Sermon: A Heart for the Word

A Heart for the WordPsalm 119:161-168January 8, 2023 This morning, at the beginning of the new year, we want to remind ourselves about the importance of the Bible. What do you know about the Bible? There are 66 books in the Bible (39 in the OT, 27 in the NT). There are 1189 chapters […]

Sermon: The Fulfillment

The FulfillmentTitus 3:7December 25, 2022 Almost a generation ago, Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman wrote an article entitled, “Being a Jew at Christmas Time,” in which he wrote, “There is nothing wrong with sleigh bells, Bing Crosby, and Christmas pudding, but I should hope Christians would want more than just that, and as Christmas becomes more […]

Sermon: The Appearance

The AppearanceTitus 3:4-6December 18, 2022 NASA’s Apollo Missions program successfully sent 24 astronauts to the moon and 12 of those actually walked on the moon. The last Apollo mission was sent up in 1975; since then, there have been numerous Space Shuttle flights as well as flights to the international space station. But no one […]

Consider Christ

Everyone has a Christmas dream. In another generation it was sugar plums. Today it might be an iPhone 14. Or an Xbox. Or a new pickup truck. Or a book (or a loaded Kindle). Or maybe a family trip. Or a family meal where all the children and their families gather together. Or a stocking […]

Sermon: The Promise

The PromiseTitus 1:2-3December 11, 2022 In 1974 George Roy Hill was awarded the Oscar for Best Director for The Sting, a film that starred Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Later that year, Hill received this letter from a 17-year-old aspiring actor: Dear Mr. Hill, Seeing that I am very close, dear, good, and long-lasting friends […]

God is Good

God is good. So says Psalm 100:5. And Psalm 73:1. And Psalms 34:8, 100:5, 135:3, and 145:9. And the prophets also speak of God’s goodness in Jeremiah 33:11, Lamentations 3:25, and Nahum 1:7. Jesus also affirms the goodness of God (and at the same time asserts His own deity, Mt. 19:17). To say that God […]

Sermon: Give Thanks

Give ThanksPsalm 100November 20, 2022 We live in difficult days (has there ever been a time in the world when we couldn’t say that?). People are trying to define the exact nature of our troubles; one theologian has observed that social observers and politicians and others have called our time, “the age of anxiety, the […]

Resurrection Work

In summarizing the necessity and nature of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, the apostle Paul draws a very short conclusion: Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord (15:58). That exhortation can be made even more […]

Sermon: Excel Still More in Ministry Labors

Excel Still More: Ministry Labors1 Corinthians 15:48October 30, 2022 Tomorrow is an important day. You know it well. October 31. No, it’s not important because of the opportunity to accumulate large quantities of chocolate in a short time. It’s important because it is Reformation Day. It is the day that we remember Martin Luther nailing […]

Sing for Joy

There are (seemingly) many reasons to be discouraged: The economy My economy Personal conflicts (especially the unresolved kinds) Temptations Suffering — both significant (cancer, totaled cars, lost jobs) and insignificant (four red lights in a row, paper cuts, lost computer files) Physical weakness Family concerns — marital needs, young children needing training and discipline, teenage […]

Zechariah’s Messiah

One commentator calls the book of Zechariah “the most Messianic, the most truly apocalyptic and eschatological, of all the writings of the OT.” The New Testament evidently also recognizes it as being heavily Messianic because there are 41 quotations or allusions from the book of Zechariah in the New Testament. And Zechariah 9-14 is the […]

Sermon: The Good Shepherd

Jesus Christ — the Good ShepherdJohn 10:1-21September 11, 2022 A few years ago I was running some errands one afternoon when I noticed that one tire was almost completely flat. I slowly made my way to a tire store. There was a long line and wait (with mild irritation). Finally, I spoke to an employee: […]

Sermon: Life in Seasons of Lament

Life in Seasons of LamentPsalm 119:153-160August 28, 2022 When we are in crisis, we don’t always think rightly or well. The disciples were no different. On one occasion, Jesus took the disciples on a boat trip across the Sea of Galilee — a body of water with which many of them were very familiar. Seemingly […]

Alone, but not alone

A few decades ago, a medical doctor wrote about some of the implications of being alone that he had observed: “Medical statistics on the loss of human companionship, the lack of love and human loneliness quickly reveal that the expression ‘broken heart’ is not just poetic image for loneliness and despair. It is an overwhelming […]

Why love others?

In the New Testament, God tells us how to care for others in the church body. Frequently we find those instructions in conjunction with the word “brothers” — as in, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your […]