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• The book of Jude was written by Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James
• Jude is a common name in the first century, but there are different opinions on who wrote the book
• The most widely accepted theory is that the Jude who wrote the book is the brother of Jesus
• The brothers of Jesus did not become part of his discipleship journey until after his resurrection
• Jude's letter is organized into a greeting, purpose statement, accusations against false teachers, and an invitation for the church to be faithful and persevere
• Jude wrote this letter because he saw that the church was under attack from within by false teachers and corrupt leaders
• The two key accusations against these false leaders are that they are ungodly and reduce the significance of Jesus
• Jude emphasizes the importance of conduct over content, arguing that people's behavior reveals what they believe.
• Flagrant flaunting of a certain lifestyle by certain individuals in the church
• Misunderstanding of freedom and its implications on Christian behavior
• Reducing the significance of Jesus and its consequences for Christianity
• Three possible ways to reduce the significance of Jesus: denying his uniqueness, humanity, or authority
• The importance of prayer in contending for the faith during times of conflict and division within the church
• The importance of prayer and love in approaching difficult conversations and confrontations
• The need for the church to model Jesus' way of living in confronting false teaching
• Jude's approach to addressing those who are sorting out their faith vs. those who are dividing the church with authority and abuse
• The fragility of the church and how easily it can be divided by disagreement or poor leadership
• The connection between false teaching and immoral living, and the importance of character in leaders
• The temptation to be wooed by someone's eloquence, charisma, or relational abilities rather than their character
• The importance of character in church leaders
• Story about a youth pastor candidate with strong character vs. others who were charismatic but lacking in humility and teamwork skills
• Teaching from Jude on the importance of doctrine and life
• Celebration of current leadership team and their commitment to spiritual formation
• "Rules of Life" being written by church leaders to prioritize practices like scripture reading, giving, hospitality, and prayer
• Contending for the faith requires clarity on one's own beliefs and understanding of the gospel and discipleship.
• The speaker discusses what it means to "fight for the faith" and argues that it doesn't mean being confrontational or aggressive towards others.
• The importance of having a clear understanding of the gospel and being able to articulate why one believes what they believe.
• The need for Christians to go deeper in their faith, particularly when facing challenges from others.
• The historical context of the church's struggles with heresy and false teaching, including the book of Jude.
• The value of creeds and confessions written by the early church to defend against heresies.
• The warning signs of modern heresies, such as new ideas that revolutionize everything without consulting previous scholars.
• The importance of reading scripture in community rather than alone.
• The importance of the unifying statement of faith being read, especially during baptism
• Its significance as a core summary of Christian faith and its use across thousands of years and worldwide
• The solemn reminder that many Christians have died for their commitment to Jesus expressed through these words
• Explanation of the term "Catholic" with both lower-case (c) and upper-case (C) letters, referring to all Christians and the Roman Catholic Church, respectively
[0.42 --> 5.14] We are going to start a new sermon series today on the book of Jude.
[5.86 --> 8.22] And I asked this in the 9 a.m. service, I'll ask it again.
[8.34 --> 12.96] How many of you, by show of hands, have ever heard a sermon on the book of Jude?
[14.26 --> 17.58] One, two, oh okay, that's more than the 9 a.m., the 9 a.m. at two.
[17.98 --> 21.90] So between both services, five people have heard a sermon on Jude.
[22.40 --> 24.88] So for the next three weeks, we're going to dive into this book,
[25.36 --> 28.90] which has turned out, at least for me, to have a lot more fascinating elements
[28.90 --> 32.46] and even challenging pieces, but it's going to be something we get to do together.
[33.14 --> 37.46] So here's the challenge I'm going to put out before you, before we start the series,
[37.56 --> 40.20] and that is to read the whole book of Jude in one sitting.
[41.50 --> 42.78] Do you know how hard that is?
[44.10 --> 44.94] This is Jude.
[46.98 --> 49.98] By audio, it is four minutes and 36 seconds.
[50.20 --> 53.22] So you can read it pretty quick, and it's going to be great.
[53.30 --> 56.58] So please do that this week and in the coming weeks as we preach our way through it.
[56.58 --> 59.90] I'm going to read the first four verses that really, in some sense,
[60.26 --> 62.62] overview and introduce why this letter is written.
[64.86 --> 69.18] Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,
[69.74 --> 75.62] to those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ,
[76.48 --> 80.04] mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.
[81.40 --> 85.68] Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share,
[85.68 --> 91.74] I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that the Lord is once for all
[91.74 --> 93.72] entrusted to us, his people.
[94.64 --> 100.90] For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you.
[101.62 --> 107.16] They are ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality
[107.16 --> 111.88] and deny Jesus Christ our only sovereign and Lord.
[111.88 --> 111.98] God's word.
[112.98 --> 114.44] This is God's word.
[119.44 --> 127.38] I have a brother named Sean, and the two of us have an ongoing conversation in my family about birth order.
[128.10 --> 132.46] You see, we're in a family of five boys and no girls, and I know every time we say that,
[132.52 --> 133.58] people will say, you're a poor mother.
[133.58 --> 141.34] But Sean's the dead center middle child, and he will always say that he is the, quote, neglected middle.
[142.10 --> 144.00] Are there any other neglected middles here?
[144.78 --> 146.34] Okay, we've got some middles.
[146.72 --> 147.80] They've all done the therapy.
[148.04 --> 148.88] They know it's okay.
[148.88 --> 155.30] But I've always said to Sean that if he's the neglected middle, I am the forgotten fourth.
[155.92 --> 156.14] Right?
[156.46 --> 164.32] You're further down the batting order of children in the family, but you do not have the privileges and the protection of the prize youngest child.
[165.08 --> 167.32] And if you're a youngest here, just embrace that.
[167.58 --> 168.88] Don't try to argue with us.
[169.06 --> 170.82] We know you're the prize child, okay?
[170.98 --> 172.72] It's not contestable or debatable.
[172.72 --> 179.60] I want to suggest that Jude is the forgotten fourth of the New Testament family.
[180.52 --> 186.16] It's the kind of book you accidentally go right over on your way to the prize book of Revelation.
[186.34 --> 187.00] Tell me I'm wrong.
[187.48 --> 189.02] Most people can't even find it.
[189.08 --> 191.22] And when you find it, you're like, oh, I didn't know that book was there.
[191.68 --> 194.46] And then once you read it, you're like, what is this book all about?
[194.88 --> 199.50] And I just want to say at the outset of this series that Jude is a complicated book.
[199.50 --> 204.84] Even a commentator who wrote a huge commentary on this book said in the introduction,
[205.38 --> 209.88] people can read this book and get the first part and the last part and the whole middle part,
[209.94 --> 216.48] which we're getting into next week, is a jumbled mess of Old Testament images and confusing dark metaphors.
[216.74 --> 218.28] So we're going to go into this together.
[218.44 --> 220.38] And if you're confused by it, don't worry.
[220.64 --> 223.32] It'll get clearer as we preach through it and study it together.
[224.84 --> 226.76] But Jude is in the Bible for a reason.
[226.76 --> 229.60] There's a reason this book is here.
[230.50 --> 237.12] In fact, I would summarize in some sense that Jude is this really strong word to the church then and the church today.
[237.62 --> 239.96] Because in a world where there's like consumer religion,
[240.30 --> 244.68] where you can sort of pick pieces of the Christian faith and decide for yourself what you believe,
[245.04 --> 248.00] pick pieces of how you want to live and sort of make your own religion up,
[248.08 --> 249.46] Jude says truth matters.
[250.78 --> 252.14] How you live matters.