Every year, false prophets are exposed for attempting to predict the future and failing. That's why it's so vital for the believer to depend on the Bible to understand not just truths for our lives right now, but truths for the future as well. As Jesus continues His Olivet discourse, He delivers some warnings to the people of Israel in the form of prophecies, and 40 years later, all of His prophecies came true. That gives us all the more reason to trust His prophecies that haven't happened yet, as Stephen Davey explains in this sermon.
After helping His disciples understand the end times, Jesus turned His attention to equipping them to be prepared for their lives in the present. We still live in the period between Christ's two comings, so the lessons from His teaching are just as applicable to us today. Stephen Davey takes us through six of these implications in today's lesson.
We rightly think of Jesus as our Divine Savior, as a perfect Teacher, and as our Lord and Messiah. But do you think of Jesus as a prophet? He was, during His earthly ministry. And Jesus gave some very specific prophecies about the end times and the tribulation. While these prophecies don't directly relate to our world today--before the rapture takes place--we can still find key truths and important applications from Jesus' Olivet Discourse.
One of the greatest examples of true and genuine giving comes from a very unlikely source. Jesus reminded His disciples--and reminds us today--of two very important truths: that our care for widows reflects our love for God, and that our attitude toward giving matters more than the amount of our giving.
The Sadducees, along with the Pharisees, have completely failed trying to stump Jesus yet again. They thought they could tangle Him in a political web, but Jesus outsmarted them. And now, the Sadducees take one more attempt at trapping Jesus by asking Him an absurd hypothetical about the afterlife. Jesus' response to them reminds us that it's past time to make sure we are confident in our eternal future.
As Jesus continues holding court in the Temple during His final week on earth, He has humiliated the religious leaders yet again, calling them out for rejecting the prophets. And so, the Pharisees and the Herodians join forces to challenge Jesus with perhaps the toughest question He was ever asked during His earthly ministry. And Jesus' response not only gives us several practical principles to apply today, it is one of the most profound political statements in human history.
After Jesus finished clearing the immoral commercialism and greed taking place in the Temple, He sat down to teach. A crowd formed quickly to hear what He had to say, and so did the religious leaders, who wanted to challenge Him with questions. Jesus was ready for their challenge, and had a question, a story, and a prophecy of His own. The point of Jesus' teaching still resonates with us today.
As Jesus enters Jerusalem for the final time, He understands the significance of this moment in the context of biblical prophecy. He knows that the prophet Daniel had been pointing to that very day as the moment when the Messiah would arrive. Yet the Jewish religious leaders offered Jesus no fanfare; it seemed like no one was looking for the Messiah at that moment. And so, Jesus wept. And the question for us today is, Will Jesus celebrate or weep over our eternal fate?
As we enter the final week of Jesus' life, Stephen Davey sets the foundation for this particular part of our study by laying out a timeline for the Passion Week that is sure to surprise and challenge you. We then focus in specifically on Palm Sunday, using three scenes that reveal the two different responses people had to Jesus during His earthly ministry. These are the same two responses people have today; make sure your response is one of acceptance and not refusal.
What epitaph would you have inscribed on the Apostle Paul's tombstone? What words can suffice to sum up a life so wholly spent on bringing glory to Jesus Christ?
In Extravagant Grace, Part 2 (Philippians 4:4–5), Stephen Davey teaches that believers are called to display grace in a disappointed and self-centered world through two qualities—a resolution to be joyful and a reputation for gentleness. Joy, he explains, is not dependent on circumstances but flows from the Holy Spirit, the gospel, and trust in God’s sovereignty—even in suffering. Gentleness, often misunderstood as weakness, is strength under control—a willingness to yield, be courteous, and respond to hostility with grace. Using vivid examples from history, culture, and personal experience, Davey challenges believers to demonstrate joy and gentleness as living testimonies of Christ’s presence. Because “the Lord is near,” Christians can embody supernatural calm and kindness, showing a frustrated world the reality of God’s transforming grace.
In Extravagant Grace, Part 3 (Philippians 4:6–7), Stephen Davey teaches believers how to conquer anxiety through prayer and trust in God. He compares worry to a deadly anaconda that strangles faith, urging Christians to “be anxious for nothing.” Instead of allowing fear to consume them, they are to replace worry with prayer—bringing every concern to God with gratitude. Davey explains that worry pulls believers apart, while thankful prayer realigns their hearts toward God’s power and presence. The result is a supernatural peace that “guards hearts and minds in Christ Jesus,” a peace flowing directly from God’s own character. This peace doesn’t come from understanding circumstances but from trusting the God who controls them all. Through continual, thankful prayer, believers display the extravagant grace of God by living free from fear and full of peace.
Stephen Davey’s sermon “Reconcilable Differences” (Philippians 4:2–3) explains that real church and family life are messy, which is exactly where extravagant grace must be practiced. Using humorous and honest stories, he shows that grace is more than a doctrine we receive from God—it’s a costly, deliberate way of stooping low in attitude and action toward difficult people. Paul’s appeal to Euodia and Syntyche models gracious confrontation: he names them, refuses to take sides, reminds them of their shared labor in the gospel, and urges them to “live in harmony in the Lord,” enlisting a trusted “true companion” to help them reconcile. Stephen Davey draws out principles that disagreements are inevitable, even mature believers don’t always disagree agreeably, and small conflicts—if unchecked—can damage an entire church. Instead of taking sides, spiritually mature believers should step in to untangle issues and protect the unity of the body, remembering that everyone’s name is written in the book of life. He concludes with the example of a Christian bus driver whose daily, practical kindness creates a community of grace, urging believers to let that same grace characterize their relationships in the church.
In Father Abraham, Part I (Romans 4:1–3), Stephen Davey introduces Abraham as Paul’s prime example of justification by faith, not works. He explains that Abraham lived 2,000 years before Paul, proving that salvation by faith is not new but has always been God’s plan. Abraham, the forefather of Israel and “friend of God,” was revered for righteousness, yet Scripture reveals his flaws—fear, deceit, and unbelief—showing that his justification came by faith alone. Davey warns against relying on human reasoning or cultural religion, urging believers to ask, “What does the Bible say?” Like Abraham, sinners are declared righteous not by merit but by trusting God’s promise of redemption through Christ. God credited righteousness to Abraham’s account by grace, illustrating the same salvation available to every believer today.
In his sermon on Ecclesiastes 7:1–14, Stephen Davey explains how Solomon shifts from raising life’s troubling questions to offering God-given wisdom for living well. Davey highlights four truths Solomon teaches: contemplate your mortality, because facing death cultivates serious thinking and a life of purpose rather than pretense; choose wise companions, since the rebuke of the godly is far more valuable than the shallow laughter of fools; cultivate godly character, resisting the pull of anger, corruption, impatience, and nostalgic fantasies about “the good old days”; and consider your Creator with humility, recognizing that God ordains both prosperity and adversity, the straight paths and the crooked ones, to deepen trust in Him. Davey concludes that Solomon’s inspired counsel urges believers to live with sober perspective, intentional relationships, steadfast integrity, and humble dependence on the God who shapes every season of life.
