Perilous Times Are Here

This study is based on the sermon titled Perilous Times Are Here by Matthew Maher below.

In Perilous Times Are Here: Cold World, Bold Church, Pastor Matthew Maher unpacks the sobering warning from 2 Timothy 3 about the spiritual and moral decline in the last days. Building on the plea from the end of chapter 2 for people to “escape the snare of the devil,” the sermon paints a vivid picture of what happens when deception is no longer resisted but embraced. The enemy’s trap doesn’t just ensnare—it hardens. Like wet cement, sin and falsehood settle quickly and become foundational in people’s lives, eventually creating a world marked by anarchy, apostasy, and apathy. The only hope for breaking free is through the disruptive, uncompromising truth of God's Word—truth that functions like a jackhammer to hardened hearts.

As Pastor Matthew walks through the characteristics listed in 2 Timothy 3:1–5, he highlights a culture consumed with self: self-love, self-gratification, and self-exaltation. This misplaced love results in blasphemy, rebellion, and the celebration of sin over confession. True love, the sermon reminds us, begins not with the self but with the Savior. As the world grows darker and colder, believers are called to grow bolder and brighter—reflecting Christ rather than blending in with a decaying culture. When pride is celebrated, destruction is near; and the only way forward is through humble submission to God and His ways.

The message concludes with a powerful charge: in these perilous times, we must not conform to counterfeit forms of godliness that deny true spiritual power. Turning away from such influence is not avoidance—it’s active spiritual discernment. It’s a choice to be shaped not by the spirit of the age but by the Spirit of Christ. At Landmark Church, Pastor Matthew urges believers to stand when others settle, to remain cemented not in culture’s lies but in the truth, grace, and love of Jesus. In an era where deception hardens hearts, now is the time to let God mold us with eternal foundations.