Sermon Archive
November 2022
Courage To Be Counter-Cultural
In the Old Testament book of Daniel we find the example of some people who lived as a small minority in the midst of a wicked, pagan society that not only did not share their values, but who were often openly antagonistic toward them. However, For the sake of God’s name and for His glory they lived in a way that was holy and set apart in the midst of that culture. Today the church in America find itself in a similar position, and the challenge is in front of us, will we dare to live in th…
Courage In The Face of Need
When I first felt a calling to pastoral ministry, I knew I needed some formal Bible training and equipping, but there was a problem. It was a money problem. Seminaries were expensive, I had a pile of kids to provide for, and the income I was earning from my job at the time was barely paying the bills. Things were very tight.
My pastor at the time, who was also a great mentor figure, took me out for lunch one day. I was explaining my problem to him, and he surprised me with his respon…
October 2022
Death Is A Bully
I love the scene in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy accidentally kills the Wicked Witch by dousing her with water while trying to save the scarecrow who had been set on fire (not accidentally) by the witch. The whole land of Oz, which had been living under the fear-filled oppression of the witch, burst into celebration. “Ding dong the witch is dead!” they sang. Dorothy had saved them! I love that moment!
Like all great stories that us humans tell one another “The Wizard of Oz” mirrors …
Fear of the Unknown
Fear of the unknown is a particularly difficult form of fear because it refuses to take the shape of anything definite, real or concrete. If it did, it would no longer be properly a fear of the unknown but a fear of that thing. A fear of the unknown flourishes in the shadowy world of what is possible, and not what is. A fear of the unknown tends to grow in our minds into a nebulous swirl of ominous possibilities. With all of its ever-shifting variables, this fear can paralyze us and keep us…
Fear of Man
As we continue our study on fear and courage we’ll be spending some time with the Apostle Peter. Peter is one of the most fascinating personalities that we encounter in the New Testament, and unlike most of the other men who formed Jesus’ inner circle of disciples, we are actually given a lot of information about Peter’s personality, as well as his strengths and his weaknesses. One of the things that the Bible tells us about Peter was that he struggled with a habit sin, the fear of man.
A lot has been said about how impetuous Peter was, and how he tended to wear his emotions on his sleeve. At times he was incredibly brave, but other times he seemed overwhelmed by the fear of man.
Fear Not
When she was told that her starving, peasant subjects had no bread to eat, Marie Antoinette infamously quipped, “Let them eat cake.” This quote is commonly cited as proof that she was oblivious to the plight of the common people and was blithely indifferent to their troubles. I wonder, is it possible that someone might think that God is saying something similarly cavalier and blithely indifferent when He commands His people to “fear not.”
I can just imagine someone thinking, …
The Love of A One-Another People
“… and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.”
How can we talk about growing as a disciple of Jesus or becoming a one-another people without talking about love? Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35) Colossians 3:14 …
September 2022
The Challenges of Being A One-Another People
Colossians 3:12-17 is one of those portions of the Bible that speaks to us in a real-life, pragmatic way about the challenges that we will face in trying to become a one-another people, but it also speaks to the beauty that makes facing those challenges worth it. Give this short portion of scripture a read. While you’re at it, you might also read Ephesians 5:15-21. These two portions of scripture, although written to two different churches, were both written by the Apostle Paul. They are strikingly similar and there are some valuable insights to be gleaned by comparing and contrasting these two passages.
Hold Fast
Fellow Christian, you have been called to a life of striving. Living for Jesus in the midst of a fallen world means that all of your movement toward Christ and Christlikeness will be opposed strongly by a powerful current running in the opposite direction. Even now, the prevailing current of the culture and our own sin-nature is pulling strongly at our hearts and minds. There is a strong downward pull to these days that we are living in.
Hebrews 10:24-25, sits squarely in the midst of a …
Outdo
Romans 12:10
The first sentence of this verse contains two different Greek words for love. Love (philostorgos) one another with brotherly affection (philadelphia). What does it mean to philostorgos one another with philadelphia? And how do these Greek words for love differ from “agape,” that Greek word that we commonly associate with the sacrificial love that Jesus demonstrated on the cross?
The second sentence of this verse says…
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