, has been released.You can purchase it here: https://www.amazon.com/Compassionate-Calvinism-Defending-Doctrines-Without-ebook/dp/B0FZDNLGK4/ref=sr_1_1 https://shop.g3min.org/products/compassionate-calvinism-defending-the-doctrines-of-grace-without-being-a-jerk   If Israel is God’s chosen people, to whom these glorious temporary blessings have been given (v 4-5), then why are so few ethnic Jews actually saved? Why are the accursed and cut off? Why are the Gentiles coming to faith in Christ in large numbers, but ethnic Jews are refusing to believe in Jesus? You may not like the answer Paul gives, but we have to deal with it. Two basic answers: Just because you are ethnically Jewish does not automatically guarantee that you will be saved—that was the presumption of the Jews. They thought they were automatically going to heaven based on their lineage or ethnicity. God chooses some people to be saved, while passing over others who will not be saved—this is how God has always done things. Dr. Sean Cole explains the difficulty of Romans 9 and also addresses the difficult doctrine of reprobation. He also answers the following four objections: Unconditional election makes God appear unfair or unloving. God is not obligated to save anyone; therefore, His choice to save some does not imply unfairness. If unconditional election is valid, then God must be blamed for sinners ending up in hell instead of sinners freely rejecting Christ and facing the consequences of their choices. God predestines only a small group to heaven while condemning the rest of humanity to hell. If God has already determined who is elect, why should we pray for and evangelize the lost?   You can purchase Sean’s two other books here:   40 Days in Philippians: Finding Joy in Jesus:   https://g3min.org/shop/books/g3press/40-days-in-philippians-finding-joy-in-jesus-sean-cole/   Your Identity in the Trinity: Discovering God’s Grace in the Gospel:  https://rb.gy/yoa223     VISIT OUR WEBSITE:   www.seancole.net     FOLLOW on:   Apple:   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/understanding-christianity/id979729949   Spotify:   https://open.spotify.com/show/5F5IniTefWZPu2DjaazxPc?si=c37f71675a6e4321     FOLLOW US ON OUR SOCIALS:   YouTube:   https://www.youtube.com/@emmanuelbaptistchurch-ster4705   Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/sean.cole.16144   Twitter/X:   https://x.com/sdcole