Called, Loved, Kept: A Sermon that Still Holds On to Me

At this point in my life, I’ve heard more than 2,500 Sunday sermons. It’s humbling when I compare how much I’ve forgotten from those messages to what I remember (it’s not even close). And I imagine I’m not the only one who feels that way.

But some sermons, by God’s grace, keep preaching long after they were preached the first time. I heard one of those sermons on February 14, 2010. My pastor and friend, C.J. Mahaney, was expositing the first two verses of Jude:

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,
To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:
May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. (Jude 1–2)

Jude is one of the shortest letters in the New Testament, so when I heard C.J. was preaching from that book, I assumed it would be a one-and-done sermon, or maybe two. I mean, how much can you say about a letter that is slightly longer than one page in my Bible?

I was about to find out.

This article by Bob Kauflin first appeared on Desiring God on June 11, 2025. Click the above link to continue reading on the Desiring God website.