Christ came for sin

In Romans 8:3, Paul identifies the reason for Christ’s advent — He came “for sin” (ESV). That is, He came for the purpose of addressing the problem of sin. He came for sin because sin was (and is) the great problem of mankind. We tend to think we have bigger problems than sin. We have […]

Sermon: No Condemnation! (Pt 3)

No Condemnation! (Pt. 3) Romans 8:1-4 September 2, 2018 It wasn’t long after we were married, that Raye Jeanne observed my curiosity about everything. On one occasion a massive storm moved through Dallas, where we were living at the time, and tens of thousands of residents lost power. Our home was without power for several […]

Sermon: No Condemnation! (Pt 2)

No Condemnation! (Pt. 2) Romans 8:1-4 August 26, 2018 Several years ago, author Brett McKay wrote on his popular blog site, “The Art of Manliness,” that he learned the skill of picking locks. After learning the basic principles and being given the tools, he picked his first lock in two minutes. He says this about […]

Remembering Christ

Familiarity may not always breed contempt, but it will likely breed forgetfulness. If you have been around for 20,000 sunrises, it takes an extraordinary sunrise to capture your attention. If you have seven children, the arrival of the last child and his acquisition of language and mobility probably won’t produce wonder in you. After 62 […]

Sermon: No Condemnation! (Pt 1)

No Condemnation! (Pt. 1) Romans 8:1-4 August 19, 2018 In my closet I have a bag of letters. Most people would not be interested in those letters. They are cards and notes that have been kept in that bag for over thirty years. But they are a treasure to me. They are the correspondence Raye […]

Sermon: The Believer and Sin (Pt 3)

The Believer and Sin (Pt. 3) Romans 7:14-25 August 5, 2018 As I have told my wife (though she already knew), I am impatient. I want things done quickly. I want a 24-hour virus to go away in six hours. I want one-day dry cleaning done in four hours and one-hour dry-cleaning in 15 minutes. […]

It’s a fight

In his book Comrades, Stephen Ambrose writes this about warfare: Combat requires all the nerves, all the physical attributes, every bit of the training. It is only in combat, nowhere else, where time is measured in other ways than by clocks or calendars. Only in combat does the soldier realize that he is in the […]

“I’m no good”

Too many times I have made the statement, “I’m no good,” or “I’m no good at…” And too many times I have heard others make similar statements. Very often, these (and other) self-deprecating comments are actually solicitations of affirmation or a veiled desire for compliments (“Oh, Terry, you’re really good at…” or “You’re not like […]

Sermon: The Believer and Sin (Pt 2)

The Believer and Sin (Pt. 2) Romans 7:14-25 July 29, 2018 In August, 2011, Danya and Troy Donovan closed up their home of 13 years in Littleton, CO and traveled to Indiana to seek work. They winterized their home, anticipating they would be gone through the winter, and planned to return in the spring. In […]

Be a hater

Having teens and now twenty-something daughters has helped me keep up with contemporary slang terms (kind of). One of the phrases that I learned from them a few years ago was, “don’t be a hater.” As I understand the phrase, it means something like, “don’t be jealous of me because of what I am/have,” or […]

Sermon: The Believer and Sin (Pt 1)

The Believer and Sin (Pt. 1) Romans 7:14-25 July 22, 2018 For years, the bumper sticker and slogan, “Visualize World Peace” has been both affirmed and mocked. And while people want peace, war is a reality of the world in which we live. I think I mentioned a few weeks ago that historians have compiled […]

God is Faithful

A few evenings ago, my doorbell rang and it wasn’t a neighborhood child selling band candy. It was a young man selling a service that he was convinced I needed. It is a service that I purchase monthly from another company. But he promised that his company would be more reliable. At less than half […]

Sermon: The Eternally Faithful Word of God

The Eternally Faithful Word of God Psalm 119:89-96 July 15, 2018 We are now six months into the New Year. The New Year is not so new anymore. It’s not even a teenager. It’s hit the doldrums of the middle age years. In case you haven’t noticed, we are closer to next Christmas than last […]

Sermon: The Worshipper’s Hope

The Worshipper’s Hope Psalm 121 May 27, 2018 The older I get, the more I realize I am prone to forgetfulness. I don’t usually lose my keys or glasses, but I often forget things like appointments (which is why I am thankful for my Google calendar), tasks that I need to do, what I need […]

Sermon: What Good is the Law? (Pt 3)

What Good is the Law? (Pt. 3) Selected Scriptures May 13 2018 While government was established by God to protect the innocent and to punish evildoers (Rom. 13), when you hear of some laws that are still on the books of some governments, you wonder who is protecting the government from itself. For instance: In […]