Understanding Christianity

Jesus angers the Pharisees by "breaking" the Sabbath on two occasions. Are you in danger of becoming a legalistic Pharisee? Dr. Sean Cole gives two warnings about legalism and then gives a third warning about how we may be in danger of dishonoring the Sabbath. What is the Sabbath? Are Christians supposed to observe the Sabbath today? Listen and find out. www.seancole.net

Reformed theology understands the Bible to teach two types of callings: (1) an outward, external call that goes to all people, and (2) an internal, effectual call that goes solely to the elect which ensures that they will infallibly come to faith in Jesus? Is this distinction Biblical? Our Provisionist and non-Calvinist friends deny the need for two types of calls because they deny total inability. If you deny total inabillty, there really is no need for an internal effectual call because sinners have the libertarian free will to either reject or accept the gospel call. Listen as Dr. Cole unpacks this doctrine. www.seancole.net

Jesus refers to Himself as the Bride Groom and gives three parables to describe His mission and identity. Jesus has come to give you fullness of joy, newness of life, and eternal satisfaction in the New Covenant. www.seancole.net

Before we can practice kindness to others, we must understand the kindness of God. The OT word for "kindness" is "hesed"--that tenactious, covenant love the LORD shows His people. We see two examples of kindness in the OT: (1) Ruth and Boaz, and (2) David to Mephibosheth. We also see Jesus' kindness to the woman with the issue of blood. After studying the kindness of our Lord, Pastor Sean gives ways we can be kind to others in demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit

In the calling of Levi, we see four aspects of how Jesus saves sinners. (1) Jesus surprises sinners with sovereign grace (2) Jesus calls sinners to abandon all self-righteousness, (3) Jesus calls sinners to repentance, and (4) Sinners saved by grace rejoice in telling others about Jesus. www.seancole.net

Before we can display patience in our lives, we must understand the perfect patience of our great God. How did God the Father show patience to the Israelites in the Old Testament? How did Jesus show patience in the New Testament? How can we demonstrate patience in practical areas of our lives? Listen and find out. www.seancole.net

Pastor Sean continues the teaching through the fruit of the Spirit? What exactly is peace? The Bible teaches three types of peace: (1) Peace WITH God, (2) the peace OF God, and (3) Peace with OTHERS. Listen and find out more about how Jesus can give you His peace through the power of the Holy Spirit. www.seancole.net

I have decided to follow Jesus, not turning back, no turning back! What does it mean to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord? Pastor Sean preaches an evangelistic sermon from Luke 5:1-11 that shows how Peter followed Jesus. Listen and be encouraged. www.seancole.net

Herschel Hobbs was a stalwart in Southern Baptist life in the 60's and 70's. His writings influenced a generation of Christians. He was rabidly against Calvinism. This opposiition to Reformed theology is clearly seen in his commentary on Ephesians called "New Men in Christ." Dr. Sean Cole reads some excerpts from this book to show how Hobbs has had a major influence on Provisionist theology concerning God's sovereignty and human free will. www.seancole.net

Pastor Sean continues his teaching on the fruit of the Spirit. What is joy? How do you grow in joy? How does Jesus give us His joy? Listen and find out. www.seancole.net

The response to Jesus in Capernaum is starkly different than the hatred He received in His hometown of Nazareth. Jesus taught with authority. Jesus exorcised demons with authority. Jesus healed with authority. Jesus preached with authority. He is the King of the Kingdom who has absolute authority over all things. How will you respond to the King? www.seancole.net

How do Provisionists interpret Ephesians 1:3-14 in regard to election and predestination. Did God choose individuals unconditionally before the foundation of the world for salvation? Or did God choose a "plan" that those who use their free will to believe "in Christ" will become one of the elect. The Provisionist predicament uses Ephesians 1:13 as a way to teach that one becomes part of the elect by freely choosing to be "in Christ" by faith. Dr. Sean Cole interacts with this view and goes into the Greek text of Ephesians 1:3-14. Check out his book "Your Identity in the Trinity" on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Identity-Trinity-Discovering-Gospel-ebook/dp/B07RWTJK9K/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1600196728&sr=8-1

Why does Paul call it the "Fruit" of the Spirit in contrast to the "works" of the flesh? How does the Holy Spirit produce this fruit in our lives? Why is love first on the list? What exactly is love? What are the ruthless enemies to loving one another? How can you grow in love? Find out as Pastor Sean continues this Wednesday night teaching on the Fruit of the Spirit. Check out Sean's book "Your Identity in the Trinity" at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Identity-Trinity-Discovering-Gospel-ebook/dp/B07RWTJK9K/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1600196728&sr=8-1

What can we learn about preaching from Jesus' sermon in the Nazareth synagogue? How can you evaluate your pastor's preaching? How do you know he has preached a biblically faithful sermon? We see FOUR key aspects modeled by Jesus: (1) Jesus was EMPOWERED by the Holy Spirit; (2) Jesus EXPLAINED the Scriptures; (3) Jesus EXALTED Himself as Savior and Lord: (4) Jesus EXPECTED a response. Listen as Pastor Sean unpacks this fascinating passage from Luke 4:14-30 Check out Sean's book Your Identity in the Trinity at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Identity-Trinity-Discovering-Gospel-ebook/dp/B07RWTJK9K/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3DWVP5JJFIJGS&dchild=1&keywords=sean+cole+trinity&qid=1600196728&sprefix=Sean+Cole+trin%2Caps%2C200&sr=8-1

Pastor Sean continues his Wednesday night adult Bible study on the Fruit of the Spirit. Before we can understand how the Spirit produces His fruit in our lives, we must understand the works of the flesh. Paul gives a list of 15 specific sins so that we are not ingorant of God's will. This list is a means for us to ask the Lord to search our hearts and see which ones we struggle with the most. There is a warning in this passage as well as the hope of teh gospel of grace. Check out Sean's book "Your Identity in the Trinity: Discovering God's Grace in the Gospel" at amazon:

Dr. Sean Cole shares some insights from his doctoral thesis on expository preaching by exploring in depth Jesus' sermon in the Nazareth synagogue in Luke 4:14-30. Was Jesus in fact an expository preacher? Sean argues with an emphatic "YES!!" From Jesus' sermon in Luke 4, we find a seven-fold template or blue print that pastors can emulate today in order to be faithful preachers of the Scripture. Listen and find out what these are. These will encourage you as a pastor and also as a member of the congregation to evaluate to see if you're sitting under sound preaching of God's Word. www.seancole.net

Often times in evangelical circles, one may hear people say that God spoke directly to them by providing specific instructions on a major life decision. Others mention that they heard the Lord speak to them in a still, small voice. Others make reference to a time when a person spoke a prophetic word of knowledge over them. Some have even claimed God spoke to them in dreams and visions and angelic visitations. Others simply attest to hearing God speak to them through inner promptings. Dr. Sean Cole addresses the issue of the sufficiency of Scripture and interacts with popular views of how God speaks from Henry Blackaby's "Experiencing God," www.seancole.net

Dr. Sean Cole begins a Bible study on the fruit of the Spirit during the Wednesday night adult BIble study at Emmanuel Baptist Church. The focus is on the call to walk by the Spirit and pursue holiness from Galatians 5:16-18. We need to understand the full context of Paul's argument before we jump directly into the fruit of the Spirit. www.seancole.net

In Luke 4:1-13, the devil tests Jesus in the wilderness after 40 days of fasting. This passage brings up some theological questions: Could Jesus have sinned? If He was sinless, were the tempations real? Dr. Sean Cole addresses the topics of both Christ's sinless nature as well as impeccability--the impossibilty of Jesus sinning. Then he focuses on the three tempatiions and shows how our Lord's victory in the desert grants us victory in our struggle with temptation. (The audio quality is not as good as normal as we had techincal difficulties Sunday morning with our recording computer) www.seancole.net

What does Jesus' genealogy teach us? Why does Luke put it between Christ's baptism and temptation in the wilderness? What we see in the genealogy is one of the keys to understanding the overall storyline of the Bible--PROMISE-FULFILLMENT. What did God promise Adam? Abraham? Jacob? Judah? and David? How did Jesus fulfill those promises as the Messiah? What does this all mean for us today? Listen as Dr. Sean Cole preaches from this passage a biblical theology of Christ's family tree. www.seancole.net