Hey Jude!

Hi Folks,

What do you think of my message theme title?  I am borrowing it from the Beatles' song: "Hey Jude!"  As you may have guessed, my next series of messages will be on the tiny book of Jude.

It is one of the smallest book of the Bible, but it packs a powerful punch.  Jude does not mince his words.  He is a straight shooter; probably an approach that is not done very often in our churches today.

Jude's message is not so much an evangelistic message; but rather a letter of rebuke and correction to the unidentified church to which he is writing.  It is also a timeless message to all churches - a message of warning.  Every church era has face the same challenges which permeated the church of which Jude addresses.

What was the problem?  False teaching - actually, disgraceful false teaching.  It was false teaching for the purpose of sinful acts and deeds; a false teaching with a hedonistic agenda attached.  These were teachers who perverted the Gospel message for the gain of their own selfish pleasures.  I remember reading some time ago that the early church was accused of sex orgies in the river.  This was reference to baptismal services where people were supposedly baptized in the nude.  The church that Jude is addressing may be the cause of such rumors.

False teachings can be subtle and subliminal.  We may not even be aware of the wrongness of the teachings that pervade our minds, and creep into our theologies.  One such theology that is very popular today is what is called, "The Gospel of Oprah."  Oprah Winfrey is watched and intently listened to everyday, Monday to Friday.  She preaches a message that sounds good, but reaches far beyond the Bible into New Age Philosophy.

Jude addresses such 'Wolves in sheeps clothing' in his short but very intense letter.  He also gives us a criterea for exposing false teaching, a formula that can still work today (this will be one of the focuses of these messages on Jude).

I hope to have some fun, but yet be very serious with this next serious of messages.  They will start on the last Sunday of February, and will carry us into the Easter Season.  Why not take some time to prepare.  Read and research this short letter of the Bible.  Enjoy.

Check out this brief commentary on Jude:

http://www.christianinconnect.com/jude.htm

-Leo