Radical With David Platt

Many Christians go their entire lives without noticing the most urgent needs around the world, or even those right around them. They are unaware that multiplied millions—even billions—among the nations still have no access to the gospel. They are also unaware that many of these same people, the unreached, have extreme physical needs. In this message from Mark 2:1–12, David Platt challenges us to consider how God may be using the story of a forgiven and healed paralytic to direct our lives to peoples and places that desperately need gospel access. Is God leading you to go? The faith that changed the life of the paralytic and his four friends in Mark 2 is a faith that ought to characterize followers of Christ today.Explore more content from Radical.

Do you ever struggle with guilt over something you have done or someone has done to you? If so, there is hope in Jesus Christ. Jesus meets us, like no one else can, in the raw realities of our lives. He has come to save the dirty, guilty, ashamed, afraid, and alone. In other words, he has come for all of us. In this sermon on Mark 1:29–45, David Platt reminds us that Jesus alone is willing and able to clean us.Explore more content from Radical.

What should the church pray about and who should the church pray for? And what should motivate our prayers? These are important questions, particularly given the important role God has given our prayers in the unfolding of his saving purposes. In this message from 1 Timothy 2:1–7, David Platt points us to the gracious will of God and the sufficiency of Christ as the motivation for our prayers. We have been instructed to pray for all peoples, and we can pray with boldness in light of the certain victory of Christ and his church.Explore more content from Radical.

What sustains and unites the church is not a pastor or a program, nor is it preferences concerning music. What sustains and unites the church is perseverance in the gospel. In this message from 1 Timothy 1:3–20, David Platt highlights the centrality of the gospel in the life of the church. The apostle Paul highlights the role of the law as well as the mercy that God showed him as the “foremost” sinner. This same mercy in Jesus Christ remains the church’s only hope, which is why we must guard the gospel.Explore more content from Radical.

The greatest news in human history was announced nearly two thousand years ago, and it still rings true today. Regardless of your past or your upbringing or the sins you’ve committed, there is Someone who can change everything about your life … and your eternity. We’re introduced to this Person in Mark 1:1–15, and he is none other than Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In this message, David Platt pleads with us to hear and respond to the opening summons of Jesus in Mark’s Gospel: “... repent and believe in the gospel.” As we begin a journey through Mark’s Gospel, we’ll consider twenty short pictures of Jesus in these opening verses. There is truly no one like him. Explore more content from Radical.

The church is not simply a program or a building. It’s a spiritual family, a body of believers who share a common life and a common mission. In this message from Nehemiah 1–2, David Platt reminds McLean Bible Church of the biblical priorities of the church in order to refocus its efforts in the days ahead. Rather than focusing on divisions and distractions, the church should be eager to make disciples locally and globally. God intends for all believers to be an integral part of a local church and to participate in its mission.Explore more content from Radical.

Few stories have captured the imagination quite like David and Goliath. Christians and non-Christians alike want to be like David. Whether it’s a sports team that’s a heavy underdog or a start-up business looking to make it big, we want to be the hero by overcoming seemingly overwhelming obstacles. But is this actually the point of the story? In this unique message, David Platt urges us to reconsider the story of David and Goliath, and to do this, he enlists the help of kids as the events of 1 Samuel 17 are acted out. As David explains, this story is meant to point us beyond our own strength to the One who has slain our greatest enemies—sin and death—through his death and resurrection.Explore more content from Radical.

When the church comes together for corporate worship, what is it supposed to do? Do we get to choose? Is it a free-for-all? Most importantly, does Scripture have anything to say about this? In this message from 1 Timothy 1:1–2, David Platt points us to the essential components and central characteristics of our gathered worship. As an earthly outpost of a heavenly kingdom, the church’s worship is to be God-centered and shaped by the gospel. Explore more content from Radical.

People inside and outside the church talk about being “blessed,” but what does it truly mean to be blessed by God? To have good health? To be financially secure? To be successful in your job? To have a loving family and good friends? Based on Psalm 84, being blessed means dwelling with God and experiencing communion with him. In this message from David Platt, we’ll see how the sorrows and the holy longing of the psalmist is satisfied only by the God of Scripture. That same satisfaction is still the blessing today for all who come to God through Christ.It’s hard to not be affected by what we see on the news of what’s happening in the world right now. Currently, right before our eyes, we see incredible suffering happening in Afghanistan. According to Radical’s Stratus Index (stratus.earth), Afghanistan sits at the top of the list for the country with the most dire physical and spiritual needs.What role can you play in meeting the urgent physical and spiritual needs of the Afghani people? By donating to Urgent U

What happens to us after we die? Many people prefer not to think about that question, though we all have to face it at some point. Sadly, many Christians associate death with the end of our bodily existence. However, Scripture makes clear that there will be a resurrection of the body for all people. Those who do not trust in Christ will experience everlasting judgment while those who are in Christ will experience everlasting life. In this message from David Platt from 1 Corinthians 15, we’ll see why the future resurrection of the body is the ultimate source of hope for followers of Christ. We can press on in difficult days knowing that our sinful, broken bodies will be raised and transformed at Christ’s return. Instead of sin and suffering, we will experience unending joy as we behold God for all eternity. Explore more content from Radical.

How much of your time, your energy, and your resources are focused on things that are merely temporal? Does the reality of eternity even enter your mind on a daily basis? Most importantly, how should your approach to life and eternity be changed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ? These are the kinds of questions David Platt puts before us in this sermon from 1 Corinthians 15. This passage points us to the hope of our future, bodily resurrection, a hope that is grounded in Christ’s own bodily resurrection. And if Christ has in fact been raised, then it only makes sense that we would spend our lives in loving, radical, risk-taking, death-defying, all-out obedience to Jesus. Explore more content from Radical.

How much of your time, your energy, and your resources are focused on things that are merely temporal? Does the reality of eternity even enter your mind on a daily basis? Most importantly, how should your approach to life and eternity be changed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ? These are the kinds of questions David Platt puts before us in this sermon from 1 Corinthians 15. This passage points us to the hope of our future, bodily resurrection, a hope that is grounded in Christ’s own bodily resurrection. And if Christ has in fact been raised, then it only makes sense that we would spend our lives in loving, radical, risk-taking, death-defying, all-out obedience to Jesus. Explore more content from Radical.

Whether due to sin or simply distractions, the church has to be diligent to remain focused on the things that matter most—loving God and loving one another. Even as we think about spiritual gifts, it’s easy to miss the point of the gifts that God gives to us by his Spirit. In the message from 1 Corinthians 14:1–26, David Platt points us to the apostle Paul’s repeated emphasis on building up the church through spiritual gifts. Rather than competing with one another or looking out only for ourselves, we are to build up others and point unbelievers to Jesus Christ. Explore more content from Radical.

Did you know it’s possible to hold to biblical truths, possess impressive spiritual gifts, sacrifice your money, and even give your own life … and still fall short of what God desires? Without love, 1 Corinthians 13 reminds us, nothing else matters. In this message, David Platt urges us to heed the apostle Paul’s instructions about the priority of love in the church. As followers of Christ, we are to love God supremely and love one another selflessly. This is the kind of love that pursues unity and the good of others, and it can only be lived out in the power of God’s Spirit.Explore more content from Radical.

As we look out at the world, we see people divided based on ethnicity, politics, preferences, economic status, family background, and other factors. But this shouldn’t be the case when it comes to the church. Those who are in Christ are united by his Spirit as part of one body. God has gifted us in a variety of different ways, and as David Platt points out in this sermon on 1 Corinthians 12:12–31, this variety of gifts serves a much greater purpose—to exalt Jesus Christ above everything. This glorious purpose is larger than any one of our individual lives. Explore more content from Radical.

Christians around the world often face conflict within the local church. In this message on 1 Corinthians 12:1–11, David Platt reminds us that any conflict in the church is always due to deficiencies in us, never deficiencies in Jesus. When we encounter conflict in the church, we should let it drive us to deeper love for Jesus as we recognize that he alone is perfect.Explore more content from Radical.

Many Christians and churches aren’t quite sure about the meaning of the Lord’s Supper. They know it’s important, but they’re not sure how it’s supposed to affect them. Still, others largely ignore it, only taking it on rare occasions. However, Jesus himself instructed his disciples to take the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of him. Based on Paul’s instructions to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 11:17–34, this message from David Platt addresses the purpose of the Lord’s Supper as well as how we are to approach it as those who are unified around the gospel. We’ll also consider who is supposed to take this meal as well and how often we should take it. Christians ought to be clear about the importance and blessing of this ordinance instituted by Christ.Explore more content from Radical.

It’s all too easy to hear a sermon or read your Bible on a daily basis without pausing to let truth of God’s Word soak in. How often do we take extended time to consider the implications of what a passage says about God—what he is like and what he has promised to his people? In this passage from Joshua 1:1–9, David Platt urges us to heed God’s command to Joshua—to meditate on God’s Word—and to consider the implications of God’s promise to always be with his people. In the midst of every circumstance, we can be confident in God’s powerful and comforting presence.Explore more content from Radical.

The Bible’s teaching about gender roles is seen by many in our culture as either outdated or outright demeaning. Drawing distinctions between men and women offends many people. However, Scripture points to these gender distinctions as part of God’s good design. In this message from 1 Corinthians 11:2–16. David Platt helps us see what it means for a husband to be the head of this wife. This kind of God-given leadership should mirror the self-sacrificial leadership that Jesus exercises over his church. This passage also forces us to consider which aspects of Scripture’s teaching apply only to a particular time and place rather than to all people in all times and in all places. Ultimately, we can trust God’s design for men and women in the church because it is for our good and for his glory.Explore more content from Radical.

As we approach topics that are controversial in the world and in the church, it’s critical that we have a right view of Scripture. Otherwise, we will assume that the norms of culture, or even our own sense of what seems fair, should dictate the church’s beliefs and practices. In this message from 1 Corinthians 11:2–16, David Platt lays out seven reasons we can bank our lives on God’s Word and two principles to help us rightly understand God’s Word. These truths help lay the groundwork for thinking about the proper roles for men and women in the church. This is Part 1 of “Men and Women in the Church."Explore more content from Radical.