/past-sermons en-us © /past-sermons Past Sermons no Past Sermons Sun, 28 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0400 Past Sermons Happy Fathers Day Sun, 21 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0400 Past Sermons https://youtu.be/0FEMIa_iILc   WHY WATER BAPTISM? ACTS 2:38 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus established water baptism as a commitment opportunity for believers when He gave the Great Commission message in Matthew 28:19 and Mark 16:16. Water Baptism is far more than a ritual or religious exercise. It is not only our personal choice, but it's a command for us as believers. Water Baptism is a public, outward declaration that reflects a personal, inward faith. It associates the believer with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and signifies the believer's death to the old life and his or her resurrection as a new creation in Christ (Romans 6:1–8; Colossians 2:12, 2 Corinthians 5:17). In order to understand the reason for being water baptised, it is important to carefully consider what the Bible says about it. It is a symbol of Christ's burial and resurrection. Our entrance into the water during baptism identifies us with Christ's death on the cross, His burial in the tomb, and His resurrection from the dead. "...Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." 1 Corinthians 15:3,4 "...having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead." Colossians 2:12 We bury the 'old life' and we rise to walk in a 'new life'. Baptism is like a wedding ring it is the outward symbol of the commitment you made in your heart, a commitment that has to be followed through and lived out on a daily basis. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17 Sun, 14 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0400 Past Sermons Sun, 07 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0400 Past Sermons Sun, 17 May 2015 00:00:00 -0400 Past Sermons Sun, 26 Apr 2015 00:00:00 -0400 Past Sermons Sun, 05 Apr 2015 00:00:00 -0400 Past Sermons GENEROSITY John 12:1-8 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint[a] of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him,objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you,[c] but you will not always have me.” 6   He did not say this because he cared about the poor W.A. Criswell tells of an ambitious young man who told his pastor he’d promised God a tithe of his income. They prayed for God to bless his career. At that time he was making $40.00 per week and tithing $4.00. In a few years his income increased and he was tithing $500.00 per week. He called on the pastor to see if he could be released from his tithing promise, it was too costly now. The pastor replied, "I don’t see how you can be released from your promise, but we can ask God to reduce your income to $40.00 a week, then you’d have no problem tithing $4.00." Worship takes many various forms. Here, the believer does not understand that tithing is also a form of worship to God. It acknowledges that God is the source of all things. When we commit our lives to Christ, we must wholeheartedly put our trust in Him and that includes every area of our lives. Sun, 29 Mar 2015 00:00:00 -0400 Past Sermons Sun, 22 Mar 2015 00:00:00 -0400 Past Sermons THE LUKEWARM CHURCH Revelation 3:14-22 15 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! 16 But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!.... In one little Midwestern town, Miss Jones had the distinction of being the oldest resident in town. So when she died, the editor of the local paper wanted to print a little article remembering this dear old lady, except he couldn't think of anything to say when he sat down to write the article. Miss Jones had never done anything terribly wrong. She had never spent a night in jail or had ever been drunk. On the other hand, she had never done anything significant. With this still on his mind, the editor went down to the local café, and there, ran into the local funeral director. He too was having the same trouble. He wanted to put something on Miss Jones' tombstone besides "Miss Nancy Jones, born such-and-such a date and died such-and-such a date," but he couldn't think of anything to write either. The editor decided to go back to his office and assign the job of writing up a small article for both the paper and the tombstone to the first reporter he saw. When he got to the office, he ran into the sports editor, who got the assignment. So somewhere in some little community in the Midwest there is a tombstone which reads: Here lie the bones of Nancy Jones, For her life held no terrors. She lived an old maid. She died an old maid. No hits, no runs, no errors. (C. C. Mitchell, Let's Live!) I'm afraid to say, "That's the way many Christians live their lives." They've never done anything terribly wrong, but they never accomplish anything significant for the Lord. What about you? Do you consider yourself on fire? Or lukewarm for God? The decision is yours, but you have to make it now, “as long as it is called Sun, 15 Mar 2015 00:00:00 -0400 Past Sermons Sun, 08 Mar 2015 00:00:00 -0500 Past Sermons Luke 2 Sun, 22 Feb 2015 00:00:00 -0500 Past Sermons Sun, 15 Feb 2015 00:00:00 -0500 Past Sermons Psalm 107:1-43 Sun, 08 Feb 2015 00:00:00 -0500 Past Sermons Sun, 25 Jan 2015 00:00:00 -0500 Past Sermons Sun, 18 Jan 2015 00:00:00 -0500 Past Sermons Luke 1:26-38  God's chisel   Sun, 11 Jan 2015 00:00:00 -0500 Past Sermons Sun, 04 Jan 2015 00:00:00 -0500 Past Sermons Philippians 2:1-11 and Isaiah 9:6 Sun, 28 Dec 2014 00:00:00 -0500 Past Sermons DISCIPLESHIP MOVES US FORWARD Philippians 3:12-21 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." (Josh 1:9 NKJV). Courage is not the absence of fear. It takes no courage to face that which you are not afraid of. Courage is moving ahead despite your fears. I like what John Wayne said about courage: "Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway." It is not enough simply to know the word of God....or to sense His presence, we must put into action what He tells us to do. Joshua has to begin that process. He takes action....he begins the task of moving forward, knowing that God is with him and will keep His promises. Paul exhorts us to strain “toward what is ahead” and not what is on our side, or what the world offers, to “ press on toward the goal”, and that goal can only be reached when we allow ourselves to truly become a disciple of Christ, not just a one-time believer, but a genuine follower, setting aside our own personal desires. The movie, We Were Soldiers, tells of true story of an army commander in Vietnam, Lt. Col. Hal Moore. He leads his troops into the first major engagement of US Troops against the Vietnamese Communists army. It turns out to be one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Col. Moore is a Christian, a great leader, and an American hero. At the beginning of the movie Moore gives a stirring speech to his troops, promising his absolute commitment to them and his dedication to sacrificial leadership. With sternness he says:“ Let us understand the situation. We are going into battle against a tough and determined enemy. I can't promise you that I'll bring you all home alive. But this I swear before you and before Almighty God: that when we go into battle I will be the first to set foot on the field and the last to step off. And I will leave no one behind. Dead or alive, we will all come home together, so help me God.” Not long after that speech Moore is on the battlefield, Army headquarters realizes they've made a mistake by attacking an enemy that's far too strong for them (they were outnumbered at least four to one). As intensifying enemy fire eliminated their air support, the officers back at the base decide to send in one last helicopter to evacuate Col. Moore so he can report to them directly what is happening, leaving his men behind to be overrun by When headquarters radios the orders for Moore to take this last helicopter back from the front line, he is outraged. He grabs the radio and barks into it, "I am in a fight! I object to this order! I will not leave my men!" and then he slams down the radio and returns to the battle. Moore ends the firefight by taking his remaining men on a daring charge deeper into enemy territory. This turns the tide of the battle and leads to a dramatic victory. (Based on his interview in 2007 at ArmChairGeneral.com) What a great picture of courage! Hal Moore was committed to stand with his men no matter what. Hebrews 2:10 calls Jesus the captain of our salvation. He has done everything that is needed to give us the victory in the spiritual battle. And He has promised never to leave us. Joshua had that same promise from God and he was determined to move forward. How about us? We’ve heard the word of God...we have sensed His presence, and His leading...but are we still just sitting? What are we waiting for? “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” (Eph 6:10 NKJV). Let’s get going. There is ground to cover, battles to be won, a mission that is still unfinished.....let’s become REAL disciples and move forward! Sun, 07 Dec 2014 00:00:00 -0500 Past Sermons PROCLAMATION OF THANKSGIVING -President of the United States of America The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the By the President: Abraham Lincoln   Giving thanks is a state of being and a ______ of life. Being thankful is expressed through prayer, public proclamation and also one’s ____________ in living life. Thankfulness completes ___________________. We thank God for the _____________ and __________ that we experience during crises. Sun, 30 Nov 2014 00:00:00 -0500 Past Sermons NEW CREATION Galatians 6:11-18 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.—Galatians 6:14 When you go to a farm, you would see several tractors to help work the land, harvest the crops, and haul materials. The tractor’s benefit comes when it is hooked to a piece of equipment. This connection is possible with a small hitch pin. Without the hitch pin connected, the equipment is useless and could not move. But with the hitch pin connecting the tractor to the equipment, the farmers are able to accomplish great things. The Christian faith has a “hitch pin” that connects heaven and earth. That pin is the cross of Jesus Christ. Paul says, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul understood the significance of the cross as being the main thing. The cross shows victory, forgiveness, power, and freedom. The Galatians had lost sight of the cross, so Paul reminded them (earlier), “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.” He then asked, “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard?” (Galatians 3:1-2). The Galatians’ focus was on what they could do instead of what Christ had already done for them on the cross, and how the Holy Spirit could now guide them. Are you boasting in the cross of Jesus? Or in your accomplishments? Let it be in Christ! Peer pressure can exert a powerful influence on us. The style of our clothes, the kind of music we listen to, our vocabulary, even the drinks we buy are affected by what others do and say. We are often tempted to change our behavior so others will accept us. But such approval can have a high price tag. In this final passage Paul helps us to consider whose Paul wrote the last part of this chapter “ 11 See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!” to emphasize what he wants for the Galatians to understand. Paul advises the Galatians not to be swayed or misled by the world. Unfortunately, Christians today have succumbed to what this world demands; in school, in our community, and in our sphere of influence. Paul emphasizes that no matter what, we should never set aside the importance of what Christ has done on the cross. How about you? Do you boast in conforming to what the world dictates ( achievements, careers, being always in fashion and updated with what the world offers) or do you boast SERMON NOTES Paul concludes his letter to the Galatians with an emphasis on the __________ theme of the Gospel. 3 Points: 1) One reason to be ____________. - The _________ is a real problem to those who want to indulge their _________________. 2) One reason to ______________.  - Paul contrasts the boasting of the Judaizers in their own __________ with his only boast - ________________ 3) One thing that ______________. - The ____________ is the source of _________________ That Paul calls “ ____________________”. Sun, 23 Nov 2014 00:00:00 -0500 Past Sermons SOWING and REAPING Galatians 6:7-10 "If the past has taught us anything it is that every cause brings its effect, every action has a consequence. If a man plants melons he will reap melons; if he sows beans, he will reap beans." And this is true of everyone's life; good begets good, and evil leads to evil. True enough, the sun shines on the saint and the sinner alike, and too often it seems that the wicked prosper. But we can say with certainty that, with the individual as with the nation, the flourishing of the wicked is an illusion, for unceasingly, life keeps books on us all. In the end, we are all the sum total of our actions. Character cannot be counterfeited, nor can it put on and cast off as if it were a garment to meet the whim of the moment. Like the markings on wood which are ingrained in the very heart of the tree, character requires time and nurturing for growth and development. Thus also, day by day, we write our own destiny; for inexorably...we become what we Last week we discussed how Paul encourages us to “keep in step of the Holy Spirit” (Gal. 5:25). Everyone gets tired eventually. You try to do the right things, but the wrong things result. You believe the best of others, but are invariably disappointed. You let yourself be vulnerable and you get hurt – again. You can get tired of doing the right thing, especially when disappointed thoughts whisper that no one else does, which is untrue of course. Cry out to God as did David,“Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me . Restore to me again the joy of Your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.” Psalm 51:10/12 NLT. Do the right thing, because that is always the right thing to do. You may grow tired, but doing the right thing is never the wrong thing. “The ways of the Lord are right” Hosea 14:9 NIV. Be certain of that and they are right for you, every time. “To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. Listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His eyes.” Proverbs 21:2-3. There is satisfaction in doing what pleases and honors the Lord. Sun, 16 Nov 2014 00:00:00 -0500 Past Sermons WALKING BY THE SPIRIT..ARE WE?? Galatians 5:16-26 Not long ago, a seasoned marathoner had just crossed the finish line with an impressive time when he suffered a heart attack and died. From the outside, he looked to be the picture of health, but a fatal condition was hiding on the inside. Every one of us needs an occasional visit to the doctor for a checkup to make sure everything is working alright and that we don’t have an unknown serious internal The same is true with our spiritual lives. As creatures of habit, we tend to go through life on autopilot. We often miss clues that indicate that our spirit is not enjoying the good health that God created it for. In the same way that the doctor puts us through a battery of tests to diagnose potential physical problems, God has given us a process of evaluating spiritual problems in our lives: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23) “Walking in the Spirit” produces all nine qualities listed above. When we follow the Spirit’s lead instead of being led by our self-focused desires, He produces the But even when we don’t walk by the Spirit, He is the very one who convicts us that things are not in proper order in our lives. God promises that if we are willing to admit that we have been walking our own way and ask for His forgiveness and cleansing, He will empower us through His Spirit to live above ourselves and live the abundant life for which He has created Question: Am I actively depending on the Holy Spirit to guide me in God’s ways so I don’t get wrapped up in myself? If not, am I willing to confess to God that His ways are better than mine, and that I need the Spirit’s guidance to live above the fray? Sun, 09 Nov 2014 00:00:00 -0500 Past Sermons CLEARING THE CONFUSION Galatians 5:1-15 My wife and I believe that we should teach our children to be independent at a very young age. When we had Andrea, although she has spina bifida, we never focused on the things that she cannot do, but rather on the things that she CAN do, not on her inability to do things but on her ability to do those things.   During her elementary schooling in NY, I remember how she disliked the presence of a para assisting her at school. Although the school mean well, she said it limits het independence, her freedom.   At home, Andrea was encouraged to do chores, i.e. dishwashing, doing her own laundry, folding her own clothes, and other things. One time, we talked to our daughters about having that freedom to do those things because of their love for us as a family not out of obligation. Do you know what happened after that?   My daughters started to lose that desire to do their part, to do their chores around the house. Being young and as children, their priorities are of course different, theirs is to satisfy and do what they want, not what’s best for the family. When we were like “children” in our faith in Christ (not mature), we tend to just do the desires of what satisfies us, not God’s. That’s the reason why Paul reiterated that Jesus Christ set us free from law to do God’s will NOT our will.   Why do so many seem to miss or ignore the fact that we are free in Christ? Why are so many reticent to accept that we are no longer subject to having to live under the law? Why do so many people in churches today seem to resist the principles of freedom taught in the book of Galatians? The fear of many is that if we take away all of our rules, people will be out of control. If we teach people about liberty in Christ, there will be religious anarchy. Such will not in fact be the case when the teaching of God’s Word is properly understood and applied.   In chapter 5 of Galatians, Paul transitions from doctrine to application. In chapters 1-4, Paul has established the doctrine of sanctification by faith. He has demonstrated in these chapters that those who are justified by faith in Christ should also pursue sanctification on the same basis of faith. They are free from slavery to law and it would not make any sense at all to go back to living under the law. In chapters 5-6, Paul shows the relationship of the doctrinal truth he has presented thus far to our practical, daily living. He shows how our liberty in Christ will and should relate to our daily conduct. As we will see, a proper understanding and application of what it means to live by faith and be free in Christ will not make us rebels who do whatever we want, but will rather make us people who live and love like Jesus.   What about you? How do you use your God-given freedom? Is it for our own satisfaction or to serve one another out of love, the same love that Christ manifested on the cross to set us free? Sun, 02 Nov 2014 00:00:00 -0400 Past Sermons BORN FREE Galatians 4:21-31 In order to be free in the fullest sense you have to have opportunity, ability, and desire to do what will make you happy in a thousand years. Another way to say it would be that there are four stages of freedom on the way to the full freedom all of us long for: the freedom of opportunity to do what we can, the freedom of ability to do what we desire, and the freedom of desire to do what will bring us unending joy. Let's take sky-jumping, for example. Suppose you are on your way to the airport to go up for your first real jump, but your car hits a pothole, you have a blowout, and run into a telephone pole. You are no longer free to jump whether you have the ability or not, because the opportunity passes while you wait for the tow truck. You lack the freedom of opportunity. Or suppose you do make it to the airport, but you have no ability at all—you have never studied sky-jumping and never learned the first thing about how a parachute works. The opportunity is there, but you don't have the freedom of ability—you are in bondage to your own lack of know-how. But suppose that you make it to the airport, you've been to school and been trained and have all the abilities needed, and you take off for your first jump. But as soon as you look down, all your desire vanishes and in its place comes a tremendous fear. The opportunity is there, the ability and know-how are there, but you don't have the freedom of desire. The interesting thing about the freedom of desire is that you might be able to go ahead and jump without it, but it won't be a free act. For example, you might feel so humiliated in front of your instructor (or girlfriend) that the desire not to be humiliated overcomes the desire not to jump. So you jump. But the emotional experience is not what we call freedom. You are acting under very uncomfortable external constraints. You have the freedom of desire when you do what you love to do. That's the way a lot of professing Christians try to keep the commandments of Christ. They don't really delight to do them, but they feel some uncomfortable constraints like social pressures or fear of hell or desire to impress someone. So they go through outward motions of obedience, but the desire of their hearts is fixed somewhere else. They do not enjoy the freedom of desire which Christ gives when he is being formed in the heart (Galatians 4:19). But there is one last requirement for full freedom. Suppose you get to the airport with no obstacle; you have all the know-how necessary; you look out the door at the tiny clusters of silos and barns and farmhouses and just can't wait to jump. You have freedom of opportunity, freedom of ability, and freedom of desire. So you jump. And as you free fall, unbeknown to you, your parachute malfunctions and will not open. Are you free? In three senses, yes. But in that critical fourth sense, no. What you are doing so happily, so freely, is going to kill you. Whether you know it or not, you are in bondage to destruction. It would be a mockery to exult in the freedom of an exhilarating free fall if you knew it was leading to destruction. In order to be fully free, it is not enough to have opportunity, ability, and desire to act. The acts you desire and perform have to lead to life, indeed, eternal life not destruction. Therefore, true Christians are the freest people in the world. And Paul is fighting with all his might in Galatians to expose the teaching of the Judaizers for what it really is: slavery. For Paul, the experience of freedom is not icing on the cake of Christianity. Freedom in Christ is Christianity.   Sun, 26 Oct 2014 00:00:00 -0400 Past Sermons Sun, 19 Oct 2014 00:00:00 -0400 Past Sermons PRISONERS AND PROMISES Galatians 3:15-25 Douglas E. Moore shares the following illustration: - Booker T. Washington describes meeting an ex-slave from Virginia in his book Up From Slavery : "I found that this man had made a contract with his master, two or three years previous to the Emancipation Proclamation, to the effect that the slave was to be permitted to buy himself, by paying so much per year for his body; and while he was paying for himself, he was to be permitted to labor where and for whom he pleased. "Finding that he could secure better wages in Ohio, he went there. When freedom came, he was still in debt to his master some three hundred dollars. Notwithstanding that the Emancipation Proclamation freed him from any obligation to his master, this black man walked the greater portion of the distance back to where his old master lived in Virginia, and placed the last dollar, with interest, in his hands. In talking to me about this, the man told me that he knew that he did not have to pay his debt, but that he had given his word to his master, and his word he had never broken. He felt that he could not enjoy his freedom till he had fulfilled his promise." (Up From Slavery –Booker T. Washington) There was a time (not so long ago) when a man’s word and a handshake was as good as a written contract? Sadly in our day, some people will look you in the eye, make you a promise with no intentions of honoring their obligations. Even those who are honorable and possess integrity may still let you down. There have been times in my life (as a result of certain circumstances) where I have failed to follow through on promises that I have made. Sometimes we let people down, maybe not on purpose, but we fail them nonetheless. But I am thankful as we read the Word of God that we find some promises that will endure! Not one time has God ever made a promise that He did not ...or will not keep! When God promises you that He will answer you In Galatians 3:15-25, we see that the promise made to Abraham was not nullified when the Law was presented 430 years later. The Law was given because of transgressions until the Seed, Christ Jesus, came. The Law, unable to impart life, worked to show that everyone was a sinner. This was needed so that what was promised might be given to those with faith in Christ. Rather than being opposed to God’s promises, the Law was a tutor to lead us to Christ so we could be justified and freed from the Law’s tutelage. Sun, 12 Oct 2014 00:00:00 -0400 Past Sermons Sun, 05 Oct 2014 00:00:00 -0400