There’s a new member of your church who is incredibly keen. At first, this was very encouraging, but now you feel a little uneasy. In your third conversation with them, they mentioned that they used to preach at their last church and that they’d love to support you by preaching here too. Ever since then, they’ve dropped the offer to preach into every conversation. You feel quite uncomfortable about this, but you’re not quite sure why. 2 Peter and Jude can both help.
Three teenagers at your church are the only people who attend the Christian Union at their secondary school of more than 1000 pupils. They feel outnumbered, weak and discouraged. 2 Peter and Jude can both help. Let’s be honest, there’s much in the two short letters of 2 Peter and Jude that makes most preachers nervous. A bleak assessment of the future; fallen angels who face judgment; an angel disputing over the body of Moses; Sodom and Gomorrah; sexual immorality and a fierce conviction that doctrinal truth must be upheld at all costs: these things all require careful handing and, possibly, quite a bit of explanation. They are potentially all things that, we might think, will turn off a new Christian or someone who has come to our church to explore the claims of Jesus Christ.
However, those three teenagers will be hugely strengthened and encouraged if you proclaim the
