August 17, 2025 • 35 mins
We explore Romans 8:18-27 and discover what it means to live in the "in-betweenness of time" - after Christ's victory on the cross but before His return to make all things new.
• Like decisive battles that determine wars before they officially end, Christ has already won the victory over sin and death
• Creation itself groans and waits eagerly for Christ's return and restoration
• When sin entered the world, all creation fell under the curse - not just humanity
• As believers, we have the "first fruits of the Spirit" as a down payment of what's to come
• The Holy Spirit intercedes for us with "groanings too deep for words" when we don't know how to pray
• Just as CS Lewis wrote about the day when "the summer will come true," we await the day when Christ returns
• The sufferings of this present time cannot compare to the glory that will be revealed to us
Join us at First Baptist El Dorado as we continue our journey through Romans.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
1st Baptist, baptist El Dorado, will you join me now
in listening to our sermon fromthis week?
Amen, open with me to Romans,chapter 8.
As we continue our journey, ourclimb through what may be the
(00:44):
greatest passage in all ofScripture, romans 8, today, will
be in verses 18 through 27.
Verse 18 says this, for Iconsider that the sufferings of
this present time are not worthcomparing with the glory that is
(01:04):
to be revealed to us.
For I consider again that thesufferings of this present time
are not worth comparing with theglory that is to be revealed to
us.
And, lord Jesus, would youreveal to us your glory even now
through your word?
Would you speak in Christ'sname, amen.
(01:25):
You know there are times whenthe war is won long before the
war is over, when the war is wonlong before the war is over.
I think of July 4th 1863.
I think of Vicksburg,mississippi.
You can make the argument forFort Sumter in the beginning of
the Civil War.
You can make the argument forFort Sumter in the beginning of
(01:45):
the Civil War.
You can make the argument forGettysburg certainly gets the
highlights, and rightfully so,the headlines, but I could argue
that the Battle of Vicksburg isthe most important victory on
that July 4th of 63, in theentire Civil War.
Why?
Because, in a real sense, itended the war long before the
war ended.
Why Because, in a real sense,it ended the war long before the
(02:06):
war ended.
As the Union troops tookVicksburg, mississippi, they
really took the MississippiRiver, and when you take the
Mississippi River, you take thewar.
The war ended at Vicksburg eventhough there were about two
years of fighting remaining.
I can say the same illustrationof D-Day.
(02:29):
It was about a year before,about 11 months before victory
in Europe Day when World War IIended.
But about a year before that,d-day took place when the Allied
forces took over Normandy andin that moment the war was all
but over.
It was all but done becausethey gained this great victory.
There were still battles to befought, but in a very real sense
(02:50):
, the war was over.
You and I, even today, in thismoment, we live in the
in-betweenness of time.
The in-betweenness of time Ifthat's not a word, we'll make it
one this morning.
The in-betweenness of time Ifthat's not a word, we'll make it
one this morning.
The in-betweenness of timeBecause the reality is the war
(03:11):
has been waged and the war hasbeen won.
Christ Jesus went to the crossand he went to the grave An
early Sunday morning, rose fromthe grave, defeating sin and
death.
The war is won.
Satan knows he has lost, butwe're still awaiting a future
day, aren't we?
When Christ Jesus returns,brings with him the new heavens
(03:34):
and new earth, makes all thingsgood and all things right, and
you and I live in thein-betweenness of time.
The war is won, but you and Iboth know the devil.
He's defeated, but he stillprowls around like a lion and
can still make a mess of things,can he not?
Yet one day he will be put intohis final resting place, when
(03:56):
Christ returns.
You and I are in right now, thein-betweenness of time, and
that's what Paul speaks about inRomans, chapter 8, starting in
verse 18.
What does life look like in thein-betweenness of it all?
As we've seen one coming of ourLord and await another.
(04:16):
He starts in verse 18 again,for I consider that the
sufferings of this present timeare not worth comparing with the
glory that is to be revealed tous.
You say this, taylor.
I thought Romans 8 was supposedto be our favorite chapter of
scripture, and suddenly we'retalking about suffering.
(04:38):
That doesn't sound too good tome, but what Paul has just
finished in verse 17 is that youand I are heirs of God, fellow
heirs with Christ we talkedabout that last week Provided
that we suffer with Christ.
So to walk the way Christ haswalked means we will arrive with
him at the place of glory.
But in the meantime we walk theroad Christ has walked, even to
(05:00):
the place of suffering.
But then Paul immediately showsus what that suffering is all
about, that even the sufferingsthat you and I face now in this
life every day are not worthcomparing to what is coming, our
very bright future that isahead.
That the sufferings of thispresent time are not worth
comparing with the glory that isto be revealed in us.
(05:21):
Now we've got to talk about twothings that Paul is doing here,
because I think it's important.
We've talked about this beforeas we've walked through the book
of Romans.
But Paul is not writing thisfrom a beachside condo, a
beachside destination, justenjoying his vacation, writing
(05:42):
back to the church at Rome, justsaying good luck with all the
suffering you're walking through.
I hope it turns out okay foryou.
Paul is a sufferer difficultword to say, and I'll try it a
few times a sufferer writing tothose who are suffering.
If you open the book of Actsthis morning and you pick
anywhere in the second half ofthe book of Acts and you just
(06:05):
put your finger at a locationblindfolded, just put it there,
you're probably going to land ona passage of scripture in which
you see Paul suffering.
You're probably going to landin a moment when Paul is in
prison, one of the many timeshe's in prison.
You might land in a momentwhere people are throwing Paul
out of town or trying literallyto execute Paul.
You may land in a moment wherePaul is shipwrecked, where he's
(06:28):
literally been bitten by a snake, when he's being chartered to
Rome to go to prison and fromRome he will not leave, he will
be executed.
You'll probably land at one ofthose moments.
He knows what it is to sufferand this suffering servant of
Christ Jesus is writing to othersufferers because those at the
(06:49):
church of Rome know what itmeans to suffer.
They live in Rome under thehand of the emperor.
They know what it's like to bepersecuted.
They know what it's like tolive in fear and live in danger.
So this is a sufferer writingto sufferers about suffering for
Christ and even still says,with all this suffering that is
(07:11):
going on, it's not worthcomparing to the glory that will
be revealed.
Number two thing we need torealize is simply this that in
this moment, paul is notminimizing suffering.
That in this moment, paul isnot minimizing suffering.
What he's not doing is lookingat your suffering this morning
(07:31):
and saying this why don't youjust not worry about it?
I mean, don't you just haveenough faith to realize it's
going to be better one day outthere in the future?
He's not minimizing yoursuffering in any way in the
future.
He's not minimizing yoursuffering in any way.
In fact, what we see throughoutScripture is that the suffering
we walk through is very real.
(07:52):
I don't have to tell you thatyou walk through trial and pain
and suffering and you know verywell, even in this moment, even
this morning, as you walk intothe room, if you're walking
through a trial, you know justhow real and how heavy and how
serious that suffering is, thatyou've walked through things and
(08:13):
moments and seasons of lifethat maybe few of us in the room
can even imagine, and maybeothers have walked through
seasons of suffering that youcouldn't imagine.
But Paul is not minimizing thatsuffering in any way.
He doesn't want us to look atthat and that very real
suffering in our lives and justsay, you know, hey, buddy, don't
(08:35):
worry about it.
But he's not minimizingsuffering, he's simply
maximizing glory that, howeverdeep and full and heavy and
weighty your suffering is forthe believer, on your very worst
day you could imagine or thebest day you can imagine, the
(08:58):
truth is this that the best isyet to come, that there is a day
ahead that will fill with joyall the places in our heart that
sorrow has carved out throughour suffering, that there is
something coming that willredeem all things and even
(09:19):
redeem our suffering.
And so, whatever the extent ofyour suffering this morning,
paul is not minimizing it.
He's just reminding you that inChrist Jesus, there are
beautiful things ahead.
And he continues as he talksabout a lot of the suffering
(09:39):
that's happened in this momentfor you and I, and even creation
itself.
Look with me, verse 19.
For the creation waits witheager longing for the revealing
of the sons of God.
I want to see point one thismorning.
It's simply this all creationawaits the glory of Christ.
(10:00):
Do you know that not only arebelievers awaiting the glory of
Christ, but creation itself,like non-human creation, is
awaiting the return of Christ.
It talks about the revealing ofthe sons of God.
We saw in 1 through 17 that ifwe are in Christ we are sons of
(10:26):
God.
Now that is already.
We have already been adoptedinto the family.
And yet creation is waiting onthat moment when that is
revealed at Christ's return inits truest sense and we are
glorified and all creation isglorified.
They're awaiting that momentand literally we've got this
personification of creation.
(10:47):
That creation is longing forthis.
What these verses kind of makeus think about is, as if under
our feet right now, there's thiskind of bubbling underneath us
of a creation that is just sodesperately longing and groaning
and waiting for Christ's return.
(11:07):
You know, the redemption of allthings is bigger than just the
redemption of humanity.
Creation itself has been thesubject to futility and it's
waiting its own restoration.
Keep reading with me verse 20,.
For the creation was subjectedto futility, not willingly, but
because of him who subjected it,in hope that the creation
(11:30):
itself will be set free from itsbondage to corruption and
obtain the freedom of the gloryof the children of God.
Even creation is waiting.
Every mountain, every valley,every ocean, every field, every
stream.
It is waiting for Christ tocome make all things new.
(11:53):
It has been subjected to thebrokenness of this world and it
is patiently waiting.
And now you say this.
You say, pastor, I've got anissue with this Because you said
I was in life group thismorning and we talked about
creation, and we talked aboutthat as God created, he made all
things good.
(12:14):
Pastor, don't take my word forit, those are God's words.
He created and he says it wasgood.
All things he made are good,including humans, made in the
image of God.
He said very good.
And yet you'll see in nextweek's life group, in chapter
three of Genesis, that ashumanity rebels against God, sin
(12:35):
enters the world.
That affects much more thanjust mankind, that affects all
things.
In Genesis 3, as the Lord isgiving consequence to Adam, he
literally says this verse 17,ground.
(13:00):
Because of you In pain, youshall eat of it all the days of
your life.
Thorns and thistles it shallbring forth for you and you
shall eat the plants of thefield.
Cursed is the ground.
The creation itself is probablysaying something like God.
What did I do, man and woman?
They did all the sinning, andyet I've got to bear the effects
(13:21):
of this as well.
Cursed is the ground, and ifyou listen close enough, it's
almost as if you can hearcreation crying out for its
redemption.
You can just feel in your bones, can you not, that there's
something off, that, asbeautiful as all creation is,
(13:44):
there is something that you canstill sit back and say this is
just not the way it's supposedto be, and we're awaiting a day
when the Lord will come, redeemall creation.
There's something in us thatlooks at the fact that we live
in a broken world wherefloodwaters can rise 26 feet in
45 minutes and cause devastationin a small town in Texas.
(14:09):
There's something within uswhen we think about a 2004
tsunami off the coast ofIndonesia that, in a matter of
moments, took over 200,000 lives.
There's something within us.
I was just talking to a newfriend of mine from Little Rock,
little Rock Central graduate,but we were talking about our
(14:32):
hometown and he lived not toofar from where my parents lived,
and we talked about thedevastating effects of a tornado
just a few years back and someof the places we drove by every
day decimated.
We live in this world that'sbroken.
That's just not the way it'ssupposed to be.
We live in a world that's justcrying out and waiting for all
(14:55):
things to be made new.
Now I've read the end of thebook and I've got good news.
Revelation 21 and 22 do tell usthat for creation, as it waits,
as it waits on its redemption,ultimately the fulfillment of
that redemption will come.
You look at Revelation 22,.
You see the new Jerusalemcoming down.
You see Christ Jesus restoringall things, bringing the new
(15:18):
heavens and new earth.
And in chapter 22, verses 1through 5, I won't read them all
, but you see the river of thewater of life.
You see the streets coming downand these trees yielding their
fruits.
What you see here from thethrone of God, all this coming
forth, is a picture of creationbeing made new.
(15:39):
That, in these moments, as allcreation is crying out, is
groaning for the redemption ofall things, that Christ's return
.
They will finally.
Creation will finally get whatit so desperately seeks, and
that's good news.
So number one is this allcreation awaits the glory of
Christ.
But also we see this allbelievers await the glory of
(16:02):
Christ, verse 23,.
And not only the creation, butwe ourselves, who have the first
fruits of the spirit I lovethat phrase the first fruits of
the Spirit.
Ephesians 1.14 talks about thatsame idea, that the Holy Spirit,
the first fruits, or even youcall it the guarantee, the down
(16:24):
payment that the Holy Spiritdwells in us.
Now.
That's our help for today, butalso a promise of what is coming
, that we have the first fruitsof the Spirit.
But look at this verse 23 again.
We groan inwardly as we eagerlyawait our adoption as sons, the
(16:44):
redemption of our bodies.
So not only is creation cryingout, is groaning, but you and I,
if we are in Christ Jesus, weare groaning.
But you and I, if we are inChrist Jesus, we are groaning,
we are waiting.
Verse 24, for in this hope wewere saved.
Now, hope that is seen is nothope who hopes for what he sees,
but if we hope for what we donot see, we wait for it with
(17:13):
patience.
You and I have the first fruitsof the Holy Spirit.
Like we talked about at thebeginning, you and I live in the
in-betweenness of life andwithin that in-betweenness you
and I both know there are a lotof broken things in our world.
Within that in-betweennessthere's a lot of sin that has
broken a lot of things in ourworld.
(17:34):
And, by the way, we don't justhave to look outward.
We can look inward in our ownhearts to see how much our own
sin has made a mess of things inour world and in our lives, how
much our own decisions and therightful consequences for that
decision have made way into ourlives.
But we look around and all wesee is brokenness in our world.
(17:55):
And do you ever just look atour world or look even closer to
home and just say this is justnot the way it's supposed to be,
that there's part of you thatis just so deeply groaning for
the return of Christ, groaningfor the return of Christ, that
places we'll see in a minute,that are just too deep for words
(18:19):
, that you've walked throughsuffering that all you can say
is Lord Jesus come, Lord Jesuscome.
We see evidence of the brokenworld all over the place.
(18:40):
I was texting a certain newsanchor in town you won't be able
to guess who it was and we weremessaging about something
church related, something I wasasking her about.
But then I just said him or her, it could be anybody and I
asked this individual.
Well, really, I said to thisindividual something to this
effect.
I said I don't know how you doit.
(19:01):
I don't know how.
You sit there every afternoonand that teleprompter comes on
and in that moment and you do itso well, but in that moment
you've got to read off thatteleprompter some of the most
heartbreaking stories.
In that moment you see on thatteleprompter some of the most
devastating things.
(19:22):
I couldn't imagine how you doit, that we live in a broken
world and you've got to read theteleprompter and then the
teleprompter the news turns off,and then you've got to go home
and just be a mom and a normalfunctioning human.
And yet you see up close thebrokenness of our world.
(19:43):
But you don't have to be anewscaster to know that.
You see it in your own life.
You see it in the world aroundus, a world that is groaning
creation, that is groaning forthe return of Christ, because we
see how broken this world is.
You've seen in your own livesmoments of suffering you can't
(20:03):
even put words to, and speakingof our inability to put words to
them, verse 26,.
Likewise, the Spirit helps usin our weakness, for we do not
know what to pray for, as weought, but the Spirit himself
intercedes for us with groaningstoo deep for words.
(20:27):
Think about this.
We've seen creation groan.
We've seen creation groan.
We've seen believers groan, andin this verse we literally see
the Holy Spirit himself groaning.
That as the Holy Spirit seesour loss for words, our
(20:51):
brokenness over the suffering ofthis world, the Holy Spirit
groans beside us and with us ashe takes our prayers and sends
them to the Father.
And you say now, why in theworld is the Holy Spirit
groaning?
I mean the Holy Spirit.
We're a Trinitarian bunch hereFather, son, holy Spirit.
(21:13):
We know the Trinity is himselfGod.
Why in the world is he groaning?
Because if I'm just a human andI've read the end of the story,
I mean God has known the endbefore the beginning.
He knows how all of this willpan out.
So why is he groaning in themeantime about what's going on?
It's the same reason that Jesusin John 11 stands outside the
(21:34):
tomb of Lazarus and knows inabout five minutes I'm going to
say the word and Lazarus isgoing to shuffle out of the tomb
.
And yet what does Jesus do?
He stops and he weeps Again.
He knows Lazarus is about tocome out, but even he weeps
(21:55):
because he looks and he sees thebrokenness that death has
caused at this funeralprocession.
He sees the sadness of a worldthat, if they're not careful,
can believe that death gets thefinal say.
And Jesus takes time in thatmoment to weep.
(22:15):
And even the Holy Spirit, whoknows the end before the
beginning, takes time to groanwith us as we pray, and those
prayers that are too deep forwords.
I've got a question for you.
Have you ever gotten a piece ofnews, told something reported
(22:35):
something or something happenedto you and it led you to a place
of prayer?
And yet, as you arrive at thatplace of prayer, you realize in
that moment I don't have thewords to properly pray for this
(23:00):
that this story, this situation,this trial, this suffering,
that this friend of mine or thisspouse of mine or this child of
mine or this parent of mine iswalking God, I don't have the
words and, quite literally, youcome before the Lord and you've
got nothing to give, because nowords can you put together to
make a sentence that would fullycapture the devastating nature
(23:20):
of what you've been told, thereport you've been given, and
literally, all you can give tothe Lord is your tears.
Here's the good news that ourmumblings and our groanings and
even our tears, the Lordunderstands that.
Why?
Because the Holy Spirit comesalongside us and as we don't
even have the words to say, theHoly Spirit takes the words that
(23:44):
we don't have and gives them tothe Father on our behalf.
I want to speak to the childrenin the room.
Any child in the room If you'veever been tempted to say, maybe
I don't have the words to pray,that sometimes, you know, the
(24:05):
deacon gives the operatory andhe's got these and thous and the
big words and I don't have them.
Can God hear my prayer?
Can God hear me?
I want to tell you you have theperfect prayer.
Why?
Because the Holy Spirit comesalongside you and when you don't
have the words, the Holy Spirithas the words, but not just
(24:28):
children, everyone in this roomthat when your prayers are such
that no words can come together,the Holy Spirit stands ready to
(24:50):
give those words to the Father.
We see in the very next verse27,.
And he who searches heartsknows what is in the mind of the
Spirit.
Because the Spirit intercedesfor the saints according to the
will of God.
And so the Holy Spirit indeed,takes our words, or our lack of
words, and prays for us and withus to the Father.
(25:15):
And so if you've ever wondered,is anyone praying for me?
If you've ever wondered, isthere anyone out there that I am
on their prayer list?
I've got some unbelievable newsfor you this morning the Holy
(25:37):
Spirit, he prays for you, withyou, beside you, perfectly
according to the will of theFather.
To the Father, and when you andI don't have the words, he does
.
My job is to come up withillustrations, but sometimes the
perfect illustration hasalready been created and given.
(25:59):
I want you to, in just a moment, see a video of someone who is
a professor, mentor and friend,dr Robert Smith Jr.
He was preaching this exactmessage, a sermon titled the
Glory of the Grown, and heexplains these verses so well.
We can watch the video now.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
My father in the ministry, dr George T Brown, is
suffering Alzheimer's disease.
He doesn't even know his wifeany longer, but a few years ago,
about three years ago, we hadhim brought down from Cleveland
Ohio to Cincinnati and we had acelebration program for him.
(26:41):
He doesn't talk in anintelligible way, he slurs, he
mumbles, and at the end of theprogram, after everyone had
given their remarks and pastorswho had pastored with him 30
some years before had giventheir remarks, he was on the
program to sing Precious Lord,how's he going to do that.
(27:04):
He can't talk, he doesn't knowthe words any longer.
But his wife of 50 some yearsstood next to him.
She's a singer in her own right, gave him the mic and the
organist played.
And when it was time for him tosing, she whispered in his ear
precious Lord, precious Lord,take my hand, take my hand, lead
(27:37):
me on hand, lead me on, lead meon.
And she just kept feeding himthe words, standing alongside of
him and helping him, and whenhe didn't have the words, he
took the words she gave him andsung, and when he couldn't
continue, she finished the song.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
I think that's what happens when we don't have the
words the spirit will take ourmumbling and clarify it and tell
god exactly, according to thewill of god, what we meant that,
according to the will of god,the holy spirit can take what we
don't have, what we don'tpossess, the sentences and
(28:22):
paragraphs that we're not ableto put together, and pray
according to the will of God.
Also, if you've ever wonderedis my prayer life effective?
Did I really pray in such a waythat God was able to capture
(28:44):
what I was getting at?
And I'll tell you this as longas the Holy Spirit is good at
what he does and I think healways will be your prayer life
is extremely effective, becausethe Holy Spirit prays when you
don't have the words, accordingto the will of God with you and
(29:05):
for you.
And so creation is groaning andlonging and waiting.
Christians are groaning andlonging and waiting.
The Holy Spirit himself isgroaning and is working in and
through us as we await what isahead.
And the good news is this thereis good news ahead.
(29:35):
Cs Lewis in Oxford wrotemodeling college, wrote a poem,
and he didn't write a lot ofpoems.
He didn't write a lot of goodpoems, but this was a good one.
It was called what the BirdSaid Early in the Year, and it's
(29:56):
a poem about a walk down acertain walkway, down Addison's
Walk, near Modeling College inthe Oxford area.
It's the very walk that on onenight with two friends, he kind
of first encountered not firstencountered Christianity, but
first opened his mind to theidea of becoming a Christian
(30:16):
himself.
And on Addison's walk all thisidea of Christianity started to
take root and take hold in hislife.
He later wrote this poem, whatthe Bird Said Early in the Year,
and the whole idea of it isthis that we live in a world
where creation, there's so muchbeauty in it, there's so much
(30:37):
beauty of spring and then summer.
But you and I both know there'salso this cycle of fall and
winter.
We may love fall and winter,there's a lot to like about it,
but as far as creation goes,it's a time where the beauty of
spring and summer starts to dieaway.
Leaves fall, flowers die and wego through this cycle once
(31:01):
again.
We're promised once again thebeauty of spring and summer, but
then the cycle again and backinto death and to fall and
winter.
And in this poem CS Lewis wantsto remind us there's one day
where, when the cycle will end,in his words, there will be a
day when the summer finallycomes true.
(31:22):
And that's how he begins thepoem I heard on Addison's walk,
the birds sing clear.
The summer will come true thisyear.
This year I heard on Addison'swalk, the birds sing clear.
The summer will come true thisyear.
The good news of the gospel, thegood news of Revelation 21 and
22, the good news of life inChrist Jesus.
(31:46):
As we wait in our groaning andonce again move into fall and
into winter, time and time again, and the sufferings and the
groans of our own lives, thegood news of the gospel is
simply this that one day thesummer will come true.
One day, everything we'vewaited for and hoped for in a
(32:07):
world of broken promises, brokendreams and broken hopes,
everything we've waited for andhoped for ultimately will come
true.
Those aren't my words.
I wouldn't believe it if theycame from me.
Revelation 21,.
Then I saw a new heaven and anew earth, for the first heaven
(32:28):
and the first earth had passedaway and the sea was no more.
And I saw the holy city NewJerusalem coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as abride adorned for her husband,
and I heard a loud voice fromthe throne saying behold, the
dwelling place of God is withman.
He will dwell with them andthey will be his people and God
himself will be with them astheir God.
He will wipe every tear fromtheir eyes and death shall be no
(32:52):
more.
Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore,
for the former things havepassed away.
You and I live in thein-betweenness of time.
We've gained the victory inChrist, but we await his return.
And while we await, there arehard things, there are broken
(33:16):
things and broken lives andbroken pieces.
But there is a day, the summerwill come.
True, christ will return.
And for the Christian, for youand I, we can forever say in
this life that the best is yetto come, that the sufferings of
(33:37):
this present life are not worthcomparing to the glory that is
to be revealed in us.
And all the glory goes toChrist Jesus.
I pray you'll have hope thismorning, even if in this moment
you're here in a season ofsuffering.
I pray that you will have hopebecause there's reason for it.
(34:00):
If you need to respond in anyway, I just pray that you will.
I'll be down front in just amoment.
We'll continue in worship.
You may need to come and pray atour altar here.
You're welcome to do it.
You may want to come talk to meabout something.
You may want to join our church.
Whatever you need to do,however, you need to respond
this morning.
I just hope and pray that youwill, and so, in these moments,
(34:23):
would you bow your heads with me.
Our team will come up, we'llworship together.
Lord Jesus, we thank you so muchfor the gospel, the hope that
exists in the gospel.
This is a hope that the worldcannot provide, that the things
of earth cannot provide, but youcan and you have in Christ
Jesus.
And so if there is one thatneeds that hope, this provide,
but you can and you have inChrist Jesus.
And so if there's one thatneeds that hope this morning,
(34:45):
would you encourage their hearts.
If they need that hope for thevery first time, would they make
this morning the day that theycome to know you personally,
lord.
However, one needs to respond.
Would you do it and would weworship you now?
We ask this in Christ's nameAmen.
Would you stand now as weworship?
1st Baptist, baptist El Dorado, will you join me now
in listening to our sermon fromthis week?
Amen, open with me to Romans,chapter 8.
As we continue our journey, ourclimb through what may be the
(00:44):
greatest passage in all ofScripture, romans 8, today, will
be in verses 18 through 27.
Verse 18 says this, for Iconsider that the sufferings of
this present time are not worthcomparing with the glory that is
(01:04):
to be revealed to us.
For I consider again that thesufferings of this present time
are not worth comparing with theglory that is to be revealed to
us.
And, lord Jesus, would youreveal to us your glory even now
through your word?
Would you speak in Christ'sname, amen.
(01:25):
You know there are times whenthe war is won long before the
war is over, when the war is wonlong before the war is over.
I think of July 4th 1863.
I think of Vicksburg,mississippi.
You can make the argument forFort Sumter in the beginning of
the Civil War.
You can make the argument forFort Sumter in the beginning of
(01:45):
the Civil War.
You can make the argument forGettysburg certainly gets the
highlights, and rightfully so,the headlines, but I could argue
that the Battle of Vicksburg isthe most important victory on
that July 4th of 63, in theentire Civil War.
Why?
Because, in a real sense, itended the war long before the
war ended.
Why Because, in a real sense,it ended the war long before the
(02:06):
war ended.
As the Union troops tookVicksburg, mississippi, they
really took the MississippiRiver, and when you take the
Mississippi River, you take thewar.
The war ended at Vicksburg eventhough there were about two
years of fighting remaining.
I can say the same illustrationof D-Day.
(02:29):
It was about a year before,about 11 months before victory
in Europe Day when World War IIended.
But about a year before that,d-day took place when the Allied
forces took over Normandy andin that moment the war was all
but over.
It was all but done becausethey gained this great victory.
There were still battles to befought, but in a very real sense
(02:50):
, the war was over.
You and I, even today, in thismoment, we live in the
in-betweenness of time.
The in-betweenness of time Ifthat's not a word, we'll make it
one this morning.
The in-betweenness of time Ifthat's not a word, we'll make it
one this morning.
The in-betweenness of timeBecause the reality is the war
(03:11):
has been waged and the war hasbeen won.
Christ Jesus went to the crossand he went to the grave An
early Sunday morning, rose fromthe grave, defeating sin and
death.
The war is won.
Satan knows he has lost, butwe're still awaiting a future
day, aren't we?
When Christ Jesus returns,brings with him the new heavens
(03:34):
and new earth, makes all thingsgood and all things right, and
you and I live in thein-betweenness of time.
The war is won, but you and Iboth know the devil.
He's defeated, but he stillprowls around like a lion and
can still make a mess of things,can he not?
Yet one day he will be put intohis final resting place, when
(03:56):
Christ returns.
You and I are in right now, thein-betweenness of time, and
that's what Paul speaks about inRomans, chapter 8, starting in
verse 18.
What does life look like in thein-betweenness of it all?
As we've seen one coming of ourLord and await another.
(04:16):
He starts in verse 18 again,for I consider that the
sufferings of this present timeare not worth comparing with the
glory that is to be revealed tous.
You say this, taylor.
I thought Romans 8 was supposedto be our favorite chapter of
scripture, and suddenly we'retalking about suffering.
(04:38):
That doesn't sound too good tome, but what Paul has just
finished in verse 17 is that youand I are heirs of God, fellow
heirs with Christ we talkedabout that last week Provided
that we suffer with Christ.
So to walk the way Christ haswalked means we will arrive with
him at the place of glory.
But in the meantime we walk theroad Christ has walked, even to
(05:00):
the place of suffering.
But then Paul immediately showsus what that suffering is all
about, that even the sufferingsthat you and I face now in this
life every day are not worthcomparing to what is coming, our
very bright future that isahead.
That the sufferings of thispresent time are not worth
comparing with the glory that isto be revealed in us.
(05:21):
Now we've got to talk about twothings that Paul is doing here,
because I think it's important.
We've talked about this beforeas we've walked through the book
of Romans.
But Paul is not writing thisfrom a beachside condo, a
beachside destination, justenjoying his vacation, writing
(05:42):
back to the church at Rome, justsaying good luck with all the
suffering you're walking through.
I hope it turns out okay foryou.
Paul is a sufferer difficultword to say, and I'll try it a
few times a sufferer writing tothose who are suffering.
If you open the book of Actsthis morning and you pick
anywhere in the second half ofthe book of Acts and you just
(06:05):
put your finger at a locationblindfolded, just put it there,
you're probably going to land ona passage of scripture in which
you see Paul suffering.
You're probably going to landin a moment when Paul is in
prison, one of the many timeshe's in prison.
You might land in a momentwhere people are throwing Paul
out of town or trying literallyto execute Paul.
You may land in a moment wherePaul is shipwrecked, where he's
(06:28):
literally been bitten by a snake, when he's being chartered to
Rome to go to prison and fromRome he will not leave, he will
be executed.
You'll probably land at one ofthose moments.
He knows what it is to sufferand this suffering servant of
Christ Jesus is writing to othersufferers because those at the
(06:49):
church of Rome know what itmeans to suffer.
They live in Rome under thehand of the emperor.
They know what it's like to bepersecuted.
They know what it's like tolive in fear and live in danger.
So this is a sufferer writingto sufferers about suffering for
Christ and even still says,with all this suffering that is
(07:11):
going on, it's not worthcomparing to the glory that will
be revealed.
Number two thing we need torealize is simply this that in
this moment, paul is notminimizing suffering.
That in this moment, paul isnot minimizing suffering.
What he's not doing is lookingat your suffering this morning
(07:31):
and saying this why don't youjust not worry about it?
I mean, don't you just haveenough faith to realize it's
going to be better one day outthere in the future?
He's not minimizing yoursuffering in any way in the
future.
He's not minimizing yoursuffering in any way.
In fact, what we see throughoutScripture is that the suffering
we walk through is very real.
(07:52):
I don't have to tell you thatyou walk through trial and pain
and suffering and you know verywell, even in this moment, even
this morning, as you walk intothe room, if you're walking
through a trial, you know justhow real and how heavy and how
serious that suffering is, thatyou've walked through things and
(08:13):
moments and seasons of lifethat maybe few of us in the room
can even imagine, and maybeothers have walked through
seasons of suffering that youcouldn't imagine.
But Paul is not minimizing thatsuffering in any way.
He doesn't want us to look atthat and that very real
suffering in our lives and justsay, you know, hey, buddy, don't
(08:35):
worry about it.
But he's not minimizingsuffering, he's simply
maximizing glory that, howeverdeep and full and heavy and
weighty your suffering is forthe believer, on your very worst
day you could imagine or thebest day you can imagine, the
(08:58):
truth is this that the best isyet to come, that there is a day
ahead that will fill with joyall the places in our heart that
sorrow has carved out throughour suffering, that there is
something coming that willredeem all things and even
(09:19):
redeem our suffering.
And so, whatever the extent ofyour suffering this morning,
paul is not minimizing it.
He's just reminding you that inChrist Jesus, there are
beautiful things ahead.
And he continues as he talksabout a lot of the suffering
(09:39):
that's happened in this momentfor you and I, and even creation
itself.
Look with me, verse 19.
For the creation waits witheager longing for the revealing
of the sons of God.
I want to see point one thismorning.
It's simply this all creationawaits the glory of Christ.
(10:00):
Do you know that not only arebelievers awaiting the glory of
Christ, but creation itself,like non-human creation, is
awaiting the return of Christ.
It talks about the revealing ofthe sons of God.
We saw in 1 through 17 that ifwe are in Christ we are sons of
(10:26):
God.
Now that is already.
We have already been adoptedinto the family.
And yet creation is waiting onthat moment when that is
revealed at Christ's return inits truest sense and we are
glorified and all creation isglorified.
They're awaiting that momentand literally we've got this
personification of creation.
(10:47):
That creation is longing forthis.
What these verses kind of makeus think about is, as if under
our feet right now, there's thiskind of bubbling underneath us
of a creation that is just sodesperately longing and groaning
and waiting for Christ's return.
(11:07):
You know, the redemption of allthings is bigger than just the
redemption of humanity.
Creation itself has been thesubject to futility and it's
waiting its own restoration.
Keep reading with me verse 20,.
For the creation was subjectedto futility, not willingly, but
because of him who subjected it,in hope that the creation
(11:30):
itself will be set free from itsbondage to corruption and
obtain the freedom of the gloryof the children of God.
Even creation is waiting.
Every mountain, every valley,every ocean, every field, every
stream.
It is waiting for Christ tocome make all things new.
(11:53):
It has been subjected to thebrokenness of this world and it
is patiently waiting.
And now you say this.
You say, pastor, I've got anissue with this Because you said
I was in life group thismorning and we talked about
creation, and we talked aboutthat as God created, he made all
things good.
(12:14):
Pastor, don't take my word forit, those are God's words.
He created and he says it wasgood.
All things he made are good,including humans, made in the
image of God.
He said very good.
And yet you'll see in nextweek's life group, in chapter
three of Genesis, that ashumanity rebels against God, sin
(12:35):
enters the world.
That affects much more thanjust mankind, that affects all
things.
In Genesis 3, as the Lord isgiving consequence to Adam, he
literally says this verse 17,ground.
(13:00):
Because of you In pain, youshall eat of it all the days of
your life.
Thorns and thistles it shallbring forth for you and you
shall eat the plants of thefield.
Cursed is the ground.
The creation itself is probablysaying something like God.
What did I do, man and woman?
They did all the sinning, andyet I've got to bear the effects
(13:21):
of this as well.
Cursed is the ground, and ifyou listen close enough, it's
almost as if you can hearcreation crying out for its
redemption.
You can just feel in your bones, can you not, that there's
something off, that, asbeautiful as all creation is,
(13:44):
there is something that you canstill sit back and say this is
just not the way it's supposedto be, and we're awaiting a day
when the Lord will come, redeemall creation.
There's something in us thatlooks at the fact that we live
in a broken world wherefloodwaters can rise 26 feet in
45 minutes and cause devastationin a small town in Texas.
(14:09):
There's something within uswhen we think about a 2004
tsunami off the coast ofIndonesia that, in a matter of
moments, took over 200,000 lives.
There's something within us.
I was just talking to a newfriend of mine from Little Rock,
little Rock Central graduate,but we were talking about our
(14:32):
hometown and he lived not toofar from where my parents lived,
and we talked about thedevastating effects of a tornado
just a few years back and someof the places we drove by every
day decimated.
We live in this world that'sbroken.
That's just not the way it'ssupposed to be.
We live in a world that's justcrying out and waiting for all
(14:55):
things to be made new.
Now I've read the end of thebook and I've got good news.
Revelation 21 and 22 do tell usthat for creation, as it waits,
as it waits on its redemption,ultimately the fulfillment of
that redemption will come.
You look at Revelation 22,.
You see the new Jerusalemcoming down.
You see Christ Jesus restoringall things, bringing the new
(15:18):
heavens and new earth.
And in chapter 22, verses 1through 5, I won't read them all
, but you see the river of thewater of life.
You see the streets coming downand these trees yielding their
fruits.
What you see here from thethrone of God, all this coming
forth, is a picture of creationbeing made new.
(15:39):
That, in these moments, as allcreation is crying out, is
groaning for the redemption ofall things, that Christ's return
.
They will finally.
Creation will finally get whatit so desperately seeks, and
that's good news.
So number one is this allcreation awaits the glory of
Christ.
But also we see this allbelievers await the glory of
(16:02):
Christ, verse 23,.
And not only the creation, butwe ourselves, who have the first
fruits of the spirit I lovethat phrase the first fruits of
the Spirit.
Ephesians 1.14 talks about thatsame idea, that the Holy Spirit,
the first fruits, or even youcall it the guarantee, the down
(16:24):
payment that the Holy Spiritdwells in us.
Now.
That's our help for today, butalso a promise of what is coming
, that we have the first fruitsof the Spirit.
But look at this verse 23 again.
We groan inwardly as we eagerlyawait our adoption as sons, the
(16:44):
redemption of our bodies.
So not only is creation cryingout, is groaning, but you and I,
if we are in Christ Jesus, weare groaning.
But you and I, if we are inChrist Jesus, we are groaning,
we are waiting.
Verse 24, for in this hope wewere saved.
Now, hope that is seen is nothope who hopes for what he sees,
but if we hope for what we donot see, we wait for it with
(17:13):
patience.
You and I have the first fruitsof the Holy Spirit.
Like we talked about at thebeginning, you and I live in the
in-betweenness of life andwithin that in-betweenness you
and I both know there are a lotof broken things in our world.
Within that in-betweennessthere's a lot of sin that has
broken a lot of things in ourworld.
(17:34):
And, by the way, we don't justhave to look outward.
We can look inward in our ownhearts to see how much our own
sin has made a mess of things inour world and in our lives, how
much our own decisions and therightful consequences for that
decision have made way into ourlives.
But we look around and all wesee is brokenness in our world.
(17:55):
And do you ever just look atour world or look even closer to
home and just say this is justnot the way it's supposed to be,
that there's part of you thatis just so deeply groaning for
the return of Christ, groaningfor the return of Christ, that
places we'll see in a minute,that are just too deep for words
(18:19):
, that you've walked throughsuffering that all you can say
is Lord Jesus come, Lord Jesuscome.
We see evidence of the brokenworld all over the place.
(18:40):
I was texting a certain newsanchor in town you won't be able
to guess who it was and we weremessaging about something
church related, something I wasasking her about.
But then I just said him or her, it could be anybody and I
asked this individual.
Well, really, I said to thisindividual something to this
effect.
I said I don't know how you doit.
(19:01):
I don't know how.
You sit there every afternoonand that teleprompter comes on
and in that moment and you do itso well, but in that moment
you've got to read off thatteleprompter some of the most
heartbreaking stories.
In that moment you see on thatteleprompter some of the most
devastating things.
(19:22):
I couldn't imagine how you doit, that we live in a broken
world and you've got to read theteleprompter and then the
teleprompter the news turns off,and then you've got to go home
and just be a mom and a normalfunctioning human.
And yet you see up close thebrokenness of our world.
(19:43):
But you don't have to be anewscaster to know that.
You see it in your own life.
You see it in the world aroundus, a world that is groaning
creation, that is groaning forthe return of Christ, because we
see how broken this world is.
You've seen in your own livesmoments of suffering you can't
(20:03):
even put words to, and speakingof our inability to put words to
them, verse 26,.
Likewise, the Spirit helps usin our weakness, for we do not
know what to pray for, as weought, but the Spirit himself
intercedes for us with groaningstoo deep for words.
(20:27):
Think about this.
We've seen creation groan.
We've seen creation groan.
We've seen believers groan, andin this verse we literally see
the Holy Spirit himself groaning.
That as the Holy Spirit seesour loss for words, our
(20:51):
brokenness over the suffering ofthis world, the Holy Spirit
groans beside us and with us ashe takes our prayers and sends
them to the Father.
And you say now, why in theworld is the Holy Spirit
groaning?
I mean the Holy Spirit.
We're a Trinitarian bunch hereFather, son, holy Spirit.
(21:13):
We know the Trinity is himselfGod.
Why in the world is he groaning?
Because if I'm just a human andI've read the end of the story,
I mean God has known the endbefore the beginning.
He knows how all of this willpan out.
So why is he groaning in themeantime about what's going on?
It's the same reason that Jesusin John 11 stands outside the
(21:34):
tomb of Lazarus and knows inabout five minutes I'm going to
say the word and Lazarus isgoing to shuffle out of the tomb
.
And yet what does Jesus do?
He stops and he weeps Again.
He knows Lazarus is about tocome out, but even he weeps
(21:55):
because he looks and he sees thebrokenness that death has
caused at this funeralprocession.
He sees the sadness of a worldthat, if they're not careful,
can believe that death gets thefinal say.
And Jesus takes time in thatmoment to weep.
(22:15):
And even the Holy Spirit, whoknows the end before the
beginning, takes time to groanwith us as we pray, and those
prayers that are too deep forwords.
I've got a question for you.
Have you ever gotten a piece ofnews, told something reported
(22:35):
something or something happenedto you and it led you to a place
of prayer?
And yet, as you arrive at thatplace of prayer, you realize in
that moment I don't have thewords to properly pray for this
(23:00):
that this story, this situation,this trial, this suffering,
that this friend of mine or thisspouse of mine or this child of
mine or this parent of mine iswalking God, I don't have the
words and, quite literally, youcome before the Lord and you've
got nothing to give, because nowords can you put together to
make a sentence that would fullycapture the devastating nature
(23:20):
of what you've been told, thereport you've been given, and
literally, all you can give tothe Lord is your tears.
Here's the good news that ourmumblings and our groanings and
even our tears, the Lordunderstands that.
Why?
Because the Holy Spirit comesalongside us and as we don't
even have the words to say, theHoly Spirit takes the words that
(23:44):
we don't have and gives them tothe Father on our behalf.
I want to speak to the childrenin the room.
Any child in the room If you'veever been tempted to say, maybe
I don't have the words to pray,that sometimes, you know, the
(24:05):
deacon gives the operatory andhe's got these and thous and the
big words and I don't have them.
Can God hear my prayer?
Can God hear me?
I want to tell you you have theperfect prayer.
Why?
Because the Holy Spirit comesalongside you and when you don't
have the words, the Holy Spirithas the words, but not just
(24:28):
children, everyone in this roomthat when your prayers are such
that no words can come together,the Holy Spirit stands ready to
(24:50):
give those words to the Father.
We see in the very next verse27,.
And he who searches heartsknows what is in the mind of the
Spirit.
Because the Spirit intercedesfor the saints according to the
will of God.
And so the Holy Spirit indeed,takes our words, or our lack of
words, and prays for us and withus to the Father.
(25:15):
And so if you've ever wondered,is anyone praying for me?
If you've ever wondered, isthere anyone out there that I am
on their prayer list?
I've got some unbelievable newsfor you this morning the Holy
(25:37):
Spirit, he prays for you, withyou, beside you, perfectly
according to the will of theFather.
To the Father, and when you andI don't have the words, he does
.
My job is to come up withillustrations, but sometimes the
perfect illustration hasalready been created and given.
(25:59):
I want you to, in just a moment, see a video of someone who is
a professor, mentor and friend,dr Robert Smith Jr.
He was preaching this exactmessage, a sermon titled the
Glory of the Grown, and heexplains these verses so well.
We can watch the video now.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
My father in the ministry, dr George T Brown, is
suffering Alzheimer's disease.
He doesn't even know his wifeany longer, but a few years ago,
about three years ago, we hadhim brought down from Cleveland
Ohio to Cincinnati and we had acelebration program for him.
(26:41):
He doesn't talk in anintelligible way, he slurs, he
mumbles, and at the end of theprogram, after everyone had
given their remarks and pastorswho had pastored with him 30
some years before had giventheir remarks, he was on the
program to sing Precious Lord,how's he going to do that.
(27:04):
He can't talk, he doesn't knowthe words any longer.
But his wife of 50 some yearsstood next to him.
She's a singer in her own right, gave him the mic and the
organist played.
And when it was time for him tosing, she whispered in his ear
precious Lord, precious Lord,take my hand, take my hand, lead
(27:37):
me on hand, lead me on, lead meon.
And she just kept feeding himthe words, standing alongside of
him and helping him, and whenhe didn't have the words, he
took the words she gave him andsung, and when he couldn't
continue, she finished the song.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
I think that's what happens when we don't have the
words the spirit will take ourmumbling and clarify it and tell
god exactly, according to thewill of god, what we meant that,
according to the will of god,the holy spirit can take what we
don't have, what we don'tpossess, the sentences and
(28:22):
paragraphs that we're not ableto put together, and pray
according to the will of God.
Also, if you've ever wonderedis my prayer life effective?
Did I really pray in such a waythat God was able to capture
(28:44):
what I was getting at?
And I'll tell you this as longas the Holy Spirit is good at
what he does and I think healways will be your prayer life
is extremely effective, becausethe Holy Spirit prays when you
don't have the words, accordingto the will of God with you and
(29:05):
for you.
And so creation is groaning andlonging and waiting.
Christians are groaning andlonging and waiting.
The Holy Spirit himself isgroaning and is working in and
through us as we await what isahead.
And the good news is this thereis good news ahead.
(29:35):
Cs Lewis in Oxford wrotemodeling college, wrote a poem,
and he didn't write a lot ofpoems.
He didn't write a lot of goodpoems, but this was a good one.
It was called what the BirdSaid Early in the Year, and it's
(29:56):
a poem about a walk down acertain walkway, down Addison's
Walk, near Modeling College inthe Oxford area.
It's the very walk that on onenight with two friends, he kind
of first encountered not firstencountered Christianity, but
first opened his mind to theidea of becoming a Christian
(30:16):
himself.
And on Addison's walk all thisidea of Christianity started to
take root and take hold in hislife.
He later wrote this poem, whatthe Bird Said Early in the Year,
and the whole idea of it isthis that we live in a world
where creation, there's so muchbeauty in it, there's so much
(30:37):
beauty of spring and then summer.
But you and I both know there'salso this cycle of fall and
winter.
We may love fall and winter,there's a lot to like about it,
but as far as creation goes,it's a time where the beauty of
spring and summer starts to dieaway.
Leaves fall, flowers die and wego through this cycle once
(31:01):
again.
We're promised once again thebeauty of spring and summer, but
then the cycle again and backinto death and to fall and
winter.
And in this poem CS Lewis wantsto remind us there's one day
where, when the cycle will end,in his words, there will be a
day when the summer finallycomes true.
(31:22):
And that's how he begins thepoem I heard on Addison's walk,
the birds sing clear.
The summer will come true thisyear.
This year I heard on Addison'swalk, the birds sing clear.
The summer will come true thisyear.
The good news of the gospel, thegood news of Revelation 21 and
22, the good news of life inChrist Jesus.
(31:46):
As we wait in our groaning andonce again move into fall and
into winter, time and time again, and the sufferings and the
groans of our own lives, thegood news of the gospel is
simply this that one day thesummer will come true.
One day, everything we'vewaited for and hoped for in a
(32:07):
world of broken promises, brokendreams and broken hopes,
everything we've waited for andhoped for ultimately will come
true.
Those aren't my words.
I wouldn't believe it if theycame from me.
Revelation 21,.
Then I saw a new heaven and anew earth, for the first heaven
(32:28):
and the first earth had passedaway and the sea was no more.
And I saw the holy city NewJerusalem coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as abride adorned for her husband,
and I heard a loud voice fromthe throne saying behold, the
dwelling place of God is withman.
He will dwell with them andthey will be his people and God
himself will be with them astheir God.
He will wipe every tear fromtheir eyes and death shall be no
(32:52):
more.
Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore,
for the former things havepassed away.
You and I live in thein-betweenness of time.
We've gained the victory inChrist, but we await his return.
And while we await, there arehard things, there are broken
(33:16):
things and broken lives andbroken pieces.
But there is a day, the summerwill come.
True, christ will return.
And for the Christian, for youand I, we can forever say in
this life that the best is yetto come, that the sufferings of
(33:37):
this present life are not worthcomparing to the glory that is
to be revealed in us.
And all the glory goes toChrist Jesus.
I pray you'll have hope thismorning, even if in this moment
you're here in a season ofsuffering.
I pray that you will have hopebecause there's reason for it.
(34:00):
If you need to respond in anyway, I just pray that you will.
I'll be down front in just amoment.
We'll continue in worship.
You may need to come and pray atour altar here.
You're welcome to do it.
You may want to come talk to meabout something.
You may want to join our church.
Whatever you need to do,however, you need to respond
this morning.
I just hope and pray that youwill, and so, in these moments,
(34:23):
would you bow your heads with me.
Our team will come up, we'llworship together.
Lord Jesus, we thank you so muchfor the gospel, the hope that
exists in the gospel.
This is a hope that the worldcannot provide, that the things
of earth cannot provide, but youcan and you have in Christ
Jesus.
And so if there is one thatneeds that hope, this provide,
but you can and you have inChrist Jesus.
And so if there's one thatneeds that hope this morning,
(34:45):
would you encourage their hearts.
If they need that hope for thevery first time, would they make
this morning the day that theycome to know you personally,
lord.
However, one needs to respond.
Would you do it and would weworship you now?
We ask this in Christ's nameAmen.
Would you stand now as weworship?
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Cardiac Cowboys
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.