Radical With David Platt

Thankfully, when it comes to God’s design for the church and its mission, we’re not left to our own wisdom and creativity. God has graciously given us His Word, a perfect revelation of who He is and what He desires for His people. In this sermon from Acts 20:1–24, David Platt urges us to submit our lives and our churches to the authority of Scripture. God intends for His people to teach it, discuss it, obey it, visualize it, and then spread it to the ends of the earth. Explore more content from Radical.

We don’t normally think of words like accountability and discipline in a positive light, but in Scripture God gives us these things for our good. God’s people are called to care for one another in the context of the church, both in terms of teaching and encouraging one another and, if necessary, calling one another to repent of sin. In this sermon David Platt points us to accountability and discipline as marks of a biblical church. Beginning with Galatians 6:1 and then moving to other parts of the New Testament, we’ll see why churches that seek to glorify God and be faithful to the Great Commission should be marked by a concern for the spiritual welfare of every member.Explore more content from Radical.

What counts as Christian fellowship? A group Bible study? What about praying with someone? Is it considered fellowship if we’re simply eating with or spending time with other believers? These are important questions. As David Platt explains in this sermon, Scripture makes fellowship among God’s people a top priority. Based on Romans 12, we’ll see how God’s mercy in the gospel grounds the fellowship that should exist in the church. As a family of faith, the church should partner together for the glory of God and for the good of one another. Explore more content from Radical.

Some truths are so important that they’re worth giving our lives for. The gospel certainly fits in this category, which is why the Reformers were willing to die to make sure that the good news of Christ was proclaimed faithfully according to God’s Word. In this message from Together for the Gospel 2016, David Platt urges us to learn from the example of the Reformers. Their deaths several centuries ago should give us an eternal perspective on how we live our lives today.Explore more content from Radical.

What is God’s design for women? Our culture offers a very distorted answer to that question, bombarding us with messages and images that miss God’s good design. Women are promised liberation, all the while being physically abused, sexually objectified, and even encouraged to ignore or change their God-given gender. And the problem isn’t just out there in the world—the church often misses God’s good design as well. The roles of wives and mothers are often devalued, as is the important role of single women in the church’s life and mission. In this message, David Platt addresses these distortions by providing an overview of biblical womanhood that begins with Genesis 1 and then draws from various passages of Scripture. Only as we listen to God’s Word and find our identity in His gospel will we see the goodness and the fruit of God’s design for women. Explore more content from Radical.

Many churches rarely teach on the new covenant ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The biggest concern is how to fit them in without disrupting the weekly service. It’s little wonder, then, that baptism is viewed as optional by many Christians while the Lord’s Supper is either misunderstood or ignored. In this sermon David Platt explains the meaning of these two ordinances and answers the following questions: Why should I be baptized? How should I be baptized? Who should be baptized? When should I be baptized? Who should participate in the Lord’s Supper? Where should we have the Lord’s Supper? When should we have the Lord’s Supper? According to Scripture, baptizing believers and regularly taking the Lord’s Supper are crucial aspects of what it means to be a New Testament church.Explore more content from Radical.

Sadly, it’s not uncommon today for those who claim to be followers of Christ to show half-hearted commitment to Christ’s bride, the church. Like consumers, many Christians shop around for the best church “experience.” Others merely attend for an hour each week without any desire to meet needs among God’s people or to be a part of the church’s mission. There are even those who attempt to follow Christ apart from regularly gathering with God’s people. But as David Platt points out in this sermon from 1 Corinthians 12:12–27, God has not designed us to be spiritual lone rangers. We are fellow members of Christ’s body. For the sake of our own souls and for the sake of Christ’s mission, every follower of Christ should be committed to a local church.Explore more content from Radical.

It’s one thing for someone to hear the gospel and reject it, but what about those who have never even heard of Jesus? Are they okay, spiritually speaking, as long as they live a good life and follow the light they’ve been given? What is their standing before God? In this sermon, David Platt addresses these eternally important questions based on Romans 15. Given the staggering number of people in the world with little or no access to the gospel, this issue is not merely theoretical. Getting the gospel to the unreached is urgent. Explore more content from Radical.

Although we don’t always feel wealthy, evangelicals in America and in many parts of the West are some of the wealthiest people in world history. We have everything we need––food, clothes, houses, cars, jobs, education, savings accounts, vacations––and more. Yet, for many churches, God’s generosity toward us has not resulted in our generosity toward others. We have been content to stockpile God’s resources rather than use them for the spread of the gospel. In this message, David Platt highlights giving as one of twelve biblical traits of the church. Rather than listening to the culture, we should be listening to Scripture to see how God would have us use the resources He has entrusted to us. Explore more content from Radical.

We are taught from a young age to “be safe” in whatever we do. This isn’t bad advice for the everyday tasks God has given us to do, but when it comes to following Jesus, we can wrongly assume that God would never call us to something costly or dangerous. Our time, effort, and resources are spent on maximizing our comfort. However, Jesus said that following Him would mean forsaking everything. And while we aren’t to seek out suffering, we know that proclaiming the gospel in many areas of the world requires taking risks. In this sermon from Philippians 1:12–30, David Platt reminds us not to let comfort become an idol, but instead to pursue faithfulness to Christ, even if it costs us our lives. Being with Christ is infinitely better than any temporary security this world offers. Explore more content from Radical.

We live in a day where people are made uncomfortable by any claim of truth. Jesus taught that He Himself was “The Truth” and the only way to God. As He breathed His last on the cross, it seemed like He would be written off as a fraud. Easter Sunday serves as a reminder that God cashes in on all of His promises. In this sermon, David Platt encourages us from John 20 with testimonies to the resurrection. Through Christ being raised from the dead, our eyes have been opened to the truth and we now live in the hope of the resurrection, trusting that we will one day be with Him forever. Explore more content from Radical.

Our culture questions the very idea of truth. The fact that anyone would claim to know something, particularly as it relates to eternity, can sound arrogant. Yet in John 14:6 Jesus claims to be the “the way, and the truth and the life.” But what if we are accountable to God? And what if Jesus is who He says He is? If He actually died on the cross and rose from the dead, then His claim to be the way to God is not arrogant but the best news in the world. In this Good Friday message, David Platt urges us to consider and respond to the claims of Jesus Christ.Explore more content from Radical.

Our culture constantly tells us to look to our own abilities to find strength and success. Tragically, many churches in our day have taken that advice. In this sermon, David Platt shows us why this self-reliant attitude is contrary to what we see throughout the book of Acts as the gospel spreads across geographic and cultural borders. If the church is to carry out God’s mission, then it must rely on God’s power. Making disciples of all nations requires desperate prayer.Explore more content from Radical.

Holy Week is the time when Christians around the world remember the days leading to Jesus’ death and resurrection. Beginning on Palm Sunday, we’re going to dive into God’s Word each day to put ourselves in the shoes of those who walked with Jesus on the road to the cross. We'll see how these days affected their lives, even as we reflect on how they affect ours.Subscribe to Pray the Word: www.radical.net/praythewordExplore more content from Radical.

In John 17, we find what people have often called the “High Priestly Prayer” as Jesus prayed to the Father before His betrayal and crucifixion. What does this prayer have to do with us? In this sermon, David Platt gives three exhortations from John 17 concerning how we can leverage our lives in obedience to the Great Commission. Explore more content from Radical.

Discipleship is a common word used among Christians today, but it often is used without clarity. Why must the church be committed to helping Christians live every day in light of the final day? In this sermon, David Platt looks to God’s Word in order to explain what biblical discipleship is and how it is vital for the church.Explore more content from Radical.

What makes a church a church? After all, many religious groups meet regularly to talk about their common values and their common mission. Is there something unique about the gathering of Christ’s followers? In this sermon on Matthew 16:13–28, David Platt looks at the importance of biblical evangelism. We’ll see how the church’s identity is tied to believing and proclaiming the gospel.Explore more content from Radical.

Different pastors and church leaders in our day continue to offer their opinions on what the church should be about. As a result, churches are often left wondering whose preferences to follow and whose authority to listen to. In this sermon from 2 Timothy 3:10–4:8, David Platt points us away from the preferences of man to the church’s ultimate authority––God speaking through His Word. In this first of twelve traits of a biblical church, Biblical Preaching and Teaching, we’ll see why the faithful proclamation of Scripture shapes everything about the church’s life and mission.Explore more content from Radical.

A pastor who believes that God is sovereign over all things will lead his people to be a death defying missional people. Our sovereign God holds the destiny of the world in the palm of his hand. Therefore, his shepherds should lead their people to pray confidently, give sacrificially, go intentionally and die willingly for the spread of the gospel message to those who have never heard.Explore more content from Radical.

It’s so easy for churches to become self-focused. Our own comforts and concerns slowly begin to swallow up our time, energy, and resources. But Christ’s command to make disciples of all nations should compel us to move out with the gospel to a world in need. This is the church’s mission. In this third sermon in a three-part series on Matthew 28:16–30, David Platt encourages the church to make disciples and to multiply churches, both in our own neighborhoods and among unreached peoples across the globe.Explore more content from Radical.