Sermon: Is God Fair?

“Is God Fair?” Pt. 1 Romans 2:12-16 April 10, 2016 We love children and we love the things children say and do. Let’s face it — they’re cute and the things they do are cute. Like the little girl, who when she was told by her parents, “I love you,” regularly responded, “I love me, […]

Sermon: A Day of Reckoning, Pt. 2

“A Day of Reckoning” Pt. 2 Romans 2:8-9, 11 April 3, 2016 There are many misconceptions about God, Christ, the Bible, the cross, the resurrection, and many other biblical doctrines. But perhaps the most dangerous truth to misunderstand is the truth about Hell and God’s coming judgment. Inaccuracies and vagueness about Hell are prolific. Consider […]

God’s judgments

Say the words “judgment of God,” or “wrath of God,” and people’s minds inevitably go to the final judgment of God against sin. It is certainly true that God’s judgment will culminate against all sinners at the Great White Throne judgment that will come at the end of the age (Rev. 20:11-15). But that is […]

Sermon: A Day of Reckoning

“A Day of Reckoning” Pt. 1 Romans 2:6-7, 10 March 20, 2016 Annie Dillard, in her book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, writes: “A couple summers ago I was walking along the edge of the island to see what I could see in the water, and mainly to scare frogs.…At the end of the island I […]

Sermon: God’s Day of Wrath

“God’s Day of Wrath” Romans 2:5 March 6, 2016 We like to celebrate special days and holidays. So each week we remember the work of Christ for us on Sunday. And of course in a few weeks there is Easter and we just finished Christmas. And we also like a few lesser known holidays, like […]

Sermon: The Reality of God’s Judgment

“The Reality of God’s Judgment” Romans 2:1-4 February 28, 2016 Just about the only time people enjoy hearing about the judgment of God is when it is spoken against. The world mocks and hates the judgment of God because it cannot bear the thought of it being real. And many believers don’t like to talk […]

Sermon: The Judgment of God and Self-Righteousness

“The Judgment of God and Self-Righteousness” Romans 2:1-4 February 21, 2016 Sir Robert Watson Watt was instrumental in the creation of radio detection and ranging (what is commonly called “radar”). As early as 1915, Watson Watt was using radio technology to provide warnings to British pilots in the First World War. But it was 20 […]

Sermon: God’s Revelation, Man’s Rejection, Part 6

“God’s Revelation; Man’s Rejection” Part 6 Romans 1:28-32 November 15, 2015 How many times in the past few months have you observed something culturally and asked a question something like, “How can that possibly be…what are they/is he thinking?…” I said that when I read some of the opinions that were espoused by our Supreme […]

The church and homosexuality

When I began preaching the book of Romans several months ago, I knew that soon I would have to think through and preach on Romans 1:24-27, the most significant passage in Scripture about homosexuality and God’s judgment. As I always do, I wanted to “get it right” — that is, I wanted to be sure […]

Sermon: God’s Revelation, Man’s Rejection, Part 5

“God’s Revelation; Man’s Rejection” Part 5 Romans 1:26-27 November 1, 2015 For many years I have been maintaining a filing system with articles and information on hundreds of different topics (it currently fills 27 file drawers in my office and a substantial portion of my hard drive on my computer). In one of those drawers […]

Reformation from the inside out

On this date, 498 years ago, a little-known monk in Wittenberg, Germany started a “little” controversy. He posted 95 declarations of debate on the door of the church in that town, intending to start a discussion with the Roman Catholic Church to transform her. Instead, he started the Protestant Reformation. Some of the theses he […]

Sermon: The Bible and Homosexuality

“The Bible and Homosexuality” Selected Scriptures October 18, 2015 Twenty-five years ago, my best friend from high school wrote me a letter. Finally on the bottom of page three, he finally said what I’m sure was the reason behind his writing. Let me read it to you: “I’m gay, Terry. I’ve been so my whole […]

Sermon: The Bible and Sexuality

“The Bible and Sexuality” Selected Scriptures October 11, 2015 Years ago I preached a series of sermons on marriage and family issues. Near the end of the series, I preached a sermon on a biblical perspective of sexuality from 1 Corinthians 7. And I talked pretty plainly about the topic. When we got home from […]

Sermon: God’s Revelation, Man’s Rejection, Part 4

“God’s Revelation; Man’s Rejection” Part 4 Romans 1:20-25 October 4, 2015 It has been said many different ways: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. If you want to dance you have to pay the fiddler. “We are free to choose our paths, but we can’t choose the consequences that come with […]

Sermon: God’s Revelation, Man’s Rejection, Part 3

“God’s Revelation; Man’s Rejection” Part 3 Romans 1:20-25 September 20, 2015 They have been called some of the world’s weirdest festivals. Consider: On the last Tuesday of January on St. Ninian’s Isle (Scotland) the local men dress in full Viking regalia, light torches, and go rampaging through town. Of course. (What else is there to […]