Sermon Archive
June 2021
War of Words
Last message we were introduced to a man whom the Bible identifies as “The Rabshakeh.” He was a trash-talking envoy of the great and terrible King Sennacherib of Assyria. In 701 bc the Assyrian army encircled Jerusalem and the Rabshakeh sidled up to within earshot of Jerusalem’s defenders and fired off the opening volley in a war of words. It was a powerful opening salvo too that shook the hearts of those who heard it. King Hezekiah’s representatives hurried back to Hezekiah in dismay and w…
May 2021
Rabshakeh
In Isaiah 36 we are introduced to a man who is called “the Rabshakeh.” Rabshakeh is probably not the man’s name but rather a title that translates roughly to “field commander.” He has been charged by King Sennacherib of Assyria with overthrowing Jerusalem. As I mentioned in last week’s worship service this Rabshakeh is a grade-A trash talker. However, it can also be said that the Rabshakeh was a man of extraordinary faith. We don’t often think of such a character as being a ma…
Bezalel and Oholiab
In this message we will be getting to know Bezalel and Oholiab who the Bible mentions in Exodus 31, 35 and 36 as the two artists chiefly responsible for creating the tabernacle, its decorations, the ark of the covenant and the garments worn by the priests. In Exodus 31 we are told that God “called them by name,” and that they were “[filled] with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship.” Exodus 35 tells us that they were “inspired to t…
Uzziah
In this message we study the life of one of Judah’s lesser known Kings, Uzziah. We find his story in 2 Chronicles 26. In the Old Testament we are given the names of 46 men who were kings over Israel and Judah. Some of these names are famous (like David for example), some of them are infamous (like Ahab!), but most of them are some mix of the two and not really well-known to us. Most folks know that there were a lot of kings, and that some of them were good and others bad, but the details …
Jephthah
Sarah and I have pretty much decided on the name “Oliver” for the newest Tater Tot who is due to arrive in just a matter of weeks. It seems a fitting handle to us because “Oliver” means olive tree and Sarah’s family have been olive growers for generations in Southern California (and in Italy before that). The name also reminds us of Bible verses like Psalm 128:3, “…your children will be like olive shoots around your table,” or Psalm 52:8, “But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the ho…
Through Not To
At the far end of our quiet mall there is a small collection of children’s rides. Now, you might not have travelled far enough down the empty corridors to know the specific ones I am talking about, but imagine the rides you used to see outside of a grocery store. The ones you put a quarter in to play a song while they move back and forth for a brief minute. My kids used to love those and would beg for a quarter when we ever went near them. As an adult I didn’t understand the allure of t…
April 2021
The Final End
In this message we will wrap up our mini sermon series on Advent Christian Doctrinal Distinctives by posing the question, “What is the final end of those who do not put their trust in Jesus for salvation?”
At the center of Christianity is the joyous reality of “good news.” The Christian message is, at its core, a happy and hopeful one, however it must be owned that before there can be good news there must first be bad news. The bad news is that all have sinned and fallen shor…
When We Die
Thoughtful and careful Bible students have come away from God’s Word with different answers to the question of what precisely follows in the minutes, hours, days and years after a person dies. Does a person’s spirit go to heaven as their body suffers decay? If so, is their soul then rejoined to their body in the resurrection spoken of in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 where it says that the dead in Christ will rise (1 Thessalonians 4:16). And if the Spirit goes directly to heaven upon death why w…
Is Man Immortal
In this series we’ll be exploring the doctrinal distinctives of the Advent Christian Denomination. I don’t generally make a habit of focusing on that too much as it tends to emphasize what separates us off rather than what unites us to the broader family of the Church. However, it does seem appropriate to reacquaint ourselves periodically with those beliefs and biblical interpretations that have been traditionally held by Advent Christians.
We will explore those doctrinal distincti…
Empty Tomb, Full Hearts
All human beings are either of Adam or of Jesus.
The first Adam was the great bringer of death, and all who are born in the line and lineage of Adam remain under its curse. Jesus, who scripture describes as the second Adam(Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15) , was the great life-bringer, and anyone who puts their trust in Him for salvation becomes born again and is delivered out from under the curse of sin and death.
The first Adam began as dust that was then filled with spirit. The se…
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