In The Faith?

In Second Corinthians Paul is answering the charges that the false teachers have brought against him. They said that he was an inferior minister and unimpressive. They said he talked big, but had no real authority.

Paul has answered these charges in various ways, but at the end of the book he finally says, "You tell me! Has my ministry been effective in your lives?" He urges them to examine themselves and see if God has really worked in them or not.

Christmas Mission

What would you have thought if you were Joseph?  Mary, your promised wife was obviously pregnant and you know it is not your baby?

Matthew chapter one records his thoughts and what changed his mind and the course of history.

May you truly have Christ in your Christmas!

God In Flesh - John's Christmas Story

In John's gospel he is explaining who and what Jesus is. He is correcting some of the erroneous teachings of the various groups. Who is this Jesus? Where did he come from? What sets him apart? Why is he important?

At the very beginning of his gospel he lays it out! Jesus is God from heaven - come to earth as a man.

A Thorn In The Flesh

What is it like to have a painful problem? Does having pain mean that God is angry at me? How can a loving God allow me to have pain in my life? How can pain be good for me?

Funeral Message From John 11

In the week beginning on Sunday November 18, 2018 we had two funerals for longstanding members of Whipple Avenue Baptist Church.  Betty's Smith's services were on Monday November 19. Bertha Anderson's services were on Saturday November 24.

The message I preached at both of these services is from John 11.  This message resonated with many people and I was asked to make it available online.

I hope that God will use this to comfort and encourage your heart.

In Everything Give Thanks

We know what we feel most thankful for - but if we go through all of the New Testament, what does God tell us we should be thankful for?

The Key To Thanksgiving

We generally think of Thanksgiving as a time to enumerate all of the good things we have experienced or received.  We celebrate with a big feast and enjoying all the things God has to offer.
But what if Thanksgiving comes on us during difficult times. What if there is not plenty to enjoy? What if we are facing sorrow and loss?

Can we still be giving thanks?

Strength In Weakness

In Second Corinthians Paul talks a lot about weakness - but he is not really recommending that we be weak.  He is say that what the world thinks is weakness might really be strength from God's perspective. We should value what God values and behave in ways that please him - even if the rest of the world thinks we are crazy.

                                                      

Sermon In A Sack: Blindfold

According to the Bible, faith is of vital importance.  But what is faith?  Where do we get faith?  How can we have faith?

Is faith a "blind leap" into the dark - or something more?

Godly Jealousy

      We tend to think of jealousy as bad thing, but the Bible speaks of “godly jealousy” and says, God is “jealous.”  We need to honor God by having the right kind of jealousy in the right kind of situations.

Mighty Through God

As human beings we are used to doing our work through physical, mental means – Our Flesh.  But as Christians we are charging the gates of hell in God’s name. Now our success depends completely on God’s power.

There is only one way to reach lost people with the Gospel.

Cheerful Givers

We live in a very materialistic society in which people have a special relationship with money.
Secular people tend to think that the churches are just after their money - and maybe some churches are. The way some ministries plead for money, beg for money or do fundraising for money can mean that they are mostly interested in getting people's money.

But God wants us to trust in him, rather than to trust in material things.

On Being Earnest

Long ago I had a friend who was truly a hard worker, but one of the things he always said was, "It's good enough for government work." We don't want our own government workers to have an attitude like that. We definitely don't want people working for us in our private lives who have that attitude.

Why would it surprise us that God wants us to be earnest in our service to him?

Marvelous Grace

What difference does it make if you believe you earn your salvation through good works rather than believe salvation is God’s free gift that cannot be earned?

Well, it turns out that there are some very important differences. Several of these differences show up in Second Corinthians chapter eight as Paul relates talks to the Corinthians about participating in the relief efforts for the Judean Churches.

The Role of Repentance

      One of the barriers to discipline is that we don’t want people to feel bad or get mad. Parents don’t want their child to cry. Churches don’t want members to be ashamed.

      But if anyone is going to be right with God the relationship starts with godly grief that leads to repentance that results in salvation.

The Role of Repentance

      One of the barriers to discipline is that we don’t want people to feel bad or get mad. Parents don’t want their child to cry. Churches don’t want members to be ashamed.

      But if anyone is going to be right with God the relationship starts with godly grief that leads to repentance that results in salvation.

Following Through

      Many people would like to have a relationship with God as long as he would not make any demands of them. They want to have Christianity, but also keep bits and pieces of their ungodly habits and worldly ways.

      But a relationship with God requires submitting to God to be transformed into the image of Christ.

2 Corinthians 7:1 -  Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

Follow Through

It is one thing to say you are going to be a follower of Jesus. It is another thing to actually follow Jesus.  Don't just SAY it! DO it!  Follow through!

Motivations For Ministry

It is sometimes difficult to tell what is motivating people.

The false teachers in Corinth were evidently motivated by the desire for power, the desire to please people and the desire for a financial profit.

But the apostle Paul talks about different motivations that are important for any true follower of Jesus Christ.

Transformation

      We are often urged to become a better version of ourselves. You should be a healthier version of you, a more educated you, a kinder you, a more wealthy you…

      God does not want his people to be a modified version of themselves – he wants us to be transformed into new creatures in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17 -  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Sermon In A Sack: Lamb Fleece

      The animal sacrifices in the Old Testament were an object lesson that taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They taught that the wages of sin is death and that God would only accept a spotless sacrifice in our place. The life of the sinner is spared at the cost of the life of the innocent sacrifice.

Mortal to Immortal

"Everyone wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die."  Is this true? What does it mean?

In 2 Corinthians chapter five the scriptures tell us about how we move from our temporary earthly life to our eternal heavenly life. What will happen? What will it be like?

Do Not Lose Heart

Have you ever been discouraged or depressed?

Hasn't everyone?

But the Lord has a message for you. "Do not lose heart!"

There are many difficult and painful circumstances in our lives, but God gives us good reasons why we should not lose heart.

The Glorious Gospel

What is the nature of authentic Christian ministry?

The apostle was writing to the Corinthians in part because they had been influenced by false teachers who claimed that Paul was not much of a minister of Christ and that they had a more complete message than he did.

Investing Our Lives - Thoughts on Luke 16

Many people have pointed out that in the gospels Jesus talks a lot about money.  Some people use those passages to teach financial principles. There is nothing wrong with that unless people begin to think that Jesus' primary intention was to give us instructions about finances and that finances should be our central focus.

What they seem to ignore is that Jesus clearly said that we should not be focused on our finances and that a perspective that puts finances in the center is a form of idolatry.

Luke 16:13 - No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

When Jesus does talk about handling money he uses it as a shorthand for everything that has been entrusted to us. Not just finances, property and resources, but also time, energy and talents. Here in Luke chapter sixteen, the dishonest manager is in trouble for "wasting" his master's possessions (v.1). The implication is that we are in a position of responsibility as managers of what God has entrusted to us - financially and otherwise. But it is not ours, it is God's. We have no right to waste it.

The dishonest manager was smart enough to see that he should not focus on maximum dollar value, but on relationships with other people. In doing this, he is taking a long view - beyond his immediate pleasures. Anticipating a time when he will not have access to his master's resources, he wants to have other people who will "...receive me into their houses." (v.4)

So what was Jesus praising about a "dishonest manager?" Certainly not that he was dishonest, but that he eventually realized the importance of investing in relationships and the long view.

Everything we have belongs to our Master. We have no business wasting it. He didn't give it to us to waste on our pleasures (James 4:3), but to use for his kingdom. Do we have money, homes, cars, technology, time, energy and talents? All of them are God's and we should use them to accomplish God's purposes. To a large extent we should be using everything to invest in relationships with other people.

People are not units of revenue. They are God's creation. They are precious souls with an eternal destiny. They are brothers and sisters with whom we can have relationships. We need to be generous and strategic in building into people's lives for the glory of God.

The Aroma of Christ

In the wars between nations one person’s Conqueror is another person’s Liberator. So it is with Christ. Praise the Lord that he is the Victor who has taken us captive!  As sinners we fought against him, but when he made us his captives we discovered true freedom. Now we are delighted to be on display as trophies of his grace!

Called To Forgive

We live in a time when people talk a lot about tolerance, but usually at the top of their voices in profanity laced tirades. If you watch the news, look at social media or spend much time on the road it is easy to see that people are seething with rage.

Jesus presents a stark contrast.  "When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly."  1 Peter 2:23

We are called to practice the grace of forgiveness.

Straight Talk

There is not lack of opportunity to hear religious broadcasting or to ready religious material. But not all preaching is worth our attention. In fact, we need to be careful what we listen to and what we promote.

2 Corinthians comes in the midst of a conflict between the Apostle Paul and some false teachers who have come to Corinth. We don't have direct writings from them, but Paul's letter gives us some information about them and about their attacks on Paul's ministry.

Comfort In Affliction

Some preachers claim that God wants Christians to always be healthy and wealthy. If a Christian is sick or having some sort of problem it must be because of sin in his life.

The Apostle Paul sets the record straight. Christians do suffer affliction according to the will of God. And God works in those afflictions and through those afflictions.

Sack Sermon: The Tape Measure

People like to measure themselves against other people. Who is taller, stronger, faster? Who is better?

The Bible says that this is foolish. It doesn't matter how you compare to most people. What matters is how you compare to the perfect son of God - Jesus Christ.

Jesus Is Coming!

What does it mean when a 2000 year old prophecy says Jesus is coming soon?

Skeptics may mock, but Jesus is adamant. He is returning. He is returning soon.

Jesus is coming soon and we need to respond to his promises accordingly.

Fatherly Love

Proverbs blurs the distinction between the earthly father doing the training and the heavenly father he is teaching his son about. As earthly fathers, we are far from perfect - but we hope to point our children to the Heavenly Father who is perfect in every way. We fail, but he never does.

What does fatherly love look like?

The Source of Life

Revelation 22 speaks of the "river of the water of life" and "the tree of life." What are these and why is there this emphasis on life? Will life in eternity with God be better than our life in this world?

Brand Spanking New

Eternity seems like a very long time. What will we do? Will we get bored? What is our eternal life going to be like there?

Revelation chapter twenty-one describes our eternal home and suggests some of what we will be doing.

Final Judgment

Do you believe that there is such a thing as "true truth" and "ultimate justice?"

God says that both of these exist. True truth is not subjective or relative. It is absolutely true whether you know it or not and whether you believe it or not. God is the author of truth and he is not asking for our opinion.

Ultimate justice means that there will be an accounting for every deed - good or bad. While our human court system cannot catch every criminal or find adequate punishment for every crime - God can. And he will!

God will call all men to account and provide the appropriate punishment.  Mercy and forgiveness are available now through Jesus Christ, but people need to act on God's offer today.

One Thousand Years

Would you think that one thousand years would be long enough to fix the world?  What is it that God is trying to do by revealing that there will be a one thousand year reign by Christ on the earth? Why not just fix everything all at once and get on with eternity?

Proverbs on Parenting

Although there are stories of humans who were raised by wolves or gorillas, we all know that these are fiction. Children need parents. Not just parents, but good parents. Proverbs has a great deal to tell us about being good parents.

Sermon In A Sack: The Eraser

Most of us use erasers almost everyday. How is Jesus like an eraser? Why do we need Jesus to be an eraser for us? How do we take advantage of this provision that Jesus offers us?

Hallelujah!

While many people think of the book of Revelation as a series of terrible (even apocalyptic) events, it is better to see that it is a series of praise meetings in God's heavenly throne room.  It is easy for us to be discouraged by the events in our lives. Bad things happen in the world everyday and sometimes they happen to us.

Revelation chapter 19 reveals another praise meeting in heaven. The theme is "Hallelujah" - praise the LORD! The explanation of this praise should encourage us in the face of our own difficulties.

Spiritual Seduction

Babylon the Great - also known as The Great Prostitute - is quite prominent in the book of Revelation. Whoever or whatever or wherever she is, she is addressed from chapters 14 through nineteen and much is made of God's judgment of her.

So who is she and what are we supposed to do about her?

Beware! She is a seductress who lures people to destruction!

Proverbs 7:21–27(ESV)

²¹With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him. 

²²All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast 

²³till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life. 

²⁴And now, O sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth. 

²⁵Let not your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths, 

²⁶for many a victim has she laid low, and all her slain are a mighty throng. 

²⁷Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.

Divine Justice

As the world spirals into greater depths of depravity and further from faith in the God of the Bible, we are tempted to think God is losing control. Maybe God is even losing the battle.

Revelation chapter fifteen tells about the moments toward the end of the great tribulation when Satan is empowering the Antichrist who holds power over the entire world.  For years the believers have been persecuted and killed for their faith.  It doesn't get much darker than this.

But these eight verses remind us that God is still in control and things are going to turn out right.  Divine Justice will prevail.

Easter Sunday: The Resurrection Paradigm

Because of the Resurrection Paradigm the disciples of Jesus Christ see the world through new eyes. The logic that guides their decisions and their values is different than it was before Christ arose from the dead. The are freed from sin and death and courageous in the name of their living Savior, Jesus Christ!

Palm Sunday: Welcoming The King

What was going on in Jerusalem on the day recorded in John 12:12-19? Why were there crowds? Why did the crowds get excited about Jesus coming? What was all the fuss? What were they claiming about Jesus? Why was there opposition from the religious leaders? Why didn't the disciples understand everything when it was happening?

More to the point, what are we supposed to learn from this account of Palm Sunday - and how do we implement it in our lives?

An Angry Dragon

The book of Revelation has some amazing scenes in it. One of the most threatening is that of an angry seven headed dragon.

Chapter twelve provides a bridge from the biblical account of creation to the ultimate day of God's judgment. This chapter reviews the career and character of God's primary opponent - Satan.  What should our attitude be?

Sack Sermon - Road Signs

We see road signs everywhere we go. They tell us about the road ahead.

Jesus also told us about the road ahead - in a much more significant way. Jesus says we are at a crossroad and need to make a decision about which way we will go.

Bearing Witness

The two witnesses in Revelation chapter eleven live in the most difficult environment EVER. And yet the serve the Lord faithfully through it all.  What can we learn from their experiences? How should we live in light of this passage of scripture?

Salvation Belongs To Our God

Terrible things happen somewhere in this world everyday. People suffer and die. There is treachery and cruelty and abuse and suffering. There are catastrophes. There are crimes. There are disasters.

The Bible tells us that there is a time coming that will be the worst time ever. That time is called the great tribulation. There will be human agents that make it a terrible time - political figures and warring factions. There will be terrible judgments poured out by God that affect all of nature and impact human beings.

It is not something anyone really wants to experience.

And yet, God will accomplish good things through even that worst time in human experience. The people (or some of the people) will break forth in songs of praise for what God has done in that tribulation and through that tribulation.

Thy Kingdom Come

When we pray "Thy kingdom come..." we might not be thinking about what it will take for God's kingdom to come. The book of Revelation describes terrible judgments that will be poured out on the earth. Why is this necessary? What is God accomplishing through these things? What should we know about this?

Worthy Is The Lamb!

Revelation chapter five reveals a heavenly drama - the will by which God's salvation will be realized by his people is available, but there is no person in all of the universe who has the authority to open it. This is a disaster - until the Lion of the tribe of Judah - the Root of David is declared worthy.

But when he appears it is not as a powerful lion, nor as a glorious king!  He is revealed as a lamb that has been slain...

Heavenly Worship

In Revelation chapter four, the apostle is summoned into the throne room of heaven and there he observes heavenly worship.  What did he see and what does it mean for us?

Sermon In A Sack: Exercise Weights

What does the Bible say about physical exercise?  

Someone said that Proverbs 28:1 was an excuse not to run for exercise:

Proverbs 28:1 "The wicked run away when no one is chasing them..."

But what does the Bible really say about it?  What can we learn through a simple object lesson with some barbells?

The Yuck Factor

How do you feel about eating raw oysters?  How about eating whale blubber?  Do you turn up your nose at drinking chunky sour tasting buttermilk?

There are many things that cause some people to feel a bit queasy. Whether it is something they are trying to eat or having blood drawn - it makes them feel sick to their stomach.

In todays message, Jesus reveals something that makes him feel sick to his stomach.  It is people with lukewarm affections for him.